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  • Leveraging Microsoft Patterns and Practices

    - by Tim Murphy
    I want to bring the Patterns and Practices group to the attention of those who have not already been exposed.  I have been a fan of the P&P team since they came out with the original Application Blocks which eventually turned into the Enterprise Library.  Their main purpose is to assemble guidance and tools that make it easier for all of us to build amazing solutions.  I would simply suggest you spend some time exploring the information and code libraries that they have produced.  Free resources are always a great find and I have used a number of the P&P solutions over the years with success.  If nothing else you may find some new ideas.  Enjoy. http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/practices/                           del.icio.us Tags: Patterns and Practices,Microsoft,Architecture,software development

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  • Excel Template Teaser

    - by Tim Dexter
    In lieu of some official documentation I'm in the process of putting together some posts on the new 10.1.3.4.1 Excel templates. No more HTML, maskerading as Excel; far more flexibility than Excel Analyzer and no need to write complex XSL templates to create the same output. Multi sheet outputs with macros and embeddable XSL commands are here. Their capabilities are pretty extensive and I have not worked on them for a few years since I helped put them together for EBS FSG users, so Im back on the learning curve. Let me say up front, there is no template builder, its a completely manual process to build them but, the results can be fantastic and provide yet another 'superstar' opportunity for you. The templates can take hierarchical XML data and walk the structure much like an RTF template. They use named cells/ranges and a hidden sheet to provide the rendering engine the hooks to drop the data in. As a taster heres the data and output I worked with on my first effort: <EMPLOYEES> <LIST_G_DEPT> <G_DEPT> <DEPARTMENT_ID>10</DEPARTMENT_ID> <DEPARTMENT_NAME>Administration</DEPARTMENT_NAME> <LIST_G_EMP> <G_EMP> <EMPLOYEE_ID>200</EMPLOYEE_ID> <EMP_NAME>Jennifer Whalen</EMP_NAME> <EMAIL>JWHALEN</EMAIL> <PHONE_NUMBER>515.123.4444</PHONE_NUMBER> <HIRE_DATE>1987-09-17T00:00:00.000-06:00</HIRE_DATE> <SALARY>4400</SALARY> </G_EMP> </LIST_G_EMP> <TOTAL_EMPS>1</TOTAL_EMPS> <TOTAL_SALARY>4400</TOTAL_SALARY> <AVG_SALARY>4400</AVG_SALARY> <MAX_SALARY>4400</MAX_SALARY> <MIN_SALARY>4400</MIN_SALARY> </G_DEPT> ... </LIST_G_DEPT> </EMPLOYEES> Structured XML coming from a data template, check out the data template progression post. I can then generate the following binary XLS file. There are few cool things to notice in this output. DEPARTMENT-EMPLOYEE master detail output. Not easy to do in the Excel analyzer. Date formatting - this is using an Excel function. Remember BIP generates XML dates in the canonical format. I have formatted the other data in the template using native Excel functionality Salary Total - although in the data I have calculated this in the template Conditional formatting - this is handled by Excel based on the incoming data Bursting department data across sheets and using the department name for the sheet name. This alone is worth the wait! there's more, but this is surely enough to whet your appetite. These new templates are already tucked away in EBS R12 under controlled release by the GL team and have now come to the BIEE and standalone releases in the 10.1.3.4.1+ rollup patch. For the rest of you, its going to be a bit of a waiting game for the relevant teams to uptake the latest BIP release. Look out for more soon with some explanation of how they work and how to put them together!

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  • What Is A Software Architect&rsquo;s Job Today?

    - by Tim Murphy
    Originally posted on: http://geekswithblogs.net/tmurphy/archive/2013/10/25/what-is-a-software-architectrsquos-job-today.aspx It was 2001 when a project manager first put my job title as architect on a statement of work.  A lot has changed over the last twelve years.  The concepts around what an architect is has evolved.  In the early days I would have said that they just rebranded the role of the system analyst.  Now we have a multitude of architect titles: application, solution, IT, data, enterprise.  Whatever the title the goals are the same.  An architect takes the business needs and maps them to the solutions that are needed and at the same time works to ensure the quality of the solution and its maintainability. One of the problems I see these days is that we are expecting every developer to have architect skills.  That in itself is not a problem.  This reduces the need for dedicated architects.  Not every developer though is going to be able to step up to this level.  Some are just good at solving small problems instead of thinking in the larger abstract. Another problem is the accelerating speed and breadth of new technologies and products.  For an architect to be good at his job he needs to spend large amounts of personal time studying just to stay relevant. In the end I don’t think the main objectives of an architect has changed, just the level of commitment needed to stay of value to your company.  Renew your commitment to your profession and keep delivering great solutions. Technorati Tags: software architect,enterprise architect,data architect,solution architect,IT architect,PSC,PSC Group

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  • Chicago Code Camp Call For Speakers

    - by Tim Murphy
    The Chicago Code Camp is coming up on May 1st, 2010.  They are still looking for speaker.  If you have a rock’n code demonstration that you would like to present to the community be sure to sign up.  If you know someone else who has some ideas that you really think they should share with the world guilt them in to signing up.  http://www.chicagocodecamp.com/ del.icio.us Tags: Chicago Code Camp,call for speakers

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  • Shader effect similar to Metro 2033 gasmask

    - by Tim
    I was thinking about effects in games the other day and I was reminded of the Gasmask effect from Metro 2033. Once you put the gasmask on it blurred a bit in the corners and could ice up and even get cracked. I assume that something like that is done using a shader. I have been experimenting a bit with game development, so far mostly playing with existing rendering engines and adding physics support etc. I would like to learn more about this sort of effect. Can someone give me a simple example of a shader that would alter the entire scene like this. Or if not a shader then an idea on how it would be done. Thanks. Edit : Include screenshot of the metro 2033 gasmask effect.

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  • How to prepare for an interview presentation!

