François Degrelle

May 2012
 Summary

 Why ? (use Java Beans)

 What ? (is it)
 How ? (to use)
 Where ? (to find -The PJC/Java Beans’ library)
 Case study – the Forms Look and Feel project
 LAF – The Demo
 Relevant Links

Oracle Forms Java Bean integration May 2012

  Why ? (use Java Beans)

 Customize, extend the user interface

 Extend existing widget behaviour
 Add new widgets
 Re-implement lost features (mouse, keyboard events)
 Add new features

Oracle Forms Java Bean integration May 2012

 Some examples

 A « menu » kind of Text Item

 A Java calendar
 An HTML browser
 A Swing Jtable integration
 Direct Print to a local printer
 ...

Oracle Forms Java Bean integration May 2012

  What ? (is it)

External Java Code embeded in the Forms application

• Java Beans
(an open window to everything possible)

• Pluggable Java Components (PJCs)

(An access point to the underlying standard widget)

Oracle Forms Java Bean integration May 2012

Oracle Forms Java Bean integration May 2012
  How ? (to use)
 Copy the JAR file to the <FORMS_HOME>/forms/java
folder

 Update the <FORMS_HOME>/server/formsbeb.cfg file

archive=frmall.jar,laf_11112.jar
archive_jini=frmall_jinit.jar,htmlpane.jar

 Update the Forms module

(Bean Area or Item Implementation Class property)

Oracle Forms Java Bean integration May 2012

  Where ? (to find - The PJC/Java Beans’ library )

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/developer-tools/forms/

http://forms.pjc.bean.over-blog.com/
Over 100 free Plug-ins
 How tos / Articles
 Links to other Java Beans’ providers

Oracle Forms Java Bean integration May 2012

The Forms Look and Feel Project

May 2012
 Introduction
 What is it ?
 How it works ?
 Demo
 Where to download the project ?

May 2012
 Introduction

 Change easily the look of the Forms application.

 Have a more « Web » look.

 Externalize the graphical information.

 Add brand new functions.

May 2012
  Change easily the look of the Forms application
Draw gradient backgrounds,
images, shapes and strings on the
Change the look
canvas
of the GUIs’
elements

Change the look

of the Forms’
containers

Give table-blocks
an « HTML » style

May 2012
  Externalize the graphical information

Most of the graphical information is read from an external CSS file.

The painting is made at runtime by reading the required tags, then applying the settings through the Java Bean.

canvasEbay {
type:canvas
gradient-colors:r255g255b204,r255g255b255
gradient-vcycle:/2
gradient-hcycle:0
image1:/ebay.jpg,10,1,.8
image2:/ebay_line.jpg,30,74,.6,560,5
}
tableHeaderEbay {
type:header
font-family: Arial;
font-size:12
font-weight:bold
frame-color:r250g83b12
inside-color:r255g204b0
font-color:r0g0b204
shade-color:r255g255b204
frame-width:2
frame-rounded-border: 10
transparency:.8
text-align:left
text-align-offset:5
}

May 2012
 Have a more « WEB » look on table-blocks

May 2012
 Add some new functions

• Handle menus at runtime (add, enable, disable, show, hide, remove options).
• Handle frames at runtime (add, move, modify, hide).
• Play pre-loaded sounds.
• Receive external asynchronous messages.
• Draw graphics anywhere on the screen.
• Display input dialog boxes.
• Color Chooser.
• Add Items at runtime (Text Items, check-boxes, buttons, images, sliders).
• Handle HTML Maps.
• Display Google Charts.
• Display Swing Jtable coloured LOVs.
• Display dynamic popup menus.
• Display popup messages.
• Display Images in a Spinner component.
• …

May 2012
 What is it ?

 a PL/SQL library

That includes the functions and the procedures to read the tags
from the CSS file and decorate the dialogs.

 a JAR file

That includes the Java Beans and the PJCs.

 a CSS file

That includes the tags’ sections.

May 2012
 The PL/SQL library (laf.pll)

It contains the functions and the procedures needed to open the CSS file,
read the tags from it, then perfom the drawing job through the
associated Java Bean’s methods.

 Open and read the CSS file.

PKG_LOOK_AND_FEEL.Open_Css()

 Draw objects on the canvas.

PKG_LOOK_AND_FEEL.Paint_Canvas()

 Decorate the given table-block.

PKG_LOOK_AND_FEEL.Paint_Block()

 Set global properties for every GUIs widgets.

PKG_LOOK_AND_FEEL.Set_GUI_Properties()

May 2012
 The JAR file (laf.jar)

It contains Java Beans to perform all the graphical operations,

and PJCs to overload the common Forms widgets.

The Java Bean allows to manage the following aspects:

 Drawing shapes on the current canvas (images, lines, rectangles and strings).
 Loading and playing sounds.
 Dynamically handling menus - add, remove, enable, disable, show and hide menu
options at runtime.
 Dynamically handling frames – add, remove, modify, move, show and hide frames at
runtime.
 Display single or multi-line input dialog box.
 Transform the Forms into a Socket Server, able to receive external asynchronous
messages.
 Display texts anywhere on the canvas during a given time.
 Change fonts and colors for menu bar, window caption, status bar and tabs.
 Pick a color from a JColorChooser.
 Turn simple images into sensitive areas you can click on.

May 2012
The PJCs tend to give a more « Windows XP » look with the use of gradients.

They also extend the standard behavior of the common Forms items:

 Buttons with mixed text and image, and mouse-on, mouse-over events.

 Text items that permit sending events back to Forms (last key typed with key char, key code
and key modifier).

 Blinking text items.

 Hyperlink sort of text items.

 Extended lists (multiple selection – sorted lists).

 Text items with background gradients.

 Text items able to render HTML contents or handle huge texts like CLOBs or external text
files.

May 2012
 The CSS file

It contains the different tags, grouped in five different section’s types:

 type:canvas
That contains tags to decorate a canvas

 type:title
That contains tags to draw a table-block title area

 type:header
That contains tags to draw a table-block header area

 type:body
That contains tags to draw a table-block body area

 type:gui
That contains tags to manage the common GUIs elements

May 2012
Title section’s tags Header section’s tags Body section’s tags

May 2012
 How it works?

 The Forms side

Read the CSS file, then decorate the elements by calling
the Java methods - Set_Custom_Property().

 The Java side

Use the Java methods to paint the Forms elements.
setProperty() and getProperty()

May 2012
• The Forms side

When-New-Form-Instance trigger

May 2012
 • The Java side

• When-Timer-Expired trigger
Colorize
widgets

Draw shapes

Draw images

Re-draw
buttons Paint gradients

May 2012
Look and Feel Project Demo

May 2012
 Some links

 Oracle Forms Look and Feel project Web site (documentation and download)
http://fdtool.free.fr/LAF/doc/Oracle_Forms_Look_and_Feel_project.htm

 Look and Feel project dedicated forum

http://forms-pjc-bean.space-forums.com/look-and-feel-project-f4.html

 Forms Java Beans and PJCs’ library

http://forms.pjc.bean.over-blog.com/

 Francois Degrelle’s blog

http://fdegrelle.over-blog.com/

The Forms Look and Feel Project is free. There is no license attached.
You can use, modify and distribute without any restriction at all.

It is neither provided nor supported by Oracle

May 2012
Questions
THANK YOU