ORACLE FAQ

Oracle Forms 12c

Frequently Asked Questions

Introduction After successfully upgrading and ensuring the basic

stability of your application(s), you can then enhance your
This white paper addresses some of the questions existing applications using some of the latest new features
users of Oracle Forms 12c may have and some of the and integrate with various other technologies.

questions already asked on forums, mailing lists and

For an Oracle Forms application already deployed on
blogs. Oracle Fusion Middleware, you can integrate with the
features of the platform, such as security, load balancing
and management, as well as integrate with other
Strategy and Roadmap technologies such as Oracle BI-Publisher and the Java EE
platform. Again, taking advantage of new feature delivered
Q: How long will Oracle Forms continue to be supported?
in the latest Forms versions can help to improve both the
A: Oracle Forms has a large and active user base. It functionality and appearance of your applications.
continues to be developed and enhanced, and is an
Refer to the Oracle Forms product page on the Oracle
important component of Oracle Fusion Middleware. Oracle
Technology Network for the latest information.
remains committed to the development and support of
Oracle Forms. This commitment is outlined in the
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/forms
Statement of Direction. Details can be found in
MyOracleSupport Note 2009262.1.
Oracle Fusion Middleware Forms Services
Q: I am on client/server or character mode. How can I move
Q: How is the software distributed? Is there a separate
forward, and preserve my investment in Forms?
download for the design-time tools and the runtime server
A: This is a broad question and can't be answered in this software?
small space since there are so many varying factors from
A: All of the software is packaged in one distribution. During
customer to customer. However Oracle's general
the installation, you choose which components you want
recommendation can be summarized here: upgrade,
installed and configured.
integrate, and modernize. A detailed document explaining
how to properly upgrade can be found in the Oracle Forms Q: Will Forms work with WebLogic Server?
Documentation Library for the version to which you are
A: Oracle Forms 12c requires the use of WebLogic Server
upgrading.
12c (of the same version). Currently, the licensing options
If you are using client/server or character mode, you should for Oracle Forms are to run with WebLogic Server Basic
upgrade to Forms on the web so that you are on the latest (included with Forms and Reports license) or WebLogic
version of Forms, in a supported environment, and Server Suite. You can also use the Internet Application
integrated with Oracle Fusion Middleware. For the majority Server - EE license, which also includes WebLogic Server
of customers, upgrading to Forms on the web is relatively Basic. Contact your Account Representative or Oracle
straight forward. Refer to the Upgrading Oracle Forms 6i to Sales for the latest details.
Oracle Forms 12c (the latest version) document found in the
Q: Will Forms be ported to Java so that it can run on the
Oracle Forms Documentation Library for the version to
WebLogic Server?
which you are upgrading.
A: The Forms client was ported to Java and it runs on the
https://docs.oracle.com/middleware/12212/formsandreports client tier using a Java plug-in, Java Web Start, or as a
ORACLE FAQ

standalone Java application. The Forms Servlet (and Q: What hardware will Forms run on?
Listener Servlet) are both written in Java and are deployed
A: Forms Services will run on all hardware on which
into WebLogic Server in 12c.
WebLogic Server Infrastructure 12c is certified.
The Forms Server (aka Runtime) process is written in C
and some C++. There are no plans to port this element of Upgrading
the Forms architecture to Java. Q: Can I upgrade from earlier versions of Forms to 12c?
Q: What version of Java is used on the server side in 12c? A: Yes. We will support upgrading from 6.0.8 and later
A: The Java version used by WebLogic Server and Forms in versions of Forms directly to 12c in most cases. Some
12.2.1.x versions is currently 8. If newer versions become manual changes may be necessary. Refer to the
certified in the future, they will be added to the Product "Upgrading Oracle Forms 6i to Oracle Forms 12c"
Certification Matrix. For more details, refer to the Fusion document for more information.
Middleware Product Certification Matrix. https://docs.oracle.com/middleware/12212/formsandreports

Platform Support Q: What application changes are needed before upgrading?

Q: Will I need Jinitiator on the user’s machine to run Oracle A: Many client/server and character mode features have been
Forms? removed from the Forms for versions released after 6i. The
removed features mainly relate to features that were only
A: JInitiator is no longer supported. Java and/or a Java plug-in
maintained in Forms 6i for the purpose of backwards
are required on the client machine. For Forms version
compatibility. A detailed list of all of the obsolete features
12.2.1.0 through 12.2.1.3, Oracle has certified Forms with
can be found in the Oracle Forms and Reports
Java 7 and 8. Although Java 7 was certified, using it is no
Documentation Library. Specifically refer to the “Upgrading
longer recommended. End-user machines will need to be
Oracle Forms 6i to Oracle Forms 12c” document.
manually configured to use the desired Java version. To
best understand exactly which Java distribution should be
https://docs.oracle.com/middleware/12211/formsandreports
used, refer to the Forms Deployment Guide found in the
Documentation Library mentioned earlier in this paper. To
determine which Java versions have been certified for use
Single Sign-on
with Oracle Forms, refer to the Product Certification Matrix. Q: Will Forms work with Oracle Access Manager?

