4 Interoperability with Custom and Client Applications

4.1 What are custom and client applications?

When you upgrade from Oracle Application Server 10g to Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g, or if you apply any patches on an existing Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g environment, you should consider the impact on your custom applications as defined as:

• Applications written using JDeveloper

• Applications using any other IDE, but also using any of the Oracle Fusion Middleware public Java APIs.

Specifically, the information in this section applies in the following situations:

• If you have created custom applications that you have deployed on Oracle Application Server 10g or Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g.

• If you have created or if you maintain client applications that interact with applications you deployed on Oracle Application Server 10g or Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g.

Oracle attempts to support binary and source-level compatibility between the current version of Fusion Middleware and patch set updates applied to it. Where incompatibilities arise with public interfaces, they are documented in the related API reference guides at http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E14571_01/ref.htm.

Oracle recommends that you ensure the business applications adopting these patch sets and upgrades are tested through your normal release process to ensure there are no regressions.

4.2 Oracle WebLogic Server Interoperability with Custom and Client Applications

In general, applying Oracle WebLogic patch sets should require no additional changes to your custom or client applications. When upgrading, however, you should expect some changes.

For more information on WebLogic Server compatibility, see "WebLogic Server 10.3.1 Compatibility with Previous Releases" in Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Guide for Oracle WebLogic Server.

4.3 Oracle SOA Suite Interoperability with Custom and Client Applications

This section provides information about the interoperability between your upgraded Oracle SOA Suite 10g applications and the client applications that depend upon them.

When you upgrade your Oracle SOA Suite applications to 11g, you must review your client applications and make modifications to the clients before they can interoperate with the upgraded Oracle SOA Suite applications.

In some cases, a patch is necessary before the clients can work with Oracle SOA Suite 11g. For more information, see "Upgrading Oracle SOA Suite Client Applications" in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Upgrade Guide for Oracle SOA Suite, WebCenter, and ADF.