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  • How to begin? Windows 8 Development

    - by Dennis Vroegop
    Ok. I convinced you in my last post to do some Win8 development. You want a piece of that cake, or whatever your reasons may be. Good! Welcome to the club! Now let me ask you a question: what are you going to write? Ah. That’s the big one, isn’t it? What indeed? If you have been creating applications for computers before you’re in for quite a shock. The way people perceive apps on a tablet is quite different from what we know as applications. There’s a reason we call them apps instead of applications! Yes, technically they are applications but we don’t call them apps only because it sounds cool. The abbreviated form of the word applications itself is a pointer. Apps are small. Apps are focused. Apps are more lightweight. Apps do one thing but they do that one thing extremely good. In the ‘old’ days we wrote huge systems. We build ecosystems of services, screens, databases and more to create a system that provides value for the user. Think about it: what application do you use most at work? Can you in one sentence describe what it is, or what it does and yet still distinctively describe its purpose? I doubt you can. Let’s have a look at Outlouk. We all know it and we all love or hate it. But what is it? A mail program? No, there’s so much more there: calendar, contacts, RSS feeds and so on. Some call it a ‘collaboration’  application but that’s not really true as well. After all, why should a collaboration application give me my schedule for the day? I think the best way to describe Outlook is “client for Exchange”  although that isn’t accurate either. Anyway: Outlook is a great application but it’s not an ‘app’ and therefor not very suitable for WinRT. Ok. Disclaimer here: yes, you can write big applications for WinRT. Some will. But that’s not what 99.9% of the developers will do. So I am stating here that big applications are not meant for WinRT. If 0.01% of the developers think that this is nonsense then they are welcome to go ahead but for the majority here this is not what we’re talking about. So: Apps are small, lightweight and good at what they do but only at that. If you’re a Phone developer you already know that: Phone apps on any platform fit the description I have above. If you’ve ever worked in a large cooperation before you might have seen one of these before: the Mission Statement. It’s supposed to be a oneliner that sums up what the company is supposed to do. Funny enough: although this doesn’t work for large companies it does work for defining your app. A mission statement for an app describes what it does. If it doesn’t fit in the mission statement then your app is going to get to big and will fail. A statement like this should be in the following style “<your app name> is the best app to <describe single task>” Fill in the blanks, write it and go! Mmm.. not really. There are some things there we need to think about. But the statement is a very, very important one. If you cannot fit your app in that line you’re preparing to fail. Your app will become to big, its purpose will be unclear and it will be hard to use. People won’t download it and those who do will give it a bad rating therefor preventing that huge success you’ve been dreaming about. Stick to the statement! Ok, let’s give it a try: “PlanesAreCool” is the best app to do planespotting in the field. You might have seen these people along runways of airports: taking photographs of airplanes and noting down their numbers and arrival- and departure times. We are going to help them out with our great app! If you look at the statement, can you guess what it does? I bet you can. If you find out it isn’t clear enough of if it’s too broad, refine it. This is probably the most important step in the development of your app so give it enough time! So. We’ve got the statement. Print it out, stick it to the wall and look at it. What does it tell you? If you see this, what do you think the app does? Write that down. Sit down with some friends and talk about it. What do they expect from an app like this? Write that down as well. Brainstorm. Make a list of features. This is mine: Note planes Look up aircraft carriers Add pictures of that plane Look up airfields Notify friends of new spots Look up details of a type of plane Plot a graph with arrival and departure times Share new spots on social media Look up history of a particular aircraft Compare your spots with friends Write down arrival times Write down departure times Write down wind conditions Write down the runway they take Look up weather conditions for next spotting day Invite friends to join you for a day of spotting. Now, I must make it clear that I am not a planespotter nor do I know what one does. So if the above list makes no sense, I apologize. There is a lesson: write apps for stuff you know about…. First of all, let’s look at our statement and then go through the list of features. Remove everything that has nothing to do with that statement! If you end up with an empty list, try again with both steps. Note planes Look up aircraft carriers Add pictures of that plane Look up airfields Notify friends of new spots Look up details of a type of plane Plot a graph with arrival and departure times Share new spots on social media Look up history of a particular aircraft Compare your spots with friends Write down arrival times Write down departure times Write down wind conditions Write down the runway they take Look up weather conditions for next spotting day Invite friends to join you for a day of spotting. That's better. The things I removed could be pretty useful to a plane spotter and could be fun to write. But do they match the statement? I said that the app is for spotting in the field, so “look up airfields” doesn’t belong there: I know where I am so why look it up? And the same goes for inviting friends or looking up the weather conditions for tomorrow. I am at the airfield right now, looking through my binoculars at the planes. I know the weather now and I don’t care about tomorrow. If you feel the items you’ve crossed out are valuable, then why not write another app? One that says “SpotNoter” is the best app for preparing a day of spotting with my friends. That’s a different app! Remember: Win8 apps are small and very good at doing ONE thing, and one thing only! If you have made that list, it’s time to prepare the navigation of your app. The navigation is how users see your app and how they use it. We’ll do that next time!

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  • Quickly Copy Movie Files to Individually Named Folders

    - by DigitalGeekery
    Some HTPC media manager applications require movie files to be in stored in separate folders to properly store information such as cover art images and other metadata. Here we look at copying movie files to individual folders. If you already have a large movie collection stored in a single folder, we’ll show you how to quickly move those files into their own individually named folders. File2Folder FIle2folder is a handy portable app that automatically creates and moves movie files into a folder of the same filename. There is no installation needed. Simply download and run the .exe file (link below). Enter the current movie directory, or browse for the folder. File2folder now supports both local and network shares. When you are ready to create the folders and move the files, click Move! You’ll see the move progress displayed in the window. When the process is finished, you’ll have all your movie file in individual folders.   Change your mind? Just click the Undo! button…   …and the move and folder creation process will be undone. If you would like to have the folder monitored for new files, click the Start button. File2folder will process any new files it discovers every 180 seconds. To turn it off, click Stop. This simple little program is a huge timesaver for those looking to organize movie collections for their HTPC. We should also note that this will work with any files, not just videos. Download file2folder Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Hack: Turn Off Debug Mode in VMWare Workstation 6 BetaAdd Images and Metadata to Windows 7 Media Center Movie LibraryAdd Folders to the Movie Library in Windows 7 Media CenterAutomatically Mount and View ISO files in Windows 7 Media CenterMove the Public Folder in Windows Vista TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips HippoRemote Pro 2.2 Xobni Plus for Outlook All My Movies 5.9 CloudBerry Online Backup 1.5 for Windows Home Server Identify Fonts using WhatFontis.com Windows 7’s WordPad is Actually Good Greate Image Viewing and Management with Zoner Photo Studio Free Windows Media Player Plus! – Cool WMP Enhancer Get Your Team’s World Cup Schedule In Google Calendar Backup Drivers With Driver Magician

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  • Play the Microsoft Game “Are You Certifiable?”

    - by Mysticgeek
    Want to know if you have what it takes to be certified by Microsoft? Today we check out an enjoyable way to practice and test your IT knowledge of Microsoft products.  There are two modes, one where you log in with your Live account so you can save your progress, and play additional levels.   If you log in with your Live account, it’s obvious that Microsoft wants to sell you some certification courses, so just be aware of that. Or Guest Play where you can only play one episode and scores are not saved.   Playing the Game We’ll take a look at the Guest Play just so you get a sense of what the game is about. Enter in a username and pick an avatar… Then read the instructions…we won’t go over them all here, there are a lot of options and points are scored by correct answers, amount of time it takes to answer them, you get vouchers to play a question before answers are shown…etc. Once you start playing, you get certification questions, you can take as much time to read the question as you want, then hit the Answer button when you’re ready. Now you have four answers to choose from…notice the time clicking down, so you want to try to answer as quickly as possible. After selecting the answer, you’re told if it is correct or not, then given an answer explaination, along with your score. You can flag the topic so it comes up again, which is a good way to get repetition of various topics, which really helps when taking the cert tests. If you get an answer wrong, you still get an answer explanation which is cool, so you can learn and better understand the topic. Conclusion This game is definitely not for everyone, only those who are curious or want a fun way to practice for Microsoft certifications. If you are interested in a cert from Microsoft, it’s a fun way to practice up. Play Are You Certifiable? Similar Articles Productive Geek Tips Geek Fun: Play Alien Arena the Free FPS GameFriday Fun: Get Your Mario OnFriday Fun: Play Bubble QuodFriday Fun: 13 Days in HellFriday Fun: Open Doors TouchFreeze Alternative in AutoHotkey The Icy Undertow Desktop Windows Home Server – Backup to LAN The Clear & Clean Desktop Use This Bookmarklet to Easily Get Albums Use AutoHotkey to Assign a Hotkey to a Specific Window Latest Software Reviews Tinyhacker Random Tips DVDFab 6 Revo Uninstaller Pro Registry Mechanic 9 for Windows PC Tools Internet Security Suite 2010 Download Free iPad Wallpapers at iPad Decor Get Your Delicious Bookmarks In Firefox’s Awesome Bar Manage Photos Across Different Social Sites With Dropico Test Drive Windows 7 Online Download Wallpapers From National Geographic Site Spyware Blaster v4.3

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  • Link instead of Attaching

    - by Daniel Moth
    With email storage not being an issue in many companies (I think I currently have 25GB of storage on my email account, I don’t even think about storage), this encourages bad behaviors such as liberally attaching office documents to emails instead of sharing a link to the document in SharePoint or SkyDrive or some file share etc. Attaching a file admittedly has its usage scenarios too, but it should not be the default. I thought I'd list the reasons why sharing a link can be better than attaching files directly. In no particular order: Better Review. It allows multiple recipients to review the file and their comments are aggregated into a single document. The alternative is everyone having to detach the document, add their comments, then send back to you, and then you have to collate. Wirth the alternative, you also potentially miss out on recipients reading comments from other recipients. Always up to date. The attachment becomes a fork instead of an always up to date document. For example, you send the email on Thursday, I only open it on Tuesday: between those days you could have made updates that now I am missing because you decided to share a link instead of an attachment. Better bookmarking. When I need to find that document you shared, you are forcing me to search through my email (I may not even be running outlook), instead of opening the link which I have bookmarked in my browser or my collection of links in my OneNote or from the recent/pinned links of the office app on my task bar, etc. Can control access. If someone accidentally or naively forwards your link to someone outside your group/org who you’d prefer not to have access to it, the location of the document can be protected with specific access control. Can add more recipients. If someone adds people to the email thread in outlook, your attachment doesn't get re-attached - instead, the person added is left without the attachment unless someone remembers to re-attach it. If it was a link, they are immediately caught up without further actions. Enable Discovery. If you put it on a share, I may be able to discover other cool stuff that lives alongside that document. Save on storage. So this doesn't apply to me given my opening statement, but if in your company you do have such limitations, attaching files eats up storage on all recipients accounts and will also get "lost" when those people archive email (and lose completely at some point if they follow the company retention policy). Like I said, attachments do have their place, but they should be an explicit choice for explicit reasons rather than the default. Comments about this post by Daniel Moth welcome at the original blog.

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  • Brain Teaser: How Did I Do This (Part 1: The Solution)

    - by Geertjan
    In Part 1: The Challenge, published this time last week, I introduced a "brain teaser". The brain teaser asks you to figure out how to allow images and other files to be meaningfully dropped onto a NetBeans Platform application, i.e., on the drop something useful should happen with the dropped file: if the file is an image, the image should open in the IDE; if the file is a PDF document, the PDF viewer should open externally; if the file is a text file, it should open as a text in the IDE, etc. Solution. And here is the solution: http://bits.netbeans.org/dev/javadoc/org-openide-windows/org/openide/windows/ExternalDropHandler.html When an implementation of the "ExternalDropHandler" class is available in the global Lookup, and an object is being dragged over some part of the main window, the window system may call the methods of this class to decide whether it can accept or reject the drag operation. And when the object is actually dropped, this class will be asked to handle the drop. OK, so go ahead and implement the above class and put it into the Lookup. Or... guess what? The NetBeans Platform has a default implementation of the above class, appropriately named "DefaultExternalDropHandler". Not only is this useful to learn about how to implement the ExternalDropHandler class (i.e., by reading the source here): you can simply include the module that contains this class in your own NetBeans Platform application and then your application will be able to receive external drag/drop events and do something meaningful with them thanks to the DefaultExternalDropHandler. Do this: Open your NetBeans Platform application in NetBeans IDE. Right-click the application in the Projects window and choose Properties. In the Libraries tab, expand the "ide" cluster, and select "User Utilities". (That's where "DefaultExternalDropHandler.java" is found and registered in the Lookup.) Now click the "Resolve" button, if it appears, because some additional related modules need to now be included, if they haven't been included yet. Again in the "ide" cluster in the Libraries tab, select "Image". That's the Image Editor. Click OK. Run the application. Drag an image or some other type of file into your application, from outside the application, and you'll see the application tries to handle the drop. If the file being dragged is an image, it will open in the Image Editor, which you included in the previous step of these instructions. Hurray, you're done. Without any programming at all, you've added a cool new feature to your application.