    - by Tim Koekkoek
    During an interview process you might be asked to prepare a presentation as one of the steps in the recruitment process. Below, we want to give you some tips to help you prepare for what might be considered a daunting aspect of a recruitment process. Main purpose of the presentation Always keep in mind the main purpose of what the presentation is meant to convey. Generally speaking, an interview presentation is for the company to check if you have the ability to represent and sell the organization (and yourself), to the internal and external stakeholders in the position you are applying for. A presentation is often also part of the recruitment process to check whether you can structure and explain your experience and thoughts in a convincing manner. If you are unsure about the purpose of the presentation, feel free to ask your recruiter for more information. Preparation As with every task you do, preparation is key, so is the case with an interview presentation. It is important to know who your audience is. You have to adapt your presentation to your audience, ensuring that you are presenting the facts which they would want to hear. Furthermore, make sure you practice your presentation beforehand; this will make you more confident in your presenting skills. Also, estimate the length of your presentation as presentations or pitches during the recruitment process are often capped to a certain time limit. Structure Every presentation should have a beginning, middle and an end. Make sure you give an overview of your presentation and tell the audience what they can expect. Your presentation should have a logical order and a clear message. Always build up to your key message with strong arguments and evidence. When speaking about the topic, make sure you convey your points with conviction. Also be sure you believe the message you bring forward, if you don’t believe it yourself, then the audience definitely won’t! Delivery When you think back on successful presentations you have seen, the presenter was most likely always standing up. So if asked to do a presentation, follow this example and make sure you stand up as well. Standing up when you are doing your presentation shows confidence and control. Another important aspect in the delivery of the presentation is to relax and speak slowly and with enough volume for the audience to hear you. Speaking slowly allows the audience the time to absorb the information you are providing to them. Visual Using PowerPoint, or an equivalent, makes it very easy to have a visually attractive presentation. Make sure however that you take into account that the visual aids you use are there to support you, not for you to read word for word what is on the slides! Questions When starting your presentation, it is a good idea to tell your audience that you will deal with any questions they might have at the end of the presentation. This way it doesn’t interrupt your train of thought and the flow of your presentation. Answering questions at the end may give you additional opportunities to further expand on your facts in the topic. Some people might play the “devil’s advocate” role and confront you with opposing opinions, if this is the case, take your time to reiterate your points and remain professional in your response. A good way to deal with this is to start interacting with other members of the audience and ask for their opinions, so it will become a group discussion. This will also shows strong leadership skills, as you are open to discuss and ask for other opinions. If you are interested in more tips and tricks for your interview process, have a look at Competency Based Interview Tips and How to prepare for a Telephone Interview. For more information about Oracle and our vacancies, please visit our Facebook community and our careers website.

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  • Dynamic Data Connections

    - by Tim Dexter
    I have had a long running email thread running between Dan and David over at Valspar and myself. They have built some impressive connectivity between their in house apps and BIP using web services. The crux of their problem has been that they have multiple databases that need the same report executed against them. Not such an unusual request as I have spoken to two customers in the last month with the same situation. Of course, you could create a report against each data connection and just run or call the appropriate report. Not too bad if you have two or three data connections but more than that and it becomes a maintenance nightmare having to update queries or layouts. Ideally you want to have just a single report definition on the BIP server and to dynamically set the connection to be used at runtime based on the user or system that the user is in. A quick bit of digging and help from Shinji on the development team and I had an answer. Rather embarassingly, the solution has been around since the Oct 2010 rollup patch last year. Still, I grabbed the latest Jan 2011 patch - check out Note 797057.1 for the latest available patches. Once installed, I used the best web service testing tool I have yet to come across - SoapUI. Just point it at the WSDL and you can check out the available services and their parameters and then test them too. The XML packet has a new dynamic data source entry. You can set you own custom JDBC connection or just specify an existing data source name thats defined on the server. <pub:runReport> <pub:reportRequest> <pub:attributeFormat>xml</pub:attributeFormat> <pub:attributeTemplate>0</pub:attributeTemplate> <pub:byPassCache>true</pub:byPassCache> <pub:dynamicDataSource> <pub:JDBCDataSource> <pub:JDBCDriverClass></pub:JDBCDriverClass> <pub:JDBCDriverType></pub:JDBCDriverType> <pub:JDBCPassword></pub:JDBCPassword> <pub:JDBCURL></pub:JDBCURL> <pub:JDBCUserName></pub:JDBCUserName> <pub:dataSourceName>Conn1</pub:dataSourceName> </pub:JDBCDataSource> </pub:dynamicDataSource> <pub:reportAbsolutePath>/Test/Employee Report/Employee Report.xdo</pub:reportAbsolutePath> </pub:reportRequest> <pub:userID>Administrator</pub:userID> <pub:password>Administrator</pub:password> </pub:runReport> So I have Conn1 and Conn2 defined that are connections to different databases. I can just flip the name, make the WS call and get the appropriate dataset in my report. Just as an example, here's my web service call java code. Just a case of bringing in the BIP java libs to my java project. publicReportServiceService = new PublicReportServiceService(); PublicReportService publicReportService = publicReportServiceService.getPublicReportService_v11(); String userID = "Administrator"; String password = "Administrator"; ReportRequest rr = new ReportRequest(); rr.setAttributeFormat("xml"); rr.setAttributeTemplate("1"); rr.setByPassCache(true); rr.setReportAbsolutePath("/Test/Employee Report/Employee Report.xdo"); rr.setReportOutputPath("c:\\temp\\output.xml"); BIPDataSource bipds = new BIPDataSource(); JDBCDataSource jds = new JDBCDataSource(); jds.setDataSourceName("Conn1"); bipds.setJDBCDataSource(jds); rr.setDynamicDataSource(bipds); try { publicReportService.runReport(rr, userID, password); } catch (InvalidParametersException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } catch (AccessDeniedException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } catch (OperationFailedException e) { e.printStackTrace(); } } Note, Im no java whiz kid or whizzy old bloke, at least not unless Ive had a coffee. JDeveloper has a nice feature where you point it at the WSDL and it creates everything to support your calling code for you. Couple of things to remember: 1. When you call the service, remember to set the bypass the cache option. Forget it and much scratching of your head and taking my name in vain will ensue. 2. My demo actually hit the same database but used two users, one accessed the base tables another views with the same name. For far too long I thought the connection swapping was not working. I was getting the same results for both users until I realized I was specifying the schema name for the table/view in my query e.g. select * from EMP.EMPLOYEES. So remember to have a generic query that will depend entirely on the connection. Its a neat feature if you want to be able to switch connections and only define a single report and call it remotely. Now if you want the connection to be set dynamically based on the user and the report run via the user interface, thats going to be more tricky ... need to think about that one!

