Download the tool here. The readme is over here. The script runs on Linux/Unix and has primarily been tested with Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g applications but should work with other BPEL or SOA frameworks.

Here is the table of contents with the links to the free chapters:

Part I: Introduction
1. BPM – Background
2. Standards in BPM
3. BPM Suite 11g – Overview

Part II: Mastering Oracle BPM 11g

4. Quick Learners Guide to Oracle BPM 11g
5. Business Process Modeling and Implementation using BPMN 2.0
6. Mastering Business Rules
7. Advanced Human Tasks
8. Developing Rich User Interfaces for BPM with ADF

Part III: Essentials of Oracle BPM Methodology

9. Planning a BPM Adoption
10. Strategic Analysis, Process Selection and Design
11. Technical Design and Project Delivery Strategies

Prepare – database

The most important part of the preparation for the installation of Oracle Enterprise Repository is the creation of tablespaces and the user that will hold the database objects.
Create the required tablespaces
You can change the names of the tablespaces and alter the path and names of the data files according to your needs. The example is based on an installation on the Windows OS. If your on Linux/Unix you probably know what to do to make it work on your platform…

CREATE TABLESPACE OER_DATA
    DATAFILE 'D:\oracle\oraclexe\oradata\XE\oer_data.dbf' SIZE 300M
 AUTOEXTEND ON NEXT 10240K MAXSIZE UNLIMITED
    EXTENT MANAGEMENT LOCAL AUTOALLOCATE
    LOGGING
    ONLINE
    SEGMENT SPACE MANAGEMENT AUTO;
 
CREATE TABLESPACE OER_LOB
    DATAFILE 'D:\oracle\oraclexe\oradata\XE\oer_lob.dbf' SIZE 300M
 AUTOEXTEND ON NEXT 10240K MAXSIZE UNLIMITED
    EXTENT MANAGEMENT LOCAL AUTOALLOCATE
    LOGGING
    ONLINE
    SEGMENT SPACE MANAGEMENT AUTO;
 
CREATE TABLESPACE OER_INDEX
    DATAFILE 'D:\oracle\oraclexe\oradata\XE\oer_index.dbf' SIZE 300M
 AUTOEXTEND ON NEXT 5120K MAXSIZE UNLIMITED
    EXTENT MANAGEMENT LOCAL AUTOALLOCATE
    LOGGING
    ONLINE
    SEGMENT SPACE MANAGEMENT AUTO;

Create the user
Change the user name and password (both OER in this case) to cater your needs.

CREATE USER OER IDENTIFIED BY OER
DEFAULT TABLESPACE OER_DATA
    TEMPORARY TABLESPACE TEMP;
 
GRANT CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW TO OER;
GRANT CREATE SEQUENCE TO OER;
GRANT CREATE SESSION TO OER;
GRANT CREATE SYNONYM TO OER;
GRANT CREATE TABLE TO OER;
GRANT CREATE TRIGGER TO OER;
GRANT CREATE VIEW TO OER;
GRANT UNLIMITED TABLESPACE TO OER;

Install OER

Us the follwing command from a dos prompt to start the OER installation. By default it will start in graphical mode. You can use the -mode option to start it in console or silent mode.

java -jar OER111150_generic.jar -log=C:\installSOA\logs\OER_install.log

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Run WebLogic Server Domain Configuration Wizard

To run the Domain Configuration Wizard on Windows you can click: Start > Programs > Oracle Products > Tools > Configuration Wizard. On any platform you can run the config script in the /common/bin/config.cmd. For example:

> cd oracle\Middleware\wlserver_10.3\common\bin
> config.cmd

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Post Install actions

To use all options in the Repository you need to install Java Web Start. To check whether Java Web Start is installed correctly use the test Java link.

In case the JNLP stuff (needed for java Web Start) doesn’t work. This Firefox JNLP fix might help you (via Andreas).

ADF is the “Paint by the Numbers” for web front end development.

The most common application integration tools/solutions used are Post-it and a paper notepad.

However the real gem I discovered during this first day was:

User Experience Design Patterns

Madhuri Kolhatkar has delivered a great presentation on the effort Oracle has put into creating and implementing User Experience Design Patterns. Extended information is available on the Usable Apps pages of the Oracle website. Great insight on how this can help you in developing and delivering your applications can for example for OBIEE be found on Design Patterns and Guidelines for Oracle Applications. Take special note of the Pattern Selection Tool.