A: Oracle Access Manager (with WebGate) is the only

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/ias/downlo certified authentication server currently certified for use
ads/fusion-certification-100350.html with Oracle Forms 12c.
Q: What browsers are supported? Q: Can I use LDAP to authenticate Forms Services?
A: Forms 12c was certified with most popular browsers. A: No. However, if you need to authenticate using an LDAP
However, some may no longer support using the Java server, you must enable SSO using Oracle Access
Plugin. Refer to the Product Certification Matrix for the Manager (with WebGate) and connecting it to your LDAP
Fusion Middleware version in question. server.
Q: My browser longer supports the Plugin. What should I do? Q: Can I use any LDAP server in conjuction with OAM to
A: Beginning with Forms 12c, the use of a browser is optional. authenticate Forms users?
In addition to running your application directly in a browser, A: Any LDAP server that is certified for use with OAM can be
you can also use Java Web Start or the Forms Standalone used for an SSO configuration to access Oracle Forms
Launcher (recommended). If you want to use a browser applications. This is because beginning with Forms 12c,
that no longer supports the Java Plugin, you can continue Forms no longer communicates directly with the LDAP
to use that browser, but instead call the Forms application server.
from that browser using Java Web Start. The Forms
Standalone Launcher is for cases where no browser is For Oracle Reports, SSO configurations must use Oracle
desired. Applications would be launched from a command Internet Directory as the LDAP server used with OAM.
line or custom designed script. Refer to the documentation.

2 | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR ORACLE FORMS 12C

ORACLE FAQ

Security
Q: Is Forms traffic encrypted when running in HTTP mode? Q: Does Forms 12c ship with a client version of the Java
A: No. Traffic between the Forms client and the Forms Server plugin (JRE)?
process is only encrypted when SSL has been enabled A: No.Download the desired version from the Oracle web site.
and used. When running in HTTP mode Oracle has added
a proprietary obfuscation scheme that is not as strong as http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads
the SSL standard. Obfuscation is not the same as
encryption and should not be assumed to be safe. SSL Q: Is there any way I can use my Forms applications on a
encryption is strongly recommended. It is your mobile device?
responsibility to properly enable SSL encryption in order to A: Although a Forms application (the UI) cannot be directly
fully protect the information exchanged over the network. run on a mobile device, there are third parties, as well as
Q: Is the database login information encrypted (middle tier to several Oracle Partners that offer solutions to easily
data tier)? overcome this limitation.

A: No. Just like the need to enable SSL between the client to Q: Can I run Oracle Forms in Cloud?
middle tier, you are strongly encouraged to SSL protect the A: Yes. Oracle Forms (and WebLogic Server) can be
network between the middle tier and data tier. Refer to the installed into Oracle Compute (Infrastructure as a Service).
database security documentation for details on using You can also use Oracle’s Database Cloud Service
encryption for these network connections. (DBaaS) to provide the database needs of your Compute
based Forms installation.
Miscellaneous
Q: Oracle Forms 12 requires a “repository database”. Do we
Q: Is Motif still required on Linux (Unix) platforms?
need a special or unique database for each installation?
A: Yes. Motif is needed to install and use any of the GUI (X)
A: No. There are no special requirements for the database
based tools on these platforms. This includes Builders,
used to host the repository. However, you should refer to
Compilers, etc. That said, it is possible to use the Form
the Product Certification Matrix to ensure that a database
Compiler without an X session. Refer to the Forms
of the appropriate version is used. Also, a new repository
documentation for details.
is needed for each WLS domain. More than one repository
Q: Will WebUtil be installed and configured along with the can be installed into the same database, although each
Forms installation? must have different names.

A: Generally speaking, the Forms add-on WebUtil is Q: Is using Oracle HTTP Server (OHS) required with Forms?
configured during the installation. However, if your
A: No. Using OHS is optional, but recommended. By using
application uses OLE functionality and/or was developed
OHS and configuring it properly, you will be able to access
prior to Forms 12, it will be necessary to download and
the Forms WLS managed server, as well as any others that
configure the third party library, JACOB. You must sign the
are configured (e.g. Oracle Reports, BI-Publisher, etc),
jacob.jar file (refer to the Java documentation regarding jar
using the same listener ports. This can be very helpful with
signing). The included JACOB libraries (.dll) will need to be
integrating Forms with Reports or BI-Publisher.
properly stored on the file system. Refer to the Forms
documentation for information on using JACOB. If your Q: Now that Oracle Reports has been depracted and likely
application does not use OEL functionality and the app was won’t be available after 12.2.1.3, what should we do?
designed in Forms 12c, these steps can be avoided.
A: Oracle is recommending that Reports users migrate to BI-
Q: Have any features been deprecated in Forms 12c? Publisher. Oracle Forms 12c includes integration with BI-
Publisher that resembles integration with Reports, so
A: Between version 11 and 12, no features have been
updating the Forms code should be fairly easy.
deprecated or desupported. Refer to the “Upgrading Oracle
Forms 6i to Oracle Forms 12c" document in the
Licensing has also been updated, so no additional
Documentation Library for details.
licensing will be needed in many cases. Contact your Sales
or Account Representitive for details.
https://docs.oracle.com/middleware/12212/formsandreports

3 | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR ORACLE FORMS 12C

ORACLE FAQ

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