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  • BIP Debugging to a file

    - by Tim Dexter
    If you use the standalone server or with OBIEE and use OC4J as the web server. Have you ever taken a looksee at the console window (doc/xterm) that you use to start it. Ever turned on debugging to see masses of info flow by that window and want to capture it all? I have been debugging today and watched all that info fly by and on Windoze gets lost before you can see it! The BIP developers use the System.out.println() and System.err.println()methods in the BIP applications to generate debugging formation. Normally the output from these method calls go to the console where the OC4J process is started. However you can specify command line options when starting OC4J to direct the stdout and stderr output directly to files. The ?out and ?err parameters tell OC4J which file to direct the output to. All you need do is modify the oc4j.cmd file used to start BIP. I didnt get fancy and just plugged in the following to the file under the start section. I just modified the line: set CMDARGS=-config "%SERVER_XML%" -userThreads to set CMDARGS=-config "%SERVER_XML%" -out D:\BI\OracleBI\oc4j_bi\j2ee\home\log\oc4j.out -err D:\BI\OracleBI\oc4j_bi\j2ee\home\log\oc4j.err -userThreads Bounced the server and I now have a ballooning pair of debug files that I can pour over to my hearts content. The .out file appears to contain BIP only log info and the .err file, OBIEE messages. If you are using another web server to host BIP, just check out the user docs to find out how to get the log files to write. Note to self, remember to turn off the debug when Im done!

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  • Mix metrics for April 5, 2010

    - by tim.bonnemann
    Our latest numbers... Registered Mix users (weekly growth) 61,374 (+0.6%) Active users (percent of total) Last 30 days: 4,317 (7.0%) Last 60 days: 8,638 (14.1%) Last 90 days: 12,481 (20.3%) Traffic (30-day) Visits: 11,893 Page views: 65,880 Twitter Followers: 3,169 List mentions: 146 User-generated content (30-day) New ideas: 36 New questions: 57 New comments: 394 Groups There are currently 1,402 Mix groups (requires login).

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  • Mix metrics for March 22, 2010

    - by tim.bonnemann
    Mix hit another major milestone this past week, surpassing 60,000 registered members. Registered Mix users (weekly growth) 60,662 (+0.8%) Active users (percent of total) Last 30 days: 4,571 (7.5%) Last 60 days: 8,945 (14.7%) Last 90 days: 11,479 (18.9%) Traffic (30-day) Visits: 12,371 Page views: 70,896 Twitter Followers: 3,117 List mentions: 146 User-generated content (30-day) New ideas: 32 New questions: 74 New comments: 378 Groups There are currently 1,394 Mix groups (requires login).

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  • Review: ComponentOne Studio for Entity Framework

    - by Tim Murphy
    While I have always been a fan of libraries that improve coding efficiency and reduce code redundancy I have mostly been using ones that were in the public domain.  As part of the Geeks With Blogs Influencers program a got my hands on ComponentOne’s Studio for Entity Framework.  Below are my thought after working with the product for several weeks. My coding preference has always been maintainable code that is reusable across an enterprises protfolio.  Because of this my focus in reviewing this product is less on the RAD components and more on its benefits for layered applications using code first Entity Framework. Before we get into the pros and cons here is a summary of the main feature listed for SEF. Unified Data Context Virtual Data Access More Powerful Data Binding Pros The first thing that I found to my liking is the C1DataSource. It basically manages a cache for your Entity Model context.  Under RAD conditions this is setup automatically when you drop the object on a your design surface.  If you are like me and want to abstract you data management into a library it takes a little more work, but it is still acceptable and gains the same benefits. The second feature that I found beneficial is the definition of views with improved sorting and filtering.  Again the ease of use of these features is greater on the RAD side but no capabilities are missing when manipulating object in code. Linq has become my friend over the last couple of years and it was great to see that ComponentOne had ensured that it remained a first class citizen in their design.  When you look into this product yourself I would suggest taking a dive into LiveLinq which allow the joining of different data source types. As I went through discovering the features of this framework I appreciated the number of examples that they supplied for different uses.  Besides showing how to use SEF with WinForms, WPF and Silverlight they also showed how to accomplish tasks both RAD, code only and MVVM approaches. Cons The only area that I would really like to see improvement is in there level of detail in their documentation.  Specifically I would like to have seen some of the supporting code explained, such as what some supporting object did, in the examples instead of having to go to the programmer’s reference. I did find some times where currently existing projects had some trouble determining scope that the RAD controls were allowed, but I expect this is something that is in part end user related. Summary Overall I found the Studio for Entity Framework capable and well thought out.  If you are already using the Entity Framework this product will fit into your environment with little effort in return for greater flexibility and greater robustness in your solutions. Whether the $895 list price for a standard version works for you will depend on your return on investment. Smaller companies with only a small number of projects may not be able to stomach it, you get a full featured product that is supported by a well established company.  The more projects and the more code you have the greater your return on investment will be. Personally I intend to apply this product to some production systems and will probably have some tips and tricks in the future. del.icio.us Tags: ComponentOne,Studio for Entity Framework,Geeks With Blogs,Influencers,Product Reviews

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  • Book Review: Getting Started With Window 8 Apps By Ben Dewey

