Technology

Oracle Forms and Reports Support, Migration & Modernisation
the product is current. Your version probably is not.

For businesses running applications built with Oracle Forms and Reports, from Forms 6i to 12c. We assess the forms, the reports and the PL/SQL behind them, keep the application supported, upgrade it where that is the better answer, and move it to Oracle APEX or a web application in stages where it is not.

Request an Oracle Forms assessment Discuss an existing Forms application
More about this service

We are an Australian team working remotely with businesses in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. Every engagement starts with a scoped technical assessment, so the estimate that follows is based on your code and your data.

  • Assessment A scoped technical review before any estimate
  • 18+ yrs Building business software
  • Independent No licence commission, no reseller agenda
  • US UK NZ AU Australian team, working remotely
Australian owned and operated

Built here. Your data stays here.

  • No offshore development. Everything is written by our own team in Australia. Nothing is subcontracted overseas.
  • Your data stays onshore. Hosted in Australia, on infrastructure you own, under Australian law.
  • Every state, not just ours. Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and everywhere between.
Oracle Forms developers

Oracle has not retired Forms. Your version may be another matter.

Oracle Forms was the standard way to build data entry screens on an Oracle database for decades, and it is very good at that job. That is why finance, logistics, council and manufacturing systems built with Forms 6i or 10g are still in daily use. The screens are fast for the people who know them, and the business rules sit in PL/SQL, the programming language of the Oracle database.

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The obstacles are practical, not mysterious: a Forms version years past the end of its support, screens that depend on a Java plug-in that browsers no longer run, reports built with Oracle Reports, which Oracle has deprecated, and fewer people each year who can change any of it. Forms itself is still a current Oracle product, so replacing it is one option among three, not the only one.

Our Oracle Forms developer service is for businesses in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. It covers three kinds of work: code fixes and updates, migration to a modern technology stack, and ongoing maintenance and support.

See legacy software modernisation

Three ways forward for an Oracle Forms application

Oracle supports the second one. It is the option people are least often told about.

  • Keep it and support it

    The application stays on its current Forms version. We set up a working build environment, fix faults, make changes in the forms, reports and PL/SQL, and write down what it depends on. This suits an application that works and mainly needs somebody who can change it.

  • Upgrade to a current Forms release

    The same forms are brought forward to Forms 14c, or to 12c as a step on the way. Features Oracle has removed are replaced, the way users start the application changes, and reports are upgraded or moved. Staff keep the screens they know, and Oracle supports the result.

  • Move to APEX or a web application in stages

    Screens are rebuilt in Oracle APEX, the Oracle tool for building browser applications on the same database, or as a web application on another stack. Modules move one at a time against the same tables, and PL/SQL already held in the database is reused.

What we do with Oracle Forms applications

Six kinds of work. Most engagements are two or three of them.

  • Forms and PL/SQL maintenance

    Faults fixed and changes made in existing forms, menus, libraries and database packages.

  • Forms version upgrades

    Applications brought from Forms 6i, 10g or 11g to a release Oracle still supports, with obsolete features replaced and every form recompiled and tested.

  • Launching without the plug-in

    Applications moved off the embedded Java applet, which Oracle no longer recommends, onto Java Web Start or the Forms Standalone Launcher.

  • Oracle Reports replacement

    Report definitions upgraded where that is enough, or rebuilt in another reporting tool, with output compared against the originals.

  • Logic moved into the database

    Business rules lifted out of form triggers into PL/SQL packages in the database, so any future front end can use them.

  • APEX or web rebuild

    Screens rebuilt in Oracle APEX or as a web application, one module at a time, on the same database.

Supporting it, upgrading it and rebuilding it are different projects

Each trades cost against how much of Oracle Forms remains afterwards.

  • Stay on the old Forms version

    Lowest cost. The application is documented and looked after, and changes can be made again. It stays on software Oracle no longer fixes, and on desktop and Java settings that get harder to keep alive each year.

  • Upgrade to current Forms

    Most of the code is reused and staff keep the screens they know. Oracle supports the result into the 2030s. It is still Forms, it still needs Java on each computer and WebLogic Server behind it, and the Oracle licence continues.

  • Rebuild in APEX or on another stack

    Nothing depends on Forms afterwards, and the application runs in any browser. APEX keeps you on the Oracle database and reuses its PL/SQL. A rebuild on another stack can leave Oracle altogether. Either takes longest, and the risk is in rules buried in form triggers.

What an Oracle Forms assessment looks at

Forms the product is current. The risk is in the version gap, the way users launch it and the reports. The support dates and product statements below are from Oracle documents.

  • Which version

    Forms 4.5 or 5.0 from the Developer 2000 years, 6i, 10g, 11g or 12c. Oracle released Forms 14c (14.1.2) in December 2024 and lists Premier Support for it to December 2030. Premier Support ended in December 2011 for 10g and December 2016 for 11g Release 2, and ends in December 2026 for 12c.

  • Whether the source is complete

    Forms (.fmb), menus (.mmb), PL/SQL libraries (.pll) and object libraries (.olb), plus report definitions (.rdf). A site that holds only the compiled .fmx, .mmx and .plx files can run the application but cannot change or upgrade it.

  • Client/server or web

    Forms 6i could run as a desktop program on each computer. Oracle describes that client/server runtime as obsolete, so every current version runs from a server. Code that reads or writes files on the user's computer needs the Oracle WebUtil library after an upgrade.

  • How users launch it

    Oracle no longer recommends running Forms as an applet inside a browser page, which only Internet Explorer and Edge in IE mode can do. The current routes are Java Web Start and the Forms Standalone Launcher, which in Forms 14c needs Java 17 or newer on each computer.

