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Extended Windows Support

Oracle Forms 5.0 has added several new features to provide additional Windows functionality. One of these features enables you to create Windows 95_style tab controls in the Form Builder. Tab controls are implemented as a special type of canvas in the object navigator. Objects can then be inserted into the form on the appropriate tab page, and Oracle Forms will manage control between the various pages.

Runtime tooltips (pop-up help) can be added for any item in the module. This is done by defining the Tooltip and Tooltip VA properties in the property palette. This is a vast improvement over the method for implementing this feature in Forms 4.5.

Additionally, you can implement the convenience of right mouse pop-up menus for an item in the form. Unlike conventional menu modules, these menus are an integral part of the form module.

Additional features have been added for manipulating image objects, allowing you to define the storage and compression characteristics of image items and the ability to populate image items from the Windows Clipboard.

Support for PL/SQL Version 2.3

Forms 4.5 allowed developers to use PL/SQL Version 1.2 constructs only in their modules, even though the server allowed for Version 2.x PL/SQL. As a result, you cannot use PL/SQL tables, ref cursors , or many of the other PL/SQL objects within a form. Forms 5.0 will provide support for PL/SQL Version 2.3. This will allow for more robust code and will allow you to provide some of the more complex operations that required the use of stored procedures and functions.

Additionally, you can now use host arrays, cursor variables , and stored functions in the
PL/SQL expressions. PL/SQL 2.0 also supports dynamic SQL and optimizer hints, which cannot be used in the earlier versions.

New Features in Reports 3.0

Similarly, Oracle Reports 3.0 offers many new and exciting features that greatly enhance your ability to produce top-quality reports in a very short time. This section will outline the features provided in Reports 3.0 that make this product the best possible choice for Oracle database reporting.

The Report Wizard and Live Previewer

The Report Wizard is truly magical . Using this feature, you can construct complex, detailed reports in a matter of mere seconds. Surprisingly, the end result is so professional-looking that you might not need to make any modifications yourself. The wizard takes the developer step by step through the report-construction process. The report may be created from a SQL query or through the visual Query Builder interface. (The Query Builder interface displays the tables

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and columns in the database tables and maintains any relationships that exist via database constraints.) From the query, you can select headings and report layouts, and apply the layouts to an existing report template.

When you click the Finish button, the report will be run to the Live Previewer, where you can view the finished report with actual data from the database. Within the Live Previewer, you can then move objects around on the screen to modify the sizes and positions of the various chart items. This WYSIWYG interface allows you to view the report as it evolves to the final layout you want.

Report Templates

Reports 3.0 allows you to edit specific layout templates that can be used as a basis for your reports. Templates usually include items such as logos, company names , and any other standard report-format items. When you select a particular template after the report is created, all the objects in the template will be included in the new report.

New User -Interface Elements

Oracle Reports 3.0 has added dialog boxes to allow the developer to define the appearance of page numbers , date, and time on a report. With Reports 3.0, these items usually had to be added by creating fields in the margin area of a report and then assigning system variables to the field items.

Reports 3.0 also allows you to create dynamic-length lines within a repeating frame. This will allow you to separate columns of data with a vertical line. The line will then expand or contract based on the enclosing frame. You may directly reference a column in a field using the
&construct (rather than a reference to the layout-field value required in Reports 2.5). Finally, you may apply format masks directly to layout fields from a drop-down list in the toolbar. In Reports 2.5, you had to open up the properties for an item by double-clicking it and then editing the format mask.

Support for PL/SQL Version 2.3

Similarly to Forms 4.5, Reports 2.5 allowed developers to use PL/SQL Version 1.2 constructs only in their modules, even though the server allowed for Version 2.x PL/SQL. Likewise, Reports 3.0 will support the use of PL/SQL Version 2.3.

Runtime Enhancements for Reports 3.0

Reports 3.0 now provides support for PCL printer support and ActiveX controls. Additionally, Oracle Reports 3.0 provides a Report Server component that may be used to submit reports in a batch-mode environment on a three- tier network architecture. This will allow users to process reports remotely while continuing with other pressing work. The server is designed to run on multiple-processor machines utilizing various parallel processing capabilities to facilitate faster throughput.

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Improvements in Graphics 3.0

For the most part, very little has changed within Graphics 3.0. The Chart Wizard and available charts have not been changed. The most significant changes involve the fact that you can create a chart using the Chart Wizard from within Forms 5.0. Additionally, as with Forms 5.0 and Reports 3.0, Graphics 3.0 supports the use of PL/SQL V2.3 in any of the user-defined triggers and program units.

Developer/2000 and the Web

Release 2.0 of Developer/2000 has been designed to be deployed either as a traditional client/server application or as an integrated Web-deployed application. Web wizards have been provided with the tools that will allow you to deploy the application on the Internet or possibly on an enterprise intranet. Using the Oracle Web Server, you will be able to allow many users of your application to access it using PCs that can be built with minimal resources. It is possible, using Web technology, to implement your system at an extremely low cost throughout the enterprise.

Summary

This chapter has presented an overview of the new features that will be included in the next release of Developer/2000. As stated previously, these changes are an improvement over how things are done in application development. As a developer familiar with Developer/2000 Release 1.x, you will find many things that are already quite familiar. You may continue using all the old methods that were used in Forms 4.5 development. However, to truly utilize this tool, you will want to take advantage of all the new features. Realize that the information upon which I wrote this chapter is based on a Beta-2 release of Developer/2000, so some of the features mentioned might not be available until subsequent releases. Also, between now and production, Oracle might continue to add new features to this fine product line.

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Oracle Unleashed
Oracle Development Unleashed (3rd Edition)
ISBN: 0672315750
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 1997
Pages: 391

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