    - by Tim Murphy
    When O’Reilly gave me an opportunity to review this book I was excited.  It gave me a reason to finally put some time into this new platform and what developers will need to learn in order to be successful. This book by Ben Dewey is only 92 pages long, so if you were looking for an in-depth treatment of Windows 8 development you will need supplemental materials.  It is also due for an update from the perspective of recent changes made by Microsoft prior to the final release of the OS and tools.  This causes a few issues if you try to run the code samples because of namespace changes. I was encouraged by the fact that the author didn’t do the typical “hello world” app.  He uses a lot of pattern based development techniques and hits many of the main topics including: Application lifecycle Charms integration Tiles Sensors The lifecycle is critical for anyone who hasn’t done mobile development before.  Limited resources on these devices mean that the OS can suspend or kill your app altogether if it decides it needs to.  He covers tombstoning which is the key to Windows 8 and Windows Phone lifecycle management. He also dedicates a chapter to marketing and distributing the application you build.  From my experience with Windows Phone development this is crucial information.  You need to know how to test your application so that it is going to pass certification and present your app so that it is going to get noticed amongst thousands of other apps. The main things that I wish had been in the book explanations of more of the common controls and more complete explanation of patterns that were implemented. In the end this book is a good foundation getting exposure to the concepts that underlie this new version of the Windows platform and how it effects developers.  It isn’t a book that I would suggest for someone just getting into development with no understanding of pattern based development. del.icio.us Tags: Windows 8,O'Reilly,Ben Dewey,Book Review,Review

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  • 2D Barcode Addendum

    - by Tim Dexter
    Having finally got my external drive back(long story) today from Oklahoma (thank you so much Sammy) Im back with a full compliment of Oracle and blogging tools at my disposal. I have missed JDeveloper this past week, which I have found, I immensely prefer over Eclipse (let the flaming commence :0) I use Zoundry Raven for writing articles and its not installed locally but on my external drove, so I have been soldiering on with the blog server's pain in the backside UI for writing. Now I have my favority editor back and things are calming down workwise, I will start to get the Excel template posts out. Today thou, a note about 2D barcode support or more specifically any barcode that needs some data manipulation before the barcode font is applied. I wrote about these fonts a long time back and laid out the java class you would need to write if you had an algorithm from the font manufacturer to use. I missed out a valuable point and James at Luminex fell into the trap. He was wanting to use the datamatrix font from IDAutomation but and had built the java class to be called from the RTF template but it was not encoding or at least did not appear to be. New debugging feature to the rescue. Kan over at the bipconsultng blog documented the feature a while back. Just adding <?xdo-debug-level:'STATEMENT'?> to my test template generated all the debug files in my c:\temp directory. No messing with files, just a simple command ... at last! Kan has documented the feature here. With the log in hand I spotted a java error stack referencing a missing code128a method, huh? Looking at James' class he had the following snippet: ENCODERS.put("code128a",mUtility.getClass().getMethod("code128a",clazz)); ENCODERS.put("code128b",mUtility.getClass().getMethod("code128b", clazz)); ENCODERS.put("code128c",mUtility.getClass().getMethod("code128c", clazz)); ENCODERS.put("pdf417",mUtility.getClass().getMethod("pdf417", clazz)); ENCODERS.put("datamatrix",mUtility.getClass().getMethod("datamatrix", clazz)); His class did not include the other code128 and pdf147 methods and BIP was expecting them. An easy fix, just comment them out, rebuild and deploy and the encoding started working. If you are hitting similar problems, check that class and ensure all of the referenced methods are available, if not, delete or get commenting. James now has purdy labels popping out that his hard ware can read, sweet!

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  • Why Standards Only Get You So Far

    - by Tim Murphy
    Over the years I have been exposed to a number of standards.  EDI was the first.  More recently it has been the CIECA standard for Insurance and now the embattled document standards of Open XML and ODF. Standards actually came up at the last CAG meeting.  The debate was over how effective they really are.  Even back in the late 80’s to early 90’s people found they had to customize these standards to get any work done.  I even had one vendor about a year ago tell me that they really weren’t standards, they were more of a guideline. The problem is that standards are created either by committee or by companies trying to sell a product.  They never fit all situations.  This is why most of them leave extension points in their definition.  Of course if you use those extension points everyone has to have custom code to know how to consume the new product. Standards increase reliability but they stifle innovation and slow the time to market cycle of products.  In this age of ever shortening windows of opportunity that could mean that a company could lose its competitive advantage. I believe that standards are not only good, but essential.  I also believe that they are not a silver bullet.  People who turn competing standards into a type of holy war are really missing the point.  I think we should make the best standards we can, whether that is for a product so that customers can use API, or by committee so that they cross products.  But they also need to be as feature rich and flexible as possible.  They can’t be just the lowest common denominator since this type of standard will be broken the day it is published.  In the end though, it is the market will vote with their dollars. del.icio.us Tags: Office Open XML,ODF,Standards,EDI

