Reports Integration Bean -- Cookie Expires Unexpectedly

Question

After successfully using the bean described in the Oracle Forms Services – Secure Web.Show_Document() calls to Oracle Reports white paper for a while, I've noticed a potential problem.
Suppose I do the following:
1. Start up my browser, log in to my Forms application and use it to run a report.
2. Stay logged in to my Forms application for more than about 30 minutes, but without running another report during that time.
3. Try run a report from my Forms application again.
In Step 1, the bean "works" -- my login information gets "automagically" passed to Reports.
In Step 3, the bean "doesn't work" -- I get the "Database User Authentication" page with the "REP-51018: Need database user authentication" error.
If I wait less than 30 minutes in Step 2, then the bean "works" in Step 3.
WRITE_LOGOUTPUT shows nothing out of the ordinary -- the cookie appears to be getting set correctly both times.
The output from Step 1 looks something like this:
FrmReportsInteg0: Debugging true
FrmReportsInteg0: Adding new userid string "TEST/TEST@MYDBHOST"
FrmReportsInteg0: Default cookie domain: .mydomain.com
FrmReportsInteg0: set RW_AUTH10g
FrmReportsInteg0: Arguments: encryptionKey=reports9i; Reports version=RW10g
FrmReportsInteg0: Cookie value for RW10g is: TEST/TEST@MYDBHOST;1196108541259:30
FrmReportsInteg0: Encoded cookie value is: <22-character encrypted string>+<9-character encrypted string>xROht/0qZoY<5-character encrypted string>
FrmReportsInteg0: Complete cookie string is: userid=<22-character encrypted string>+<9-character encrypted string>xROht/0qZoY<5-character encrypted string>
FrmReportsInteg0: Added domain ".mydomain.com" to cookie
FrmReportsInteg0: Generated Cookie String: userid=<22-character encrypted string>+<9-character encrypted string>xROht/0qZoY<5-character encrypted string>; domain=.mydomain.com; path=/
FrmReportsInteg0: IE Cookie Set
The output from Step 3 (after waiting more than 30 minutes) looks something like this:
FrmReportsInteg1: Debugging true
FrmReportsInteg1: Adding new userid string "TEST/TEST@MYDBHOST"
FrmReportsInteg1: Default cookie domain: .mydomain.com
FrmReportsInteg1: set RW_AUTH10g
FrmReportsInteg1: Arguments: encryptionKey=reports9i; Reports version=RW10g
FrmReportsInteg1: Cookie value for RW10g is: TEST/TEST@MYDBHOST;1196110640401:30
FrmReportsInteg1: Encoded cookie value is: <22-character encrypted string>+<9-character encrypted string>xBuit/wsY44<5-character encrypted string>
FrmReportsInteg1: Complete cookie string is: userid=<22-character encrypted string>+<9-character encrypted string>xBuit/wsY44<5-character encrypted string>
FrmReportsInteg1: Added domain ".mydomain.com" to cookie
FrmReportsInteg1: Generated Cookie String: userid=<22-character encrypted string>+<9-character encrypted string>xBuit/wsY44<5-character encrypted string>; domain=.mydomain.com; path=/
FrmReportsInteg1: IE Cookie Set
The "22-character encrypted strings", "9-character encrypted strings", and "5-character encrypted strings" are the same as each other.
I'm on IE 6 with JInitiator 1.3.1.17.
My code looks something like this:
SET_CUSTOM_PROPERTY
    'CONTROL_BLOCK.USERID_BEAN',
    1,
    'ADD_USERID',
    GET_APPLICATION_PROPERTY(USERNAME)||'/'||
        GET_APPLICATION_PROPERTY(PASSWORD)||'@'||
        GET_APPLICATION_PROPERTY(CONNECT_STRING)
SET_CUSTOM_PROPERTY('CONTROL_BLOCK.USERID_BEAN', 1, 'WRITE_USERID_COOKIE', '10G');
-- SYNCHRONIZE as specified in Metalink Note 279938.1.
SYNCHRONIZE;
WEB.SHOW_DOCUMENT(:PARAMETER.URL, '_blank');
EXIT_FORM(NO_VALIDATE);I call this code (including the EXIT_FORM) each time I run a report.
I'm not using SET_MAX_AGE. I assume the behavior I'm seeing is somehow related to the default expiry time of 30 minutes that the white paper mentions for SET_MAX_AGE.
Still, I am setting ADD_USERID and WRITE_USERID_COOKIE each time. I would expect (incorrectly?) that would "reset" the cookie and its expiry date. The entry for WRITE_USERID_COOKIE in Appendix A of the white paper seems to suggest this:
The WRITE_USERID_COOKIE property actually sets the cookie to the client browser. This property needs to be called whenever the user database connect information for a Reports changes or after the cookie has been invalidated by exceeding the time defined as max_age.
Why is WRITE_USERID_COOKIE not resetting the cookie and its expiry date? If it doesn't, what's the point of setting WRITE_USERID_COOKIE "after the cookie has been invalidated?"
Is that "just the way it works"? If so, can anyone suggest any workarounds?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi,
I recently implemented this functionality for our project and I can confirm your observations. I haven't had time to look into it yet, though. If you find a solution, then please post it to this forum.
BR,
Peter