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  • ArchBeat Link-o-Rama for 10-24-2012

    - by Bob Rhubart
    Play Oracle Vanquisher Here's a little respite from whatever it is you normally spend your time on. Oracle Vanquisher is an online diversion that makes a game of data center optimization. According to the description: "Armed with a cool Oracle vacuum pack suit and a strategic IT roadmap, you will thwart threats and optimize your data center to increase your company’s stock price and boost your company's position." Mainly you avoid electric shock and killer birds. The current high score belongs to someone identified as "TEN." My score? Never mind. Book: DevOps for Developers | The Java Source The subject of DevOps has come up in a couple of recent OTN ArchBeat Podcasts, so it's somewhat serendipitous that Tori Weildt's recent blog post offers an overview of Java Champion Michael Hutterman's new book, DevOps for Developers, now available from Apress. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) : Context is everything… | The ORACLE-BASE Blog BOYD is a factor in the evolution of IT, but in what context? "The real IT work in companies is still being done on PCs," says Oracle ACE Director Tim Hall. "Yes, you can use a cloud service on your phone, but look around the office and you will see those cloud services are actually being used by people on PCs." Oracle in the Cloud: Oracle EBusiness Suite sizing | Tom Laszewski Cloud expert Tom Laszewski shares several technical resources that will be helpful for sizing of Oracle EBusiness Suite. Setting Up, Configuring, and Using an Oracle WebLogic Server Cluster Author and expert Yuli Vasiliev shows you how take advantage of multiple Oracle WebLogic Server instances grouped into a cluster to maximize scalability and availability. Webcast: Reduce Costs with Oracle's Database Storage Management Watch this! Join Oracle experts Kevin Jernigan and Margaret Hamburger for an interactive webcast in which you'll learn how Oracle's Database Storage Management can reduce storage costs and management complexity while improving query performance to meet service-level agreements and compliance requirements. Event Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 Event Time: 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET Thought for the Day "Most software today is very much like an Egyptian pyramid with millions of bricks piled on top of each other, with no structural integrity, but just done by brute force and thousands of slaves." — Alan Kay Source: softwarequotes.com

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  • Oredev 2012: Summary and source code

    - by Laurent Bugnion
    This week, I had the pleasure to be invited to talk at Oredev, a really cool conference taking place in Malmo, Sweden. The whole event is awesome, including a very special dinner on Monday including sauna and swimming in a 6 degrees cold Baltic sea, and a reception with dinner at the town hall, including the mayor himself. Considering Malmo is a town of 300'000 inhabitants, it is a pretty nice occasion and the historical building itself is really worth seeing. For those interested, I placed my pictures on my Flickr account. I had a workshop on Tuesday morning about Windows 8 development with XAML/C#, and then a session on Wednesday about MVVM in Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8, of course using MVVM Light. I was very nervous because I reworked some of my demos as recently as this morning, in the wake of the Build conference last week and the release of both the Windows Phone SDK and MVVM Light V4.1. Everything went well however, and if I judge by the people I talked t after the talk, and Twitter, everything went pretty well. Before my talk on Tuesday, I had the pleasure to see a talk by Iris Classon (@irisclasson) on the challenges of being a "n00b" and a woman in software development. I especially appreciated her research and conclusions on the lack of women I our industry, a topic that is dear to my heart (because I want the best possible future for my two daughters, and also because I really enjoy working with women on projects, and getting a different insight on the art of software development. I really want to thank the excellent organization committee for their hard work and their fantastic welcome to Malmo. In particular Emily Holweck did a wonderful job and was super helpful throughout the preparation and the conference itself. I made a few pictures during my stay, all with the new Nokia Lumia 920, and hope you will enjoy them too. The source code and the slides… The source code is available for download from Skydrive. You will find the following: Windows 8 workshop slides. MVVM Applied slides Source code package with Win8Demo: The demo I built during the 4 hours workshop, with some light MVVM, web services (JSON), GridView, Design time data (Blend / Visual Studio designer), Bing maps integration, location sensor, Search pane integration. SemanticZoomSample: a sample I put together to demonstrate the SemanticZoom control, with two GridViews and of course full design time data for Blend work. Due to time constraints, I was not able to show this demo during the workshop, but I publish it anyway, hoping it will be useful to someone. PictureUploader: The demo I built during my 50 minutes session about MVVM Applied in Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. Code sharing, design time data, MVVM Light are used in Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 apps. And in video… You can also see the video of my MVVM talk thanks to the good services of the Oredev team! MVVM Applied in Windows Phone and Windows 8 from Øredev Conference on Vimeo.   Laurent Bugnion (GalaSoft) Subscribe | Twitter | Facebook | Flickr | LinkedIn

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  • Nokia Windows Phone 8 App Collection

    - by Tim Murphy
    I recently upgraded to a Nokia Lumia 920.  Along with it came the availability of a number of Nokia developed apps or apps that Nokia has made available from other developers.  Below is a summary of some of the ones that I have used to this point.  There are quite a few of them so I won’t be covering everything that is available. Nokia Maps I am quite pleased with the accuracy of Nokia Maps and not having to tap the screen for each turn any more.  The information on the screen is quite good as well.  The couple of improvements I would like to see are for the voice directions to include which street or exit you need to use and improve the search accuracy.  Bing maps had much better search results in my opinion. Nokia Drive This one really had me confused when I first setup the phone.  I was driving down the road and suddenly I am getting notification tones, but there were no visual notifications on the phone.  It seems that in their infinite wisdom Nokia thinks I don’t know when I am going over the speed limit and need to be told. ESPN I really liked my ESPN app on Windows Phone 7.5, but I am not getting the type of experience I was looking for out of this app.  While it allows me to pick my favorite teams, but there isn’t a pivot page or panorama page that shows a summary of my favorite teams.  I have also found that the live tile don’t update very often.  Over all I am rather disappointed compared app produced by ESPN. Smart Shoot I really need to get the kids to let me use this on.  I like the concept, but I need to spend more time with it.  The idea how running the camera through a continuous shooting mode and then picking the best is something that I have done with my DSLR and am glad to see it available here. Cinemagraph Here is a fun filter.  It doesn’t have the most accurate editing features, but it is fun to stop certain parts of a scene and let other parts move.  As a test I stopped the traffic on the highway and let the traffic on the frontage road flow.  It makes for a fun effect.  If nothing else it could be great for sending prank animations to your friends. YouSendIt I have only briefly touched this application.  What I don’t understand is why it is needed.  Most of the functionality seems to be similar to SkyDrive and it gives you less storage.  They only feature that seems to differentiate the app is the signature capability. Creative Studio This app has some nice quick edits, but it is not very comprehensive.  I am also not to thrilled with the user experience.  It puts you though an initial color cast series that I’m not sure why it is there.  Discovery of the remaining adjustments isn’t that great.  In the end I found myself wanting Thumbia back. Panorama This is one of the apps that I like.  I found it easy to use as it guides you with a target circle that you center for it to take the next pictures.  It also stitches the images with amazing speed.  The one thing I wish it had was the capability to turn the phone into portrait orientation and do a taller panorama.  Perhaps we will see this in the future. Nokia Music After getting over the missing album art I found that there were a number of missing features with this app as well.  I have a Zune HD and I am used to being able to go through my collection and adding songs, albums or artists to my now playing.  There also doesn’t seem to be a way to manage playlists that I have seen yet.  Other than that the UI is familiar and it give Nokia City Lens Augmented reality is a cool concept, but I still haven’t seen it implemented in a compelling fashion beyond a demo at TED a couple of years ago.  The app still leaves me wanting as well.  It does give an interesting toy.  It gives you the ability to look for general categories and see general direction and clusters of locations.  I think as this concept is better thought out it will become more compelling. Nokia Trailers I don’t know how often I will use this app, but I do like being able to see what movies are being promoted.  I can’t wait for The Hobbit to come out and the trailer was just what the doctor ordered.  I can see coming back to this app from time to time. PhotoBeamer PhotoBeamer is a strange beast that needs a better instruction manual.  It seems a lot like magic but very confusing.  I need some more testing, but I don’t think this is something that most people are going to understand quickly and may give up before getting it to work.  I may put an update here after playing with it further. Ringtone Maker The app was just published and it didn’t work very well for me. It couldn’t find 95% of the songs that Nokia Music was playing for me and crashed several times.  It also had songs named wrong that when I checked them in Nokia Music they were fine.  This app looks like it has a long way to go. Summary In all I think that Nokia is offering a well rounded set of initial applications that can get any new owner started.  There is definitely room for improvement in all of these apps.  The main need is usability upgrades.  I would guess that with feedback from users they will come up to acceptable levels.  Try them out and see if you agree. del.icio.us Tags: Windows Phone,Nokia,Lumia,Nokia Apps,ESPN,PhotoBeamer,City Lens,YouSendIt,Drive,Maps

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  • Legal concerns with orchestrating a music submission contest

    - by Amplify91
    My team and I are getting pretty far along in the development of our latest game and have been thinking about audio. We decided to host an audio submission contest where we will offer a little cash and some equity stake in the game as prizes. We are also giving away copies of the game to participants. We hope not only to find audio for our game, but to meet some cool sound artists and promote the game a bit through the process. First of all, is this even a good idea? What are some potential dangers in doing this? Will it even be well received among artists? Secondly, I wrote up some Terms and Conditions in my best legal-speak to try to protect us and clarify how the contest will be run. Are these sufficient to make sure everyone involved is treated fairly and is legally protected? They are as follows: All submissions (The Submission) must be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-3.0) By applying a CC-BY-3.0 license, you (The Submitter) expressly give Detour Games (and all members wherein) permission to copy, distribute, transmit, modify, adapt, and make commercial use of The Submission. The Submitter must own all rights to The Submission and be within their rights to license it as specified and submit it. The Submitter claims responsibility for the legality of The Submission. If The Submission is found to infringe on the rights of a person or entity other than those of The Submitter, Detour Games will not be held liable as all responsibility and liability for the legality of The Submission is that of The Submitter's. No more than two free copies of The Game per submitter. All flat cash prizes will only be disbursed pending the success of our first $5,000 Kickstarter campaign. These prizes will be disbursed 30 days after Detour Games receives the Kickstarter funds. All equity prizes (percentage of profits) are defined as the given percent of total profits after costs for a period of one year (12 months) after the release of RAW. These prizes will be disbursed semi-annually. All prize money will be disbursed through either an electronic fund transfer through a service such as PayPal or by a mailed money order. It is The Submitter's responsibility to cooperate with Detour Games in the disbursement of the funds. Detour Games reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions at any time without notice. By participating in the contest, The Submitter agrees to and accepts all terms and conditions listed. What else could I do (legally) to protect everyone involved?

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  • Best system for creating a 2d racing track

    - by tesselode
    I am working a 2D racing game and I'm trying to figure out what is the best way to define the track. At the very least, I need to be able to create a closed circuit with any amount of turns at any angle, and I need vehicles to collide with the edges of the track. I also want the following things to be true if possible (but they are optional): The code is simple and free of funky workarounds and extras I can define all of the parts of the track (such as turns) relative to the previous parts I can predict the exact position of the road at a certain point (that way I can easily and cleanly make closed circuits) Here are my options: Use a set of points. This is my current system. I have a set of turns and width changes that the track is supposed to make over time. I have a point which I transform according to these instructions, and I place a point every 5 steps or so, depending on how precise I want the track to be. These points make up the track. The main problem with this is the discrepancy between the collisions and the way the track is drawn. I won't get into too much detail, but the picture below shows what is happening (although it is exaggerated a bit). The blue lines are what is drawn, the red lines are what the vehicle collides with. I could work around this, but I'd rather avoid funky workaround code. Beizer curves. These seem cool, but my first impression of them is that they'll be a little daunting to learn and are probably too complicated for my needs. Some other kind of curve? I have heard of some other kinds of curves; maybe those are more applicable. Use Box2D or another physics engine. Instead of defining the center of the track, I could use a physics engine to define shapes that make up the road. The downside to this, however, is that I have to put in a little more work to place the checkpoints. Something completely different. Basically, what is the simplest system for generating a race track that would allow me to create closed circuits cleanly, handle collisions, and not have a ton of weird code?

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  • So Much Happening at Devoxx

    - by Tori Wieldt
    Devoxx, the premier Java conference in Europe, has been sold out for a while. The organizers (thanks Stephan and crew!) cap the attendance to make sure all attendees have a great experience, and that speaks volumes about their priorities. The speakers, hackathons, labs, and networking are all first class. The Oracle Technology Network will be there, and if you were smart/lucky enough to get a ticket, come find us and join the fun: IoT Hack Fest Build fun and creative Internet of Things (IoT) applications with Java Embedded, Raspberry Pi and Leap Motion on the University Days (Monday and Tuesday). Learn from top experts Yara & Vinicius Senger and Geert Bevin at two Raspberry Pi & Leap Motion hands-on labs and hacking sessions. Bring your computer. Training and equipment will be provided. Devoxx will also host an Internet of Things shop in the exhibition floor where attendees can purchase Arduino, Raspberry PI and Robot starter kits. Bring your IoT wish list! Video Interviews Yolande Poirier and I will be interviewing members of the Java Community in the back of the Expo hall on Wednesday and Thursday. Videos are posted on Parleys and YouTube/Java. We have a few slots left, so contact me (you can DM @Java) if you want to share your insights or cool new tip or trick with the rest of the developer community. (No commercials, no fluff. Keep it techie and keep it real.)  Oracle Keynote Wednesday morning Mark Reinhold, Chief Java Platform Architect, and Brian Goetz, Java Language Architect will provide an update on Java 8 and beyond. Oracle Booth Drop by the Oracle booth to see old and new friends.  We'll have Java in Action demos and the experts to explain them and answer your questions. We are raffling off Raspberry Pi's each day, so be sure to get your badged scanned. We'll have beer in the booth each evening. Look for @Java in her lab coat.  See you at Devoxx! 

