Spreadsheets and adf - alternative approaches to oracle forms

Abstract

Traditionally, Oracle Forms were used to build applications which required heavy interaction with database to manipulate the data. Oracle Forms applications required the end users to have knowledge of Oracle Forms and its working. In ORMS (Oracle Retail Merchandising system), user has to navigate through multiple Forms screens to edit or insert any data. It becomes tiresome for the user. Some Forms require complex validations that need to be done in real time and hence compromising on response time and customer satisfaction. It is difficult and time consuming to insert data through Forms when the data is huge (in thousands). Oracle Forms applications are heavy weight and thus not accessible on portable devices. Another major drawback of Forms is that the cost of maintenance is high. To make the process faster and user friendly, Admin API displays and takes in the data and the operations that need to be performed on the data through spreadsheets (.xls or .ods extension). Spreadsheets are and have always been very commonly used by the retailers (the end users) for storing their data and hence retailers are comfortable with spreadsheets. The idea of Admin API is to remove all Forms screens and enable user to edit or modify data using spreadsheet upload and download. The response time for the manipulation of bulk data decreases. The user can manipulate thousands of records with a single spreadsheet upload which drastically reduces the time of operation when compared to single data manipulation through Forms. As technology is advancing, the business needs are also changing. To satisfy the changing business needs, the applications need to gear up. The Oracle Forms applications are unable to cope with the changing business needs. Hence there is a great need to migrate the Oracle Forms applications to some more efficient and reliable technology. Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) is one such emerging technology. Online Spreadsheet Editor is a migration solution from Oracle Forms to ADF. Online Spreadsheet Editor overcomes the major shortcomings of Oracle Forms and provides an efficient and easy solution to migrate the existing Oracle Forms applications.