Glenn Cerny Chief Information Officer Lansing Community College Jennifer Pierce Portal/Web/HTML DB Developer Lansing Community College Scott Spendolini Senior Product Manager Oracle Corporation

Migrating from Microsoft Access to Oracle Database 10g on the Web with Oracle HTML DB

Agenda  Introductions  Migrating MS Access to Oracle HTML DB  HTML DB at Lansing Community College – Why Oracle HTML DB – New Development – Demonstrations  Questions & Answers

Other HTML DB Presentations  Introduction to Oracle HTML DB – Brad Brown, 4:30PM today, Room 2001  Oracle HTML DB Advanced Features – Tony Jedlinski, 8:30AM tomorrow, Room 2001  Oracle HTML DB: New Features Explored – Sergio Leunissen, 11:00AM tomorrow, Room 2001  Building Database Centric Web Applications with Oracle HTML DB – Craig Hollister, 1:00PM tomorrow, Room 2001

O R A C L E H T M L D B Microsoft Access Migration

Access Password “Recovery”  About $15  Many variations  Also available for other MS Office Components  If your data is worth less than $15, MS Access is a good place to store it

Four Steps to a Successful Migration 1.Analyze 2.Design 3.Migrate the Data 4.Migrate the Application

1) Analyze  MOST IMPORTANT STEP – If this is not done or done poorly, you will have a poorly designed HTML DB Application!  Analyze both the Data Model and Application  Decide if you can consolidate several MS Access Applications into a single HTML DB Application

2) Design  Application Design – Many constructs of MS Access do not translate to the web – There is not necessarily a 1-to-1 relationship between an MS Access form and an HTML DB Form – HTML DB Reports can replace several MS Access Reports – Forms built in MS Access to manage LOVs can be managed as LOV natively in HTML DB

2) Design  Database Design – Good database design is fundamental to a good application – Many MS Access Applications are written by people who don’t know a lot about data modeling – HTML DB wizards prefer numeric Primary Keys automatically populated via a Trigger – Normalize data where appropriate

3) Migrate the Data  Use the Oracle Migration Workbench to move the data from Access to Oracle  If you need to change the data model: – Migrate ALL of the tables to Oracle – Make changes on the Oracle side via SQL Workshop

4) Migrate the Application  Create an HTML DB Workspace based on the schema that the Migration Workbench created  Create an Application on this Workspace  Use the Wizards to quickly re-create the Forms and Reports in HTML DB

Southwind Wholesalers  Conversion of MS Access Northwind Traders Sample Application  Took about a day to fully convert all data, reports, business rules  HTML DB application has more functionality – Drill Down Links – User Security – Data Concurrency – Scalability  Available on HTML DB Studio (

Summary  It’s all about the data model!  A little planning will go a long way  There is more than one way to migrate an application – keep the client involved so as to not build something they will not want/like  Master-Detail wizard is coming in version 1.6 – Make sure to see Sergio’s New Features Presentation, 11:00AM Tomorrow, 2001 or stop by the DEMOGrounds to see Release 1.6

O R A C L E H T M L D B HTML DB at LCC

Why did LCC Select Oracle HTML DB?  Reusable and accessible format – Underlying Oracle Database – Easily access other Oracle apps data  Web-based – Many apps moving to the web – Considered more user friendly than forms  Cost – No additional software required – 10g Companion CD – Utilize non-developers

Why did LCC Select Oracle HTML DB?  Eliminate “Shadow Systems” – Microsoft Access databases – Shadow Systems Required additional hardware (servers)  Quickly build applications – Wizards – Re-Use Existing apps or parts of existing apps

Improved User Feedback  Prior to Oracle HTML DB, Users would create applications and then ask IT to manage/fix/own them  After Oracle HTML DB, users are proactively seeking out IT for application development assistance – Much More Manageable – Controlled Development Environment

“We have been able to develop and deploy three production systems in two to three weeks.” - Glenn Cerny, CIO, LCC

D E M O N S T R A T I O N Project Tracker

 Development – Existing Oracle HTML DB Studio application – Development: 0 hours – Tweaking: roughly 5 hours  Audience – Technical skill level  Existing Application – Existing application was Microsoft Project

Project Tracker  Integration with other Oracle apps – Utilize LDAP Groups for authentication – Working on Single Sign On thru Portal  What we use this app for – College-Wide technology project management  Why we converted to Oracle HTML DB – Needed a Development Language that is understandable – Need accessible application

Project Tracker  Project Tracker Demo – Demo Update and Add – Demo Reports – Demo Admin

D E M O N S T R A T I O N Strategic Planning

 Development – Development Time: 4 hours – Customization & Tweaking: ~ 20 hours  Audience – LCC Executives – Board of Trustees  Existing App – None (users requested MS Access)

Strategic Planning  Integration with other Oracle apps – Utilize LDAP Groups for authentication – Working on Single Sign On thru Portal  What we use this app for – Strategic Planning is for LCC’s Drivers & Initiatives – To ensure activities are consistent with common goals – Allows the President to see what is happening in real-time

Strategic Planning  Why we converted to HTMLDB – Did not want to build new applications in MS Access as it is too difficult to deploy and manage – Ability for End Users to Quickly access applications via Portal – Easier to use Oracle HTML DB than MS Access, as user base is not very technical

Strategic Planning  Strategic Planning Demo – Demo Update and Add – Demo Reports – Demo Admin

“With Oracle HTML DB, we were able to quickly build a collaborative tool which increased communication and awareness among senior executives and the community.” - Paula Cunningham, President, LCC

D E M O N S T R A T I O N Strategic Renewal

 Development – Development roughly 1 hour – Tweaking roughly 5 hours  Audience – Low technical skill level  Existing Application – 8 ½” x 11” Paper

Strategic Renewal  Integration with other Oracle apps – Utilize LDAP Groups for authentication – Delivered the application through Portal via iFrames  What we use this app for – Gathering input from our executives – Introducing them to the benefits of this technology  Why we converted to HTMLDB – Need a Development Language that is understandable – Need instant feedback on data

Strategic Renewal  Strategic Renewal Demo – Demo Portal integration – Demo Excel integration – Update and Add – Demo Reports – Demo Admin

Summary  With Oracle HTML DB, Lansing Community College was able to: – Save Money – (Start to) Remove MS Access – Build Applications we couldn’t before – Increase Productivity – Gain Prestige for the IT Department

A Q & Q U E S T I O N S A N S W E R S