Speaker
Description
The Survey database and its interface called Geode were created in 1985. From the beginning, Geode was developed by the Survey team with an Oracle development tool, Oracle Forms.
Over the years, both Geode and Oracle Forms have evolved together. However, this changed after migrating to Oracle Forms 10g, when we were actively encouraged to change to another development tool. Although not ideal in all aspects APEX (Oracle Application Express) was the alternative selected. The migration began in 2010 and was finally finished in 2015/16.
After presenting the pros and cons of each development tool, APEX and Oracle Forms, this paper details the current situation of the Survey database and Geode. It reviews the changes in the database, Geode and the development process; and outlines the difficulties of maintaining and evolving two different coexisting interfaces, as well as the DB business logics and structures. Finally, it overviews the next steps for the consolidation of the DB before other necessary changes are implemented.
