Hi All,

We have an application running in Forms 4.5 (with crystal report). This application is fully functioning and we are planning to use it for next 5-6 years at least.

Since this is in Forms 4.5 we are unable to make any changes ro enhancement etc.

We have 2 choices:
- Upgrade to the Oracle Forms version which is being currently support by Oracle (probably 11i or something close to it)
- Upgrade the entire application to something else totally different like web based etc.

I’m requesting for suggestions with pros and cons and would appreciate any kind recommendation or comment.

Thank You,
Sandy

Hello Sandy,

Well at the very least you should consider upgrading to version 10g or 11g of forms which are web based (forms become web enabled @ 9i) before migrating to a different technology (java, adf, apex, etc.). The reason for this is that you stated the application is fully functional and that you planned on using it for 5-6 more years.

Upgrading to 10g or 11g is the most cost /time efficient way to modernize your application. Depending on the size and complexity of your app, migrating to a different technology can take long months or even years to migrate...

No matter what you may hear, Oracle is committed to continuing the development and support of forms (read their statement of direction here: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/or...d-3-129969.pdf). Many organizations are in a rush to get off of forms because they think they have to and are not moving away for the right reasons. Many dollars and man hours have been wasted.

My company, PITSS (PITSS - Modernization Experts Oracle Forms to ADF, APEX, Java) is an Oracle Partner specializing in Oracle Forms modernization. If you have more detailed questions we would be happy to recommend solutions. And believe me, my responses above are totally neutral because we help clients upgrade/migrate to whatever they want so there is no additional benefit to me if you decide to stick with forms.

I hope I was able to bring you some clarity to your situation.

Best Regards,
Jason Marra

Thanks Jason. It was very useful information.

Or if you want to keep the product as client server then at least upgrade to oracle forms 6i, which is available on oracle.com and the terminal patches are available via metalink. It is a full development package that supports forms, reports, and graphs. YOu just install the runtime engines for the non-developers.