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  • Play Framework Plugin for NetBeans IDE (Part 2)

    - by Geertjan
    After I published part 1 of this series, the first external contribution (i.e., not by me) to the NetBeans plugin for Play Framework 2 was committed today. Yann D'Isanto added support for creating new Play projects: That completely solves a problem I was working on, in a different way altogether. I was working on creating a new wizard that would call "play new" on the command line and pass into the command line the entered name and application type (1 for Java and 2 for Scala). However, Yann's solution is better, at least in the sense in that it works, as opposed to mine which didn't, because of problems I continually had with the command line, since one needs to press Enter multiple times on the Play command line when creating new projects, which I wasn't able to simulate in my new wizard. Yann's approach is simply to follow the approach taken in the Project Type Module Tutorial, which explains how to register a project sample in the IDE. I was inspired by Yann's contribution, especially when he mentioned that one needs to build Play projects on the command line. So, I added a new menu item on the right-click of a project for building Play projects, which simply passes "play compile" to the command line for the current project: Via the IDE's main menu bar, you can also Build and Run the application, though the code for the Clean function needs to be added still, which would be a cool thing for anyone out there to add, by using all the existing code and then passing "play clean compile" to the command line. Something else that Yann added is an Options Window extension, thanks to the Options Window Module Tutorial, for registering the Play installation, which is a step forward from my hard coded solution. I changed things slightly so that, when Build or Run are selected, without a Play installation being defined, the Options window opens, displaying the tab that Yann created, shown below. Notice that there's no Browse button, which would be a simple next step for anyone else to contribute. A small tip is to use the FileChooserBuilder from the NetBeans IDE APIs when working on the Browse button: Looking forward to more contributions to the Play Framework 2 plugin for NetBeans IDE. Just leave a message here with your ideas, with your java.net name, and then I'll add you to the project on java.net, where I very much look forward to your contributions: http://java.net/projects/nbplay/sources/nbplay

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  • Play Framework Plugin for NetBeans IDE

    - by Geertjan
    The start of minimal support for the Play Framework in NetBeans IDE 7.3 Beta would constitute (1) recognizing Play projects, (2) an action to run a Play project, and (3) classpath support. Well, most of that I've created already, as can be seen, e.g., below you can see logical views in the Projects window for Play projects (i.e., I can open all the samples that come with the Play distribution). Right-clicking a Play project lets you run it and, if the embedded browser is selected in the Options window, you can see the result in the IDE. Make a change to your code and refresh the browser, which immediately shows you your changes: What needs to be done, among other things: A wizard for creating new Play projects, i.e., it would use the Play command line to create the application and then open it in the IDE. Integration of everything available on the Play command line. Maybe the logical view, i.e., what is shown in the Projects window, should be changed. Right now, only the folders "app" and "test" are shown there, with everything else accessible in the Files window, as can be seen in the screenshot above. More work on the classpath, i.e., I've hardcoded a few things just to get things to work correctly. Options window extension to register the Play executable, instead of the current hardcoded solution. Scala integrations, i.e., investigate if/how the NetBeans Scala plugin is helpful and, if not, create different/additional solutions. E.g., the HTML templates are partly in Scala, i.e., need to embed Scala support into HTML. Hyperlinking in the "routes" file, as well as special support for the "application.conf" file. Anyone interested, especially if you're a Play fan (a "playboy"?), in joining me in working on this NetBeans plugin? I'll be uploading the sources to a java.net repository soon. It will be here, once it has been made publicly accessible: http://java.net/projects/nbplay/sources/nbplay Kind of cool detail is that the NetBeans plugin is based on Maven, which means that you could use any Maven-supporting IDE to work on this plugin.

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  • Rebuilding a Mac Mini (early 2009)

    - by Kelly Jones
    This weekend I decided to rebuild the family’s Mac Mini.  It’s the early 2009 model and I hadn’t done it since we got it in March of 2009.  Even worse, I had done the import data step (or whatever Apple calls it) which brought over all of the data files and apps from our previous Mac.  AND that install goes back to before 2005, as far as I can remember.  SO, to say that “cruft” had built up in the operating system, is probably a bit of an understatement. The rebuild went pretty smoothly, especially since I had a couple of spare hard drives.  I hooked up a spare USB drive and formatted it for use with the Mac.  I then used Carbon Copy to clone the internal hard drive onto the USB drive.  (Carbon Copy is a great little app that I used several years ago and I was happy to see it was not only still around, but updated as well.) Once I had my backup, I shut down the Mac and replaced the internal hard drive.  I had purchased the hard drive last fall to use with my work laptop, but I got a new work laptop (with awesome dual SSDs) so I wasn’t using it anymore.  The replacement drive (Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9500420AS 500GB 7200 RPM 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive) has more than double the original’s capacity and is also faster.  I’ll have to keep an eye on the temperature, since that 7200 drive will run hotter. Opening the Mac Mini is not for the easily intimidated!  That cool little case is quite the pain to open.  Luckily, OWC put a video together here.  After replacing the drive, I then installed a clean copy of OS 10.5 using the DVDs that came with the Mac.  After the OS, it was time to reinstall the apps.  I downloaded some of the freeware, just to make sure I had the latest versions.  For the rest, I just copied from the backup cloned drive to the new drive.  (I love the way most Mac apps are written – with almost everything contained within a “package” that I can just copy from one drive to another.  MUCH better than the Windows way of using shared DLLs and the registry to store critical pieces that the app needs in order to run!) The whole process took longer than I would have preferred, but it was long overdue.  It definitely “feels” faster, especially boot time and application launches.

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  • Boot error aftter clean Ubuntu 13.04 install: [Reboot and select proper boot device]

    - by IcarusNM
    I am having the same problem as this guy where a fresh Ubuntu install completes beautifully but will not boot. I get the ASUS (?) "Reboot and select proper boot device" error, first with Xubuntu 13.10 and after finally giving up there, and Xubuntu 13.4, I am back to regular Ubuntu 13.4. ASUS motherboard Z77, Intel chipset. Standard internal SATA 500GB HD. 64-bit. All-new hardware less than 3 months old. It was running Ubuntu 12.04LTC great until I tried this upgrade. I have re-installed from scratch every which way: with LVM, without LVM; with the default partitions, with my own partitions. With ext3 or ext4. Alongside; replace; upgrade. No difference. On the last two tries, I have booted afterward from the same USB stick, downloaded and run boot-repair, and now I guess I am off to the boot-repair support email with my URLs from that. It did all kinds of cool stuff but ultimately made no difference. I never got anything like this with Ubuntu 12.04. I've now probably re-installed Ubuntu 13.04 ten times slightly different ways. I finally found how to skip the language packs, so at least that sped things up! :) This starts from the ubuntu-13.04-desktop-amd64.iso and UNetbootin as suggested on the official instructions for USB thumb drive creation from OSX. That part all works fine (booting the USB on the PC and trying Ubuntu and/or installing from there on the PC HD.) I have no CD drive on this PC, but I suppose I could get one. I would rather find some Linux install that works from USB like I've always done. After running boot-repair twice, in the ASUS BIOS I now see three different UEFI boot options in the priority list, and they are all labeled exactly the same: ubuntu (P6: WDC WD5000AAKX-00U6AA0) Then there's a non-UEFI option: P6: WDC WD5000AAKX-00U6AA0 (476940MB) And a fifth option appeared after the first boot-repair: Windows Boot Manager (P6: WDC WD5000AAKX-00U6AA0) I have tried all 5 of these, and I get exactly the same error. I have never had Windows installed on this HD. ASUS is calling it Windows Boot Manaer but I presume that's a mistaken label for whatever boot-repair did. I can boot on USB and run GParted and it looks great. The partitions all look normal. I found another case of this online with no solution posted. I can't find much about it online. Needs a Master Boot Record wipe/redo?? I'm not sure how.

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  • JPA 2.1 Schema Generation (TOTD #187)

    - by arungupta
    This blog explained some of the key features of JPA 2.1 earlier. Since then Schema Generation has been added to JPA 2.1. This Tip Of The Day (TOTD) will provide more details about this new feature in JPA 2.1. Schema Generation refers to generation of database artifacts like tables, indexes, and constraints in a database schema. It may or may not involve generation of a proper database schema depending upon the credentials and authorization of the user. This helps in prototyping of your application where the required artifacts are generated either prior to application deployment or as part of EntityManagerFactory creation. This is also useful in environments that require provisioning database on demand, e.g. in a cloud. This feature will allow your JPA domain object model to be directly generated in a database. The generated schema may need to be tuned for actual production environment. This usecase is supported by allowing the schema generation to occur into DDL scripts which can then be further tuned by a DBA. The following set of properties in persistence.xml or specified during EntityManagerFactory creation controls the behaviour of schema generation. Property Name Purpose Values javax.persistence.schema-generation-action Controls action to be taken by persistence provider "none", "create", "drop-and-create", "drop" javax.persistence.schema-generation-target Controls whehter schema to be created in database, whether DDL scripts are to be created, or both "database", "scripts", "database-and-scripts" javax.persistence.ddl-create-script-target, javax.persistence.ddl-drop-script-target Controls target locations for writing of scripts. Writers are pre-configured for the persistence provider. Need to be specified only if scripts are to be generated. java.io.Writer (e.g. MyWriter.class) or URL strings javax.persistence.ddl-create-script-source, javax.persistence.ddl-drop-script-source Specifies locations from which DDL scripts are to be read. Readers are pre-configured for the persistence provider. java.io.Reader (e.g. MyReader.class) or URL strings javax.persistence.sql-load-script-source Specifies location of SQL bulk load script. java.io.Reader (e.g. MyReader.class) or URL string javax.persistence.schema-generation-connection JDBC connection to be used for schema generation javax.persistence.database-product-name, javax.persistence.database-major-version, javax.persistence.database-minor-version Needed if scripts are to be generated and no connection to target database. Values are those obtained from JDBC DatabaseMetaData. javax.persistence.create-database-schemas Whether Persistence Provider need to create schema in addition to creating database objects such as tables, sequences, constraints, etc. "true", "false" Section 11.2 in the JPA 2.1 specification defines the annotations used for schema generation process. For example, @Table, @Column, @CollectionTable, @JoinTable, @JoinColumn, are used to define the generated schema. Several layers of defaulting may be involved. For example, the table name is defaulted from entity name and entity name (which can be specified explicitly as well) is defaulted from the class name. However annotations may be used to override or customize the values. The following entity class: @Entity public class Employee {    @Id private int id;    private String name;     . . .     @ManyToOne     private Department dept; } is generated in the database with the following attributes: Maps to EMPLOYEE table in default schema "id" field is mapped to ID column as primary key "name" is mapped to NAME column with a default VARCHAR(255). The length of this field can be easily tuned using @Column. @ManyToOne is mapped to DEPT_ID foreign key column. Can be customized using JOIN_COLUMN. In addition to these properties, couple of new annotations are added to JPA 2.1: @Index - An index for the primary key is generated by default in a database. This new annotation will allow to define additional indexes, over a single or multiple columns, for a better performance. This is specified as part of @Table, @SecondaryTable, @CollectionTable, @JoinTable, and @TableGenerator. For example: @Table(indexes = {@Index(columnList="NAME"), @Index(columnList="DEPT_ID DESC")})@Entity public class Employee {    . . .} The generated table will have a default index on the primary key. In addition, two new indexes are defined on the NAME column (default ascending) and the foreign key that maps to the department in descending order. @ForeignKey - It is used to define foreign key constraint or to otherwise override or disable the persistence provider's default foreign key definition. Can be specified as part of JoinColumn(s), MapKeyJoinColumn(s), PrimaryKeyJoinColumn(s). For example: @Entity public class Employee {    @Id private int id;    private String name;    @ManyToOne    @JoinColumn(foreignKey=@ForeignKey(foreignKeyDefinition="FOREIGN KEY (MANAGER_ID) REFERENCES MANAGER"))    private Manager manager;     . . . } In this entity, the employee's manager is mapped by MANAGER_ID column in the MANAGER table. The value of foreignKeyDefinition would be a database specific string. A complete replay of Linda's talk at JavaOne 2012 can be seen here (click on CON4212_mp4_4212_001 in Media). These features will be available in GlassFish 4 promoted builds in the near future. JPA 2.1 will be delivered as part of Java EE 7. The different components in the Java EE 7 platform are tracked here. JPA 2.1 Expert Group has released Early Draft 2 of the specification. Section 9.4 and 11.2 provide all details about Schema Generation. The latest javadocs can be obtained from here. And the JPA EG would appreciate feedback.

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  • Should I use my own public API on my site (via JS)?

