Our Oracle E-Business Suite Technology Integration team has just announced a significant change in its certification and support policy for the use of the native Sun Java Runtime Engine (JRE) with the E-Business Suite.  Effective earlier this month, this new policy reflects a switch from certifying specific JRE versions for the E-Business Suite to specifying minimum versions, instead.  This permits E-Business Suite users to run any JRE release above the minimum certified level, even later ones that Oracle hasn’t explicitly tested with the E-Business Suite.

mzFormsArch:


This policy change applies to the use of Sun’s Java plug-in to run Oracle Forms-based content in both E-Business Suite Release 11i and 12.  This change to Oracle’s certification and support policy reflects our confidence in Sun’s continued ability to preserve compatibility with Oracle Forms in future JRE releases in both the 1.5 and 1.6 codelines. 

This significant policy change should make life easier for Apps DBAs and end-users, as it widens the scope of JRE plug-in versions that can be used on your desktops.  This should help minimize the risk of experiencing conflicts between multiple JRE plug-ins, as described in this previous article.


Which JRE Versions Are Certified With Which Browsers?

This depends on your Windows operating version and the browser that your firm has deployed.  Various combinations of Windows XP, Windows Vista, Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 6 and 7, and Firefox are now certified with JRE 1.5 and 1.6. To review the new minimum certification levels, see:



Compatibility With Later Sun JRE Releases

You should review the documentation above and check Certify to confirm the current situation on a regular basis, as there may be specific warnings or exclusions in the future.  Both documents state:-



Oracle will continue to test and certify the Oracle E-Business Suite with selected future versions of Sun JRE releases in advance of their general availability to the public. Oracle will update this documentation with known compatibility issues or workarounds as needed.


Why Switch From JInitiator to the Sun Java Plug-In?

Remember that Oracle has started the obsolescence process for JInitiator!  For an overview of why you might be interested in switching your users to the Sun Java plug-in, and discussions about supported architectures, prerequisites, and other deployment considerations, see: