Oracle forms server session timeout

Two parameters, forms_timeout and hearbeat, are discussed. They're used to abort an idle forms 
session, when hearbeat is greater than forms_timeout. 

An .env file is a value for the envFile directive in formsweb.cfg, located at 
$ORACLE_HOME/forms/server for 10g Oracle Application Server, 
$DOMAIN_HOME/config/fmwconfig/servers/WLS_FORMS/applications/formsapp_11.1.2/config for 11g OAS.

* Unit is minute, not millisecond.

* Parameter names are case-insensitive.

* New values take effect immediately for a new forms session; there's no need to bounce the app 
server.

* Forms_timeout is specified in .env file. The minimum is 3 minutes. Digits after the decimal point 
are ignored (e.g. 3.9 becomes 3, 4.2 or 4.9 become 4). Forms_timeout has a default value of 15.

* Heartbeat is specified in formsweb.cfg. The value can be smaller than 1 minute (e.g. 0.5 minute). 
Digits after the decimal point are significant (e.g. 1.2 means 72 seconds). Heartbeat has a default 
value of 2.

* To quickly check their effect, use strace if the OS provides it:

strace -t -p <frmweb pid>

14:30:43 setitimer(ITIMER_REAL, {it_interval={0, 0}, it_value={180, 0}}, NULL) = 0

The above line indicates a forms_timeout 180 seconds (ignore the lines with value 0). The next 
batch of similar setitimer() lines will be shown at the next heartbeat. The delta of the timestamps 
is the heartbeat value.

When the timeout expires, the strace output is

14:54:52 --- SIGALRM (Alarm clock) @ 0 (0) ---
14:54:52 rt_sigaction(SIGHUP, {0x1000000000000000, [], 0}, {0x10000000081d4106, [HUP TRAP RT_1], 
0x2d24f8 /* SA_??? */}, 8) = 0
...[lines for other signal actions]...
14:54:52 rt_sigprocmask(SIG_UNBLOCK, [ALRM], NULL, 8) = 0
14:54:52 --- SIGSEGV (Segmentation fault) @ 0 (0) ---

The above is from an strace of a 10g frmweb process.

* The client side should use a new IE browser session from a new iexplorer.exe process, not a new 
thread started by a new tab (Control-T) or a new window (Control-W). The client does not need to 
login the database, as long as the server-side frmweb process is launched.

* Documentation related to forms_timetout and heartbeat:
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23943_01/web.1111/e10240/appa.htm#FSDEP436
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23943_01/web.1111/e10240/configure.htm#sthref167
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E23943_01/core.1111/e10113/chapter_frm_messages.htm#sthref7992