    - by newboyhun
    First of all, this question is far more different other 'public api questions' like this: Should a website use its own public API?, second, sorry for my English. You can find the question summarized at the bottom of this question. What I want to achieve is a big website with a public api, so who like programming (like me) and likes my website, can replicate my website's data with a much better approach (of course with some restrictions). Almost everything could be used by the public API. Because of this, I was thinking about making the whole website AJAX driven. There would be parts of the API which would be limited only to my website (domain), like login, registering. There would be only an INTERFACE on the client side, which would use the public and private API to make this interface working. The website would be ONLY CLIENT SIDE, well, I mean, the website would only use AJAX to use the api. How do I imagine this? The website would be like a mobile application, the application only sending a request to a webserver, which returns a json, the application parses it, and uses it to advance in the application. (e.g.: login) My thoughts: Pros: The whole website is built up by javascript, this means I don't need to transfer the html to the client, saving bandwidth. (I hope so) Anyone can use up the data of my website to make their own cool things. (Is this a con or pro? O_O) The public API is always in use, so I can see if there are any error. Cons: Without Javascript the website is unusable. The bad guys easily can load the server with requesting too much data (like Request Per Second 10000), but this can be countered via limiting this with some PHP code and logging. Probably much more work So the question in some words is: Should I build my website around my own api? Is it good to work only on the client side? Is this good for a big website? (e.x.: facebook, yeah facebook is a different story, but could it run with an 'architecture' like this?)

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  • Oracle Support Master Note for Troubleshooting Advanced Queuing and Oracle Streams Propagation Issues (Doc ID 233099.1)