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  • JDBC Triggers

    - by Tim Dexter
    Received a question from a customer last week, they were using the new rollup patch on top of 10.1.3.4.1. What are these boxes for? Don't you know? Surely? Well, they are for ... that new functionality, you know it's in the user docs, that thingmabobby doodah. OK, I dont know either, I can have a guess but let me check first. Serveral IM sessions, emails and a dig through the readme for the new patch and I had my answer. Its not in the official documentation, yet. Leslie is on the case. The two fields were designed to allow an Admin to set a users context attributes before a connection is made to a database and for un-setting the attributes after the connection is broken by the extraction engine. We got a sample from the Enterprise Manager team on how they will be using it with their VPD connections. FUNCTION bip_to_em_user (user_name_in IN VARCHAR2) RETURN BOOLEAN IS BEGIN SETEMUSERCONTEXT(user_name_in, MGMT_USER.OP_SET_IDENTIFIER); return TRUE; END bip_to_em_user; And used in the jdbc data source definition like this (pre-process function): sysman.mgmt_bip.bip_to_em_user(:xdo_user_name) You, of course can call any function that is going to return a boolean value, another example might be. FUNCTION set_per_process_username (username_in IN VARCHAR2) RETURN BOOLEAN IS BEGIN SETUSERCONTEXT(username_in); return TRUE; END set_per_process_username Just use your own function/package to set some user context. Very grateful for the mail from Leslie on the EM team's usage but I had to try it out. Rather than set up a VPD, I opted for a simpler test. Can I log the comings and goings of users and their queries using the same pre-process text box. Reaching back into the depths of my developer brain to remember some pl/sql, it was not that deep and I came up with: CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION BIPTEST (user_name_in IN VARCHAR2, smode IN VARCHAR2) RETURN BOOLEAN AS BEGIN INSERT INTO LOGTAB VALUES(user_name_in, sysdate,smode); RETURN true; END BIPTEST; To call it in the pre-fetch trigger. BIPTEST(:xdo_user_name) Not going to set the pl/sql world alight I know, but you get the idea. As a new connection is made to the database its logged in the LOGTAB table. The SMODE value just sets if its an entry or an exit. I used the pre- and post- boxes. NAME UPDATE_DATE S_FLAG oracle 14-MAY-10 09.51.34.000000000 AM Start oracle 14-MAY-10 10.23.57.000000000 AM Finish administrator 14-MAY-10 09.51.38.000000000 AM Start administrator 14-MAY-10 09.51.38.000000000 AM Finish oracle 14-MAY-10 09.51.42.000000000 AM Start oracle 14-MAY-10 09.51.42.000000000 AM Finish It works very well, I had some fun trying to find a nasty query for the extraction engine so that the timestamps from in to out actually had a difference. That engine is fast! The only derived value you can pass from BIP is :xdo_user_name. None of the other server values are available. Connection pools are not currently supported but planned for a future release. Now you know what those fields are for and look for some official documentation, rather than my ramblings, coming soon!

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  • BIP Enterprise Patches

    - by Tim Dexter
    Got some input from the support team yesterday BIP patching. I dont have any control over the patches but have a voice to get information out there. Just to clarify for you all, the recent 'rollup' patch, 9546699 that I blogged a while back supersedes all other patches for the standalone release. If you have an issue and log an SR, please ensure you have applied 9546699 and re-checked the issue. There are so many fixes and enhancements in that patch that your issue may be fixed or addressed. If you are a new customer and download the latest release, 10.1.3.4.1 from oracle.com. Please get onto the support site and get 9546699 applied straight away. For more information check out Pieter's Note on BIP patching - 797057.1

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  • BIP BIServer Query Debug

    - by Tim Dexter
    With some help from Bryan, I have uncovered a way of being able to debug or at least log what BIServer is doing when BIP sends it a query request. This is not for those of you querying the database directly but if you are using the BIServer and its datamodel to fetch data for a BIP report. If you have written or used the query builder against BIServer and when you run the report it chokes with a cryptic message, that you have no clue about, read on. When BIP runs a piece of BIServer logical SQL to fetch data. It does not appear to validate it, it just passes it through, so what is BIServer doing on its end? As you may know, you are not writing regular physical sql its actually logical sql e.g. select Jobs."Job Title" as "Job Title", Employees."Last Name" as "Last Name", Employees.Salary as Salary, Locations."Department Name" as "Department Name", Locations."Country Name" as "Country Name", Locations."Region Name" as "Region Name" from HR.Locations Locations, HR.Employees Employees, HR.Jobs Jobs The tables might not even be a physical tables, we don't care, that's what the BIServer and its model are for. You have put all the effort into building the model, just go get me the data from where ever it might be. The BIServer takes the logical sql and uses its vast brain to work out what the physical SQL is, executes it and passes the result back to BIP. select distinct T32556.JOB_TITLE as c1, T32543.LAST_NAME as c2, T32543.SALARY as c3, T32537.DEPARTMENT_NAME as c4, T32532.COUNTRY_NAME as c5, T32577.REGION_NAME as c6 from JOBS T32556, REGIONS T32577, COUNTRIES T32532, LOCATIONS T32569, DEPARTMENTS T32537, EMPLOYEES T32543 where ( T32532.COUNTRY_ID = T32569.COUNTRY_ID and T32532.REGION_ID = T32577.REGION_ID and T32537.DEPARTMENT_ID = T32543.DEPARTMENT_ID and T32537.LOCATION_ID = T32569.LOCATION_ID and T32543.JOB_ID = T32556.JOB_ID ) Not a very tough example I know but you get the idea. How do I know what the BIServer is up to? How can I find out what the issue might be if BIServer chokes on my query? There are a couple of steps: In the Administrator tool you need to set the logging level for the Administrator user to something greater than the default '0'. '7' is going to give you the max. Just remember to take it back down after you have finished the debug. I needed to bounce my BIServer service Now here's the secret sauce. Prefix the following to your BIP query set variable LOGLEVEL = 7; Set the log level to that you have in the admin tool Now run your BIP report. With the prefix in place; BIServer will write to the NQQuery.log file. This is located in the ./OracleBI/server/Log directory. In there you are going to find the complete process the BIServer has gone through to try and get the data back for you A quick note, if the BIServer can, its going to hit that great BIEE cache to get your data and you may not see the full log. IF this is the case. Get inot hte Administration page (via the browser login) and clear out your BIP report cursor. Then re-run. This will hopefully help out if you are trying to debug that annoying BIP report that will not run or is getting some strange data. Don't forget to turn that logging level back down once you are done. This will avoid the DBA screaming at you for sucking up all the disk space on the system.

