UTILIZE CUSTOM JAVA CLASSES IN OIC INTEGRATIONS (WITHOUT OCI FUNCTIONS)

 

At times we get presented with technical requirements in OIC integration that will require the use of custom developed Java classes (maybe from legacy systems, third party collaborators, cryptography needs, etc.). As easy and straight-forward the requirement sounds, its implementation may not be so, most of the times. The usually suggested way is to compile the Java classes in OCI and create functions. However, what if I tell you that there is another easier way to achieve the requirement?

There is and it assumes that there is an Oracle database in picture (preferably an ATP).

• 1.     Enable Java in your Oracle database, after which, you may have to bounce the database once.
• 2.     Import your Java classes using the CREATE JAVA statement. More details on this statement can be known here. Please note that if a class references another class objects, then the class being referenced has to be imported first before proceeding to import the other.
• 3.     Once you have imported and successfully compiled the necessary Java classes, you will have to wrap the Java classes using PLSQL functions. Please take note that when you create wrappers, you will have to mention the formal data type of its arguments – like java.lang.String for a string type.
• 4.     Utilize these wrappers by creating another wrapper procedure/function – but this time, using the PLSQL datatypes. These procedures and functions can be invoked from OIC integrations, indirectly utilizing the custom Java classes.

Voila!

MAZE PROBLEM USING STACK(IDEA AND IMPLEMENTATION TECHNIQUE)

We all know the classic problem of a rat in a maze. It involves a starting position, which is the place where the rat begins its journey; to a specific destination, which will be only one position to reach the other side of the maze.
This problem can be solved with a certain algorithm using stacks. Although there are infinite number of algorithms using stacks, this one is an idea of mine and any feedback or suggestions are always welcome.

THE IDEA:
        Let us first represent the maze as a 2D matrix, that has m rows and n columns, so that its dimension can be represented as (m*n). The basic idea is simple. It relies on the idea of 0's and 1's that will be the only elements present in the matrix. 0 means there is a free path in that direction, and 1 means it is blocked. In order to avoid confusions at the terminal extremes of the matrix, a (m*n) matrix is represented as a matrix with (m+1) rows and (n+1) columns with, the boundaries carrying a 1 all over the actual maze matrix, so that the path won't get outside the matrix.

THE PRIORITY:
        The path follows a certain priority of directions. It is as follows:

• NORTH
• NORTH EAST
• EAST
• SOUTH EAST
• SOUTH
• SOUTH WEST
• WEST 
• NORTH WEST

The free path movement is strictly restricted to follow this priority. Backtracking is also present in case of a wrong path chosen.

STACK IDEA:
        The initial position is pushed into the stack. From now on, the positions are pushed in to the stack, where the rat moves. Thus, at any time, the stack_top returns the current position of the rat in the maze(matrix cell). In case of backtracking, if there are no paths left further more except the one path that we actually used to come in, stack is popped until there is another way than the older one.

These steps are repeated until the end position is reached.  This is just a general idea of the implementation. The time complexity of this approach is O(n), depending on the number of paths available.

HOW TO TYPE USING INDIAN LANGUAGES IN UBUNTU 18.04 LTS?

Hi there! If you are reading this, you might probably be wanting to add Indian languages to Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. I was in a similar situation a few weeks back and unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot of tutorials on the web that was dedicated to Ubuntu 18.04. A lot of the articles focused on the previous releases of Ubuntu. Not to mention, the settings of the distro has changed quite significantly with the 18.04 LTS version. So, without any further build up, let us jump right into the topic.

1. Install ibus-m17n. You may do this by the following command. Open the terminal using 'Ctrl+Alt+T'.   Then type the following and press enter.

sudo apt install ibus-m17n

2. After installing ibus-m17n, you may have to reboot the system once inorder for the changes to take effect.

3. After the reboot has finished, go to the ‘Settings’.

4. Go to ‘Region & Language’ located in the left pane menu.

5. Under the input sources, press the ‘+’ button to add a new language.

6. Now, press the three dots below the language list displayed.

7. Now search for the language you want to install. In this article, let us search for hindi.

8. Now scroll down and select the ‘m17n’ options associated with hindi.

9. Select one and the language has been added to your list.

10. Now you can switch between languages while typing by pressing Superkey(Windows key)+Spacebar.

11. Now enjoy typing in your language!