    - by faye.todd(at)oracle.com
    Master Note for Troubleshooting Advanced Queuing and Oracle Streams Propagation Issues (Doc ID 233099.1) Copyright (c) 2010, Oracle Corporation. All Rights Reserved. In this Document  Purpose  Last Review Date  Instructions for the Reader  Troubleshooting Details     1. Scope and Application      2. Definitions and Classifications     3. How to Use This Guide     4. Basic AQ Propagation Troubleshooting     5. Additional Troubleshooting Steps for AQ Propagation of User-Enqueued and Dequeued Messages     6. Additional Troubleshooting Steps for Propagation in an Oracle Streams Environment     7. Performance Issues  References Applies to: Oracle Server - Enterprise Edition - Version: 8.1.7.0 to 11.2.0.2 - Release: 8.1.7 to 11.2Information in this document applies to any platform. Purpose This document presents a step-by-step methodology for troubleshooting and resolving problems with Advanced Queuing Propagation in both Streams and basic Advanced Queuing environments. It also serves as a master reference for other more specific notes on Oracle Streams Propagation and Advanced Queuing Propagation issues. Last Review Date December 20, 2010 Instructions for the Reader A Troubleshooting Guide is provided to assist in debugging a specific issue. When possible, diagnostic tools are included in the document to assist in troubleshooting. Troubleshooting Details 1. Scope and Application This note is intended for Database Administrators of Oracle databases where issues are being encountered with propagating messages between advanced queues, whether the queues are used for user-created messaging systems or for Oracle Streams. It contains troubleshooting steps and links to notes for further problem resolution.It can also be used a template to document a problem when it is necessary to engage Oracle Support Services. Knowing what is NOT happening can frequently speed up the resolution process by focusing solely on the pertinent problem area. This guide is divided into five parts: Section 2: Definitions and Classifications (discusses the different types and features of propagations possible - helpful for understanding the rest of the guide) Section 3: How to Use this Guide (to be used as a start part for determining the scope of the problem and what sections to consult) Section 4. Basic AQ propagation troubleshooting (applies to both AQ propagation of user enqueued and dequeued messages as well as Oracle Streams propagations) Section 5. Additional troubleshooting steps for AQ propagation of user enqueued and dequeued messages Section 6. Additional troubleshooting steps for Oracle Streams propagation Section 7. Performance issues 2. Definitions and Classifications Given the potential scope of issues that can be encountered with AQ propagation, the first recommended step is to do some basic diagnosis to determine the type of problem that is being encountered. 2.1. What Type of Propagation is Being Used? 2.1.1. Buffered Messaging For an advanced queue, messages can be maintained on disk (persistent messaging) or in memory (buffered messaging). To determine if a queue is buffered or not, reference the GV_$BUFFERED_QUEUES view. If the queue does not appear in this view, it is persistent. 2.1.2. Propagation mode - queue-to-dblink vs queue-to-queue As of 10.2, an AQ propagation can also be defined as queue-to-dblink, or queue-to-queue: queue-to-dblink: The propagation delivers messages or events from the source queue to all subscribing queues at the destination database identified by the dblink. A single propagation schedule is used to propagate messages to all subscribing queues. Hence any changes made to this schedule will affect message delivery to all the subscribing queues. This mode does not support multiple propagations from the same source queue to the same target database. queue-to-queue: Added in 10.2, this propagation mode delivers messages or events from the source queue to a specific destination queue identified on the database link. This allows the user to have fine-grained control on the propagation schedule for message delivery. This new propagation mode also supports transparent failover when propagating to a destination Oracle RAC system. With queue-to-queue propagation, you are no longer required to re-point a database link if the owner instance of the queue fails on Oracle RAC. This mode supports multiple propagations to the same target database if the target queues are different. The default is queue-to-dblink. To verify if queue-to-queue propagation is being used, in non-Streams environments query DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES.DESTINATION - if a remote queue is listed along with the remote database link, then queue-to-queue propagation is being used. For Streams environments, the DBA_PROPAGATION.QUEUE_TO_QUEUE column can be checked.See the following note for a method to switch between the two modes:Document 827473.1 How to alter propagation from queue-to-queue to queue-to-dblink 2.1.3. Combined Capture and Apply (CCA) for Streams In 11g Oracle Streams environments, an optimization called Combined Capture and Apply (CCA) is implemented by default when possible. Although a propagation is configured in this case, Streams does not use it; instead it passes information directly from capture to an apply receiver. To see if CCA is in use: COLUMN CAPTURE_NAME HEADING 'Capture Name' FORMAT A30COLUMN OPTIMIZATION HEADING 'CCA Mode?' FORMAT A10SELECT CAPTURE_NAME, DECODE(OPTIMIZATION,0, 'No','Yes') OPTIMIZATIONFROM V$STREAMS_CAPTURE; Also, see the following note:Document 463820.1 Streams Combined Capture and Apply in 11g 2.2. Queue Table Compatibility There are three types of queue table compatibility. In more recent databases, queue tables may be present in all three modes of compatibility: 8.0 - earliest version, deprecated in 10.2 onwards 8.1 - support added for RAC, asynchronous notification, secure queues, queue level access control, rule-based subscribers, separate storage of history information 10.0 - if the database is in 10.1-compatible mode, then the default value for queue table compatibility is 10.0 2.3. Single vs Multiple Consumer Queue Tables If more than one recipient can dequeue a message from a queue, then its queue table is multiple consumer. You can propagate messages from a multiple-consumer queue to a single-consumer queue. Propagation from a single-consumer queue to a multiple-consumer queue is not possible. 3. How to Use This Guide 3.1. Are Messages Being Propagated at All, or is the Propagation Just Slow? Run the following query on the source database for the propagation (assuming that it is running): select TOTAL_NUMBER from DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES where QNAME='<source_queue_name>'; If TOTAL_NUMBER is increasing, then propagation is most likely functioning, although it may be slow. For performance issues, see Section 7. 3.2. Propagation Between Persistent User-Created Queues See Sections 4 and 5 (and optionally Section 6 if performance is an issue). 3.3. Propagation Between Buffered User-Created Queues See Sections 4, 5, and 6 (and optionally Section 7 if performance is an issue). 3.4. Propagation between Oracle Streams Queues (without Combined Capture and Apply (CCA) Optimization) See Sections 4 and 6 (and optionally Section 7 if performance is an issue). 3.5. Propagation between Oracle Streams Queues (with Combined Capture and Apply (CCA) Optimization) Although an AQ propagation is not used directly in this case, some characteristics of the message transfer are inferred from the propagation parameters used. Some parts of Sections 4 and 6 still apply. 3.6. Messaging Gateway Propagations This note does not apply to Messaging Gateway propagations. 4. Basic AQ Propagation Troubleshooting 4.1. Double-check Your Code Make sure that you are consistent in your usage of the database link(s) names, queue names, etc. It may be useful to plot a diagram of which queues are connected via which database links to make sure that the logical structure is correct. 4.2. Verify that Job Queue Processes are Running 4.2.1. Versions 10.2 and Lower - DBA_JOBS Package For versions 10.2 and lower, a scheduled propagation is managed by DBMS_JOB package. The propagation is performed by job queue process background processes. Therefore we need to verify that there are sufficient processes available for the propagation process. We should have at least 4 job queue processes running and preferably more depending on the number of other jobs running in the database. It should be noted that for AQ specific work, AQ will only ever use half of the job queue processes available.An issue caused by an inadequate job queue processes parameter setting is described in the following note:Document 298015.1 Kwqjswproc:Excep After Loop: Assigning To Self 4.2.1.1. Job Queue Processes in Initalization Parameter File The parameter JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES in the init.ora/spfile should be > 0. The value can be changed dynamically via connect / as sysdbaalter system set JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES=10; 4.2.1.2. Job Queue Processes in Memory The following command will show how many job queue processes are currentlyin use by this instance (this may be different than what is in the init.ora/spfile): connect / as sysdbashow parameter job; 4.2.1.3. OS PIDs Corresponding to Job Queue Processes Identify the operating system process ids (spids) of job queue processes involved in propagation via select p.SPID, p.PROGRAM from V$PROCESS p, DBA_JOBS_RUNNING jr, V$SESSION s, DBA_JOBS j where s.SID=jr.SID and s.PADDR=p.ADDR and jr.JOB=j.JOBand j.WHAT like '%sys.dbms_aqadm.aq$_propaq(job)%'; and these SPIDs can be used to check at the operating system level that they exist.In 8i a job queue process will have a name similar to: ora_snp1_<instance_name>.In 9i onwards you will see a coordinator process: ora_cjq0_ and multiple slave processes: ora_jnnn_<instance_name>, where nnn is an integer between 1 and 999. 4.2.2. Version 11.1 and Above - Oracle Scheduler In version 11.1 and above, Oracle Scheduler is used to perform AQ and Streams propagations. Oracle Scheduler automatically tunes the number of slave processes for these jobs based on the load on the computer system, and the JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES initialization parameter is only used to specify the maximum number of slave processes. Therefore, the JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES initialization parameter does not need to be set (it defaults to a very high number), unless you want to limit the number of slaves that can be created. If JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES = 0, no propagation jobs will run.See the following note for a discussion of Oracle Streams 11g and Oracle Scheduler:Document 1083608.1 11g Streams and Oracle Scheduler 4.2.2.1. Job Queue Processes in Initalization Parameter File The parameter JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES in the init.ora/spfile should be > 0, and preferably be left at its default value. The value can be changed dynamically via connect / as sysdbaalter system set JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES=10; To set the JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES parameter to its default value, run: connect / as sysdbaalter system reset JOB_QUEUE_PROCESSES; and then bounce the instance. 4.2.2.2. Job Queue Processes in Memory The following command will show how many job queue processes are currently in use by this instance (this may be different than what is in the init.ora/spfile): connect / as sysdbashow parameter job; 4.2.2.3. OS PIDs Corresponding to Job Queue Processes Identify the operating system process ids (SPIDs) of job queue processes involved in propagation via col PROGRAM for a30select p.SPID, p.PROGRAM, j.JOB_namefrom v$PROCESS p, DBA_SCHEDULER_RUNNING_JOBS jr, V$SESSION s, DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS j where s.SID=jr.SESSION_ID and s.PADDR=p.ADDRand jr.JOB_name=j.JOB_NAME and j.JOB_NAME like '%AQ_JOB$_%'; and these SPIDs can be used to check at the operating system level that they exist.You will see a coordinator process: ora_cjq0_ and multiple slave processes: ora_jnnn_<instance_name>, where nnn is an integer between 1 and 999. 4.3. Check the Alert Log and Any Associated Trace Files The first place to check for propagation failures is the alert logs at all sites (local and if relevant all remote sites). When a job queue process attempts to execute a schedule and fails it will always write an error stack to the alert log. This error stack will also be written in a job queue process trace file, which will be written to the BACKGROUND_DUMP_DEST location for 10.2 and below, and in the DIAGNOSTIC_DEST location for 11g. The fact that errors are written to the alert log demonstrates that the schedule is executing. This means that the problem could be with the set up of the schedule. In this example the ORA-02068 demonstrates that the failure was at the remote site. Further investigation revealed that the remote database was not open, hence the ORA-03114 error. Starting the database resolved the problem. Thu Feb 14 10:40:05 2002 Propagation Schedule for (AQADM.MULTIPLEQ, SHANE816.WORLD) encountered following error:ORA-04052: error occurred when looking up Remote object [email protected]: error occurred at recursive SQL level 4ORA-02068: following severe error from SHANE816ORA-03114: not connected to ORACLEORA-06512: at "SYS.DBMS_AQADM_SYS", line 4770ORA-06512: at "SYS.DBMS_AQADM", line 548ORA-06512: at line 1 Other potential errors that may be written to the alert log can be found in the following notes:Document 827184.1 AQ Propagation with CLOB data types Fails with ORA-22990 (11.1)Document 846297.1 AQ Propagation Fails : ORA-00600[kope2upic2954] or Ora-00600[Kghsstream_copyn] (10.2, 11.1)Document 731292.1 ORA-25215 Reported on Local Propagation When Using Transformation with ANYDATA queue tables (10.2, 11.1, 11.2)Document 365093.1 ORA-07445 [kwqppay2aqe()+7360] Reported on Propagation of a Transformed Message (10.1, 10.2)Document 219416.1 Advanced Queuing Propagation Fails with ORA-22922 (9.0)Document 1203544.1 AQ Propagation Aborted with ORA-600 [ociksin: invalid status] on SYS.DBMS_AQADM_SYS.AQ$_PROPAGATION_PROCEDURE After Upgrade (11.1, 11.2)Document 1087324.1 ORA-01405 ORA-01422 reported by Advanced Queuing Propagation schedules after RAC reconfiguration (10.2)Document 1079577.1 Advanced Queuing Propagation Fails With "ORA-22370 incorrect usage of method" (9.2, 10.2, 11.1, 11.2)Document 332792.1 ORA-04061 error relating to SYS.DBMS_PRVTAQIP reported when setting up Statspack (8.1, 9.0, 9.2, 10.1)Document 353325.1 ORA-24056: Internal inconsistency for QUEUE <queue_name> and destination <dblink> (8.1, 9.0, 9.2, 10.1, 10.2, 11.1, 11.2)Document 787367.1 ORA-22275 reported on Propagating Messages with LOB component when propagating between 10.1 and 10.2 (10.1, 10.2)Document 566622.1 ORA-22275 when propagating >4K AQ$_JMS_TEXT_MESSAGEs from 9.2.0.8 to 10.2.0.1 (9.2, 10.1)Document 731539.1 ORA-29268: HTTP client error 401 Unauthorized Error when the AQ Servlet attempts to Propagate a message via HTTP (9.0, 9.2, 10.1, 10.2, 11.1)Document 253131.1 Concurrent Writes May Corrupt LOB Segment When Using Auto Segment Space Management (ORA-1555) (9.2)Document 118884.1 How to unschedule a propagation schedule stuck in pending stateDocument 222992.1 DBMS_AQADM.DISABLE_PROPAGATION_SCHEDULE Returns ORA-24082Document 282987.1 Propagated Messages marked UNDELIVERABLE after Drop and Recreate Of Remote QueueDocument 1204080.1 AQ Propagation Failing With ORA-25329 After Upgraded From 8i or 9i to 10g or 11g.Document 1233675.1 AQ Propagation stops after upgrade to 11.2.0.1 ORA-30757 4.3.1. Errors Related to Incorrect Network Configuration The most common propagation errors result from an incorrect network configuration. The list below contains common errors caused by tnsnames.ora file or database links being configured incorrectly: - ORA-12154: TNS:could not resolve service name- ORA-12505: TNS:listener does not currently know of SID given in connect descriptor- ORA-12514: TNS:listener could not resolve SERVICE_NAME - ORA-12541: TNS-12541 TNS:no listener 4.4. Check the Database Links Exist and are Functioning Correctly For schedules to remote databases confirm the database link exists via. SQL> col DBLINK for a45SQL> select QNAME, NVL(REGEXP_SUBSTR(DESTINATION, '[^@]+', 1, 2), DESTINATION) dblink2 from DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES3 where MESSAGE_DELIVERY_MODE = 'PERSISTENT';QNAME DBLINK------------------------------ ---------------------------------------------MY_QUEUE ORCL102B.WORLD Connect as the owner of the link and select across it to verify it works and connects to the database we expect. i.e. select * from ALL_QUEUES@ ORCL102B.WORLD; You need to ensure that the userid that scheduled the propagation (using DBMS_AQADM.SCHEDULE_PROPAGATION or DBMS_PROPAGATION_ADM.CREATE_PROPAGATION if using Streams) has access to the database link for the destination. 