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  • Ogre 3d and bullet physics interaction

    - by Tim
    I have been playing around with Ogre3d and trying to integrate bullet physics. I have previously somewhat successfully got this functionality working with irrlicht and bullet and I am trying to base this on what I had done there, but modifying it to fit with Ogre. It is working but not correctly and I would like some help to understand what it is I am doing wrong. I have a state system and when I enter the "gamestate" I call some functions such as setting up a basic scene, creating the physics simulation. I am doing that as follows. void GameState::enter() { ... // Setup Physics btBroadphaseInterface *BroadPhase = new btAxisSweep3(btVector3(-1000,-1000,-1000), btVector3(1000,1000,1000)); btDefaultCollisionConfiguration *CollisionConfiguration = new btDefaultCollisionConfiguration(); btCollisionDispatcher *Dispatcher = new btCollisionDispatcher(CollisionConfiguration); btSequentialImpulseConstraintSolver *Solver = new btSequentialImpulseConstraintSolver(); World = new btDiscreteDynamicsWorld(Dispatcher, BroadPhase, Solver, CollisionConfiguration); ... createScene(); } In the createScene method I add a light and try to setup a "ground" plane to act as the ground for things to collide with.. as follows. I expect there is issues with this as I get objects colliding with the ground but half way through it and they glitch around like crazy on collision. void GameState::createScene() { m_pSceneMgr->createLight("Light")->setPosition(75,75,75); // Physics // As a test we want a floor plane for things to collide with Ogre::Entity *ent; Ogre::Plane p; p.normal = Ogre::Vector3(0,1,0); p.d = 0; Ogre::MeshManager::getSingleton().createPlane( "FloorPlane", Ogre::ResourceGroupManager::DEFAULT_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME, p, 200000, 200000, 20, 20, true, 1, 9000,9000,Ogre::Vector3::UNIT_Z); ent = m_pSceneMgr->createEntity("floor", "FloorPlane"); ent->setMaterialName("Test/Floor"); Ogre::SceneNode *node = m_pSceneMgr->getRootSceneNode()->createChildSceneNode(); node->attachObject(ent); btTransform Transform; Transform.setIdentity(); Transform.setOrigin(btVector3(0,1,0)); // Give it to the motion state btDefaultMotionState *MotionState = new btDefaultMotionState(Transform); btCollisionShape *Shape = new btStaticPlaneShape(btVector3(0,1,0),0); // Add Mass btVector3 LocalInertia; Shape->calculateLocalInertia(0, LocalInertia); // CReate the rigid body object btRigidBody *RigidBody = new btRigidBody(0, MotionState, Shape, LocalInertia); // Store a pointer to the Ogre Node so we can update it later RigidBody->setUserPointer((void *) (node)); // Add it to the physics world World->addRigidBody(RigidBody); Objects.push_back(RigidBody); m_pNumEntities++; // End Physics } I then have a method to create a cube and give it rigid body physics properties. I know there will be errors here as I get the items colliding with the ground but not with each other properly. So I would appreciate some input on what I am doing wrong. void GameState::CreateBox(const btVector3 &TPosition, const btVector3 &TScale, btScalar TMass) { Ogre::Vector3 size = Ogre::Vector3::ZERO; Ogre::Vector3 pos = Ogre::Vector3::ZERO; Ogre::Vector3 scale = Ogre::Vector3::ZERO; pos.x = TPosition.getX(); pos.y = TPosition.getY(); pos.z = TPosition.getZ(); scale.x = TScale.getX(); scale.y = TScale.getY(); scale.z = TScale.getZ(); Ogre::Entity *entity = m_pSceneMgr->createEntity( "Box" + Ogre::StringConverter::toString(m_pNumEntities), "cube.mesh"); entity->setCastShadows(true); Ogre::AxisAlignedBox boundingB = entity->getBoundingBox(); size = boundingB.getSize(); //size /= 2.0f; // Only the half needed? //size *= 0.96f; // Bullet margin is a bit bigger so we need a smaller size entity->setMaterialName("Test/Cube"); Ogre::SceneNode *node = m_pSceneMgr->getRootSceneNode()->createChildSceneNode(); node->attachObject(entity); node->setPosition(pos); //node->scale(scale); // Physics btTransform Transform; Transform.setIdentity(); Transform.setOrigin(TPosition); // Give it to the motion state btDefaultMotionState *MotionState = new btDefaultMotionState(Transform); btVector3 HalfExtents(TScale.getX()*0.5f,TScale.getY()*0.5f,TScale.getZ()*0.5f); btCollisionShape *Shape = new btBoxShape(HalfExtents); // Add Mass btVector3 LocalInertia; Shape->calculateLocalInertia(TMass, LocalInertia); // CReate the rigid body object btRigidBody *RigidBody = new btRigidBody(TMass, MotionState, Shape, LocalInertia); // Store a pointer to the Ogre Node so we can update it later RigidBody->setUserPointer((void *) (node)); // Add it to the physics world World->addRigidBody(RigidBody); Objects.push_back(RigidBody); m_pNumEntities++; } Then in the GameState::update() method which which runs every frame to handle input and render etc I call an UpdatePhysics method to update the physics simulation. void GameState::UpdatePhysics(unsigned int TDeltaTime) { World->stepSimulation(TDeltaTime * 0.001f, 60); btRigidBody *TObject; for(std::vector<btRigidBody *>::iterator it = Objects.begin(); it != Objects.end(); ++it) { // Update renderer Ogre::SceneNode *node = static_cast<Ogre::SceneNode *>((*it)->getUserPointer()); TObject = *it; // Set position btVector3 Point = TObject->getCenterOfMassPosition(); node->setPosition(Ogre::Vector3((float)Point[0], (float)Point[1], (float)Point[2])); // set rotation btVector3 EulerRotation; QuaternionToEuler(TObject->getOrientation(), EulerRotation); node->setOrientation(1,(Ogre::Real)EulerRotation[0], (Ogre::Real)EulerRotation[1], (Ogre::Real)EulerRotation[2]); //node->rotate(Ogre::Vector3(EulerRotation[0], EulerRotation[1], EulerRotation[2])); } } void GameState::QuaternionToEuler(const btQuaternion &TQuat, btVector3 &TEuler) { btScalar W = TQuat.getW(); btScalar X = TQuat.getX(); btScalar Y = TQuat.getY(); btScalar Z = TQuat.getZ(); float WSquared = W * W; float XSquared = X * X; float YSquared = Y * Y; float ZSquared = Z * Z; TEuler.setX(atan2f(2.0f * (Y * Z + X * W), -XSquared - YSquared + ZSquared + WSquared)); TEuler.setY(asinf(-2.0f * (X * Z - Y * W))); TEuler.setZ(atan2f(2.0f * (X * Y + Z * W), XSquared - YSquared - ZSquared + WSquared)); TEuler *= RADTODEG; } I seem to have issues with the cubes not colliding with each other and colliding strangely with the ground. I have tried to capture the effect with the attached image. I would appreciate any help in understanding what I have done wrong. Thanks. EDIT : Solution The following code shows the changes I made to get accurate physics. void GameState::createScene() { m_pSceneMgr->createLight("Light")->setPosition(75,75,75); // Physics // As a test we want a floor plane for things to collide with Ogre::Entity *ent; Ogre::Plane p; p.normal = Ogre::Vector3(0,1,0); p.d = 0; Ogre::MeshManager::getSingleton().createPlane( "FloorPlane", Ogre::ResourceGroupManager::DEFAULT_RESOURCE_GROUP_NAME, p, 200000, 200000, 20, 20, true, 1, 9000,9000,Ogre::Vector3::UNIT_Z); ent = m_pSceneMgr->createEntity("floor", "FloorPlane"); ent->setMaterialName("Test/Floor"); Ogre::SceneNode *node = m_pSceneMgr->getRootSceneNode()->createChildSceneNode(); node->attachObject(ent); btTransform Transform; Transform.setIdentity(); // Fixed the transform vector here for y back to 0 to stop the objects sinking into the ground. Transform.setOrigin(btVector3(0,0,0)); // Give it to the motion state btDefaultMotionState *MotionState = new btDefaultMotionState(Transform); btCollisionShape *Shape = new btStaticPlaneShape(btVector3(0,1,0),0); // Add Mass btVector3 LocalInertia; Shape->calculateLocalInertia(0, LocalInertia); // CReate the rigid body object btRigidBody *RigidBody = new btRigidBody(0, MotionState, Shape, LocalInertia); // Store a pointer to the Ogre Node so we can update it later RigidBody->setUserPointer((void *) (node)); // Add it to the physics world World->addRigidBody(RigidBody); Objects.push_back(RigidBody); m_pNumEntities++; // End Physics } void GameState::CreateBox(const btVector3 &TPosition, const btVector3 &TScale, btScalar TMass) { Ogre::Vector3 size = Ogre::Vector3::ZERO; Ogre::Vector3 pos = Ogre::Vector3::ZERO; Ogre::Vector3 scale = Ogre::Vector3::ZERO; pos.x = TPosition.getX(); pos.y = TPosition.getY(); pos.z = TPosition.getZ(); scale.x = TScale.getX(); scale.y = TScale.getY(); scale.z = TScale.getZ(); Ogre::Entity *entity = m_pSceneMgr->createEntity( "Box" + Ogre::StringConverter::toString(m_pNumEntities), "cube.mesh"); entity->setCastShadows(true); Ogre::AxisAlignedBox boundingB = entity->getBoundingBox(); // The ogre bounding box is slightly bigger so I am reducing it for // use with the rigid body. size = boundingB.getSize()*0.95f; entity->setMaterialName("Test/Cube"); Ogre::SceneNode *node = m_pSceneMgr->getRootSceneNode()->createChildSceneNode(); node->attachObject(entity); node->setPosition(pos); node->showBoundingBox(true); //node->scale(scale); // Physics btTransform Transform; Transform.setIdentity(); Transform.setOrigin(TPosition); // Give it to the motion state btDefaultMotionState *MotionState = new btDefaultMotionState(Transform); // I got the size of the bounding box above but wasn't using it to set // the size for the rigid body. This now does. btVector3 HalfExtents(size.x*0.5f,size.y*0.5f,size.z*0.5f); btCollisionShape *Shape = new btBoxShape(HalfExtents); // Add Mass btVector3 LocalInertia; Shape->calculateLocalInertia(TMass, LocalInertia); // CReate the rigid body object btRigidBody *RigidBody = new btRigidBody(TMass, MotionState, Shape, LocalInertia); // Store a pointer to the Ogre Node so we can update it later RigidBody->setUserPointer((void *) (node)); // Add it to the physics world World->addRigidBody(RigidBody); Objects.push_back(RigidBody); m_pNumEntities++; } void GameState::UpdatePhysics(unsigned int TDeltaTime) { World->stepSimulation(TDeltaTime * 0.001f, 60); btRigidBody *TObject; for(std::vector<btRigidBody *>::iterator it = Objects.begin(); it != Objects.end(); ++it) { // Update renderer Ogre::SceneNode *node = static_cast<Ogre::SceneNode *>((*it)->getUserPointer()); TObject = *it; // Set position btVector3 Point = TObject->getCenterOfMassPosition(); node->setPosition(Ogre::Vector3((float)Point[0], (float)Point[1], (float)Point[2])); // Convert the bullet Quaternion to an Ogre quaternion btQuaternion btq = TObject->getOrientation(); Ogre::Quaternion quart = Ogre::Quaternion(btq.w(),btq.x(),btq.y(),btq.z()); // use the quaternion with setOrientation node->setOrientation(quart); } } The QuaternionToEuler function isn't needed so that was removed from code and header files. The objects now collide with the ground and each other appropriately.

