Migrate underutilized BI installs to APEX 5? Consider Data, Features, Performance and Price. This works if planned, designed and built with care. This presentation outlines considerations for doing so.
2. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
About Me …
Karen Cannell ~ Consultant, TH Technology
Mechanical/SW Engineer - Analyzed, designed,
developed, converted, upgraded, enhanced legacy &
database applications for 25+ years
Building APEX applications for government, medical,
engineering industries since HTMLDB
Leveraging the Oracle 10g,11g, 12c suite of tools
Oracle Ace Associate
Editor Emeritus , Technical Journal
Support Your User Group!
10. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
BI to APEX 5
Leverage APEX Interactive Reports
to Mimic BI-Tool Features:
Flexibility – Column, Sort, Filter, Highlight
Grouping
Pivots
Downloads
Save, Share
11. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Wait for APEX 5.1 Interactive Grid
Leverage APEX 5.1 Interactive Grid
to Mimic BI-Tool Features:
Greater Flexibility – Column, Sort, Filter,
Highlight
Drag and Drop
Greater “Excel-Like” Behavior
We’ll See!
12. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
BI to APEX 5
Universal Theme
Dynamic Actions
Interactive Reports
Re-Engineered
Multiples on One Page
Group By Enhancements
PIVOT!
17. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
$$Price
Resources for Database
Yours or Hosted
Resources to Build
Design ~ Planning
Supporting Structures
App Itself
Features: Drills, Dyn Actions, Parameters
“Printing”
18. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
$$Price
Weigh Cost to Build APEX Solution
vs.
Cost BI License
Support
Annual or One-Time?
19. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Data
Volume
Volume Per Page View
Terabytes? No.
Small-Medium Yes.
Interactive Reports
Rows Per Page
Pagination
How Much To Display At Once
20. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Data
What Do Users Do With Their Data?
What They Tell You
What They Really Do
Watch Them…
Volumes?
Formats?
Post-Report Activity?
21. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Data
“This is the data I need … “
“I import that into Excel and do …
“
22. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Data
How Much to “Display” on One Page?
Does one Need “All the Data” On One Screen?
Do They Run the Report, then Download
Everything?
Break That Habit
Filter Filter Filter
1000 Rows is optimal
24. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
BI Tool Common Features
Select Columns
Sorts
Filtering
Tabular and
Crosstab (Pivot)
Aggregates
Grouping
Drills
Highlighting (Stop-
lighting)
Multi Data Source
Downloads
Printing
Data Volumes
25. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
APEX Interactive Reports Features
Select Columns
Sorts
Filtering
Tabular and
Crosstab (Pivot)
Aggregates
Grouping
Drills #
Highlighting
Single Data Source*
Downloads
“Printing”
Not Really
Small-Moderate Data
Volumes
# - Have to build
* - Sort Of
26. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
IR Features - Options
Set Features On/Off
By Report
By Column
Authorizations for Levels of Privileges (Roles)
Who Sees What
Conditions on Report Region based on
Selections
What They See When
Condition on Report Region
Features
27. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Either-Or Features
Report
Group By
Chart
Pivot
Only See One of These at a Time
28. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Demonstration
Select
Sort
Filter
Aggregates
Grouping
Pivot
Save
Download
29. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Lose
Build Own Report (from Scratch)
Auto Drill, Auto Aggregates
Out-of-the-Box ROLAP, MOLAP (Must Build)
True Dynamic Interactivity
True Analysis Features
Formatted Printing
Need to Build These
(or Do Without)
30. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Parameters
Pre-Filter Eliminates Slow First Load
Reduce Volume of Result Set
Cascading LOV’s
Whatever is Needed for Your Parameter
Determination
Features
31. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
IR Aggregate Behavior
Original Report Display
Region: West
************
State County City Population
CA Orange County Irvine 100
CA Orange County Orange 200
CA Los Angeles Hollywood 300
CA Los Angeles Universal City 400
Sum 1,000
Actual APEX IR Result
Region: West
************
State County Population
CA Orange County 100
CA Orange County 200
CA Los Angeles 300
CA Los Angeles 400
Sum 1,000
Intended Result
Region: West
************
State County Population
CA Orange County 300
CA Los Angeles 700
Sum 1,000
Know Your UsersInform Your Users
X
Features
32. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Charts
W/In IR - User-Driven
Simple Charts – NOT Complex Charting
Display Chart OR Report
Chart on Base Data – NOT on GROUP BY Display
Out of IR – Full APEX Charting
Supplement the IR
in Another Region
Features
34. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Pivots – Pivot Columns
Known Columns and Column Names
ex: Length by Month
vs.