4.5. Has Propagation Been Correctly Scheduled? Check that the propagation schedule has been created and that a job queue process has been assigned. Look for the entry in DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES and SYS.AQ$_SCHEDULES for your schedule. For 10g and below, check that it has a JOBNO entry in SYS.AQ$_SCHEDULES, and that there is an entry in DBA_JOBS with that JOBNO. For 11g and above, check that the schedule has a JOB_NAME entry in SYS.AQ$_SCHEDULES, and that there is an entry in DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS with that JOB_NAME. Check the destination is as intended and spelled correctly. SQL> select SCHEMA, QNAME, DESTINATION, SCHEDULE_DISABLED, PROCESS_NAME from DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES;SCHEMA QNAME DESTINATION S PROCESS------- ---------- ------------------ - -----------AQADM MULTIPLEQ AQ$_LOCAL N J000 AQ$_LOCAL in the destination column shows that the queue to which we are propagating to is in the same database as the source queue. If the propagation was to a remote (different) database, a database link will be in the DESTINATION column. The entry in the SCHEDULE_DISABLED column, N, means that the schedule is NOT disabled. If Y (yes) appears in this column, propagation is disabled and the schedule will not be executed. If not using Oracle Streams, propagation should resume once you have enabled the schedule by invoking DBMS_AQADM.ENABLE_PROPAGATION_SCHEDULE (for 10.2 Oracle Streams and above, the DBMS_PROPAGATION_ADM.START_PROPAGATION procedure should be used). The PROCESS_NAME is the name of the job queue process currently allocated to execute the schedule. This process is allocated dynamically at execution time. If the PROCESS_NAME column is null (empty) the schedule is not currently executing. You may need to execute this statement a number of times to verify if a process is being allocated. If a process is at some time allocated to the schedule, it is attempting to execute. SQL> select SCHEMA, QNAME, LAST_RUN_DATE, NEXT_RUN_DATE from DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES;SCHEMA QNAME LAST_RUN_DATE NEXT_RUN_DATE------ ----- ----------------------- ----------------------- AQADM MULTIPLEQ 13-FEB-2002 13:18:57 13-FEB-2002 13:20:30 In 11g, these dates are expressed in TIMESTAMP WITH TIME ZONE datatypes. If the NEXT_RUN_DATE and NEXT_RUN_TIME columns are null when this statement is executed, the scheduled propagation is currently in progress. If they never change it would suggest that the schedule itself is never executing. If the next scheduled execution is too far away, change the NEXT_TIME parameter of the schedule so that schedules are executed more frequently (assuming that the window is not set to be infinite). Parameters of a schedule can be changed using the DBMS_AQADM.ALTER_PROPAGATION_SCHEDULE call. In 10g and below, scheduling propagation posts a job in the DBA_JOBS view. The columns are more or less the same as DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES so you just need to recognize the job and verify that it exists. SQL> select JOB, WHAT from DBA_JOBS where WHAT like '%sys.dbms_aqadm.aq$_propaq(job)%';JOB WHAT---- ----------------- 720 next_date := sys.dbms_aqadm.aq$_propaq(job); For 11g, scheduling propagation posts a job in DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS instead: SQL> select JOB_NAME from DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS where JOB_NAME like 'AQ_JOB$_%';JOB_NAME------------------------------AQ_JOB$_41 If no job exists, check DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES to make sure that the schedule has not been disabled. For 10g and below, the job number is dynamic for AQ propagation schedules. The procedure that is executed to expedite a propagation schedule runs, removes itself from DBA_JOBS, and then reposts a new job for the next scheduled propagation. The job number should therefore always increment unless the schedule has been set up to run indefinitely. 4.6. Is the Schedule Executing but Failing to Complete? Run the following query: SQL> select FAILURES, LAST_ERROR_MSG from DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES;FAILURES LAST_ERROR_MSG------------ -----------------------1 ORA-25207: enqueue failed, queue AQADM.INQ is disabled from enqueueingORA-02063: preceding line from SHANE816 The failures column shows how many times we have attempted to execute the schedule and failed. Oracle will attempt to execute the schedule 16 times after which it will be removed from the DBA_JOBS or DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS view and the schedule will become disabled. The column DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES.SCHEDULE_DISABLED will show 'Y'. For 11g and above, the DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS.STATE column will show 'BROKEN' for the job corresponding to DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES.JOB_NAME. Prior to 10g the back off algorithm for failures was exponential, whereas from 10g onwards it is linear. The propagation will become disabled on the 17th attempt. Only the last execution failure will be reflected in the LAST_ERROR_MSG column. That is, if the schedule fails 5 times for 5 different reasons, only the last set of errors will be recorded in DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES. Any errors need to be resolved to allow propagation to continue. If propagation has also become disabled due to 17 failures, first resolve the reason for the error and then re-enable the schedule using the DBMS_AQADM.ENABLE_PROPAGATION_SCHEDULE procedure, or DBMS_PROPAGATION_ADM.START_PROPAGATION if using 10.2 or above Oracle Streams. As soon as the schedule executes successfully the error message entries will be deleted. Oracle does not keep a history of past failures. However, when using Oracle Streams, the errors will be retained in the DBA_PROPAGATION view even after the schedule resumes successfully. See the following note for instructions on how to clear out the errors from the DBA_PROPAGATION view:Document 808136.1 How to clear the old errors from DBA_PROPAGATION view?If a schedule is active and no errors are being reported then the source queue may not have any messages to be propagated. 4.7. Do the Propagation Notification Queue Table and Queue Exist? Check to see that the propagation notification queue table and queue exist and are enabled for enqueue and dequeue. Propagation makes use of the propagation notification queue for handling propagation run-time events, and the messages in this queue are stored in a SYS-owned queue table. This queue should never be stopped or dropped and the corresponding queue table never be dropped. 10g and belowThe propagation notification queue table is of the format SYS.AQ$_PROP_TABLE_n, where 'n' is the RAC instance number, i.e. '1' for a non-RAC environment. This queue and queue table are created implicitly when propagation is first scheduled. If propagation has been scheduled and these objects do not exist, try unscheduling and rescheduling propagation. If they still do not exist contact Oracle Support. SQL> select QUEUE_TABLE from DBA_QUEUE_TABLES2 where QUEUE_TABLE like '%PROP_TABLE%' and OWNER = 'SYS';QUEUE_TABLE------------------------------AQ$_PROP_TABLE_1SQL> select NAME, ENQUEUE_ENABLED, DEQUEUE_ENABLED2 from DBA_QUEUES where owner='SYS'3 and QUEUE_TABLE like '%PROP_TABLE%';NAME ENQUEUE DEQUEUE------------------------------ ------- -------AQ$_PROP_NOTIFY_1 YES YESAQ$_AQ$_PROP_TABLE_1_E NO NO If the AQ$_PROP_NOTIFY_1 queue is not enabled for enqueue or dequeue, it should be so enabled using DBMS_AQADM.START_QUEUE. However, the exception queue AQ$_AQ$_PROP_TABLE_1_E should not be enabled for enqueue or dequeue.11g and aboveThe propagation notification queue table is of the format SYS.AQ_PROP_TABLE, and is created when the database is created. If they do not exist, contact Oracle Support. SQL> select QUEUE_TABLE from DBA_QUEUE_TABLES2 where QUEUE_TABLE like '%PROP_TABLE%' and OWNER = 'SYS';QUEUE_TABLE------------------------------AQ_PROP_TABLESQL> select NAME, ENQUEUE_ENABLED, DEQUEUE_ENABLED2 from DBA_QUEUES where owner='SYS'3 and QUEUE_TABLE like '%PROP_TABLE%';NAME ENQUEUE DEQUEUE------------------------------ ------- -------AQ_PROP_NOTIFY YES YESAQ$_AQ_PROP_TABLE_E NO NO If the AQ_PROP_NOTIFY queue is not enabled for enqueue or dequeue, it should be so enabled using DBMS_AQADM.START_QUEUE. However, the exception queue AQ$_AQ$_PROP_TABLE_E should not be enabled for enqueue or dequeue. 4.8. Does the Remote Queue Exist and is it Enabled for Enqueueing? Check that the remote queue the propagation is transferring messages to exists and is enabled for enqueue: SQL> select DESTINATION from USER_QUEUE_SCHEDULES where QNAME = 'OUTQ';DESTINATION-----------------------------------------------------------------------------"AQADM"."INQ"@M2V102.ESSQL> select OWNER, NAME, ENQUEUE_ENABLED, DEQUEUE_ENABLED from [email protected];OWNER NAME ENQUEUE DEQUEUE-------- ------ ----------- -----------AQADM INQ YES YES 4.9. Do the Target and Source Database Charactersets Differ? If a message fails to propagate, check the database charactersets of the source and target databases. Investigate whether the same message can propagate between the databases with the same characterset or it is only a particular combination of charactersets which causes a problem. 4.10. Check the Queue Table Type Agreement Propagation is not possible between queue tables which have types that differ in some respect. One way to determine if this is the case is to run the DBMS_AQADM.VERIFY_QUEUE_TYPES procedure for the two queues that the propagation operates on. If the types do not agree, DBMS_AQADM.VERIFY_QUEUE_TYPES will return '0'.For AQ propagation between databases which have different NLS_LENGTH_SEMANTICS settings, propagation will not work, unless the queues are Oracle Streams ANYDATA queues.See the following notes for issues caused by lack of type agreement:Document 1079577.1 Advanced Queuing Propagation Fails With "ORA-22370: incorrect usage of method"Document 282987.1 Propagated Messages marked UNDELIVERABLE after Drop and Recreate Of Remote QueueDocument 353754.1 Streams Messaging Propagation Fails between Single and Multi-byte Charactersets when using Chararacter Length Semantics in the ADT 4.11. Enable Propagation Tracing 4.11.1. System Level This is set it in the init.ora/spfile as follows: event="24040 trace name context forever, level 10" and restart the instanceThis event cannot be set dynamically with an alter system command until version 10.2: SQL> alter system set events '24040 trace name context forever, level 10'; To unset the event: SQL> alter system set events '24040 trace name context off'; Debugging information will be logged to job queue trace file(s) (jnnn) as propagation takes place. You can check the trace file for errors, and for statements indicating that messages have been sent. For the most part the trace information is understandable. This trace should also be uploaded to Oracle Support if a service request is created. 4.11.2. Attaching to a Specific Process We can also attach to an existing job queue processes that is running a propagation schedule and trace it individually using the oradebug utility, as follows:10.2 and below connect / as sysdbaselect p.SPID, p.PROGRAM from v$PROCESS p, DBA_JOBS_RUNNING jr, V$SESSION s, DBA_JOBS j where s.SID=jr.SID and s.PADDR=p.ADDR and jr.JOB=j.JOB and j.WHAT like '%sys.dbms_aqadm.aq$_propaq(job)%';-- For the process id (SPID) attach to it via oradebug and generate the following traceoradebug setospid <SPID>oradebug unlimitoradebug Event 10046 trace name context forever, level 12oradebug Event 24040 trace name context forever, level 10-- Trace the process for 5 minutesoradebug Event 10046 trace name context offoradebug Event 24040 trace name context off-- The following command returns the pathname/filename to the file being written tooradebug tracefile_name 11g connect / as sysdbacol PROGRAM for a30select p.SPID, p.PROGRAM, j.JOB_NAMEfrom v$PROCESS p, DBA_SCHEDULER_RUNNING_JOBS jr, V$SESSION s, DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS j where s.SID=jr.SESSION_ID and s.PADDR=p.ADDR and jr.JOB_NAME=j.JOB_NAME and j.JOB_NAME like '%AQ_JOB$_%';-- For the process id (SPID) attach to it via oradebug and generate the following traceoradebug setospid <SPID>oradebug unlimitoradebug Event 10046 trace name context forever, level 12oradebug Event 24040 trace name context forever, level 10-- Trace the process for 5 minutesoradebug Event 10046 trace name context offoradebug Event 24040 trace name context off-- The following command returns the pathname/filename to the file being written tooradebug tracefile_name 4.11.3. Further Tracing The previous tracing steps only trace the job queue process executing the propagation on the source. At times it is useful to trace the propagation receiver process (the session which is enqueueing the messages into the target queue) on the target database which is associated with the job queue process on the source database.These following queries provide ways of identifying the processes involved in propagation so that you can attach to them via oradebug to generate trace information.In order to identify the propagation receiver process you need to execute the query as a user with privileges to access the v$ views in both the local and remote databases so the database link must connect as a user with those privileges in the remote database. The <DBLINK> in the queries should be replaced by the appropriate database link.The queries have two forms due to the differences between operating systems. The value returned by 'Rem Process' is the operating system identifier of the propagation receiver on the remote database. Once identified, this process can be attached to and traced on the remote database using the commands given in Section 4.11.2.10.2 and below - Windows select pl.SPID "JobQ Process", pl.PROGRAM, sr.PROCESS "Rem Process" from v$PROCESS pl, DBA_JOBS_RUNNING jr, V$SESSION s, DBA_JOBS j, V$SESSION@<DBLINK> sr where s.SID=jr.SID and s.PADDR=pl.ADDR and jr.JOB=j.JOB and j.WHAT like '%sys.dbms_aqadm.aq$_propaq(job)%' and pl.SPID=substr(sr.PROCESS, instr(sr.PROCESS,':')+1); 10.2 and below - Unix select pl.SPID "JobQ Process", pl.PROGRAM, sr.PROCESS "Rem Process" from V$PROCESS pl, DBA_JOBS_RUNNING jr, V$SESSION s, DBA_JOBS j, V$SESSION@<DBLINK> sr where s.SID=jr.SID and s.PADDR=pl.ADDR and jr.JOB=j.JOB and j.WHAT like '%sys.dbms_aqadm.aq$_propaq(job)%' and pl.SPID=sr.PROCESS; 11g - Windows select pl.SPID "JobQ Process", pl.PROGRAM, sr.PROCESS "Rem Process" from V$PROCESS pl, DBA_SCHEDULER_RUNNING_JOBS jr, V$SESSION s, DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS j, V$SESSION@<DBLINK> sr where s.SID=jr.SESSION_ID and s.PADDR=pl.ADDR and jr.JOB_NAME=j.JOB_NAME and j.JOB_NAME like '%AQ_JOB$_%%' and pl.SPID=substr(sr.PROCESS, instr(sr.PROCESS,':')+1); 11g - Unix select pl.SPID "JobQ Process", pl.PROGRAM, sr.PROCESS "Rem Process" from V$PROCESS pl, DBA_SCHEDULER_RUNNING_JOBS jr, V$SESSION s, DBA_SCHEDULER_JOBS j, V$SESSION@<DBLINK> sr where s.SID=jr.SESSION_ID and s.PADDR=pl.ADDR and jr.JOB_NAME=j.JOB_NAME and j.JOB_NAME like '%AQ_JOB$_%%' and pl.SPID=sr.PROCESS;   5. Additional Troubleshooting Steps for AQ Propagation of User-Enqueued and Dequeued Messages 5.1. Check the Privileges of All Users Involved Ensure that the owner of the database link has the necessary privileges on the aq packages. SQL> select TABLE_NAME, PRIVILEGE from USER_TAB_PRIVS;TABLE_NAME PRIVILEGE------------------------------ ----------------------------------------DBMS_LOCK EXECUTEDBMS_AQ EXECUTEDBMS_AQADM EXECUTEDBMS_AQ_BQVIEW EXECUTEQT52814_BUFFER SELECT Note that when queue table is created, a view called QT<nnn>_BUFFER is created in the SYS schema, and the queue table owner is given SELECT privileges on it. The <nnn> corresponds to the object_id of the associated queue table. SQL> select * from USER_ROLE_PRIVS;USERNAME GRANTED_ROLE ADM DEF OS_------------------------------ ------------------------------ ---- ---- ---AQ_USER1 AQ_ADMINISTRATOR_ROLE NO YES NOAQ_USER1 CONNECT NO YES NOAQ_USER1 RESOURCE NO YES NO It is good practice to configure central AQ administrative user. All admin and processing jobs are created, executed and administered as this user. This configuration is not mandatory however, and the database link can be owned by any existing queue user. If this latter configuration is used, ensure that the connecting user has the necessary privileges on the AQ packages and objects involved. Privileges for an AQ Administrative user Execute on DBMS_AQADM Execute on DBMS_AQ Granted the AQ_ADMINISTRATOR_ROLE Privileges for an AQ user Execute on DBMS_AQ Execute on the message payload Enqueue privileges on the remote queue Dequeue privileges on the originating queue Privileges need to be confirmed on both sites when propagation is scheduled to remote destinations. Verify that the user ID used to login to the destination through the database link has been granted privileges to use AQ. 5.2. Verify Queue Payload Types AQ will not propagate messages from one queue to another if the payload types of the two queues are not verified to be equivalent. An AQ administrator can verify if the source and destination's payload types match by executing the DBMS_AQADM.VERIFY_QUEUE_TYPES procedure. The results of the type checking will be stored in the SYS.AQ$_MESSAGE_TYPES table. This table can be accessed using the object identifier OID of the source queue and the address database link of the destination queue, i.e. [schema.]queue_name[@destination]. Prior to Oracle 9i the payload (message type) had to be the same for all the queue tables involved in propagation. From Oracle9i onwards a transformation can be used so that payloads can be converted from one type to another. The following procedural call made on the source database can verify whether we can propagate between the source and the destination queue tables. connect aq_user1/[email protected] serverout onDECLARErc_value number;BEGINDBMS_AQADM.VERIFY_QUEUE_TYPES(src_queue_name => 'AQ_USER1.Q_1', dest_queue_name => 'AQ_USER2.Q_2',destination => 'dbl_aq_user2.es',rc => rc_value);dbms_output.put_line('rc_value code is '||rc_value);END;/ If propagation is possible then the return code value will be 1. If it is 0 then propagation is not possible and further investigation of the types and transformations used by and in conjunction with the queue tables is required. With regard to comparison of the types the following sql can be used to extract the DDL for a specific type with' %' changed appropriately on the source and target. This can then be compared for the source and target. SET LONG 20000 set pagesize 50 EXECUTE DBMS_METADATA.SET_TRANSFORM_PARAM(DBMS_METADATA.SESSION_TRANSFORM, 'STORAGE',false); SELECT DBMS_METADATA.GET_DDL('TYPE',t.type_name) from user_types t WHERE t.type_name like '%'; EXECUTE DBMS_METADATA.SET_TRANSFORM_PARAM(DBMS_METADATA.SESSION_TRANSFORM, 'DEFAULT'); 5.3. Check Message State and Destination The first step in this process is to identify the queue table associated with the problem source queue. Although you schedule propagation for a specific queue, most of the meta-data associated with that queue is stored in the underlying queue table. The following statement finds the queue table for a given queue (note that this is a multiple-consumer queue table). SQL> select QUEUE_TABLE from DBA_QUEUES where NAME = 'MULTIPLEQ';QUEUE_TABLE --------------------MULTIPLEQTABLE For a small amount of messages in a multiple-consumer queue table, the following query can be run: SQL> select MSG_STATE, CONSUMER_NAME, ADDRESS from AQ$MULTIPLEQTABLE where QUEUE = 'MULTIPLEQ';MSG_STATE CONSUMER_NAME ADDRESS-------------- ----------------------- -------------READY AQUSER2 [email protected] AQUSER1READY AQUSER3 AQADM.INQ In this example we see 2 messages ready to be propagated to remote queues and 1 that is not. If the address column is blank, the message is not scheduled for propagation and can only be dequeued from the queue upon which it was enqueued. The MSG_STATE column values are discussed in Document 102330.1 Advanced Queueing MSG_STATE Values and their Interpretation. If the address column has a value, the message has been enqueued for propagation to another queue. The first row in the example includes a database link (@M2V102.ES). This demonstrates that the message should be propagated to a queue at a remote database. The third row does not include a database link so will be propagated to a queue that resides on the same database as the source queue. The consumer name is the intended recipient at the target queue. Note that we are not querying the base queue table directly; rather, we are querying a view that is available on top of every queue table, AQ$<queue_table_name>.A more realistic query in an environment where the queue table contains thousands of messages is8.0.3-compatible multiple-consumer queue table and all compatibility single-consumer queue tables select count(*), MSG_STATE, QUEUE from AQ$<queue_table_name>  group by MSG_STATE, QUEUE; 8.1.3 and 10.0-compatible queue tables select count(*), MSG_STATE, QUEUE, CONSUMER_NAME from AQ$<queue_table_name>group by MSG_STATE, QUEUE, CONSUMER_NAME; For multiple-consumer queue tables, if you did not see the expected CONSUMER_NAME , check the syntax of the enqueue code and verify the recipients are declared correctly. If a recipients list is not used on enqueue, check the subscriber list in the AQ$_<queue_table_name>_S view (note that a single-consumer queue table does not have a subscriber view. This view records all members of the default subscription list which were added using the DBMS_AQADM.ADD_SUBSCRIBER procedure and also those enqueued using a recipient list. SQL> select QUEUE, NAME, ADDRESS from AQ$MULTIPLEQTABLE_S;QUEUE NAME ADDRESS---------- ----------- -------------MULTIPLEQ AQUSER2 [email protected] AQUSER1 In this example we have 2 subscribers registered with the queue. We have a local subscriber AQUSER1, and a remote subscriber AQUSER2, on the queue INQ, owned by AQADM, at M2V102.ES. Unless overridden with a recipient list during enqueue every message enqueued to this queue will be propagated to INQ at M2V102.ES.For 8.1 style and above multiple consumer queue tables, you can also check the following information at the target: select CONSUMER_NAME, DEQ_TXN_ID, DEQ_TIME, DEQ_USER_ID, PROPAGATED_MSGID from AQ$<queue_table_name> where QUEUE = '<QUEUE_NAME>'; For 8.0 style queues, if the queue table supports multiple consumers you can obtain the same information from the history column of the queue table: select h.CONSUMER, h.TRANSACTION_ID, h.DEQ_TIME, h.DEQ_USER, h.PROPAGATED_MSGIDfrom AQ$<queue_table_name> t, table(t.history) h where t.Q_NAME = '<QUEUE_NAME>'; A non-NULL TRANSACTION_ID indicates that the message was successfully propagated. Further, the DEQ_TIME indicates the time of propagation, the DEQ_USER indicates the userid used for propagation, and the PROPAGATED_MSGID indicates the message ID of the message that was enqueued at the destination. 