Oracle’s J Developer – Java App Development simplified

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Guest Blogger

Since 1977, the Oracle corporation has specialized in the production and marketing of computer components. This includes hardware systems as well as a number of software programs. Though the company focuses more on the development of databases and business management software such as ERPs (Enterprise resource planning) and SCMs (Supply chain management), it also dabbles in application development programs.

 

The logic that drives Oracle’s applications development software division is the need to make it easier for programmers and users to use Oracle products. As such software packages such as J Developer make strategic business sense as the user will have everything they need. That way they engender a type of brand loyalty since given the ability to create applications that can run on Oracle products, the end user will not feel the need to rely on other brand products to satisfy their needs.

 

J Developer is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that developers can use to create applications. The integrated features of this Oracle software can prop up the entire life development cycle of the application The main advantages of this IDE lie in the fact that its completely free of charge and offers development features in HTML, SQL, XML Java, JavaScript, PHP and BPEL. Oracles J Developer simplifies the whole process of application development by offering the developer a more declarative and visual approach to the whole process. This visual, declarative approach of the J Developer lets programmers visually alter code layout and properties by simply regenerating key code components.

 

There area a variety of benefits that application developer’s can enjoy by simply using J Developer. Firstly, this free Oracle software is compatible some of the more popular open-source tools and frameworks. It is slightly similar in design to other popular IDEs such as Visual studio and Netbeans. This simply means that the learning curve is simplified and programmers that are familiar with other IDEs will find it relatively easy to use J Developer. The close knit nature of the IDE also means it’s easy to integrate underlying database components; be it data or objects, into the application code. Thanks to the visual component of J Developer, making alterations to code is also simplified.

 

There are a number of platforms that Java application developers can opt to use when building applications, including eclipse, Netbeans and J Developer. Most developers however, would directly opt for J Developer. Aside from the above practical advantages, this Oracle software also offers the developer functional advantages along with simplicity. J Developer dual functionality also allows for the development of desktop apps along with Java based applications. Furthermore, it comes in several editions that give the developer choice in terms of what functionalities to install. After all it would be a waste of time (and more importantly space) to install features that are most likely never going to be used.

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Solving WebLogic Server and Memory Hanging Problems

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Guest Blogger

WebLogic Server and memory issues are not uncommon from time to time. This is quite natural for many applications especially when in the growth period of the application or during processes that involve adding of new features and functionality or new users to the system. In some cases developers who write code are not necessarily able to predict how applications handle the load or are used. The net effect of this is a performance problem with some of the commonly seen problems being application crashes resulting in Out of memory errors and slow response times.  The good news is that there are technical reasons why systems function in the manner they do and that these performance problems are solvable.

 

The main challenge when trying to fix WebLogic Server and memory issues is getting processes in place one at a time to handle the problem until the system becomes more stable. The next step involves you changing your process so as to enable it to incorporate best practices in your development life cycle which helps you avoid similar problems in the future. Technical commitment to the project is required when trying to identify and solve the issues at hand. Solving your WebLogic Server and memory issues requires you to begin your efforts with the fundamentals. It is generally recommended that you think about creating small independent work groups to kick start WebLogic Server and memory issue repairs in the following areas:

 

JAVA:   This is the foundation of the WebLogic server application. The best place to get information on a poorly performing application is from that application itself. Start by getting thread dumps from your applications then move on to profiling the memory.

 

Networking: Most modern applications use a network. As such when searching for the cause of the problem it is important to remember to look at the network. Placing a NIC card in promiscuous mode or using TCP dumps can assist you in establishing network related problems. Looking at all the layers in the network including NICS’s (Network Interface cards) on boxes, Load Balancers, firewalls and any other traffic routing applications is also a good idea.

 

N- Tier: N-Tier applications typically depend on other systems. As such having a good understanding or familiarizing yourself on how all applications work assist you in trouble shooting issues by looking at the big picture.

 

Operating systems: Since applications run on operating systems, performance issues can be the result of improperly configured systems. Looking for systems logs, CPU context switches, full disks and memory use helps identify operating system related signs of WebLogic Server and memory performance issues.

 

Databases: If your application uses a database it is important to keep an eye on the database and its processes for potential issues related to long running quires and log files.

 

In more cases than not WebLogic server and memory performances issues can be found in one of the above fundamental areas. Understanding these key fundamental areas plays a huge role in helping to successfully identify and solve application problems.

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. How to configure Apache Web Server to work with Oracle WebLogic

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Guest Blogger

Apache web server much like most other basic servers handle basic HTTP requests. The Oracle WebLogic server is a Java server that offers its users more functionality than other available server options. This server can be configured to work with Apache web server by “forwarding” dynamic pages to the Oracle WebLogic server and handling static pages. This allows for server request that need Oracle WebLogic’s functionality to be sent to or directed to that server. In order for you to accomplish this you need to start by installing the HTTP server Plug. The following is a step by step description to help you complete this task:

 

Step One: Downloading the plug in

This step involves you downloading and extracting the plug in (which will be in .zip format) some where on your computer. Once you have accomplished this, the next thing you need to do is open the containing folder then locate the plug-ins in the Windows “win\32” folder. The “win\32” folder will contain more than one version of the plug in. In order to select the right one you will need to follow Oracle’s Apaches configuration table 3-2. Once you’ve determined and located the appropriate plug-in the next thing you need to do is copy it on to the APACHE_HOME\modules folder.

 

Step Two: Editing the httpd.comf file

The httpd.comf file needs to be edited after successful installation of the plug in. In order to do this you need to locate the installation directory, open the “conf” folder and double click on the file to open it. The file you require should open in Notepad. If this does not happen you can alternatively open Notepad first then try accessing the file from there. Once you have accomplished this you need to add the line “LoadModule weblogic_module modules\mod_wl_20.so to the file so as to ensure that the Oracle WebLogic Server modules will be included in the Apache web server.

 

Step Three: Defining web logic parameters

The next step involves you defining Oracle WebLogic Server parameters by entering an IfModule to block the file. For configuration of a clustered WebLogic server you will be required to define only the WebLogic Cluster parameter. In cases where the WebLogic Server is not clustered you will need to define both the WebLogic Port parameters as well as the WebLogic Host parameters.

 

To do this you will need to type in <IfModule mod_weblogic.c> on the first line. On the second line you will need to enter: WebLogicHost myweblogic.server.com (Replacing “myweblogic.server.com” with your actual server). On the third line type in: WebLogicPort 5001, (similarly replacing the WebLogic port number for the actual one). The last step to defining WebLogic parameters requires you to close the block by typing <IfModule>.

 

Step Four: Setting up proxy request.

This is the final step to configure Apache Web Server to work with Oracle WebLogic Server. To proxy request by MIME enter the line MatchExpression to the IfModule block (e.g. “MatchExpression *.abc”.

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