Hidden Gems of APEX

David Gale
Software Engineer
Oracle Application Express
November, 2014

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Oracle Application Express

I didnt know APEX could do that

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DAVID GALE
Software Engineer
Oracle Application Express
Database Tools | Server
Technologies
1900 Oracle Way
Reston
Virginia 20190

phone +1-703-364-2613
mobile +1-703-268-9040
david.s.gale@oracle.com
twitter @david_s_gale

David Gale has been

working with Oracle
Application Express since
2009 (v. 4.0).
He has been part of the
APEX development team
since joining Oracle in
2011.

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Safe Harbor Statement

The following is intended to outline our general product direction. It is
intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated
into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code,
or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing
decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or
functionality described for Oracles products remains at the sole
discretion of Oracle.

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Oracle Application Express

Introduction

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Oracle Application Express

Database-centric development tool for Oracle Database application

development
Targeted at Web-based developers who know SQL and PL/SQL
Develop Desktop and Mobile applications
100% Browser-based Development and Runtime
Declarative framework for rapid application definition, and full
application life cycle.
On premise, on laptop, on cloud, on RAC, any platform Oracle DB is

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History
Also known as Oracle APEX (a'peks)
HTML DB 1.5
First Release

HTML DB 1.6
UI Themes

2004

APEX 3.1

APEX 2.1

Interactive
Reports

Oracle XE

APEX 2.2

Supporting DB Objects
for full app installation
and upgrade

2005

HTML DB 2.0
SQL Workshop

2006

2007

APEX 3.0
Flash Charts
PDF Printing
Access Migration

Development initiated August 1999

APEX 4.2

APEX 4.0

Mobile
HTML5
Packaged Apps

Websheets
Dynamic Actions
Plug-Ins
Team Development

APEX 4.2 Dot

Releases
Improved
Packaged Apps

4.2.1 4.2.2, 3, 4 4.2.5

2008

2009

2010

APEX 3.2
Oracle Forms to
APEX Conversion

2011

APEX 4.1
Data Upload
Error Handling
ROWID

2012

2013

2014 /
5

Application Express 5.0*

Universal Theme
Page Designer
UI Modernization
HTML5 Plugins

*Available in Early Adopter Only (apexea.oracle.com

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Fully supported no-cost feature of the Oracle

Database Supported as a no-cost feature of the Oracle
Database

No cost feature of database 10gR2 (10.2.0.4 +), 11gR1, 11gR2, 12c

Any number of developers, applications, any number of end-users
Specialized Oracle Support Team Included with Database
Maintenance Agreement
All database editions: EE, SE, SE1, XE
Exadata, ODA, RAC, Partitioning, Compression, InMemory,
Multitenant

Distribution
Distributed with all editions of Oracle database 11g and 12c
Available as a download from OTN

Oracle Cloud Services

Oracle Database Cloud Service aka schema since October 2012.

Sold as a fully managed service with 1GB free trial, and 5, 20, 50
GB paid services.
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Oracle Application Express

Hidden Gem: APEX Data Dictionary

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APEX Data Dictionary

Set of views of (most) metadata for Workspaces,
Applications, etc.
Accessible through SQL
Application Utilities Application Express Views

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APEX Data Dictionary

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APEX Data Dictionary (Tree View)

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Oracle Application Express

Hidden Gem: APEX Advisor

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APEX Advisor
Automated test suite for common APEX errors and security
vulnerabilities
Application Utilities Advisor

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APEX Advisor

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Oracle Application Express

Hidden Gem: Application Search

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Application Search
Several shortcuts
<page> - Open page in editor (current application)
<application>:<page> - Open page in editor
<application>:s Application Shared Components (new in 5.0)

Search prior to opening an application: full workspace

search

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Oracle Application Express

Hidden Gem: SQL Workshop Utilities

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SQL Workshop Utilities

Suite of tools for working with database objects
Data loading
DDL generation
API package creation
Schema comparison
and more

SQL Workshop Utilities

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SQL Workshop Utilities

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Oracle
Application
Express on
Hidden
Gem: Query

Table

Selected

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Query on Selected Table

Part of the Find (not search) functionality
Automatically generates select statement with all column
names
Better than select * for usability and maintenance
Find Tables

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Query on Selected Table

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Oracle
Application
Express
Hidden
Gem: PL/SQL

Headings

Column

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PL/SQL Column Headings

Classic Reports only
Combine with SQL Query (PL/SQL function body returning
SQL query) report type for dynamic reports
Function returning colon-separated list of column headings
Can use apex_util.set_report_column_format() to specify
format masks at the same time

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PL/SQL Column Headings

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Oracle Application Express

Hidden Gem: Page Items to Submit

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Page Items to Submit

Automatically copy page item values from DOM to session
state
Attribute of reports and PL/SQL dynamic action steps
Enables partial page refresh for reports, complex dynamic
actions

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Page Items to Submit

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Page Items to Submit

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Oracle Application Express

Hidden Gem: Packaged Applications

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Packaged Applications
Suite of pre-built applications available for immediate
deployment and use
Two types
Sample Applications demonstrate specific functionality
Can be installed and inspected immediately

Productivity Applications designed to meet actual business

needs
Locked upon initial installation
Fully supported by Oracle*

Active development

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Packaged Applications

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