Monday, July 20, 2015

Oracle MSCA/MWA Framework - Introduction

MSCA

  • Stands for Mobile Supply Chain Application.
  • MSCA is for staff in warehouse, shop floor, most of whom are always on the move.
  • MSCA trasactions are carried out from hand-held devices.
  • To efficiently operate and infuse visibility in the system - RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) readers are used by warehouse/shop floor staff to read barcodes and use them in transactions.
  • Items, Locators, Sub-Inventories etc are barcoded and these barcodes are not entered manually but scanned with the handheld devices while performing transactions thus providing efficiency, speed as well as accuracy.

MWA

  • Stands for Mobile Web Application.
  • MWA is telnet based application that runs on internet (WIFI and GPRS) based wireless devices.
  • Telnet client is configured on the handheld device, for testing it is used on desktop.
  • MWA Applications are based on Java.
  • MWA is part of WMS (Warehouse Management System).

MWA Architecture:




Fortunate enough to get a chance to closely observe and experience warehouse transactions using handheld devices. Typical work on MWA Applications:
  • Development of custom screens for handheld devices.
  • Extend the existing MWA screens.
  • Personalize existing MWA screens.

Technical Skills Required:
  • Java
  • PLSQL 
  • XML
Softwares Required:
  • JDK to be installed in system.
  • Mobile Wireless Applications (MWA) J2ME Telnet GUI Client. 

Navigation

Navigation on mobile device uses "Enter" key.
"Enter" key will fire fieldExited event.
Whenever we scan a barcode, barcode will populate the value and there is an associated "Enter" key for navigation to next field.

Key Mappings
  • Key mappings are visible on mobile help screen on pressing "F1" (Standard key for Help).
Following are standard key mappings:

Shortcut Key Purpose
F1 Help
F2 Menu
F3 Back
F4 Forward
Ctrl K Clear
Ctrl L LOV
Ctrl M Responsibility Menu
Ctrl B Long Description of status message
Ctrl Z Toggle between options in a list field
Ctrl A Show Current Field on page
ESC For Hot Keys
Ctrl Z Toggle between options in a list field
Ctrl D Page Up
Ctrl C Page Down
Ctrl G Generate (Generate Serial Number etc)
Ctrl S Skip Task on Task Page
Ctrl X About Page
Ctrl F Open Flexfield Window


MWA Configuration

  • $INST_TOP/admin/install/mwa.cfg stores the MWA configuration.
  • Following are the key configuration variables in this file:
    • mwa.DbcFolder
    • mwa.DbcFile
    • mwa.logdir
    • mwa.LogLevel
    • mwa.SystemLog
    • mwa.EnableLogRotation
    • mwa.MaxLogFileSize
    • mwa.SubmenuChangeOrgResp
  • Refer to MSCA Implementation Guide> MWA Server Setup > MWA Configuration File for more details.
  • Key mappings can be modified for a particular device ($INST_TOP/admin/install/Device IP.ini) or all devices ($INST_TOP/admin/install/default_key.ini). (Refer to MSCA Implementation Guide> MWA Server Setup > Key Mappings).  
Steps to Configure MWA Client:
  • MWA Client needs to confirmed 
  • Search for "Mobile Wireless Applications (MWA) J2ME Telnet GUI Client" or "Latest MWA GUI Client" etc on oracle support. Latest patch that I found and tried was 12780257. Patch "Read me" file contains details on patch installation.
  • https://support.oracle.com/epmos/main/downloadattachmentprocessor?parent=DOCUMENT&sourceId=294670.1&attachid=294670.1:1&clickstream=yes

    MWA Administrator

    • Standard MWA responsibility for MWA for Mirroring and Sending message to another mobile device for communication.
    Mirroring Mobile Session
    • MWA Administrator > Telnet Session Monitor can be used to mirror an active session of another user.
    • Both users must be on the same MWA Server.
    • This can greatly help in debugging and supporting MWA Applications.
    Send Message
    • MWA Administrator > Send Message can be used to send a brief message to another user.
    • Both users must be on the same MWA Server.
    • User will see the message on any key press.
    • After pressing OK, user can continue with their transaction.

    Starting/Shutting MWA Server

    • Location of Scripts - cd $INST_TOP/admin/scripts
    • Start Command - mwactl.sh start [port number]
      • Ex. mwactl.sh start 6060
    • Shutdown Command - mwactl.sh-login xxx/yyy stop/stop_force [port number]
      • mwactl.sh -login cbaker/welcome stop 6060
      • mwactl.sh -login cbaker/welcome stop_force 6060

    Hardware devices typically used:

    • Barcode Printer
    • Ribbon for barcode printing
    • Rugged/Semi-rugged mobile devices
    • lamination labels

    Please proceed to MSCA/MWA Framework - Custom Development and Extension - Part 1 to read more on custmization in MSCA/MWA Framework.

    Please proceed to MSCA/MWA Framework - Mobile Personalization to read more on Personalizing standard MSCA/MWA Screens.

    1 comment:

    1. Hi
      Thank you for useful post!
      Great overview of MSCA/MWA, exactly what I needed

      ReplyDelete