Please follow as closely as is relevant for your article the general approach outlined in the template, in terms of an introduction, body of the article, and conclusion. Word counts for articles are approximately 2,500-3,000 for Oracle Magazine. (Please download this Word document to use as a template for step-by-step articles; we'll add more templates in the future.)

Avoid any special formatting your document; use the default heading 1, heading 2, and normal styles for text in a Word 95 document, or simply submit an ASCII plain text file.

If your article includes graphics, long code listings, or screen shots, please include these as separate files, clearly labeled and cross-referenced in your text. Other things to keep in mind:

• Preferred format for technical illustrations is Illustrator or Visio.
  
• Screen captures should be saved as GIF or simple Windows screen captures and embedded in a document separate from the main text.
  
• Provide a list of internet links to more information.
  
• Please include your full name, e-mail address, postal mailing address, and daytime phone number with each article submission.
  

Basic Article Template

I. Introduction
Introduction to the article should include the context of the business problem and the technical issues. Technical issues could include the reasons for choosing a particular approach (connectivity constraints, desire to leverage or reuse code, an architectural change, and so forth).

Example:  "We needed to replace an existing client/sever application that accessed an Oracle database with a JavaServer Faces (JSF) application, and we needed to do it fast. We used Oracle JDeveloper and Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) to develop the application, because it minimized the amount of coding and it integrated quickly and easily with Oracle Database."

II. Body of the Article
Provide a short summary of what readers will need before getting started, and an overview of what they'll learn in your article. Is this a 4-hour process or a weekend's worth of work? When they're done, will they have a completed application, a simple report, or will their operational system run faster? This is the 50,000-foot-level view of what the article is going to cover.

Example:  "This article provides a short tutorial on using Oracle JDeveloper and Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) to design, develop, compile, test, debug, and deploy a simple JavaServer Faces (JSF) application that accesses data in an Oracle9i Database. The article assumes that Oracle JDeveloper is installed and running on your workstation. You'll also need access to an Oracle database instance (Oracle9i Database Release 2 or later), which can be installed on the same workstation."

The article can then launch into the step-by-step process of how to do it (if it's a step-by-step article). If it's not a step-by-step, but rather a case study or overview of a technology or product, please include a simple example scenario (or several short scenarios, at various points throughout the article) to illustrate key concepts.

III. Conclusion
Summarize the key points you made in the article, what readers should have learned, and where to go for more information.

IV. Author's Bio
Include contact information (email address), your employer or company name, any published writing credits that are relevant, and your area of expertise.

Submit your article, proposal, or any questions to opubedit_us@oracle.com.