Transcript Document

Introduction to ADF Faces
in JDeveloper 10g —
Is it Oracle Forms
Developer Yet?
Peter Koletzke
Technical Director &
Principal Instructor
Moi
1
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?
2
On the Positive Side…
If we do not find
anything pleasant, at least
we shall find something new.
Si nous ne trouvons pas des choses
agréables, nous trouverons du
moins des choses nouvelles.
—Voltaire (1694-1778), Candide
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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.
4
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
Application Client
Swing
model
Swing event
handlers
Web Client
Swing visual
aspect
JSP
ADF UIX
ADF JClient
JSF
Controller
Struts
JSF
Model
ADF Bindings
ADF Data Controls
Business Services
EJB Session
Beans
Web Services
ADF Business
Components
Java Classes
Business Services
EJB Session
Beans
Web Services
ADF Business
Components
Java Classes
• 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
Struts
JSF
• 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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Application Client
Swing
model
Swing event
handlers
Swing visual
aspect
View
Web Client
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 (1751–1881),
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
<f:facet name="footer">
<af:panelButtonBar
binding="#{backing_Deptapp.panelButtonBar1}">
<af:commandButton
actionListener="#{bindings.First.invoke}"
action="First" text="First"
disabled="#{!bindings.First.enabled}"
binding="#{backing_Deptapp.commandButton1}"/>
<af:commandButton
actionListener="#{bindings.Previous.invoke}"
action="Previous" text="Previous"
disabled="#{!bindings.Previous.enabled}"
binding="#{backing_Deptapp.commandButton2}"/>
</af:panelButtonBar>
</f:facet>
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JSF Calling Sequence
Browser
URL
Web Tier JVM
Deptapp.jsp
HTML/JSP
JSF
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
Text input
LOV item
Read-only
item
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
Search form
Teeth
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Benefits of ADF Faces
• “Smart” controls – partial page submit
– AJAX
• Asynchronous JavaScript and XML
• A.k.a., Partial Page Rendering
Ajax provides
– JavaScript effects without
JavaScript coding
a cleaner user
interface!
• Support in JDeveloper
– Drag and drop automatic binding
– Property settings
– Expression builders
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Development Method
1. Create application workspace
2. Create Business Services and Model
project
3. Create View and Controller project
4. 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
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It’s 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 Oracle’s 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 with
Choice”
• The myth for Forms
developers
– 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”, that’s
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
It’s J2EE-compliant and you still
need a J2EE architect
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
Designer
Handbook
JDeveloper 3
Handbook
Developer
Advanced
Forms & Reports
ORACLE9i
JDeveloper
Handbook
Coming
soon
ORACLE
JDeveloper 10g
Handbook

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
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