Oracle Alta UI FAQ

I've installed ADF Middleware 12.1.3 release containing the Oracle Alta UI skin but my new app doesn't have the Oracle Alta UI look, why not?

The Oracle Alta UI skin is meant for new development and is an opt-in. Therefore, when creating a new application, the Skyros skin is still the default. To use Oracle Alta UI skin instead, please follow the procedure found in the Using Oracle Alta UI Skin For New Development page.

How can I get the most out of Oracle Alta UI?

To get the most out of the all new Oracle Alta UI design system embrace the entire system. Using the new skin alone is not enough. Products that make the most of Oracle Alta UI are designed around the Oracle Alta UI Design Principles including new layouts, responsive desgins, the new skin, new components and new approaches for visually presenting content to users in a clean, uncluttered and highly consumable way. For more inforomation see the getting the most out of Oracle Alta UI page.

Is there a path to Alta UI for existing applications using Skyros, FusionFX or older skins?

Oracle recommends that rather than attempting to implement Oracle Alta UI design system on existing skyros or FusionFX based application, designers and developers will consider a complete redesign of their user interface to get the most out the Oracle Alta UI experience. Oracle Alta UI applications are designed around the new Oracle Alta UI Design Principles with new layouts, new skin, new components and new approaches for visually presenting content.

Should I design for the desktop first and then reduce down to phone/tablet? Or should I design first for mobile and scale up?

We find that even when desktop users are your primary audience, there are advantages to a "mobile-first" approach. Designing for a smaller screen and quick on and off interaction style forces you to focus on essentials and distill your app down to what really matters. All users benefit from a more sharply focused design.

Is Alta the same across frameworks, i.e., is Alta in JET the same as Alta in ADF?

Yes, Alta as a design system is consistent across frameworks. While the UI components that will be available in JET are a subset of those in ADF some of them include enhancements not yet available in ADF. JET will add new components and ADF will adopt UX enhancements currently found only in JET.

What is the relationship between MAF and AMX?

Oracle Mobile Application Framework (MAF) is an HTML5 and Java mobile development framework that enables developers to build applications for iOS and Android from a single code base. AMX is an Oracle provided subframework that can be used with MAF. When used together these are referred to as MAF-AMX. The AMX subframework provides a set of UI components that can be used declaratively by dragging them onto a page editor and enables you to create application features whose behavior is identical on all supported platforms. Instead of using MAF with the AMX subframework developers may choose to use to code directly in HTML/Javascript with their favorite Javascript framework. This is referred to as the "LocalHTML" option. MAF also supports content rendered from a server, which is referred to as the "RemoteURL" UI option. Both the "LocalHTML" and "RemoteURL" UI content types still allow the page to interact with device features and call to the embedded Java framework.