If you haven’t noticed, there’s a growing interest in using the former HTML DB product now known as APEX (Applications Exchange). APEX provides a declarative way to develop web-based applications without requiring significant knowledge about Javascript or HTML. It does require that users are comfortable with SQL, and, to take advantage of advanced features, some knowledge about PL/SQL.
APEX utilizes either the Oracle 10g or 11i database to store all of the configuration. Depending on your setup it may or may not use the Apache Server. Under Oracle 11g, one can use the XMLDB Gateway and forgo the use of the external Web Server (Apache).
Many companies are using APEX to create departmental apps that access information in the E-Business Suite and a new book, Pro Oracle Application Express, has just been released by John Scott and Scott Spendolini that documents advanced features.
Oracle has a full-featured website that provides lots of information about APEX. It includes the download links, tutorials, and lots of examples. To simplify it even further, they provide a hosted website where you can jump directly into exploring the features of APEX. Check it out at http://apex.oracle.com
I’ve experimented with APEX and find it very interesting. At OOW there are a number of sessions about APEX that have been well-attended. I attended one on how easy it is to add globablization features to APEX. The session showed a simple APEX application that had been developed in English which the presenter updated to work in German and French.
Last month while I was at the NCOAUG Training Days, I dropped in on a session called “Flex Your ApEx: Implementing Oracle E-Business Suite Flexfields in Application Express”, by Shane Bentz, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. His organization had set up their APEX application to use the FLEX Field logic within the E-Business Suite. That was very impressive and speaks to the capabilities of APEX.
Lastly, there is a process for converting older Oracle Forms applications to web forms using APEX. I haven’t used it so I can’t vouch for its capabilities, but it is supported by Oracle.
More later on APEX…
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1 response so far ↓
1 admin // Sep 23, 2008 at 9:03 am
I noticed there’s a conference on APEX coming up in October - APEXposed! 2008, October 29-30 in Chicago. The website is http://www.odtugapextraining.com/
Scott Spendolini, president of Sumner Technologies, is hosting this conference. Also, Scott will be offering two training classes, “Introduction to Oracle APEX 3.1? (http://www.shop.trutek.com/product.sc?productId=73) and “Intermediate Oracle APEX 3.1? (http://www.shop.trutek.com/product.sc?productId=44) in Salt Lake City, UT, through TruTek (www.trutek.com) the week of December 8-12. Just in time for some good skiing.
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