Unknown Columns and Column Names
ex: Month by Length
Length by Year
Length by Area
Pre-APEX 5 This Is Hard …
37. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Saved Reports
Adds Flexibility to Report Strategy
Multiple Views of Same Data
Convenience
Alternate Default Reports
Saved Public Reports
Reports Select List to Access
Features
39. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Features ~ Drills
Build Parent Report
Build Child Report
Build Link in Parent to Child
Passing Parameters
Must Build Each One
Features
41. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Drills
Use IR_COLUMN_NAME for the Link
[STATIC_ID]COLUMN_NAME for > 1 / Page
Create RESET Button
or
Automatic Way to Clear Hidden Items
Same or Different Page
Plan – Plan - Plan
Feature
42. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Download / Print Options
HTML
Excel
PDF
Must Configure PDF Output
(FOP or BI Publisher)
Generic
XLS (BI Publisher)
RTF (BI Publisher)
Email – Allows Sharing Results
45. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Dashboard
Multi IRs on One Page
Ex: Table, Group, Chart, and Pivot
Driven by Same Parameters
OR Drill Between Report Views
Caveats:
Use the Best Tool for the Job
Multi APEX IR May Not Be the Wisest
Choice
Feature
47. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Training and Documentation
Same as Required for APEX Application
Minimal Compared to Full BI Tool
Feature
48. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Performance
Tune SQL Query First.
Tune the Page ~ Monitor Activity
Tune Each Element on the Page
All the Usual Tuning Methods Apply
Employ Materialized Views
Employ CUBEs, ROLLUP
As Needed to Support Desired Display
and Performance
Performance
49. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
General Tuning Tips
Set Application Processes to execute Per
Session
Set Page Process to exec Per Page vs Per
Session
Tune Page Zero Components
Use Declarative Conditions
ITEM = Value vs. PL/SQL Expression
50. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
IR Settings for Performance
Max Rows
1000 is optimal
Larger #s, Longer Wait
Return All Rows = Longer Wait
Use Filters to Limit Data Set
(User Training ~ Change Habits?)
Balance w/ User Requirements
51. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
IR Settings for Performance
Rows Display w or w/o Pagination
No Pagination – Better
Rows X to Y - Pagination
Rows X to Y of Z – Must Get All Rows and
Paginate
Balance w/ User Requirements
53. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
IR Settings for Performance, cont’d
Row Sorting
Sort adds an ORDER BY on the column
Index Sorted Columns
Limit Sorts to Essentials
Balance w/User Requirements
54. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Dynamic Actions
Dynamic Actions Get Confused (Slow)
With Large Data Volumes
Use Wisely
Use Sparingly
55. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Parameter Settings for Performance
Default Parameters ~ Ease of Use
BUT
Executes Report Once/Set on Navigation to
Page… Not OK for Long Queries.
Solution:
Clear (At Least One) Parameter on Page Load
Some Action Req’d To Display
57. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Key Considerations
Data Same
Features Fewer, Ok or Not?
Performance Have to Plan, BuildS
and Tune for it.
$$ Price Down, UNLESS You Build
Too Much
58. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
What Works
Interactive Reports Flexibility
Simple Menus
Simple Pages
Strategic Parameter Selection
Generic Printing
No License, Support Cost
Ease of Use
59. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
What Doesn’t …
NOT for Unlimited Drills
Must Plan And Build
NOT for Advanced BI Functionality
None. UNLESS You Build It
NOT for Fancy Layouts
BI Publisher or XSL-FO for Formatted Reports
NOT Data Mining
NOT For Everyone!
60. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Lessons Learned
Know What Your Users Need
Plan Queries – Plan Layouts – Plan Features
Plan Supporting Structures for Queries
Know Your Data, How to Present It
Plan Download/Printing Approach
TRAIN USERS
Know What Users Really Do With Data
BUILD SMART
61. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Test Test Test Test Test
Test for Performance
Test w Full Data Volumes
Test w Full User Volume
62. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Closing ….
What Works – Is it Enough?
What Doesn’t – Does It Matter?
Know Your Users
Know What Users Really Do
With Data
63. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
One the Fence?
Wait!
APEX 5.1 ~ Interactive Grid
Drag and Drop
Set Read-Only for “Report”
Improved Interactivity
65. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Resources
Sizing for Performance (2007!) Mike Hichwa
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/issue-archive/2007/07-
jan/o17browser-083149.html
Best Source of APEX Help
Apexworld.com
http://www.apexworld.com
Enhanced Aggregation, Cube, Grouping and Rollup (OLAP
Reporting Embedded in SQL) Shouvik Basu
http://www.orafaq.com/node/56
66. TH Technology
Migrate BI to APEX 5 ?
Share Your Knowledge!
Call for Articles/Reviewers
Editor, ODTUG Technical Journal
kcannell@odtug.com