Testing Oracle Forms Applications

Oracle Web Forms allows you to run Oracle Forms applications in a Java applet that runs in a browser. The applet displays the user interface and interacts with the server. Complete business logic and database access is executed on the Oracle Forms server. A special protocol that is used for communication between the server and client protocol allows the server to define how the user interface is displayed in the applet. The client uses this protocol to inform the server about user interactions such as key and mouse input.

Because of a technological shift between Oracle Web Forms versions that require alternate record/replay approaches, Silk Performer offers the following project types:

Oracle Forms 6i, 9i, 10g, 11g, 12c
Oracle EBS 11i, 12.x
Oracle Fusion 10g, 11g, 12c

See the Oracle Forms Tutorial for a complete walkthrough of the process of testing Oracle Forms applications.

Recording

When you create a new project based on one of the new project types, an additional recording profile is configured for your web browser. Recording profile settings are configured automatically for the version of Oracle Forms that you are recording.

Prerequisites

To record an Oracle Forms application you need to verify that you have downloaded all client-side software that’s required to run the Oracle Forms applet on your system. Typically all required software is downloaded automatically when you access an Oracle Forms application for the first time. Oracle uses a browser plug-in called Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to host the Java applet. Please verify that the Oracle Forms application under test is running in your browser before you begin recording.

Note: Some older Oracle Forms versions use the "JInitiator" plugin instead of a JRE.

Silk Performer’s recording approach requires a Java runtime. You must therefore configure a Java runtime for your Silk Performer project. The Java settings of your active profile will be used for recording.

Note that you must configure the base directory of your JDK and that a newer JDK will increase record and replay speed.

If you are recording on Oracle Forms 6i you must disable the Java JIT (Just-In-Time Compiler). There are several ways of accomplishing this:

Define "-Djava.compiler=NONE" in the Java runtime settings of the JInitiator properties
Define an environment variable: SET JAVA_COMPILER=NONE
Use the check box to disable the jitter in the JInitiator properties (only available since version 1.1.8.x)

If your Oracle Forms application uses a socket connection between the client and the server you must disable TCP/IP recording on the communication port. This is done via SOCKS proxy settings on the System Settings dialog.

Record the application

Begin recording by clicking the "Model Script" workflow button. Select the "Oracle Forms" recording profile in the following dialog. Enter the application's URL and begin recording.

Replaying

Recorded scripts can be replayed immediately. You can run a TryScript and use TrueLog Explorer’s enhanced feature for customizing Oracle Forms scripts. With TrueLog Explorer you can add verifications, parse values, and customize input data.

TrueLog Explorer

TrueLog Explorer shows each newly activated window as a new top-level node in a TrueLog. All actions that are performed on a window are displayed as sub nodes. When you click on a node you see all controls on the window and the state of the controls at the point of the selected action. This makes it easy for you to track the actions that transpire during replay, seeing exactly which values are changed by which actions. TrueLogs not only show you which values are changed by the client, they show you which values are changed by the server (e.g., controls may change when a button is clicked).