Introduction to ADF Faces in JDeveloper 10g Is it Oracle Forms Developer Yet

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Introduction to ADF Faces in JDeveloper 10g Is
it Oracle Forms Developer Yet?

• Peter Koletzke
• Technical Director Principal Instructor

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Moi
3
Vous

• Forms development
• 1-2 years?
• 3-9 years?
• More than 9 years?
• Java development
• 1-2 years?
• 3-11 years?
• More than 11 years?
• JDeveloper
• 1-3 years?
• More than 3 years?
• 10.1.3?

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On the Positive Side
If we do not find anything pleasant, at least
we shall find something new. Voltaire
(1694-1778), Candide
Si nous ne trouvons pas des choses agréables,
nous trouverons du moins des choses nouvelles.
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Agenda

• Frameworks and ADF
• What is JSF?
• How does ADF Faces help?
• Is it Oracle Forms yet?

Rumor There is a really good book about
JDeveloper 10g for Forms Developers coming out
soon.
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What is a Framework?

• Prebuilt architecture for solving a particular
  problem
• Provides a key service
• For example, Struts framework provides control
  of page flow in a web application
• Code library, development method, tools
• An extension of good reusable code strategies
• Solve a problem once, use the code again in
  multiple projects
• Like an API
• Allows extensions
• To replace or supplement functionality

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Benefits of a Framework

• Promises increased productivity through code
  reuse
• Prebuilt code supplies functionality you would
  have to build yourself
• For example, connection layer to the database
  through JDBC
• You write less 3GL code
• Simplifies complexity of a high-level
  architecture
• Complexity is hidden in the prebuilt code
• Handles infrastructure and communication between
  layers
• You just hook into it
• Provides structure to the myriad number of
  technology combinations
• The path to a particular goal is predefined

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Oracle Forms is a Framework

• It has key framework components
• Code libraries (Forms runtime)
• Documented methods (wizards and editors)
• Tools (Form Builder)
• Forms is a fast way to build a sophisticated user
  interface
• You can extend Forms (using Java)

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Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF)

• Attempt to meet the J2EE challenges
• Lots of technology choices
• No integrated tool
• Database connectivity is difficult (JDBC)
• Available starting in JDeveloper 10g
• A wrapper for other frameworks
• An architecture with code libraries
• Implies a method and a tool
• Based on Model-View-Controller J2EE design
  pattern

Note See Aug 2004 NoCOUG presentation for more
about ADF.
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ADF Architecture
View
Swing visual aspect
Swing model
Swing event handlers
ADF UIX
JSP
JSF
ADF JClient
Controller
Struts
JSF
Model
ADF Bindings
ADF Data Controls
Business Services
ADF Business Components
EJB Session Beans
Web Services
Java Classes
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Business Services
ADF Business Components
EJB Session Beans
Java Classes
Web Services

• Code layer for accessing data sources such as a
  database
• Responsibilities
• Persistence
• Data storage after the program ends
• Object-relational (OR) mapping
• Translating database objects to object-oriented
  structures
• Use this layer to code business logic

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Model
ADF Bindings
ADF Data Controls

• The main innovation of ADF!
• Connects Business Services to the View layer
• Java local clients (heavy client)
• Delivers data from Business Services to the View
  layer
• Web clients (light client)
• Receives instructions from the Controller layer
  as requests for data retrieval and updates
• ADF Data Controls
• Interface components pre-bound to Model layer
• ADF Bindings
• The method for accessing Model objects

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Controller
JSF
Struts

• For web clients only
• Determines what happens when user submits page
• Prepare next page to display
• Can apply conditional logic
• Can interact with data (Model)
• Struts - JDev 10g 9.0.5 and 10.1.2
• Jakarta Project open source effort
• JavaServer Faces JDev 10.1.3
• Replaces Struts in JDev

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View
Application Client
Web Client
Swing visual aspect
Swing model
Swing event handlers
ADF UIX
JSP
ADF JClient
JSF

• User interface technologies
• Application client
• Java runtime on the client
• Part of J2SE (standard edition)
• Uses JClient framework to communicate with Model
  layer
• Web client
• JavaServer Pages (JSP) technology
• J2EE standard, light-client, tag-based interface
• ADF UIX
• Oracle-specific, XML-based interface used by
  E-Business Suite applications

• JavaServer Faces (JSF)
• Java community effort
• J2EE 1.5 (soon)

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Agenda

• Frameworks and ADF
• What is JSF?
• How does ADF Faces help?
• Is it Oracle Forms yet?

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Nothing Like a Good Drill
Man is a tool-using animal. ...Without tools he
is nothing, with tools he is all.Thomas
Carlyle (17511881), Sartor Resartus
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What is JSF?

