Print from a windows App - data from an Oracle DB on Linux

Question

We have an Oracle DB running on Linux.

When data is ready to report, a value is placed in a table in the DB.

Presently an app is scheduled to run every 10 seconds to check for the value and if it's there it prints out the report. NOT prety.

How can I make this pretty?

I sort of envision the Oracle DB somehow triggering the windows server to print (TCP/IP? Small service listening on windows box) so that the windows app only fires up when it's time to do work.

How would you get the Linux/Oracle system to "signal" the Windows box?

Answer 1

Actually, polling is quite a quick, cheap, resilient, and best of all - implemented method of achieving your goal.

Remote db-initiated triggers are wonderfully sexy, and it could be as simple as using Cups with Samba and printing directly from the Linux box. Or it could be as complicated as a full two-way RPC with error checking.

Either way, don't fix things that aren't broken.