DIfferent UI development tool

Jaise James

Reputable Poster
Hello

Has any one come across a different UI development tool other than the OMW to develop front end application within E1. Basically, we find the front end has lot of limitations and were wondering if anyone has used any other UI development tools that will work within E1
 
Hi Jaise,

Object Browser is a good front end substitute for OMW, but the underlying development tools are the same. I don't think there is a way around this. Can you share the limitations that you mention?
 
Hello Hari,

We are developing certain custom app to look more like a standard Web application with custom buttons and screen. I am sure we can do all this using OMW, but will require lot of work. I was wondering, if there was anything available. I like the new ALta design but seems like that mostly done outside of OMW.
 
The short answer to your question is no, you still have to use FDA to build a JDE application. The long answer depends on what you're trying to do. With the newest tools release there is some scope for using ADF to develop new JDE applications which are embedded inside the JDE container. This will give you the ability to make completely custom apps but the downside is you lose a lot of the functionality of FDA in terms of APIs etc. If your application is completely custom this is probably not such a big deal will probably be your best option (assuming you're willing to take on the latest tools releases and be on the bleeding edge of JDE technology). Another approach is to make use of the new AIS solution for JDE (again latest tools and bleeding edge). The benefit is that you can make use of all of the business logic locked up in JDE forms at the moment. The downside is that the performance and scalability of this solution is yet to be determined. You'll also be developing your app outside of the JDE container so depending on what SSO type options you have there may be an extra login. Users also won't be able to link to other JDE apps easily (you can use URL links but it is a bit of a hack). A third option is to use a third party integration layer to develop your custom apps. We've done this using our tools for a number of clients with applications built in web, .net, java or mobile (iOS, Android and Windows). This is suitable where the solution is for a specific purpose and you need a feature rich interface for your users or you need the application to make use of other technologies. Again you lose the tight coupling with JDE in terms of the app not being inside the JDE container. You also need to consider that any business logic which is only available in forms will need to be replicated as you're effectively building an integration.
 
Hello Hari,

We are developing certain custom app to look more like a standard Web application with custom buttons and screen. I am sure we can do all this using OMW, but will require lot of work. I was wondering, if there was anything available. I like the new ALta design but seems like that mostly done outside of OMW.

Then how about developing using BPEL on Oracle SOA Suite - and integrating your web application through SOAP into JDE using a BSSV Service ? That would probably be your best alternative and in line with Oracle Fusion for the future....
 
Starting in 9.1.5.3 there is support for ADF applications within E1. Specifically, the Work Center Load Review Calendar is a new app using ADF and communicating through AIS. Based on the stuff we saw last week, it appears AIS is the preferred gateway based on it's simplicity and ability to leverage existing apps (not just functions). I'm looking forward to developing in this :)
 
Starting in 9.1.5.3 there is support for ADF applications within E1. Specifically, the Work Center Load Review Calendar is a new app using ADF and communicating through AIS. Based on the stuff we saw last week, it appears AIS is the preferred gateway based on it's simplicity and ability to leverage existing apps (not just functions). I'm looking forward to developing in this :)

I'll be curious to see how the AIS solution performs in that you'll still need a full JDE web session on the web server, an AIS server and then an ADF web session (if I understand the architecture correctly). I'm also curious to see how it scales to more complex integrations. The examples are for simple apps like P01012 but what happens with something like P13714. Another question mark I have is what happens if you make a change to the app that you're integrating with? If you add a field to a form do all of the field id's get reset which means you have to completely remap your AIS interface? If you apply an ESU do you get the same issue? Will an upgrade to 9.2 mean all of your AIS interfaces need to be redone?

I can see the benefit of it in that it enables all of the business logic currently locked up in JDE forms to be made available so certainly intriguing. I still remember developing my first JDE World integration using a terminal screen scraper to achieve basically the same thing so it seems we've come full circle...
 
Yes, I'm curious to see it all work in scale as well. The AIS server server is very light, the load is on the HTML server that runs the app in "silent" mode through the formservice. There is an optional mapping layer in AIS that (I believe) handles the control ID pairing through an XML config. From what I understand, that can be used to handle changes to the app. I'll be looking at that very soon.
 
Thanks for all your suggestions. We have a meeting with Oracle to discuss these options and decide the best path forward. We are also considering using a standard .net application to call all BSFN within E1 using BSSV.
 
If you are looking to just call a BSFN through .NET, the simpler approach would be an XML CallObject solution. No business services server or BSSV required.

Craig
 
Hi Jaise

What are the limitations that you're seeing with the current toolset ? I'd be interested in understanding that.
 
Hi Jaise

What are the limitations that you're seeing with the current toolset ? I'd be interested in understanding that.

Do you mean what are the limitations with the current toolset in terms of web application UI compared to what is supported by modern browsers? That is a very long list. A prime example is a recent JDE Labs video that was published from Collab.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdxdIrpcNyI
If you go to about 22 seconds in (you'll need to be quick or you'll miss it) you'll see an example of a IoT solution built in 9.1. The reality is that the JDE form is on the left and in the CafeOne iframe on the right is a custom web application that was written in ASP.NET. You can't achieve that using a pure JDE form. If you want your entire application to have that kind of UI experience then you need to build in something other than the JDE tools.
 
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