6. Additional Troubleshooting Steps for Propagation in an Oracle Streams Environment 6.1. Is the Propagation Enabled? For a propagation job to propagate messages, the propagation must be enabled. For Streams, a special view called DBA_PROPAGATION exists to convey information about Streams propagations. If messages are not being propagated by a propagation as expected, then the propagation might not be enabled. To query for this: SELECT p.PROPAGATION_NAME, DECODE(s.SCHEDULE_DISABLED, 'Y', 'Disabled','N', 'Enabled') SCHEDULE_DISABLED, s.PROCESS_NAME, s.FAILURES, s.LAST_ERROR_MSGFROM DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES s, DBA_PROPAGATION pWHERE p.DESTINATION_DBLINK = NVL(REGEXP_SUBSTR(s.DESTINATION, '[^@]+', 1, 2), s.DESTINATION) AND s.SCHEMA = p.SOURCE_QUEUE_OWNER AND s.QNAME = p.SOURCE_QUEUE_NAME AND MESSAGE_DELIVERY_MODE = 'PERSISTENT' order by PROPAGATION_NAME; At times, the propagation job may become "broken" or fail to start after an error has been encountered or after a database restart. If an error is indicated by the above query, an attempt to disable the propagation and then re-enable it can be made. In the examples below, for the propagation named STRMADMIN_PROPAGATE where the queue name is STREAMS_QUEUE owned by STRMADMIN and the destination database link is ORCL2.WORLD, the commands would be:10.2 and above exec dbms_propagation_adm.stop_propagation('STRMADMIN_PROPAGATE'); exec dbms_propagation_adm.start_propagation('STRMADMIN_PROPAGATE'); If the above does not fix the problem, stop the propagation specifying the force parameter (2nd parameter on stop_propagation) as TRUE: exec dbms_propagation_adm.stop_propagation('STRMADMIN_PROPAGATE',true); exec dbms_propagation_adm.start_propagation('STRMADMIN_PROPAGATE'); The statistics for the propagation as well as any old error messages are cleared when the force parameter is set to TRUE. Therefore if the propagation schedule is stopped with FORCE set to TRUE, and upon restart there is still an error message in DBA_PROPAGATION, then the error message is current.9.2 or 10.1 exec dbms_aqadm.disable_propagation_schedule('STRMADMIN.STREAMS_QUEUE','ORCL2.WORLD'); exec dbms.aqadm.enable_propagation_schedule('STRMADMIN.STREAMS_QUEUE','ORCL2.WORLD'); If the above does not fix the problem, perform an unschedule of propagation and then schedule_propagation: exec dbms_aqadm.unschedule_propagation('STRMADMIN.STREAMS_QUEUE','ORCL2.WORLD'); exec dbms_aqadm.schedule_propagation('STRMADMIN.STREAMS_QUEUE','ORCL2.WORLD'); Typically if the error from the first query in Section 6.1 recurs after restarting the propagation as shown above, further troubleshooting of the error is needed. 6.2. Check Propagation Rule Sets and Transformations Inspect the configuration of the rules in the rule set that is associated with the propagation process to make sure that they evaluate to TRUE as expected. If not, then the object or schema will not be propagated. Remember that when a negative rule evaluates to TRUE, the specified object or schema will not be propagated. Finally inspect any rule-based transformations that are implemented with propagation to make sure they are changing the data in the intended way.The following query shows what rule sets are assigned to a propagation: select PROPAGATION_NAME, RULE_SET_OWNER||'.'||RULE_SET_NAME "Positive Rule Set",NEGATIVE_RULE_SET_OWNER||'.'||NEGATIVE_RULE_SET_NAME "Negative Rule Set"from DBA_PROPAGATION; The next two queries list the propagation rules and their conditions. The first is for the positive rule set, the second is for the negative rule set: set long 4000select rsr.RULE_SET_OWNER||'.'||rsr.RULE_SET_NAME RULE_SET ,rsr.RULE_OWNER||'.'||rsr.RULE_NAME RULE_NAME,r.RULE_CONDITION CONDITION fromDBA_RULE_SET_RULES rsr, DBA_RULES rwhere rsr.RULE_NAME = r.RULE_NAME and rsr.RULE_OWNER = r.RULE_OWNER and RULE_SET_NAME in(select RULE_SET_NAME from DBA_PROPAGATION) order by rsr.RULE_SET_OWNER, rsr.RULE_SET_NAME;   set long 4000select c.PROPAGATION_NAME, rsr.RULE_SET_OWNER||'.'||rsr.RULE_SET_NAME RULE_SET ,rsr.RULE_OWNER||'.'||rsr.RULE_NAME RULE_NAME,r.RULE_CONDITION CONDITION fromDBA_RULE_SET_RULES rsr, DBA_RULES r ,DBA_PROPAGATION cwhere rsr.RULE_NAME = r.RULE_NAME and rsr.RULE_OWNER = r.RULE_OWNER andrsr.RULE_SET_OWNER=c.NEGATIVE_RULE_SET_OWNER and rsr.RULE_SET_NAME=c.NEGATIVE_RULE_SET_NAMEand rsr.RULE_SET_NAME in(select NEGATIVE_RULE_SET_NAME from DBA_PROPAGATION) order by rsr.RULE_SET_OWNER, rsr.RULE_SET_NAME; 6.3. Determining the Total Number of Messages and Bytes Propagated As in Section 3.1, determining if messages are flowing can be instructive to see whether the propagation is entirely hung or just slow. If the propagation is not in flow control (see Section 6.5.2), but the statistics are incrementing slowly, there may be a performance issue. For Streams implementations two views are available that can assist with this that can show the number of messages sent by a propagation, as well as the number of acknowledgements being returned from the target site: the V$PROPAGATION_SENDER view at the Source site and the V$PROPAGATION_RECEIVER view at the destination site. It is helpful to query both to determine if messages are being delivered to the target. Look for the statistics to increase.Source: select QUEUE_SCHEMA, QUEUE_NAME, DBLINK,HIGH_WATER_MARK, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, TOTAL_MSGS, TOTAL_BYTESfrom V$PROPAGATION_SENDER; Target: select SRC_QUEUE_SCHEMA, SRC_QUEUE_NAME, SRC_DBNAME, DST_QUEUE_SCHEMA, DST_QUEUE_NAME, HIGH_WATER_MARK, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, TOTAL_MSGS from V$PROPAGATION_RECEIVER; 6.4. Check Buffered Subscribers The V$BUFFERED_SUBSCRIBERS view displays information about subscribers for all buffered queues in the instance. This view can be queried to make sure that the site that the propagation is propagating to is listed as a subscriber address for the site being propagated from: select QUEUE_SCHEMA, QUEUE_NAME, SUBSCRIBER_ADDRESS from V$BUFFERED_SUBSCRIBERS; The SUBSCRIBER_ADDRESS column will not be populated when the propagation is local (between queues on the same database). 6.5. Common Streams Propagation Errors 6.5.1. ORA-02082: A loopback database link must have a connection qualifier. This error can occur if you use the Streams Setup Wizard in Oracle Enterprise Manager without first configuring the GLOBAL_NAME for your database. 6.5.2. ORA-25307: Enqueue rate too high. Enable flow control DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES will display this informational message for propagation when the automatic flow control (10g feature of Streams) has been invoked.Similar to Streams capture processes, a Streams propagation process can also go into a state of 'flow control. This is an informative message that indicates flow control has been automatically enabled to reduce the rate at which messages are being enqueued into at target queue.This typically occurs when the target site is unable to keep up with the rate of messages flowing from the source site. Other than checking that the apply process is running normally on the target site, usually no action is required by the DBA. Propagation and the capture process will be resumed automatically when the target site is able to accept more messages.The following document contains more information:Document 302109.1 Streams Propagation Error: ORA-25307 Enqueue rate too high. Enable flow controlSee the following document for one potential cause of this situation:Document 1097115.1 Oracle Streams Apply Reader is in 'Paused' State 6.5.3. ORA-25315 unsupported configuration for propagation of buffered messages This error typically occurs when the target database is RAC and usually indicates that an attempt was made to propagate buffered messages with the database link pointing to an instance in the destination database which is not the owner instance of the destination queue. To resolve the problem, use queue-to-queue propagation for buffered messages. 6.5.4. ORA-600 [KWQBMCRCPTS101] after dropping / recreating propagation For cause/fixes refer to:Document 421237.1 ORA-600 [KWQBMCRCPTS101] reported by a Qmon slave process after dropping a Streams Propagation 6.5.5. Stopping or Dropping a Streams Propagation Hangs See the following note:Document 1159787.1 Troubleshooting Streams Propagation When It is Not Functioning and Attempts to Stop It Hang 6.6. Streams Propagation-Related Notes for Common Issues Document 437838.1 Streams Specific PatchesDocument 749181.1 How to Recover Streams After Dropping PropagationDocument 368912.1 Queue to Queue Propagation Schedule encountered ORA-12514 in a RAC environmentDocument 564649.1 ORA-02068/ORA-03114/ORA-03113 Errors From Streams Propagation Process - Remote Database is Available and Unschedule/Reschedule Does Not ResolveDocument 553017.1 Stream Propagation Process Errors Ora-4052 Ora-6554 From 11g To 10201Document 944846.1 Streams Propagation Fails Ora-7445 [kohrsmc]Document 745601.1 ORA-23603 'STREAMS enqueue aborted due to low SGA' Error from Streams Propagation, and V$STREAMS_CAPTURE.STATE Hanging on 'Enqueuing Message'Document 333068.1 ORA-23603: Streams Enqueue Aborted Eue To Low SGADocument 363496.1 Ora-25315 Propagating on RAC StreamsDocument 368237.1 Unable to Unschedule Propagation. Streams Queue is InvalidDocument 436332.1 dbms_propagation_adm.stop_propagation hangsDocument 727389.1 Propagation Fails With ORA-12528Document 730911.1 ORA-4063 Is Reported After Dropping Negative Prop.RulesetDocument 460471.1 Propagation Blocked by Qmon Process - Streams_queue_table / 'library cache lock' waitsDocument 1165583.1 ORA-600 [kwqpuspse0-ack] In Streams EnvironmentDocument 1059029.1 Combined Capture and Apply (CCA) : Capture aborts : ORA-1422 after schedule_propagationDocument 556309.1 Changing Propagation/ queue_to_queue : false -> true does does not work; no LCRs propagatedDocument 839568.1 Propagation failing with error: ORA-01536: space quota exceeded for tablespace ''Document 311021.1 Streams Propagation Process : Ora 12154 After Reboot with Transparent Application Failover TAF configuredDocument 359971.1 STREAMS propagation to Primary of physical Standby configuation errors with Ora-01033, Ora-02068Document 1101616.1 DBMS_PROPAGATION_ADM.DROP_PROPAGATION FAILS WITH ORA-1747 7. Performance Issues A propagation may seem to be slow if the queries from Sections 3.1 and 6.3 show that the message statistics are not changing quickly. In Oracle Streams, this more usually is due to a slow apply process at the target rather than a slow propagation. Propagation could be inferred to be slow if the message statistics are changing, and the state of a capture process according to V$STREAMS_CAPTURE.STATE is PAUSED FOR FLOW CONTROL, but an ORA-25307 'Enqueue rate too high. Enable flow control' warning is NOT observed in DBA_QUEUE_SCHEDULES per Section 6.5.2. If this is the case, see the following notes / white papers for suggestions to increase performance:Document 335516.1 Master Note for Streams Performance RecommendationsDocument 730036.1 Overview for Troubleshooting Streams Performance IssuesDocument 780733.1 Streams Propagation Tuning with Network ParametersWhite Paper: http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/features/availability/maa-wp-10gr2-streams-performance-130059.pdfWhite Paper: Oracle Streams Configuration Best Practices: Oracle Database 10g Release 10.2, http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/features/availability/maa-10gr2-streams-configuration-132039.pdf, See APPENDIX A: USING STREAMS CONFIGURATIONS OVER A NETWORKFor basic AQ propagation, the network tuning in the aforementioned Appendix A of the white paper 'Oracle Streams Configuration Best Practices: Oracle Database 10g Release 10.2' is applicable. References NOTE:102330.1 - Advanced Queueing MSG_STATE Values and their InterpretationNOTE:102771.1 - Advanced Queueing Propagation using PL/SQLNOTE:1059029.1 - Combined Capture and Apply (CCA) : Capture aborts : ORA-1422 after schedule_propagationNOTE:1079577.1 - Advanced Queuing Propagation Fails With "ORA-22370: incorrect usage of method"NOTE:1083608.1 - 11g Streams and Oracle SchedulerNOTE:1087324.1 - ORA-01405 ORA-01422 reported by Adavanced Queueing Propagation schedules after RAC reconfigurationNOTE:1097115.1 - Oracle Streams Apply Reader is in 'Paused' StateNOTE:1101616.1 - DBMS_PROPAGATION_ADM.DROP_PROPAGATION FAILS WITH ORA-1747NOTE:1159787.1 - Troubleshooting Streams Propagation When It is Not Functioning and Attempts to Stop It HangNOTE:1165583.1 - ORA-600 [kwqpuspse0-ack] In Streams EnvironmentNOTE:118884.1 - How to unschedule a propagation schedule stuck in pending stateNOTE:1203544.1 - AQ PROPAGATION ABORTED WITH ORA-600[OCIKSIN: INVALID STATUS] ON SYS.DBMS_AQADM_SYS.AQ$_PROPAGATION_PROCEDURE AFTER UPGRADENOTE:1204080.1 - AQ Propagation Failing With ORA-25329 After Upgraded From 8i or 9i to 10g or 11g.NOTE:219416.1 - Advanced Queuing Propagation fails with ORA-22922NOTE:222992.1 - DBMS_AQADM.DISABLE_PROPAGATION_SCHEDULE Returns ORA-24082NOTE:253131.1 - Concurrent Writes May Corrupt LOB Segment When Using Auto Segment Space Management (ORA-1555)NOTE:282987.1 - Propagated Messages marked UNDELIVERABLE after Drop and Recreate Of Remote QueueNOTE:298015.1 - Kwqjswproc:Excep After Loop: Assigning To SelfNOTE:302109.1 - Streams Propagation Error: ORA-25307 Enqueue rate too high. Enable flow controlNOTE:311021.1 - Streams Propagation Process : Ora 12154 After Reboot with Transparent Application Failover TAF configuredNOTE:332792.1 - ORA-04061 error relating to SYS.DBMS_PRVTAQIP reported when setting up StatspackNOTE:333068.1 - ORA-23603: Streams Enqueue Aborted Eue To Low SGANOTE:335516.1 - Master Note for Streams Performance RecommendationsNOTE:353325.1 - ORA-24056: Internal inconsistency for QUEUE and destination NOTE:353754.1 - Streams Messaging Propagation Fails between Single and Multi-byte Charactersets when using Chararacter Length Semantics in the ADT.NOTE:359971.1 - STREAMS propagation to Primary of physical Standby configuation errors with Ora-01033, Ora-02068NOTE:363496.1 - Ora-25315 Propagating on RAC StreamsNOTE:365093.1 - ORA-07445 [kwqppay2aqe()+7360] reported on Propagation of a Transformed MessageNOTE:368237.1 - Unable to Unschedule Propagation. Streams Queue is InvalidNOTE:368912.1 - Queue to Queue Propagation Schedule encountered ORA-12514 in a RAC environmentNOTE:421237.1 - ORA-600 [KWQBMCRCPTS101] reported by a Qmon slave process after dropping a Streams PropagationNOTE:436332.1 - dbms_propagation_adm.stop_propagation hangsNOTE:437838.1 - Streams Specific PatchesNOTE:460471.1 - Propagation Blocked by Qmon Process - Streams_queue_table / 'library cache lock' waitsNOTE:463820.1 - Streams Combined Capture and Apply in 11gNOTE:553017.1 - Stream Propagation Process Errors Ora-4052 Ora-6554 From 11g To 10201NOTE:556309.1 - Changing Propagation/ queue_to_queue : false -> true does does not work; no LCRs propagatedNOTE:564649.1 - ORA-02068/ORA-03114/ORA-03113 Errors From Streams Propagation Process - Remote Database is Available and Unschedule/Reschedule Does Not ResolveNOTE:566622.1 - ORA-22275 when propagating >4K AQ$_JMS_TEXT_MESSAGEs from 9.2.0.8 to 10.2.0.1NOTE:727389.1 - Propagation Fails With ORA-12528NOTE:730036.1 - Overview for Troubleshooting Streams Performance IssuesNOTE:730911.1 - ORA-4063 Is Reported After Dropping Negative Prop.RulesetNOTE:731292.1 - ORA-25215 Reported On Local Propagation When Using Transformation with ANYDATA queue tablesNOTE:731539.1 - ORA-29268: HTTP client error 401 Unauthorized Error when the AQ Servlet attempts to Propagate a message via HTTPNOTE:745601.1 - ORA-23603 'STREAMS enqueue aborted due to low SGA' Error from Streams Propagation, and V$STREAMS_CAPTURE.STATE Hanging on 'Enqueuing Message'NOTE:749181.1 - How to Recover Streams After Dropping PropagationNOTE:780733.1 - Streams Propagation Tuning with Network ParametersNOTE:787367.1 - ORA-22275 reported on Propagating Messages with LOB component when propagating between 10.1 and 10.2NOTE:808136.1 - How to clear the old errors from DBA_PROPAGATION view ?NOTE:827184.1 - AQ Propagation with CLOB data types Fails with ORA-22990NOTE:827473.1 - How to alter propagation from queue_to_queue to queue_to_dblinkNOTE:839568.1 - Propagation failing with error: ORA-01536: space quota exceeded for tablespace ''NOTE:846297.1 - AQ Propagation Fails : ORA-00600[kope2upic2954] or Ora-00600[Kghsstream_copyn]NOTE:944846.1 - Streams Propagation Fails Ora-7445 [kohrsmc]

