Not “how”, but “why” should we upgrade to JDeveloper & ADF 11.1.1.7.0 ?

Followers of the blog know I’m an Oracle database guy, but my current job also has me honing my newbie WebLogic 11g skills, setting up a number of servers to deliver ADF and Forms & Reports 11gR2 applications.

As you’ve no doubt heard, Oracle have just released the 11.1.1.7.0 version of JDeveloper and ADF. I tried applying the 11.1.1.7.0 patch to a WebLogic 11g (10.3.6) installation and it worked without any problems (see here).

The real issue is, we currently have developers working hard to get applications converted from AS10g to ADF (11.1.1.6) running on WebLogic 11g (10.3.6). As much as I would like to “force” them to upgrade to 11.1.1.7, it has to be justified. So why should we upgrade to JDeveloper & ADF 11.1.1.7.0?

One of the great things about the Oracle ACE program is the level of access you get to experts in a variety of Oracle technologies. This network of people includes both Oracle ACEs and Oracle employees.

So how did I go about answering my question? Simple! I emailed my buddy Chris Muir (Oracle ADF Product Manager at Oracle), who is far better qualified to answer than me. 🙂 In that email I asked the following three questions:

  1. Assuming we don’t need the extra functionality in ADF 11.1.1.7, what is the advantage of moving to it? Are the bug fixes and maybe browser compatibility changes enough to warrant the upgrade?
  2. Is there a significance as far as support lifecycle is concerned?
  3. Is the upgrade likely to break anything that has already been converted for 11.1.1.6?

I suggested Chris might want to write a blog post based on these questions. He suggested a remote Q&A style post, so this is the “Q” and Chris will supply the “A” here!

Cheers

Tim…