What new features to expect in Oracle Forms 14c?

With the probable imminent release of Oracle Forms 14, we can expect performance improvements and new features, including:  

REST based blocks 

Creating Data Blocks from REST Services: This feature allows developers to base data blocks on RESTful web services, enhancing the flexibility and integration capabilities of Oracle Forms. This functionality has been a long-standing request from users since 2010, and it is commendable that Oracle is addressing the needs of its community. However, it is important to note that many have transitioned to more contemporary frameworks such as jQuery, React, or Angular over the past 15 years to fulfill similar requirements. Modern web frameworks have been proficient in connecting to and consuming REST APIs for several years. The introduction of this feature, while valuable, underscores Oracle's delayed response to industry trends.

New User Interface (UI) Design and Components 

The introduction of new UI components aims to enhance the appearance and functionality of applications, ultimately providing a superior user experience. Initially, we were enthusiastic about the potential to create forms with a contemporary look. However, our excitement was tempered upon reviewing a screen capture shared by Michael Ferrante on X on June 17, 2024: 

While we acknowledge that the new design represents an improvement over previous versions of Oracle Forms, it still retains a Windows Vista style from 2007, falling short of today's design standards such as Google's Material Design. Additionally, one of the advantages highlighted by Michael Ferrante was the inclusion of new components like a scrolling map. Unfortunately, Oracle missed a significant opportunity to offer a truly modern solution by not allowing users to fully customize these components. In contrast, modern tools like our Oracle Forms Migration tool ORMIT-OpenJava have provided extensive customization capabilities for years. We are eager to see what new design options Oracle will introduce in Forms 14 upon its release.

Increased System Agility via Integration with Oracle Products and Technologies 

Enhanced integration with other Oracle products and technologies to increase system agility and streamline workflows. This is a must, it is also what we expect from Oracle products. Oracle Database 23ai has many new features accessible from Oracle Forms. This should hopefully allow JSON native objects, vector AI search and many new features to be available in Oracle Forms. JSON objects usage in Oracle Forms is probably the most important feature here if you wish to use REST APIs. This has been natively supported by every major browser and framework such as jQuery, React or Angular in the past 10-15 years. Some new features such as Vector AI search in DB are also of high interest. We can only speculate on how Oracle will implement this in Oracle Forms but if done right it can be useful.  

Support for New Java Versions and Operating Systems 

Compatibility with the latest Java versions and operating systems ensures that applications can run on modern and secure environments. Oracle Forms 14 will support new Java versions and new OS versions. As Oracle owns Java (and Oracle Enterprise Linux), it does makes sense that their product supports the latest Java/OS versions available. 

New Options for Running Forms on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) 

Oracle offers a Bring-Your-Own-License (BYOL) option that allows an organization to use their existing licenses on OCI. That should help the few organizations that have not yet migrated to the cloud migrate at a lower cost. Oracle also introduces a Pay-Per-Use option in the hope of boosting its cloud market segment (currently at 8.6% cloud market share). Pay-Per-Use Provides a flexible payment model based on actual usage, making it more cost-effective for some organizations.