Re: Anyone Actually using Dev/2000 Server / Web Enabled forms ?

So far - while the idea of "thin client" is very in vogue - we don't really feel the technology is quite 'there' yet. In our shop, the pure Forms applications which went over the Web had major problems - strobing menus, inability to use combo boxes, restrictions on menus, graphics, etc. etc. etc. They also happen to be slower than death - even a floor away...but the IT department here never wants to "touch" another client if they can help it...(I guess the fact that people are going to lunch waiting for their apps to download really isn't a consideration. ) Also, there have been major problems with Forms which were developed on NT being ported over to Solaris for deployment. Boilerplate text is a HUGE problem - it comes out grossly oversized and they have not been able to figure out how to correct the problem. Oracle admits this is an 'issue'.... Our users are also pretty outraged at the loss of some Windows functionality/GUI which they have come to take for granted - but now have lost going through the Web....we have also discovered that generating Web modules through Designer and then trying to tweak the PL/SQL modules from there is a complex and nightmarish task - one which is far better off avoided.

Our Designer apps however, are coming through the Web in far better shape than the 'pure' Developer Forms...fine - we aren't generating them through WebServer - but as Forms...but they are still performing more efficiently than the regular Developer apps. Of course, we designed for web deployment from the get-go and will be able to make modifications if we decide to go client-server in a straight-forward manner... As an example, we have practically no boiler-plate text - so no surprises there...

So - discover the limitations early on - and then design for them from the ground up if you're going to be using Developer alone - there is an excellent paper by Peter Koletzke or Paul Dorsey on Web-enabled Forms (mainly discussing what doesn't work yet...) - if you're interested let me know and I'll send the reference along...

Chana Campos Received on Sat May 29 1999 - 05:24:20 CDT