Oracle Objects for OLE 2.2 Beta

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Oracle Objects for OLE 2.2 Beta Program

Oracle Objects for OLE 2.2 is the latest version of this multiple award-winning product. Version 2.2 provides an even more advanced, powerful, and expedient way to access Oracle Server data and features from the Windows environment.

Oracle is conducting a beta test to fine-tune a number of new features, including significant performance improvement. This is your chance to test the new capabilities in your environment and ensure a smooth upgrade when the production version is released. You will be able to download the software from www.oracle.com in a couple of weeks and communicate directly with us through oo4obeta_at_us.oracle.com. This version is expected to become production early-November.

New Features
This is a exciting upgrade because certain new capabilities enables Oracle Objects for OLE (OO4O) to run in an NT server environment. This changes the product specification from a desktop-only tool to a key component for mission critical 7-by-24 systems. Because OO4O integrates so well with the Microsoft environment, it is increasingly being used to migrate to Oracle Servers from Microsoft SQL Server, which has scalability limitations. OO4O allows the developer to replace SQL Server with minimal client (or mid-tier) code modifications.

Thread-safety
OO4O offers both "Apartment" and "Free" models for Windows’ thread-safety. The Apartment model has some overhead but almost all existing applications use this model, and the free threading is faster because it does not rely on COM/OLE to coordinate threads.

Developers writing multi-threaded applications can now safely use OO4O from programming platforms like Microsoft C++, Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), and Internet Information Server (IIS). The latter two require that OO4O run on a mid-tier, fault-tolerant environment.

An application server built with MTS can fully access Oracle through OO4O in a thread-safe manner, which is not the case with most ODBC drivers. OO4O 2.2 is also an installable component within MTS, which provides some scaleability, load balancing, and manageability to OO4O-based applications. OO4O cannot yet participate in MTS distributed transactions because MTS only supports native OLE transactions. However, Microsoft has committed to XA support and when that is delivered OO4O 2.2 will automatically be MTS distributed transactions enabled.

Internet Information Server developers can also use OO4O for building web-based applications with seamless integration to Oracle Servers. OO4O code can be embedded in Active Server Pages through either VBScript or JavaScript. OO4O’s multi-threading capability enables the pooling of connections for excellent performance for Oracle data retrieval. OO4O can also be used from Internet Server API (ISAPI), which pre-loads its DLLs and shares them between HTTP requests.

PL/SQL Multi-Cursor Return
With Oracle Objects for OLE’s cursor return capability the developer can store the application’s business logic on the server, thus, minimizing client-side software upgrades, lessening load on the network, and improving performance. In addition, OO4O 2.2 can now return multiple cursors to the client from a single query. This is useful, for example, if a user needs the resultset of two disjointed queries.

This feature improves performance by lowering network traffic. OO4O’s PL/SQL table return capability can send (or receive) an array of values with a single network transaction, rather than one transaction per row as is the case with ODBC. Multi-cursor return also requires a single network round-trip for returning data from multiple cursors.

Performance Improvement
Oracle Objects for OLE provides fast and efficient access from the Windows environment to Oracle data, especially for applications that use PL/SQL extensively. Version 2.2 implements changes that further improve performance.

Field collection access in a dynaset is improved. If field collection access is not coded properly, field collection objects are created and destroyed for each iteration. The system is now smarter in handling this issue.

The help file now contains a number of tips and techniques for improving performance. Coding methods, such as early binding and dynaset cache tuning, can significantly improve performance over ODBC and older versions of OO4O.

Bug Fixes
A number of bug fixes are included in OO4O 2.2. Some of the bugs, such as very small memory leaks, become significant issues when OO4O is used in a 7-by-24 environment.

Note: OO4O 2.2 will be available on Windows ’95 and NT. There will not be any 16-bit version of OO4O 2.2, and the current 16-bit OO4O 2.1 has now entered maintenance mode.

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<B>Oracle Objects for OLE 2.2 Beta Program</B>

<P>Oracle Objects for OLE 2.2 is the latest version of this multiple award-winning
product.&nbsp; Version 2.2 provides an even more advanced, powerful, and expedient way to access Oracle Server data and features from the Windows environment.

