3
Installing as an Upgrade

This chapter explains how to install Forms Developer Release 6i when you already have a previous release of the product installed.

(Note that in earlier releases, the product was called Oracle Developer or Developer/2000. )

There are two areas to consider:

• Upgrading the product itself -- that is, installing this new version.

• Upgrading your old applications -- that is, recompiling them with this new version of the product.

3.1 Upgrading the Product

Complete Upgrade Recommended:

If you are upgrading from a previous release of this product (earlier than 6.0), it is strongly recommended that you upgrade all of your currently-installed components. This is especially important if you have been using Release 1 or 2. Because of improvements to the underlying support files, such as the Tools Utilities, GUI Common files, and Required Support Files, the older set of components cannot run with the newer set.

(Upgrading from Release 6.0 to this 6i release does not require a full reinstall.)

Name of the ORACLE_HOME directory:

If you have used previous versions of Oracle Developer on Microsoft Windows 3.x, your ORACLE_HOME directory was called ORAWIN. When you upgraded your operating system to Windows 95, 98, or NT, your old ORAWIN directory was retained.

The installation of Forms Developer Release 6i creates a new ORACLE_HOME directory. This new directory is named either ORAWIN95 (on Windows 95), ORAWIN98 (on Windows 98), or ORANT (on Windows NT). In any case, your old ORAWIN directory is not used or overwritten.

CAUTION: Do not install or build the Oracle Developer database tables until you run the appropriate upgrade script. If you have customized your product resource (.RES) files (e.g., fmrusw.res), you should back these up files before upgrading.

To Upgrade:

Use the Oracle Installer to install the new version of the product from the CD. If you are not familiar with this tool or the options, follow the instructions in the previous chapter. (For this release, the Installer uses new options.)

Remember that if you are going to deploy applications to the web, you should also install/upgrade the new version of the Forms Server, as well.

Server Considerations:

Both the CGI (Common Gateway Interface) style and the cartridge style of listener are supported in Forms Developer Release 6i.

The Oracle WebDB Listener is provided on the Forms Developer CD, and is a convenient choice, but any web server can be used.

If you are currently using Developer Release 6.0 and Oracle Application Server (OAS) Release 4.0.7, and you want to continue using OAS with Forms Release 6i, then you need to also install OAS Release 4.0.8. Be aware of the following considerations:

• You must install OAS 4.0.8 into a separate ORACLE_HOME from Forms Developer 6i.

• You must install OAS 4.0.8 into a separate ORACLE_HOME from OAS 4.0.7. Do not overlay or deinstall 4.0.7.

There also are likely to be additional cartridge upgrade requirements if you install OAS 4.0.8. See the Forms Developer Release Notes for the latest information.

3.2 Upgrading Your Applications

If you want to run your old applications (applications that were created with a version prior to Release 6) on this new version of the product, those applications need to be recompiled after you have the new product version installed.

When upgrading applications, please keep the following in mind:

• We strongly recommend that you make a backup of all modules before beginning the conversion process.

• In general, applications are upwards compatible. However, there are occasionally minor differences in functionality.

  See the sections New Features and Compatibility with Previous Releases in the online help for specifics. Additional compatibility information can be found on these websites:

  • http://www.oracle.com/tools/InternetDevTools/

  • http://technet.oracle.com/products/developer/

  Some of the functionality differences between releases can be controlled with the Forms runtime compatibility option. Using that option is explained in the online help.

• Applications that were built with Release 1, 2, or 3 of Forms Developer cannot be moved directly to this 6i release for recompile. Instead, you must first recompile them with Release 4.0, 4.5, or 5.0. After that intermediate conversion, you can then recompile them again on this release.

• Forms Developer Release 6i includes a PL/SQL conversion utility for converting modules based on PL/SQL version 1 or 2 to PL/SQL version 8, which is the version this release is based on. If you are upgrading from a release prior to Developer Release 2.0, you will need to convert all modules (Forms, Reports, Graphics, and PL/SQL libraries) to the newer version of PL/SQL. The conversion utility runs automatically whenever you open a module containing PL/SQL version 1 or 2, allowing you to interactively perform the conversion. The conversion can also be run automatically in batch mode.

  See the online help in the Builders for more detailed information on the PL/SQL conversion utility.

• If you are upgrading applications that contain user exits and user-created DLLs, those DLL files may need to be recompiled after recompiling your applications with the new release.

  Applications that make calls through the Forms Developer foreign function interface (ORA_FFI package) to 16-bit DLLs will not work under Windows due to an operating system incompatibility between 16-bit code and 32-bit executables. The DLL must be recompiled/linked as a 32-bit DLL.

• Applications that use VBX controls do not run properly under Windows 95/98/NT due to an operating system incompatibility between 16-bit VBX controls and 32-bit executables. OCX/ActiveX controls are the equivalent for a 32-bit environment.

3.2.1 Redeploying Your Applications on the Web

After you recompile your older applications with this release, they are eligible to be deployed on the web.

For instructions, consult the manual Oracle Forms Server: Deploying Forms Application to the Web, A73071. Information can also be found in the white paper Migrating SQL* Forms Applications to Internet Computing, available on the website http://technet.oracle.com/products/developer/.