  • Oracle Reports

    Reports is included with Forms 14c, but Oracle has deprecated it, plans no new features and recommends Oracle Analytics Publisher. Calls from a form to a report written with RUN_PRODUCT no longer compile and have to be changed.

  • Where the logic lives

    Business rules in form triggers and program units, in attached libraries, or in packages in the database. The more that sits in the database, the easier every option becomes. Oracle gives the same advice for a move to APEX.

  • The database and the servers

    Which Oracle Database release the application runs against, what the Forms server runs on, and whether Oracle certifies that combination. An old Forms version can hold a database or operating system upgrade back as well.

  • Integrations and desktop controls

    Database links, files in and out, and calls to other programs. ActiveX and OLE controls in old forms are not supported once Forms runs on the web, and Oracle points to JavaBeans in their place.

Still on Forms 6i or 10g, and told the only answer is a rewrite?

Call 0425 531 127 or Request an Oracle Forms assessment

What the assessment needs from you

A fixed-scope piece of work with a written result: the options, the risks of each, and a staged estimate. No production data is sent by email. We agree a secure way to share it first.

  • Versions

    The Forms and Reports versions, the Oracle Database release, and the operating systems they run on.

  • The source

    Whether .fmb, .pll, .mmb and .rdf files exist for every module, and where they are kept.

  • Size

    Roughly how many forms, reports and menus there are, and which ones carry the daily work.

  • How it is launched

    Desktop program, browser plug-in, Java Web Start or the standalone launcher, and which Java version is on the computers.

  • Reports

    How reports are produced and delivered, and which ones the business cannot do without.

  • Licences

    What you hold for Forms, the database and the application server, and whether Oracle support is still being paid.

  • Integrations

    Database links, files in and out, and other systems that share the database.

  • What is hurting

    The two or three problems that started the conversation: a browser, an audit, a database upgrade, a retirement.

  • The way back

    How long the business can run on the old system if a cutover has to be reversed.

How it runs

From assessment to a supported application

Done remotely, with meeting times agreed to suit your time zone.

  1. Technical assessment

    We establish the versions, what source you hold, how users launch the application, how reports are produced and where the business rules live. You get a written list of options with the risks of each and a staged estimate.

  2. A working build

    Every form, menu, library and report is compiled from source in an environment kept for the purpose, and the result is compared with what you run today. Until that works, no change is safe.

  3. Proof of concept

    One representative piece, usually a few forms and a report upgraded to current Forms, or one screen rebuilt in APEX on a copy of the database, is taken end to end.

  4. Staged work

    The work is done in stages agreed from the assessment, each with its own scope and estimate, starting with whatever is hurting the business most.

  5. Comparison and user testing

    Old and new are run side by side on the same data, report output is compared, and your staff test the work they do every day.

  6. Cutover and support

    Each switch is planned with a way back. We watch the first days of live use, then maintain the system for as long as it stays in service.

What people ask us about Oracle Forms

Is Oracle Forms still supported?

Yes. Oracle released Forms 14c (14.1.2) in December 2024 and lists Premier Support for it to December 2030 and Extended Support to December 2033. Its June 2026 statement of direction also names Forms and Reports in the next planned release. Old versions are another matter: Premier Support for Forms 10g ended in December 2011.

Do we have to move off Oracle Forms?

Often not, and we will say so. If the screens suit the work and the problem is an unsupported version or a browser that no longer runs the plug-in, an upgrade fixes that for less than a rebuild. A move makes sense when people need to work in a browser or on a phone, or when the cost of the Oracle licences is the real complaint.

Can Forms 6i be upgraded to the current version?

Oracle publishes an upgrade guide for Forms 6i applications, so the route is documented. Forms older than 6i have to pass through Forms 10g first. It is still a project: removed features need replacing, the application changes from a desktop program to one run from a server, and every form has to be recompiled and tested.

Can Oracle Forms be converted to APEX automatically?

Not with anything Oracle supports. APEX once included a migration tool for Forms, and Oracle desupported it in APEX 21.1. Commercial converters exist, and we judge them on a sample of your own forms. What reliably carries over is the data and any PL/SQL held in the database.

What happens to our Oracle Reports?

Oracle Reports still ships with Forms 14c, so existing reports can be upgraded and kept running for now. Oracle has deprecated it and recommends Oracle Analytics Publisher, so we treat reports as their own decision: keep the ones that work, and rebuild the ones the business relies on in a tool with a future.

Our Forms screens stopped opening in the browser. Why?

Older Forms versions run as a Java applet inside the browser page, and current browsers no longer run that plug-in. Oracle no longer recommends the applet at all. Current Forms versions start through Java Web Start or a standalone launcher, and getting there is part of an upgrade.

Do you provide Oracle Forms developers in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane?

Yes. We are an Australian team and we take on Oracle Forms work for businesses in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and elsewhere in Australia. Most of the work is done remotely, by video call and screen share, with secure access to a copy of your system. The service is the same in every city: code fixes and updates, migration to a modern technology stack, and ongoing maintenance and support.

How does this work from the United States, the United Kingdom or New Zealand?

Remotely. We are based in Australia and do not have offices elsewhere. Discovery is done by video call and screen share, with meeting times agreed to suit your time zone. Confidentiality, who can reach your systems and where your data is held are agreed in writing before work starts.

What does it cost?

The assessment is a fixed-scope piece of work with an agreed fee. The estimate for anything after it comes from what the assessment finds, in stages, so you are not asked to commit to a whole project on a guess.

Tell us about your Oracle Forms application

What the application does, the Forms and database versions, whether you hold the source, and what is forcing the question. Include your country so we can suggest meeting times. Please do not send production data.

Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.

Kasun Wijayamanna, founder of HELLO PEOPLE

Kasun Wijayamanna, founderYou deal with Kasun from scope to delivery. No account managers and no offshore handoff.