<P>Oracle is conducting a beta test to fine-tune a number of new features,
including significant performance improvement.&nbsp; This is your chance to test the new capabilities in your environment and ensure a smooth upgrade when the production version is released.&nbsp; You will be able to download the software from www.oracle.com in a couple of weeks and communicate directly with us through <A HREF="mailto:oo4obeta_at_us.oracle.com">oo4obeta_at_us.oracle.com</A>.&nbsp; This version is expected to become production early-November.

<P><B>New Features</B>
<BR>This is a exciting upgrade because certain new capabilities enables
Oracle Objects for OLE (OO4O) to run in an NT server environment.&nbsp; This changes the product specification from a desktop-only tool to a key component for mission critical 7-by-24 systems.&nbsp; Because OO4O integrates so well with the Microsoft environment, it is increasingly being used to migrate to Oracle Servers from Microsoft SQL Server, which has scalability limitations.&nbsp; OO4O allows the developer to replace SQL Server with minimal client (or mid-tier) code modifications.

<P><B>Thread-safety</B>
<BR>OO4O offers both "Apartment" and "Free" models for Windows’ thread-safety.&nbsp;
The Apartment model has some overhead but almost all existing applications use this model, and the free threading is faster because it does not rely on COM/OLE to coordinate threads.

<P>Developers writing multi-threaded applications can now safely use OO4O
from programming platforms like Microsoft C++, Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), and Internet Information Server (IIS).&nbsp; The latter two require that OO4O run on a mid-tier, fault-tolerant environment.

<P>An application server built with MTS can fully access Oracle through
OO4O in a thread-safe manner, which is not the case with most ODBC drivers.&nbsp; OO4O 2.2 is also an installable component within MTS, which provides some scaleability, load balancing, and manageability to OO4O-based applications.&nbsp; OO4O cannot yet participate in MTS distributed transactions because MTS only supports native OLE transactions.&nbsp; However, Microsoft has committed to XA support and when that is delivered OO4O 2.2 will automatically be MTS distributed transactions enabled.

<P>Internet Information Server developers can also use OO4O for building
web-based applications with seamless integration to Oracle Servers.&nbsp; OO4O code can be embedded in Active Server Pages through either VBScript or JavaScript.&nbsp; OO4O’s multi-threading capability enables the pooling of connections for excellent performance for Oracle data retrieval.&nbsp; OO4O can also be used from Internet Server API (ISAPI), which pre-loads its DLLs and shares them between HTTP requests.

<P><B>PL/SQL Multi-Cursor Return</B>
<BR>With Oracle Objects for OLE’s cursor return capability the developer
can store the application’s business logic on the server, thus, minimizing client-side software upgrades, lessening load on the network, and improving performance.&nbsp; In addition, OO4O 2.2 can now return multiple cursors to the client from a single query.&nbsp; This is useful, for example, if a user needs the resultset of two disjointed queries.

<P>This feature improves performance by lowering network traffic.&nbsp;
OO4O’s PL/SQL table return capability can send (or receive) an array of values with a single network transaction, rather than one transaction per row as is the case with ODBC.&nbsp; Multi-cursor return also requires a single network round-trip for returning data from multiple cursors.

<P><B>Performance Improvement</B>
<BR>Oracle Objects for OLE provides fast and efficient access from the
Windows environment to Oracle data, especially for applications that use PL/SQL extensively.&nbsp; Version 2.2 implements changes that further improve performance.

<P>Field collection access in a dynaset is improved.&nbsp; If field collection
access is not coded properly,&nbsp; field collection objects&nbsp; are created and destroyed for each iteration.&nbsp; The system is now smarter in handling this issue.

<P>The help file now contains a number of tips and techniques for improving
performance.&nbsp; Coding methods, such as early binding and dynaset cache tuning, can significantly improve performance over ODBC and older versions of OO4O.

<P><B>Bug Fixes</B>
<BR>A number of bug fixes are included in OO4O 2.2.&nbsp; Some of the bugs,
such as very small memory leaks, become significant issues when OO4O is used in a 7-by-24 environment.

<P><FONT SIZE=-1>Note: OO4O 2.2 will be available on Windows ’95 and NT.&nbsp;
There will not be any 16-bit version of OO4O 2.2, and the current 16-bit OO4O 2.1 has now entered maintenance mode.</FONT>
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