1. Taming FRM-99999 and Other Forms Server R.6 Issues Peter Koletzke Howard Fujimoto Paper 306

2. Applicable Quote I am caught like a beast at bay. Somewhere are people, freedom, light, But all I hear is the baying of the pack, There is no way out for me. Boris Pasternak.

3. Survey Deploying on Forms Server? 6.0.5? 6.0.8 (6i)? Have never seen the FRM-99999 beast? Need to move to Forms Server? Role? DBA? Developer? Other?

4. Agenda Overview Setup checklist Application checklist Server and network checklist

5. Products We Used Oracle Application Server (OAS) 4.0.8 Sun Solaris Spyglass Now transitioned to Internet Application Server - IAS 1.0.2 (Apache) Developer Forms Server R.6.0.5, patch 4a Now called Forms Server Part of IAS Note: Examples use UNIX syntax. NT has similar commands although they may have different names.

6. What Does FRM-99999 Mean? Generic error Usually some problem with the Forms Server More common in 6.0 With R.6i, some specific errors are separated You will get a second, more-meaningful error number with FRM-99999 There is no single answer You need to know what to check There are a number of different areas You need to understand the architecture

7. Application Server Database Server Applet (JInit) Java Files Forms Files GIF Files File System Database Client Web Listener Forms Server Listener Forms Runtime Engine WWW browser

8. Main Problem Areas You have to check the entire path Incorrect setup Easy to determine You probably missed a step Forms application problem Form startup error Form runtime error Network or hardware issue Easy to blame, but rare There are some things you can test

9. Agenda Overview Setup checklist Forms application checklist Server and network checklist

12. Setup Checklist Run the OAS Admin in a browser Usually port 8888 or 9999 Connect as ADMIN Check the listener HTTP Listeners node in the navigator Check the port number and host Check the virtual path directory mapping –Use / slashes for UNIX directories –Use \ slashes for NT directories –Use / slashes for virtual directories UNIX NT

13. Setup Checklist Be sure the listener is shut down before making changes to any setting Otherwise, you may get orphaned processes These have to be killed manually from the command line The reason is that the name of the listener process ID file may be truncated if the listener is active when it is changed This file is defined in the Network screen under the listener in the OAS Admin application

14. Setup Checklist Check the application Application type = C Web Check the cartridge Virtual path mapping Shared object –Name of supporting library Entry point –Name of the function Cartridge parameters –Really important Note: The virtual path must not use a trailing slash /.

15. Cartridge Parameters Forms Server looks for certain parameters These are passed to the Forms runtime Many of these can be in the startup HTML file as well, for example: code = entry point of runform environment codebase = virtual path for runform environment baseHTML = directory and name of the startup HTML file serverPort = Forms Server listener port number module = Forms runtime parameter for the first form that will start up

16. Setup Checklist Check the Forms Server setup Use the Forms Server Setup wizard This works in 6i and later releases of 6.0 Some problems with early releases of 6.0 Examine the startup HTML file for completeness - easiest to follow an example 6i installs two files into forms60\admin\server directory –BASEJINI.HTM for use with Jinitiator –BASE.HTM for use without JInitiator –Contain values used for form startup –Pull values from FORMSWEB.CFG file –The.CFG file makes it easy to change startup parameters

17. Setup Checklist Check that the forms files are in the correct directory Be sure that the environment variables are set correctly FORMS60_MAPPING - the webtemp directory assigned in the listener directories area (actual directory name such as /home/user/temp) FORMS60_OUTPUT - also the webtemp directory (a virtual directory such as /webtemp/) FORMS60_PATH - location of the.FMX forms files UI_ICON - location of the.GIF icon files Note: NT uses \ slashes instead of / slashes to represent actual directories.

18. Agenda Overview Setup checklist Forms application checklist Server and network checklist

19. Forms Application Checklist Check the HTML startup file Be sure the form is compiled correctly All attached libraries must be compiled All database code that the form calls must be compiled Run a test form Create a simple form with an ON-LOGON trigger containing NULL (no logon) Make sure that the URL is correct Check the host, port, virtual directory, startup file name, parameters Are the forms in the proper directory?

20. Web Listener Forms Server WWW browser http://myhost:8050/prodforms/startup.html?p_empid=101&p_system=HR Form1 p_empid p_system p_empid=101 p_system=HR 1. The server and listener 1 2. The cartridge virtual path 2 3. The startup file with replaceable parameters 3 Startup HTML 4. Parameters and values 4 4 URL with Parameter Passing

21. Forms Application Checklist Turn on the client browser Java console to debug startup problems Oracle JInitiator Control Panel in the Windows start menu A message window will pop up when you access the URL Check the messages for hints on the failure

22. Java Console Message Window

23. Forms Application Checklist Forms code may cause the FRM-99999 error If it is associated with a 1412 error You tried to programmatically set the scrollbar position but the block has no scrollbar If it is associated with a 1413 error You have tried to get the scrollbar position of a block that has no scrollbar

24. Agenda Overview Setup checklist Forms application checklist Server and network checklist

25. Server and Network Checklist Check the listener In OAS Admin, click the HTTP Listeners node There should be a green flag by the listener –A red flag for applications is OK Click the Monitor icon (hourglass) –You can check for new connections with this tool Be sure that the Forms Listener is running ps -ef | grep f60 This will show Forms Server processes that are running - includes the port number Bounce the main admin listener (8888) owsctl stop then owsctl start

26. Server and Network Checklist Reload the site Use the OAS Admin screens for this Restarts all listeners and servers Restart the Forms server f60ctl stop port=9000 f60ctl start port=9000 UNIX command to test the network health ping -s myhost.corp.com 1472 -5 Tests a data transmission of 1472 bytes 5 times Check network collisions and traffic netstat -I

27. Server and Network Checklist On UNIX, use iostat to determine the workload Use top to determine the CPU drains Be sure that the Forms Server user has read and write permissions on: Directories in the virtual directory list Temporary directories Be sure that SQL*Net or Net8 are set up correctly on the app server Test using SQL*Plus Run tnsping sid on the app server where sid is the database

28. Server and Network Checklist Set the Forms Server log Use a parameter log=logfile when starting the Forms Server on the command line f60ctl start port=9000 log=svr9000.log This can also be used for the f60svrm server process (ifsrv60 on NT) Be sure the FORMS60_MAPPING environment variable is set Otherwise images may be broken (displayed incompletely) Assign it to a virtual directory Use the right kind of slashes (/)

29. Summary This is easier than it seems More often than not, everything will be OK When you have to troubleshoot, suspect all areas Use standard troubleshooting logic Check the white paper Details on the settings List of further reading Do not despair the long nights and the baying of the pack

30. Author Information Please fill out the evals - paper 306 Peter Koletzke http://www.mvsn.com http://ourworld.compuserve.com/ homepages/Peter_Koletzke Howard Fujimoto http://www.mvsn.com Our Books Oracle Developer Advanced Forms and Reports Designer Handbook, 2nd Ed. Co-authored by Dr. Paul Dorsey Osborne McGraw-Hill, Oracle Press