The AIA Service Constructor can be acquired using the menu Help | Check for updates, clicking Next, and selecting Oracle Fusion Middleware Products. SelectAIA Service Constructor and click next to start the download.





Verify the installation of the extension using the menu Help | About, and click on the tab Extensions:

Altering JDeveloper preferences

Now we have to make the aia.jar known to the SOA stuff. In order to do this we use the preferences, using the menu Tools | Preferences.... The is aia.jar in the ...\Middleware\jdeveloper\lib directory.

After these changes JDeveloper needs a restart.

SOA platform

Again after this session I came to the conclusion that in my opinion BAM is used too little.

During the session was raised whether people in the audience were using non-Oracle databases as dehydration store and Meta Data Store. The mainstream is using Oracle as dehydration store. And although it is certified, it is advised to use Oracle as the database for this purpose. On the Application Server, given the maturity of the J2EE platform, there is less discomfort in operations to deploy the SOA Suite on a non-Oracle App Server.

ADF

Only today I found out that there is an interesting JDeveloper 11g extension. The extension validates ADF code quality. Seems an interesting extension to check code quality besides the already available Java tools.

BPM

When comparing BPEL and BPM and looking into when to use what tool, the following was stated: For all things with human interaction BPM is the tool of choice. In integration driven appraoches BPEL is the tool of choice.

In Oracle point of view BPM includes:

• People
• Systems
• Documents

without the need for separate platforms.

Example of a custom Spring Java worklist application for Oracle BPM.

Tattie picking

The first keynote by Andrew Sutherland had a few great stories that leaded the way to show the rationale behind the Exalogic platform. This included a personal story on “tattie picking”. The larger part was on productisation and gave examples on increasing effiency in IT. One of the ways for the Exalogic platform is the one that is also used by Apple: If you limit the amount of hardware your OS of software stack has to be compliant with, that introduces a better controlled and optimized environment; “If you know the machine you need less code”. This is resulting in several efficiencies. Efficiencies both in the One Time Costs (CTB) and Recurring Costs (RTB).

One of the sound bites that stayed with me was:

The most sticky stack is the least sticky one

Indicating that the stack that is the most open and complying with standards is the one that is most likely to survive…

SOA/ BPM Reference Case

In the Partner SOA/ BPM Reference Case Leon Smiers of Capgemini introduced us to the BPM practise of Capgemini and two of their BPM cases. One of the quotes that I think is very true was:

SOA supports the success of BPM.

Besides that Leon stressed the structure, insight and compliance advantages that BPM efforts deliver. One of the things they learned by doing was the importance of showing BAM to business people. This really enables you to get visibility on a lot of stuff that is under the hood. Besides that it is a catalyst for generating more business value with ideas from the people you are showing BAM to.

WebCenter/ UCM Reference Case

During the WebCenter/ UCM Reference Case Vikram Setia of Infomentum shared great insight on how to deliver an excellent web site using Oracle technology. He did this in a very lively session showing us around a live site and telling what Oracle technologies were used behind the scenes. Besides the UCM and WebCenter stuff there were some cool uses database thingies like:

• Text Clustering
• Thesaurus
• Locator

SOA and BPM 11gR1 PS3 Update

Another intresting session was the SOA and BPM 11gR1 PS3 Update by David Shaffer. Mr Shaffer showed us some of the history and some of the highlight in the current stack. A more detailed dive into the latter will be on day 2 of the conference.

Wednesday’s Breakout Sessions

On the second day I will be attending the following breakout sessions:

• SOA Suite 11g PS3 & OSB
• ADF/WebCenter 11g integration with BPM Suite 11g
• BPM 11g, Whats New

• General Info
• Submission Info
• Tips and Guidelines

Frank Dorst, CTO of Whitehorses:

“We strongly believe in the power of IT. Information technology makes real change possible and that does not always have to mean huge investments. We distinguish ourselves by clearly defined improvement projects, with involvement of both IT and business in which collaboration with customers is essential. Achieving Specialization is our confirmation that we are doing well. It continues our long relationship with Oracle and gives our customers the confidence to work with a qualified party. ”

Bas Diepen, senior manager of Alliances and Channels at Oracle:

Whitehorses know how to keep changes small and simple, no matter how big projects are. We are pleased that the investment they have made in gaining knowledge and Oracle skills, is now reflected in achieving this Specialized status.”