A Sample Application

The operations of a large bookseller, BooksOnLine, are based on an online book ordering system which automates activities across the various departments involved in the entire sale process.The front end of the system is an order entry application which is used to enter new orders.These incoming orders are processed by an order processing application which validates and records the order. Shipping departments located at regional warehouses are then responsible for ensuring that these orders are shipped in a timely fashion. There are three regional warehouses: one serving the East Region, one serving the West Region, and a third warehouse for shipping International orders. Once an order has been shipped, the order information is routed to a central billing department which handles payment processing.The customer service department, located at its own site, is responsible for maintaining order status and handling inquiries about orders.

In Chapter 1 we outlined a messaging system for an imaginary company, BooksOnLine. In this chapter we consider the features of AQ in the context of a sample application based on that scenario. This sample application has been devised for the sole purpose of demonstrating the features of Oracle AQ. Our aim in creating this integrated scenario is to make it easier to grasp the possibilities of this technology by locating our explanations within a single context. We have also provided the complete script for the code as an appendix (see Appendix C, "Scripts for Implementing 'BooksOnLine'"). However, please keep in mind that is not possible within the scope of a single relatively small code sample to demonstrate every possible application of AQ.