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  • Bookbindng Samples

    - by Tim Dexter
    I have finally found a home for the bookbinding samples I have put together in support of my white paper on Bookbinding. OTN has a great newish sample code site where you can create code samples to share with the community. In their own words: Welcome to the Oracle Sample Code public repository, where Oracle Technology Network members collaboratively build and share sample applications, code snippets, skins and templates, and more. Note the word 'templates' I read that as an open invitation to share your latest and greatest! If you have template samples or code snippets that you think would benefit the wider BIP community please create new code samples and let me know the link and I'll ensure they get promotion through the blog. https://www.samplecode.oracle.com/ You just need an OTN account to get started. I'll be pushing some more samples and snippets in the near future, its a great centrally managed repository. Finally, Oracle has somewhere to get code and files hosted. The two samples I have created cover the book bindng function from a couple of angles: S523: Oracle BI Publisher Bookbinding Examples - this walks you through a series of examples that show you how to create the bookbinding control files to generate the final bound document. S522: Oracle BI Publisher Bookbinding Demonstration - this is a sample J2EE application that demonstrates how to create an HTML/servlet combination to allow users to make sub document selections and then the document features e.g. TOC, page numbering, cross links, etc you would like added to the final document I'd be very interested in any feedback. Happy Binding!

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  • glsl shader to allow color change of skydome ogre3d

    - by Tim
    I'm still very new to all this but learning a lot. I'm putting together an application using Ogre3d as the rendering engine. So far I've got it running, with a simple scene, a day/night cycle system which is working okay. I'm now moving on to looking at changing the color of the skydome material based on the time of day. What I've done so far is to create a struct to hold the ColourValues for the different aspects of the scene. struct todColors { Ogre::ColourValue sky; Ogre::ColourValue ambient; Ogre::ColourValue sun; }; I created an array to store all the colours todColors sceneColours [4]; I populated the array with the colours I want to use for the various times of the day. For instance DayTime (when the sun is high in the sky) sceneColours[2].sky = Ogre::ColourValue(135/255, 206/255, 235/255, 255); sceneColours[2].ambient = Ogre::ColourValue(135/255, 206/255, 235/255, 255); sceneColours[2].sun = Ogre::ColourValue(135/255, 206/255, 235/255, 255); I've got code to work out the time of the day using a float currentHours to store the current hour of the day 10.5 = 10:30 am. This updates constantly and updates the sun as required. I am then calculating the appropriate colours for the time of day when relevant using else if( currentHour >= 4 && currentHour < 7) { // Lerp from night to morning Ogre::ColourValue lerp = Ogre::Math::lerp<Ogre::ColourValue, float>(sceneColours[GT_TOD_NIGHT].sky , sceneColours[GT_TOD_MORNING].sky, (currentHour - 4) / (7 - 4)); } My original attempt to get this to work was to dynamically generate a material with the new colour and apply that material to the skydome. This, as you can probably guess... didn't go well. I know it's possible to use shaders where you can pass information such as colour to the shader from the code but I am unsure if there is an existing simple shader to change a colour like this or if I need to create one. What is involved in creating a shader and material definition that would allow me to change the colour of a material without the overheads of dynamically generating materials all the time? EDIT : I've created a glsl vertex and fragment shaders as follows. Vertex uniform vec4 newColor; void main() { gl_FrontColor = newColor; gl_Position = ftransform(); } Fragment void main() { gl_FragColor = gl_Color; } I can pass a colour to it using ShaderDesigner and it seems to work. I now need to investigate how to use it within Ogre as a material. EDIT : I created a material file like this : vertex_program colour_vs_test glsl { source test.vert default_params { param_named newColor float4 0.0 0.0 0.0 1 } } fragment_program colour_fs_glsl glsl { source test.frag } material Test/SkyColor { technique { pass { lighting off fragment_program_ref colour_fs_glsl { } vertex_program_ref colour_vs_test { } } } } In the code I have tried : Ogre::MaterialPtr material = Ogre::MaterialManager::getSingleton().getByName("Test/SkyColor"); Ogre::GpuProgramParametersSharedPtr params = material->getTechnique(0)->getPass(0)->getVertexProgramParameters(); params->setNamedConstant("newcolor", Ogre::Vector4(0.7, 0.5, 0.3, 1)); I've set that as the Skydome material which seems to work initially. I am doing the same with the code that is attempting to lerp between colours, but when I include it there, it all goes black. Seems like there is now a problem with my colour lerping.

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  • BIEE Answer Parameter Passing

    - by Tim Dexter
    A little off BIP topic today but I spent some time researching how to pass parameters between Answer reports and knocked up a document for a client this morning and thought, what the heck someone might find it useful. If you have a source Answer request and you want to link to another Answer in another subject area and pass values to the target request, read this.

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  • Where I Am Speaking Soon

    - by Tim Murphy
    Open XML and document generation has been my focus lately.  With that being the case I will be speaking on the subject in the near future at the following event. Chicago Code Camp – May 1 Chicago Architects Group – June 15 Lake Count .NET User Group – June 17 I hope to see you at one (or more) of these events. del.icio.us Tags: speaking,Office Open XML,OOXML,Document Generation

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  • AMD E1-1200 Slow?

    - by Tim Rijckaert
    I recently installed Ubuntu 12.04 32bit with Gnome 3 on a Toshiba 850D-104 for a friend of mine. This friend only surfs the web, checks for emails and plays online flash games a lot I was chocked to see that the laptop was rather sluggish. I mean you get what you pay for, with this kind of processor (AMD E1-1200, dual-core 1.4Ghz), but it's a bit too much! It takes 10 seconds to just open up Chromium (1 tab!) not to mention when he plays a flash-game it's stuttery and becomes unplayable. What can I do? I already tried Lubuntu, but it's not that much faster. I checked the resources and the ram is only 300Mb from the 6Gig installed? The Graphics card is a AMD HD Radeon 7310 (and the FGLRX-driver is installed) Any solutions for a sluggish Flash experience on Ubuntu? Thanks

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  • March 2011 Chicago IT Arch Group Recap

    - by Tim Murphy
    This month’s meeting was outstanding.  We had a record turnout for John Sprunger’s presentation on mobile architectures.  I guess that is what happens when you put up a presentation on the most popular topic in technology.  I invite everyone to join us for next month’s event.   And while I love to see new faces it is always great to have people come back and continue the conversation. Here are some resources from last night’s presentation. Presentation slides Whitepaper Case study Stay tuned for information on our upcoming presentations.   del.icio.us Tags: CITAG,Chicago Information Technology Architects Group,Mobile Architecture

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  • Internal microphone not working in Google talk

    - by Tim
    My laptop is Lenovo T400, which has an internal microphone. My OS is Ubuntu 10.10. My browser is Firefox 11.0. The internal microphone works fine, because I can use it to record my voice using Audaciy. However, in Google talk, I have choose "Internal Audio Analog Stereo" in "Settings - Voice and video chat - Microphone:". But when I click "Verify your settings", it doesn't work. Neither can I speak to others using Google Talk. I wonder why? Thanks and regards!

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