Client Wrapper Utility

Normally each application section in the Forms configuration file (formsweb.cfg) specifies the JVM that the client must use.  Thus if you want to allow different users to use different JVMs, you have to configure multiple application sections in the Forms configuration file. Moreover, each user needs to be aware of the JVM they are running and use the correct URL to invoke the Forms application.

Sometimes there are situations where the user doesn't know which JVM they have installed and therefore doesn't know which URL to use.  This is where the Client Wrapper Utility can help.  It is a mechanism that allows a user to run a Forms application using the default JVM of their browser.

This utility is especially handy for customers who have users that may not necessarily be under their administrative control.  For example, for users who run your appliation from the internet.

What does it do?

Normally when a user starts a Forms application, the URL will look something like this:

http://<host>:<port>/forms90/f90servlet?config=myApp

In the Forms Configuration File, you would have an entry for myApp which might look like this:

[myApp]
form=myApp.fmx
...

Assuming you have a default setup, this would use JInitiator as the client JVM.  Perhaps you have some users who use the Sun Java Plugin instead.  They would require a different configuration, for instance:

[myApp_jpi]
form=myApp.fmx
baseHTMLJInitiator=basejpi.htm
baseHTMLie=basejpi.htm
...

But those users would require a differnet URL:

http://<host>:<port>/forms90/f90servlet?config=myApp_jpi

You then may also have some users who are using the Internet Explorer Native JVM, which would also require a different configuration and URL.

Some customers have the requirement that they don't necessarily know which JVM a user has installed, and therefore don't know which URL to give them.  In this case, the Client Wrapper Utility will resolve this issue by allowing the user to run with whatever the default the JVM of their browser is.

How does it work?

Instead of using the normal Forms URL (which is actually a different URL for each JVM), the user will launch a single URL independent of which JVM they are using.  Here is an example:

http://<host>:<port>/forms90/ClientWrapperLaunch?config=myApp

This will start an invisible Java Applet running in the default JVM the user happens to have.  The Applet introspects the JVM that is running, and compares it to a list that is passed in using Applet parameters.  That list contains the various URLs that you have configured, and the Client Wrapper will launch the appropriate one.

Thus a user ends up automatically running the correct URL for their browser.

Forms Versions

While this utility has only been tested with Oracle Forms 10g (9.0.4), it should work for any version of Forms on the web.