Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt in the Forms world

There is often an environment of fear, uncertainty and doubt whenever the future of Oracle Forms and Reports is discussed. It might be helpful to look at Oracle's stand on the whole issue. The Statement of Direction for Oracle Forms, Reports and Designer is an often overlooked place to start. One section in the document (quoted below) stands out for its unambiguity

"Oracle Application Server will continue to include Oracle Forms and Oracle Reports components
in the future releases and will ensure that the upgrade from one release to another is as smooth as
possible, for all components of the application server. Oracle Forms and Oracle Reports will
continue to be enhanced and will introduce new features in the future versions of the application
server. Oracle’s development teams are already working on features for Forms/Reports 11g and
beyond. This aligned with the commitment outlined above means that Oracle is already
committing development resources that will take Forms and Reports through to, at least, 2013."

Considering the tremendous investment, organizations have made in their Forms applications, and Oracle's public commitment to support Forms, it is worthwhile to still consider Forms as a viable alternative while deciding on alternatives for enhancements or new applications.