The latest iPhone update appears to have broken some SSL-enabled OracleAS sites. We have been working through finding a solution for an Oracle Portal customer of ours and it has been fairly hairy. On at least one of the environments, we have found a solution. We can likely help if you have been having an issue with your SSL handshakes.

Like many days, I had a need to query data stored in Oracle. But today was different. I needed to return the data in an XML format. I started with a very simple need and generated the XML brute-force while traversing my cursor. However, I realized the data would not be escaped properly and knew/assumed Oracle has created built-in functionality to accomplish what I was trying to do.

I then recreated my logic using DBMS_XMLGEN. This worked well, in that it created the desired result set, but I hate the idea of storing SQL in a string to be passed into a function, which is precisely what DBMS_XMLGEN was having me do. I had a hard time figuring out the precise technique recommended by Oracle, or even the “latest” technique. My client’s environment was 9i, so I knew I wasn’t going to get to play with anything interesting 11g might have to offer.

My brief research showed that SQL/XML (SQLX) appeared to be the best option. A few hours later, it really has been nice. I have been able to create both simple and complex XML results. Once you have the syntax down, you can generate just about any XML structure you desire.

Let me know if you come across anything more interesting/useful than SQLX for querying Oracle RDBMS tables (not XML data stored natively in the DB), and I’ll be interested in checking it out.

I have been somewhat enamored by Google Apps and its potential. Many enterprises have been happy with Exchange for mail, calendaring, contacts, and more. I have been one of those people. However, I have found Google Apps to be getting better and better for use in the enterprise and I will not be surprised to see it begin to take significantly larger chunk of market share from Microsoft over time.

I have been tasked with coming up with a modularized approach for logically separating out an extensive Flex application I am developing. I see Flex 3.4 might have some features I can take advantage of.

The site search game is changing with Google CSE.

We have recently been working on and completed an entire Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g environment setup for a customer:

• Identity Management
• WebCenter (Framework and Services)
• SOA Suite
• UCM

This article is part of the recent work short blurb series.

I just had a discussion with an M&S SOA Architect about the advantages and disadvantages of BPEL vs ESB, and more importantly, where to use which in practical business scenarios.

This article is part of the recent work short blurb series.

I had the age-old requirement today to build a data-driven, dynamic form…only this time with my RIA written in Adobe Flex. It was just as fun as normal, and this time it looks very nice with the RIA feel.

This article is part of the recent work short blurb series.

We recently had a customer request help with configuring OBIEE for use on both PCs and mobile devices (specifically, the iPhone). Of course, this is possible, but Oracle does not have a clearly documented approach. You might think that a separate server is required to accomplish this. However, the fact is that you can actually use a single server to deliver OBIEE reports for both PCs and the iPhone.

This article is part of the recent work short blurb series.

We recently integrated Oracle IdM with the SAML SSO Service from Google Apps. Now customers can continue to authenticate against OID even while accessing Google Apps assets!