Reading a checkbox programmatically

In the previous recipe, we saw that we can use APEX_ITEM and APEX_APPLICATION to programmatically display and control items. We can also create and manipulate a checkbox. In this recipe, we will show you how to use the APEX_ITEM.CHECKBOX function and how to avoid problems. We will use the previous recipe and extend it with a checkbox.

A checkbox is a special kind of item on a webpage. It can either be checked or unchecked. But APEX doesn't know the unchecked state and therefore it replaces the unchecked value with null. Since APEX_APPLICATION is an array, null values will not be stored in APEX_APPLICATION. But if you try to look up the value of a certain row, you might get a no data found error.

Getting ready

Make sure you have a working events page from the previous recipe. Add a column to the table APP_EVENTS by entering the following in SQL plus:

Alter table app_events
Add oracle_event varchar2(1);
[9672_07_03.txt]

How to do it...

We will make a change to...