Oracle8i Web Development (Paperback)

by Bradley D. Brown (Author) "With the exploding growth of the Internet, choosing the right hardware for a Web-based application is critical to a successful deployment..." (more)
Key Phrases: cartridge servers, cartridge server process, tuscco dbl, Oracle Forms, Node Manager, Oracle Reports (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Although this title doesn't include the "Tips & Techniques" label like some of the other Oracle Press installments do, it falls into that category. Oracle8i Web Development is a collection of diverse overviews, specific techniques, and recommendations for the wide range of interrelated Oracle tools for creating professional Web applications.

This is not a start-to-finish tutorial but rather a tool for developers already familiar with the Oracle architecture and Oracle Application Server (OAS). It is fast moving, with targeted discussions of issues ranging from hardware preparations to HTML/JavaScript/XML coding to miscellaneous development tools. There are plenty of useful tidbits in here for experienced Oracle Web coders, but those newer to the technology platform will likely find the presentation a bit choppy.

One of the most useful sections of this book is its coverage of the WebServer Generator and Oracle Designer packages. Here the reader will learn about the generated procedures and the WebServer Generator's key preferences. Other key chapters on Perl and Java are also useful, albeit rather brief.

An appendix of useful reference Web sites does a good job of rounding out this utilitarian guide. While this title is primarily a compendium of key information and not a comprehensive manual for Web site development, it ties together content about various products that isn't usually found in a single source. --Stephen W. Plain

Topics covered: Hardware and installation considerations, WebDB, 24/7 reliability, Oracle8i standard packages, HTML/JavaScript/XML coding for Oracle Web Servers, Oracle Designer, Oracle Developer Forms/Reports, Java & Oracle Application Server, LiveHTML, Oracle Internet Commerce Server, and useful third-party development tools.

Review
"...discusses a wide range of available database and business applications and presents a host of real-world, helpful tips and techniques..." -- Paper Clips print publication, Bridgewater, New Jersey. January 2000

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1119 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies (December 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072122420
• ISBN-13: 978-0072122428
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,831,123 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great start, but lacks Java/EJB description, February 14, 2000

By A Customer

I honestly expected much more when buying this book. After all, Oracle's promoting Java as a language of choice.

After half an hour of reading, I had an impression of "yet another PL/SQL book".

Do not get me wrong. It covers most technologies built into Oracle Application Server (by the way, the name of the book is "Oracle 8i web development", not "OAS web development"), and does it in details.

However, the author(s) practically altogether miss the concept of EJB, the most valuable part of Oracle 8i/OAS. There are better technologies to do server side scripting than Java servlets. OAS cartridges aren't the best solution in most of the cases either. EJB is the technology that makes many shops install Oracle8i/OAS, and it is _not_ described properly in the book.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great PL/SQL cartridge coverage, limited information on Java, March 4, 2000

By	Eric L. Ma (Berkeley Heights, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This is a great book on OAS 4.0.7 new features with respect to PL/SQL cartridges. The author's previous book covers OWAS 3.0 so this can be considered as the second edition. I would give it a 5-star rating if the title is along the line of "Oracle OAS 4 PL/SQL Cartridge Application Development". The author gave detailed tips and techniques on writing PL/SQL stored procedures that dynamically generate HTML web pages using Oracle database, and every new feature in OAS 4.0.7 PL/SQL cartridge is covered. It also boasts excellent sections on JavaScript, WebDB, OAS installation and configuration, security, and design and development tools.

However, the same cannot be said about the coverage of Java-related features of OAS 4.0.x. There are only less than 50 pages in a 1000-page book titled "Oracle8i Web Development" that deal with Java in some detail. Maybe this book was written when OAS 4.0.8 was still under development, and the author did not cover the JWeb and JCORBA cartridges available with OAS 4.0.7, probably knowing they will be deprecated in OAS 4.0.9 and up. So don't be misled by the book's title - it has little to do with Oracle 8i! If you want to learn the Java specific features of OAS 4.0.8 (JServlet and JSP), wait for the next edition of this book.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Oracle Web Development Reference, February 2, 2000

By	[e-mail] (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews

Anyone who is serious about developing an Oracle web application needs to buy this book. This is by far the BEST book I have seen for the application developer. This is not the typical administration oriented book or just a detailed description of Oracle documentation. They cover just about EVERYTHING, from hardware to site design to OAS install, configuration and tuning to WebDB to HTML, JavaScript, listeners (not just Oracle's), XML, Designer Generation (i.e., WSG), Security, Developer (particularly reports deployed on the Web), Java and Perl Cartridges (even some material on Fujitsu's COBOL cartridge), Oracle Internet Commerce Server, and many utilities to assist web development such as Paint Shop Pro, TOAD, WS_FTP, HTML editors, debugging code and a superb section on web sites for developers. And even more.

Have I got you salivating yet? In the two hours I spent perusing this book last night I found ideas and techniques for solutions to 2 or 3 problems I have been seeking for some time. The complement to this book is the TUSC group's other Oracle Press book, Oracle Application Server Web Toolkit Reference. You MIGHT need an HTML and JavaScript reference occasionally and good PL/SQL reference material. Choose O'Reilly for these, and armed with the other two books you can be the Web App BATMAN!