Oracle Analytics Server 2025, AKA 8.2 is available

Oracle has released this year OAS version, OAS 2025, sometimes named internally, OAS 8.2.

This is the official blog post about the release, it includes some new features too: https://blogs.oracle.com/analytics/post/announcing-the-general-availability-of-oracle-analytics-server-2025

The documentation is here.

The "what's new in OAS 2025" section is here.

While the download page is here, I recommend using the edelivery site here, if you don't want the complexity of searching the correct version of Weblogic.

Gianni Ceresa uploaded the docker version here: https://github.com/gianniceresa/docker-images/tree/master/OracleAnalyticsServer  

Since the OAS 2025 should be equivalent to OAC Jan 2025, you can also look at the list of OAC new features videos of March 2024 - January 2025 here. 

Seems we are ready...

 

Oracle Analytics Default date format in parameter

 A quick reminder to my self:

When creating a parameter and want to use it in filter / calculation, there must be a default. For date default this is the default format: 

DATE '2014-04-12'

For example: 

Val_Date = @parameter("P_DATE")(DATE '2014-04-12')

Last occurrence of sub-string in a string - The locate function secret part in Oracle Analytics

 I need to find the last occurrence of a specific character in a string (and using only the part that follows that character). For example in a string 'abc-de-fghi-jklm' I want to locate the last '-' and get the sub-string of 'jklm'. In my cases there is unknown number of '-' characters.

The basic function to locate a sub-string in a string is "Locate". 

While it seems Locate has only 2 parameters (the string we are searching and the full string), actually they are 3 parameters. The third one is optional: start position.

LOCATE(CharacterExpression, CharacterExpression [, StartPosition] ) 

The Start Position can accept negative values as well, meaning search from the end of the string.

So in my case Locate('-', 'abc-de-fghi-jklm', -1) is the solution.

To get the sub-string 'jklm' I will use 

SUBSTRING( 'abc-de-fghi-jklm'

                   FROM  Locate('-', 'abc-de-fghi-jklm', -1)+1)

The SUBSTRING function parameters are:

SUBSTRING(CharacterExpression FROM StartPosition [FOR length]) 

Installing OAS on mobile laptop

Once in a while I install OAS (Oracle Analytics Server) on my laptop. I do it for testing purposes mostly... I don't want anyone but myself to connect to this OAS. Sort of rich man's OA Desktop.

 First of all, don't do it. Even if you want OAS on a laptop, you would better use a VM or Docker. This type of installation is not supported and usually is problematic.

This post is for myself, so I will stop reinventing the wheel each time I do it...

⛔

Problem: 

• OAS is a server that requires a static IP. 
• My laptop changes the IPs each time I move from one network to another. 
• During the installation the IP is hard coded in some of the config files.

Work around: 

• Create a MS loopback adapter with a static IP. Example from Oracle DB 21c documentation is here.
  
• Set that IP as Ethernet network on the laptop.
• Before OAS installation turn of Wi-Fi or any other network, so the installation is forced to use the loopback IP.

⛔

Once done remember to stop and start OAS on the same network.