Oracle Forms: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Oracle Forms is an easy to use Rapid Application Development (RAD) environment for developing database applications. The language used inside is PL/SQL.

The environment notably supplies built-in record creation, query, and update modes, each with its own default data manipulations. This eliminates the need to program common and tedious operations, such as creating dynamic SQL, sensing changed fields, and locking rows.

The various record modes assume a complex built-in algorithm, consisting of functions which occur at critical steps in the processing of records, the receipt of keyboard strikes, and the receipt of mouse movements. Different functions are called before, during, and after each critical step.

Each function initially contains a default action or nothing. Programming Oracle Forms therefore generally consists of modifying the contents of these functions in order to alter the default behavior.

As a result of this strategy, it is possible to create a number of default form layouts which possess complete database functionality yet contain no programmer-written code at all.

Oracle Forms had its origins in a character-cell video tool called FastForms which accompanied Oracle version 5. Oracle Forms version 4, which accompanied Oracle version 6, featured a common graphical interface designed to operate under Windows and X. Due to conflicting operational paradigms, Oracle Forms version 5, which accompanied Oracle version 7, featured custom graphical modes tuned especially for each of the major systems. However, its internal programmatic interface remained system independent.

In the Internet era, Oracle Forms version 6, which accompanied Oracle version 8, included a Forms Server which solved the problem of adapting Oracle Forms to the Worldwide Web paradigm, without incurring any changes in its programmatic interface.

The naming and numbering system applied to Oracle Forms subsequently underwent several changes due to marketing factors, without altering the essential nature of the product. The ability to code in Java, as well as PL/SQL, was added in this period.