• JavaServer Faces technology
• New technology (ratified JCP in 5/2004)
• Not part of J2EE yet
• Offers reference implementation
• Effort to simplify JSP development
• Component-ize it
• High-level components provide much functionality
• Integrate the controller
• No Struts needed
• Write less HTML
• Component handles HTML writing
• Development friendlier to Forms developers
• Declarative programming

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JSF Features

• Rich component set
• Core library for application tasks
• HTML library for HTML tags, forms
• JSP tag library included
• Can be implemented in other languages
• Include data binding properties
• Event-driven
• Events on the component level
• Think Forms triggers

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JSF Code

• Can embed JSF in a JSP page (.jsp file)
• JSP tags and HTML tags
• Alternatively use a JSP document (.jspx file)
• JSF theoretically supports multiple client
  devices
• Not dependent upon an HTML browser
• Same code, different render kit
• Current Reference Implementation is JSP-only

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JSF Code Snippet

• ltffacet name"footer"gt
• ltafpanelButtonBar
• binding"backing_Deptapp.panelButtonBar1"
  gt
• ltafcommandButton
• actionListener"bindings.First.invoke"
• action"First" text"First"
• disabled"!bindings.First.enabled"
• binding"backing_Deptapp.commandButton1
  "/gt
• ltafcommandButton
• actionListener"bindings.Previous.invoke
  "
• action"Previous" text"Previous"
• disabled"!bindings.Previous.enabled"
• binding"backing_Deptapp.commandButton2
  "/gt
• lt/afpanelButtonBargt
• lt/ffacetgt

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JSF Calling Sequence
Browser
Web Tier JVM
URL
Translate and compile
JSF Servlet
HTML
Deptapp.class
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Agenda

• Frameworks and ADF
• What is JSF?
• How does ADF Faces help?
• Is it Oracle Forms yet?

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ADF Faces

• Oracle tag libraries
• Released to MyFaces open source project in Jan.
• Available in JDeveloper 10.1.3
• Implements components available in UIX
• UIX (User-Interface XML) is used in Oracle
  Applications
• Adds even more functionality to JSF
• Supports multiple platforms through render kits
• JSP document or page
• Telnet
• Wireless

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ADF Faces Features

• Lots of Prebuilt stuff
• UI components
• Master-detail
• Form-table, table-table, table-form, form-form
• Data navigation controls
• Color picker
• Button and link
• Tab menu bar
• Progress meter
• Editable table, tree
• Layout objects page, form, header
• No need to manage images

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Some ADF Data Input Components
LOV item
Read-only item
Text input
Button
Tip item
Date input with date picker
Pulldown item

• Items include prompts
• Bound to data model object

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Some ADF Components
Tab menu bar with subtabs
Shuttle
Tree
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ADF Data Controls Using ADF Faces
Editable table
Teeth
Search form
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Benefits of ADF Faces

• Smart controls partial page submit
• AJAX
• Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
• A.k.a., Partial Page Rendering
• JavaScript effects without JavaScript coding
• Support in JDeveloper
• Drag and drop automatic binding
• Property settings
• Expression builders

Ajax provides a cleaner user interface!
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Development Method

• Create application workspace
• Create Business Services and Model project
• Create View and Controller project
• Test and debug
• Use the same tools for development regardless of
  technology choices

Demo
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Agenda

• Frameworks and ADF
• What is JSF?
• How does ADF Faces help?
• Is it Oracle Forms yet?

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Short Answer
No!
but...
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Its a Close Second

• RAD for standard operations a tie
• RAD for complex functions Forms slightly ahead
• Ease of extensions ADF Faces
• 3GL is always present
• Forms needs Java (PJCs)
• Highly interactive UI Forms
• Apples and oranges (light client vs. heavy
  client)
• ADF Faces is much better than plain vanilla HTML,
  though
• Prebuilt components ADF Faces
• Forms has 22 (8 of which are drawing shapes)
• ADF Faces has nearly 100 (some are not visual)

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Other Comparisons

• Development experience
• Forms declarative and visual with some PL/SQL
• ADF Faces declarative and visual with some Java
  (and Expression Language)
• Future
• Forms future is solid support to 2012
• Functionally stable, no new features
• Still part of Oracle Applications (E-Business
  Suite)
• ADF Faces very new technology
• Likely to change much in short term
• Nothing in J2EE lasts very long
• J2EE is Oracles focus

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It is a Suggested Path

• JDeveloper is a J2EE tool
• Supports any style of J2EE code
• Less need to think about plumbing
• Before ADF Faces, little guidance for suggested
  path
• Productivity withChoice
• The myth for Formsdevelopers
• How to choose?

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What Do You Need to Start?

• Language skills needed
• Java is omnipresent
• But only at a scripting level
• Still need a Java architect on the project
• XML is a handy skill
• If you know elements and attributes, thats
  enough
• HTML is not really used in ADF Faces
• Helps to know what an HTML table is
• ADF development method
• ADF Business Components

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Can ADF Faces Help You?

• It can help shops that have J2EE experts
• J2EE experts will be more productive
• They need to learn the ADF process
• It can also help shops who have traditional
  non-J2EE Oracle developers
• Forms and PL/SQL developers will be productive
  with the declarative tools
• With training, they can write Java extensions
• Much of the complexity is hidden
• They need a J2EE expert to guide them and code
  the internal, complex stuff

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Summary

• Frameworks help development
• Forms is a framework
• Usually, not so easy for J2EE applications
• ADF is a framework and it also helps
• ADF Faces comes close to Forms
• Nearly-equal productivity
• Extremely rich component set
• Support for declarative and visual programming
• Requires a bit of ramp up time
• Its J2EE-compliant and you stillneed a J2EE
  architect

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• Books co-authored with Dr. Paul Dorsey, Avrom
  Roy-Faderman, Duncan Mills
• Personal web site
• http//ourworld.compuserve.com/
  homepages/Peter_Koletzke

http//www.quovera.com

• Founded in 1995 as Millennia Vision Corp.
• Profitable for 7 years without outside funding
• Consultants each have 10 years industry
  experience
• Strong High-Tech industry background
• 200 clients/300 projects
• JDeveloper Partner
• More technical white papers and presentations on
  the web site

Comingsoon