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Oracle Forms 11g and Java Web Start

It's getting increasingly difficult to run Java applets through browsers, which is a problem for Oracle Forms applications. Java Web Start allows you to run Java applications and applets, like the Oracle Forms runtime, directly from the desktop, rather than needing a browser. Java Web Start support is baked into the 12c version of Oracle Forms, which means it is not longer troubled by browser compatibility issues.

This article describes how to run Oracle Forms 11g using Java Web Start, so you are no longer reliant on browsers. Remember, this is not a supported way to run Oracle Forms 11g, but it hasn't stopped many people from taking this route.

Test Form

Before you start trying to run your main application, check you can run the basic test form. If this doesn't work there is no point wasting time trying to get your application running.

Create a file on your desktop called "test.jnlp" with the following contents. Remember to adjust the server URL in the "codebase" attribute to match your URL. In a production installation this should be the URL handled by a load balancer or reverse proxy, but it works the same for a direct reference.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  
<!-- JNLP File to test webstart with Forms Application -->  
<jnlp spec="1.7+" codebase="https://forms11g.localdomain:8890/forms/java">  
<information>  
<title>Test Form (Dev)</title>  
<vendor>Oracle Corporation</vendor>  
<description>Test Form (Dev) in WebStart</description>  
</information>  
<security>  
<all-permissions/>  
</security>  
<resources>  
<j2se version="1.7+"/>  
<jar href="frmall.jar"/>  
</resources>  
<applet-desc name="Test Form (Dev)" main-class="oracle.forms.engine.Main" width="1" height="1">  
    <param name="height" value="750" />  
    <param name="width" value="1040" />  
    <param name="serverURL" value="/forms/lservlet?ifcfs=/forms/frmservlet?ifsessid=WLS_FORMS.formsapp.999&#38;acceptLanguage=en-US"/>  
    <param name="serverArgs" value="module=test.fmx"/>
    <param name="lookAndFeel" value="Oracle"/>
    <param name="colorScheme" value="blaf"/>
    <param name="logo" value="no"/>
</applet-desc>  
</jnlp>

Notice the use of "&#38;" in the "ServerURL" parameter. If you use an "&" directly you will get errors about illegal characters in the URL.

Double-click on the "test.jnlp" file and the application will download and run.

Real Example

Here is an example of JNLP file for an application called Banner from a company called Ellucian.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>  
<!-- JNLP File to test webstart with Forms Application -->  
<jnlp spec="1.7+" codebase="https://banner-dev.example.com/forms/java">  
<information>  
<title>Banner (Dev)</title>  
<vendor>Ellucian</vendor>  
<description>Banner (Dev) in WebStart</description>  
</information>  
<security>  
<all-permissions/>  
</security>  
<resources>  
<j2se version="1.7+"/>  
<jar href="frmall.jar"/>  
<jar href="sbanicons.jar"/>  
<jar href="sbannerui.jar"/>  
<jar href="sbanspecial.jar"/>  
<jar href="sbanorep_10_1_2_3.jar"/>  
<jar href="jacob.jar"/>  
<jar href="frmwebutil.jar"/>  
</resources>  
<applet-desc name="Banner (Dev)" main-class="oracle.forms.engine.Main" width="1" height="1">  
    <param name="height" value="750" />  
    <param name="width" value="1040" />  
    <param name="serverURL" value="/forms/lservlet?ifcfs=/forms/frmservlet?ifsessid=WLS_FORMS.formsapp.999&#38;acceptLanguage=en-US&#38;config=bannerDev"/>  
    <param name="serverArgs" value="module=guainit.fmx"/>
    <param name="lookAndFeel" value="Oracle"/>
    <param name="colorScheme" value="blaf"/>
    <param name="logo" value="no"/>
</applet-desc>  
</jnlp>

There are several additions to the file.

For more information see:

Hope this helps. Regards Tim...

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