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  • How to permanently "renice" a process on Mac OS X (or iOS, etc)?

    - by mralexgray
    I use a nice (free) process manager called ATMonitor for Mac OS X that has a lot of cool hidden features... one of which is being able to click on a running process.. and set the "renice" from +20 (less priority) to -20 (highest priority). The best part.... it sticks between restarts... SO you want XYZ to get full attention all the time.. you set it once and it's done... I want to do the same thing (renice a process) on an iPad running a particular daemon.. and I don't know how to set a renice permanently. I can do it once, and it works fine... But the setting is lost on a reboot. I read somewhere.. Now, as for permanently resetting the priority of a process, this can't be done directly. You can fake it, however, with a shell script that starts the app and then immediately renice's it. Give that script a ".command" extension and it will be double-clickable in the GUI. Not very elegant, but it gets the job done. But as it says.. not very elegant, and I dont think this is how ATMonitor does it.... I found this thread.... http://superuser.com and they gave a way to do it as a launch argument, but no apparent way to save it as a persistent value... for instance - if the program wasn't going to be started by launchd... How do I set a permanent renice level, per executable binary, independent of it's PID, when, how or why it was launched?

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  • USB Hardware vs. Software Write Lock

    - by TreyK
    I'm in the market for a USB flash drive, and remember this cool feature a tiny 32MB flash drive of mine had: a write lock switch. This seemed like it would be an amazing feature to have as a shield against any nastiness happening to the drive on an unfamiliar computer. However, very few drives on the market offer this feature. Instead, it seems that forms of software protection are the more prominent method. This software protection causes me a bit of uneasiness, as it seems like this software wouldn't be nearly as bulletproof as a physical switch. Also, levels of protection seem to vary from product to product. Being able to protect certain folders from reading and/or writing would be nice, but is the security trade-off worth it? Just how effective can this software protection be? Wouldn't a simple format be able to clean any drive with software protection? My drive must also be compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and 7, as well as Linux and Mac. What would be the best way forward for getting a well-sized (~8GB) flash drive with a strong write protection implementation, for little or no more than a regular drive? Thanks.

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  • Hardware for a home server running Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V or Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2

    - by David Hayes
    Hi, I'm planning to build a server to do the following Act as a file server (videos, pictures music) Run Squeezebox server Run Zune Software to allow wireless syncing to Windows Phone 7 I'd also like to aim for Low power usage (i'd settle for less than the 90-100Watts I'm using atm Flexibility, I might want to add a web server or sharepoint or... Something I can learn/test on, work is mainly a Windows shop but I do have Linux experience too I'd like to take a look at App-V (application virtualization) too I'd like it to cost less than $1000 Quiet would be nice but not essential (it'll be in the basement) I'm thinking of getting a technet subscription to get access to Windows Server 2008 R2 at a reasonable price ($199) So my plan was this Get a bunch of 2TB Caviar green drives to RAID up (RAID 1 or 6 probably) Get a Quad core CPU (Intel i5/i7 probably) Install a Hypervisor Install w2k8 R2 Storage Server for a NAS Install Windows 7 Pro to run Zune/Squeeze box Install any other machines I want to play with Questions Can anyone see any issues with this or have any better ideas? Do you think I'd need an i7 over an i5? Is 4 cores enough/too much? Can anyone sugest a nice, reasonably priced case that will hold 6-8 drives and stay cool Should I wait for Sandy Bridge parts?

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  • Need a new mouse: clicky scroll wheel and additional thumb-operated scroll wheel

    - by cksubs
    I'm having some carpel tunnel syndrome or RSI issues, and I need to get a new mouse. I've tried a friend's Logitech MX Revolution and it's almost perfect. I LOVE the thumb-operated scroll wheel, and I think that that alone would solve many of my hand pain issues. The problem is that it uses their newfangled smooth/click scroll wheel. It can be either smooth or clicky, and is switched by pressing in the scroll wheel. I really question Logitech's user research on that one. I've been using middle-click to open new links and close tabs for years now in my browser, and I'm not willing to give that up for this cool technology. In fact I HATE smooth scroll wheels in general, and need a clicky one. The option would be ok, but not if it's activated via the middle-click button. In closing, I'm looking for these items in my mouse: Thumb-operated scroll wheel or 'joystick'-like apparatus. Clicky, as-stiff-as-possible scroll wheel on top Normal middle-click functionality. Comfortable, preferably ergonomic design. Anyone have any suggestions? Logitech, want to get rid of that smoothing-scrolling crap so I can buy your mouse?

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  • Don't let the mouse wake up displays from standby

    - by progo
    I like to put my displays to powersave/standby mode when I leave the computer for a while. It would be ok if it weren't for oversensitive mouse. Sometimes the driver reads in some movement that's not visible to the naked eye (the cursor, that is) and it breaks the power save. It would wait for another 10 minutes before going back to its standby. My workaround is the following script bound to C-S-q: xlock -startCmd 'xset dpms 2 2 2' -endCmd 'xset dpms 600 1200 1300' -mode blank -echokeys -timeelapsed +usefirst By using xset I set the values to 2 seconds each before going to standby. It's not nice, anyway. Sometimes there are cool fortunes that I want to read before typing in the password. I could keep the cursor moving but it's cludgy. (By the way, xlock's option mousemotion doesn't help -- it just hides the cursor but the displays fire up nevertheless.) So the question: is there a way to make displays go standby and stay there until a keyboard key is pressed? I'm running gentoo and recent Xorg, but I hope the answer doesn't have to be distro-specific. Basically the answer can be as simple as how to enable/disable mouse within command line? It think that would do the job if DPMS doesn't know the idea.

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  • Puppet: array in parameterized classes VS using resources

    - by Luke404
    I have some use cases where I want to define multiple similar resources that should end up in a single file (via a template). As an example I'm trying to write a puppet module that will let me manage the mapping between MAC addresses and network interface names (writing udev's persistent-net-rules file from puppet), but there are also many other similar usage cases. I searched around and found that it could be done with the new parameterised classes syntax: if implemented that way it should end up being used like this: node { "myserver.example.com": class { "network::iftab": interfaces => { "eth0" => { "mac" => "ab:cd:ef:98:76:54" } "eth1" => { "mac" => "98:76:de:ad:be:ef" } } } } Not too bad, I agree, but it would rapidly explode when you manage more complex stuff (think network configurations like in this module or any other multiple-complex-resources-in-a-single-config-file stuff). In a similar question on SF someone suggested using Pienaar's puppet-concat module but I doubt it could get any better than parameterised classes. What would be really cool and clean in the configuration definition would be something like the included host type, it's usage is simple, pretty and clean and naturally maps to multiple resources that will end up being configured in a single place. Transposed to my example it would be like: node { "myserver.example.com": interface { "eth0": "mac" => "ab:cd:ef:98:76:54", "foo" => "bar", "asd" => "lol", "eth1": "mac" => "98:76:de:ad:be:ef", "foo" => "rab", "asd" => "olo", } } ...that looks much better to my eyes, even with 3x options to each resource. Should I really be passing arrays to parameterised classes, or there is a better way to do this kind of stuff? Is there some accepted consensus in the puppet [users|developers] community? By the way, I'm referring to the latest stable release of the 2.7 branch and I am not interested in compatibility with older versions.

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  • Project and Business Document Organization

    - by dassouki
    How do you organize, maintain edits, revisions and the relationship between: Proposals Contracts Change Orders Deliverables Projects How do you organize your projects for re-usability? For example, is there a way to add tags to projects, to make them more accessible? What's a good data structure to dump all my files on an internet server for easy access? Presently, my work folder is setup as follows: (1)/work/ (2)/projects (3)/project_a (4)/final (which includes all final documents) (5)/contracts (5)/rfp_rfq (5)/change_orders (5)/communications (logs all emails, faxes, and meeting notes and minutes) (5)/financial (6)/paid (6)/unpaid (5)/reports (4)/old (include all documents that didn't make it into the project_a/final/ (3)/project_b (4) ... same as above ... (2)/references (3)/technical_references (3)/gov_regulations (3)/data_sources (3)/books (3)/topic_based (each area of my expertise has a folder with references in them) (2)/business_contacts (3)/contacts.xls (file contains all my contacts) (2)/banking (3)/banking.xls (contains a list of all paid and unpaid invoices as well as some cool stats) (3)/quicken (to do my taxes and yada yada) (4)/year (2)/education (courses I've taken (3)/webinars (3)/seminars (3)/online_courses (2)/publications (includes the publications I've made (3)/publication_id We're mostly 5 people working together part-time on this thing. Since this is a very structured approach, I find it really difficult to remember what I've done on previous projects and go back and forth easily. What are your suggestions on improving my processes? I'm open to closed and open source software (as long as the price isn't too high). I also want to implement a system where I can save most of the projects online to increase collaboration and efficiency and reduce bandwidth especially on document editing. Imagine emailing a document back and forth 5-10 times a day.

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