Preface

This manual describes how to install, configure, and maintain mod_plsql.

New Features

New features in this release of mod_plsql include:

• Dead database connection detection. Refer to Section 1.11.3, "Detecting Dead Database Connections in a Connection Pool" for more information.

• Definition of a tighter security model by allowing PL/SQL applications to validate requests before processing them.

New features in the previous release of mod_plsql include:

• Enhanced cache clean up algorithm allowing users to configure the time to clean up the cache.

• Enhanced OWA packages to allow better byte-packing of response data from multibyte databases resulting in fewer round-trips to the database.

• Reduced PL/SQL function call overheads in heavily called OWA package APIs like htp.p.

• Enhanced performance logging in mod_plsql. See "What kinds of logging facilities are available in mod_plsql?" in Appendix A, "Frequently Asked Questions" for more information.

• Enhanced security by obscuring schema passwords in the DAD configuration.

• Integration with Oracle Enterprise Manager 10g for log analysis and log correlation.

• Removed the requirement to have /pls in the virtual path for accessing mod_plsql. It can still be used, but is no longer required. mod_plsql has been integrated in the Oracle HTTP Server configuration and so a mod_plsql URL no longer needs to start with a "/pls" prefix.

• Note that OracleAS Portal DADs still need to be of the format /pls/dad.

Intended Audience

This manual is intended for Oracle Application Server administrators, for using mod_plsql to deploy PL/SQL-based database applications on the World Wide Web.

Documentation Accessibility

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Structure

This manual contains four chapters and one appendix.

Chapter 1, "Understanding mod_plsql"

This chapter provides an overview of mod_plsql and its features.

Chapter 2, "Configuring mod_plsql"

This chapter explains how to configure and use mod_plsql.

Chapter 3, "Securing Application Database Access Through mod_plsql"

This chapter describes how to secure the database access using mod_plsql.

Chapter 4, "Optimizing PL/SQL Performance"

This chapter describes how to optimize PL/SQL performance.

Appendix A, "Frequently Asked Questions"

This appendix contains the answers to frequently asked questions.

Related Documents

For more information, you may also refer to the following manuals:

• Oracle Database Application Developer's Guide - Fundamentals, in the Oracle Database 10g documentation library

• Oracle HTTP Server Administrator's Guide

• Oracle Application Server Administrator's Guide

Conventions

The following conventions are also used in this manual:

Convention	Meaning
. . .	Vertical ellipsis points in an example mean that information not directly related to the example has been omitted.
. . .	Horizontal ellipsis points in statements or commands mean that parts of the statement or command not directly related to the example have been omitted
boldface text	Boldface type in text indicates a term defined in the text, the glossary, or in both locations.
< >	Angle brackets enclose user-supplied names.
[ ]	Brackets enclose optional clauses from which you can choose one or none.