APEX podcast by LewisC

This morning I listened to a great podcast about APEX.

Lewis Cunningham interviewed David Peak, Application Express Product Manager from Oracle and Peter Martin, working for a company in the EMEA automotive industry and APEX user.

I took some notes… here they are:

What are the key features of APEX?

• Developing Secure applications is easy with APEX

• Declarative way of programming (using wizards)

• Built in Reporting, Forms, Charts, Pdf reports

• Possibility of using Webservices

• Upload spreadcheat

• Free

Why should we use APEX?

• Extreme Rapid Application Development (RAD)

• Completely web-based

• Very good tool to have immediate result, excellent in proto-typing

• You can start building apps in APEX next to the customer and agree on the layout (user sees what he gets), then start with the back-end.

• You only need a webbrowser to develop in APEX

• APEX development environment is built by itself, it’s also completely meta-data driven and based on PLSQL

• Start with a design model and use the full potential of the Oracle database

• Free with the database (if you’ve an Oracle license)

• Free with XE, screens of XE are made with APEX (the APEX version of XE is different as the “normal/full” one)

How to compare developing in APEX with Ruby on Rails?

• Benefit by using APEX:

• Framework within Oracle database

• Integrated with the database (security, enterprise functionality, …)

• Don’t need to focus on connection pooling or typical java environment complexity

• Prototyping - RAD environment

• Completely Free

How is APEX used in your environment, Peter?

• About the company he’s working for and how they use APEX

• EMEA, automotive industry

• Terrabyte database

• > 100 million records

• They use Discoverer but also want to go to APEX (internally)

• Integration with SSO, Forms

• Developing in APEX - the sky is the limit

• Reuse of their SQL/PLSQL skills without getting to know the java framework

What are the challenges when developing with APEX?

• Because it’s so easy to develop
• Use a plan/proces to make a GOOD application
• Use the APEX framework as good (best) as possible
• Go to some Apex Evangelists trainings (site no longer online) to learn how to best use APEX (joke, they didn’t say that) ;-)

What is new in APEX 3.0 or are the highlights of this new version?

• Integration with BI Publisher

• Use of Flash Charts

• Webservice capabilities: talk to Oracle BPEL for ex.

• Navigation, improvement of UI

• Access migration workshop: from Access mdb file -> take export and migrate directly into Oracle

• -> SQL Developer: tables

• -> APEX: forms, reports

What are other strong points of (developing with) APEX?

• Strong user community and community feeling

• Forums are a great source of information, the APEX forum is the most used forum on OTN!!

• Also some good Blogs:

• Scott Spendolini

• Patrick Wolf

• Dimitri Gielis (hey I got mentioned!! thanks guys!)

• John Scott

• Integrating with Spatial, OLAP, E-business Suite

• 9 existing Packaged applications, new ones are in the pipe

• Designed to show how we do things

• Show a working solution

What about the future and the integration of APEX with SOA?

• APEX is not competing with J2EE

• APEX has also Webservices and can integrate with BPEL, SSO etc.

• APEX can be the glue between all your applications or an extension to an existing app

• When you have a lot of complex middle tier logic, Oracle provides J2EE for this

• Use the best tool for your team (if you’ve a lot of Java programmers, you can go for Java/SOA, in all other cases APEX is a possibility)

To conclude my notes, I found it an interesting podcast! Thanks Lewis…

I believe APEX is getting more popular!
Tom Kyte (and me too) says sometimes: “Every single day I learn something new”
If I change that a bit: “Every single day a new person gets to know APEX”