Preface
Have you ever wanted to create real-world database applications? In this book, you will not only get APEX best practices, but will also take into account the total environment of an APEX application and benefit from it. Many examples are given based on a simple but appealing case.
This book will guide you through the development of real-world applications. It will give you a broader view of APEX. The various aspects include setting up an APEX environment, testing and debugging, security, and getting the best out of SQL and PL/SQL.
In six distinct chapters, you will learn about different features of Oracle APEX as well as SQL and PL/SQL.
Do you maximize the capabilities of Oracle APEX? Do you use all the power that SQL and PL/SQL have to offer? Do you want to learn how to build a secure, fully functional application? Then this is the book you'll need.
Oracle APEX Best Practices is where practical development begins!
What this book covers
Chapter 1, Prepare and Build, discusses different aspects of setting up an Application Express (APEX) environment. Among others, we'll take a look at installing APEX, performing preparational tasks before actually building applications, and transforming the data model into initial screens. We will also discuss some guidelines and best practices for these phases.
Chapter 2, Leveraging the Database, explains various subjects related to an APEX environment. These subjects include instrumentation, efficient lookup tables, analytic and aggregate functions, offloading long running programs, and so on.
Chapter 3, Printing, deals with different aspects of printing in Oracle Application Express. In this chapter, we will discuss the two most used architectures in Application Express printing, using Apache FOP and Business Intelligence Publisher. Then, we will see how to install and configure both Apache FOP and Business Intelligence Publisher.
Chapter 4, Security, describes how to provide security for Oracle Application Express. In this chapter, we will discuss the responsibilities of an administrator. We will also discuss security aspects for developers.
Chapter 5, Debugging and Troubleshooting, discusses various subjects such as debugging in APEX, remote debugging using Oracle SQL Developer, reports available in Application Express for troubleshooting, and so on.
Chapter 6, Deploy and Maintain, discusses the deployment and maintenance of an APEX environment. In this chapter, we will discuss various topics such as considerations regarding packaging the application, version control, and so on.
Appendix, Database Cloud Service and APEX 4.2, discusses Oracle Public Cloud and the Application Express features in the Database Cloud Service and APEX 4.2.
What you need for this book
You will require following software:
SQL Developer version 3.2 or higher
Application Express 4.1.1 or higher
APEX Listener with GlassFish, OC4J, or WebLogic
BI Publisher (version 10 or version 11) and/or FOP
Who this book is for
This book is filled with best practices on how to make the most of Oracle APEX. Developers beginning with application development as well as those who are experienced will benefit from this book. You will need to have basic knowledge of SQL and PL/SQL to follow the examples in this book.
Conventions
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text are shown as follows: "These settings can also be set manually with the APEX_INSTANCE_ADMIN API."
A block of code is set as follows:
BEGIN
wwv_flow_api.set_security_group_id(p_security_group_id=>10);
wwv_flow_fnd_user_api.create_fnd_user(
p_user_name => 'second_admin',
p_email_address => 'email@company.com',
p_web_password => 'second_admin_password') ;
END;
/
COMMIT
/Any command-line input or output is written as follows:
@apexins tablespace_apex tablespace_files tablespace_temp images
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: "Select the appropriate settings for Disable Administrator Login and Disable Workspace Login."
Note
Warnings or important notes appear in a box like this.
Tip
Tips and tricks appear like this.
Reader feedback
Feedback from our readers is always welcome. Let us know what you think about this book—what you liked or may have disliked. Reader feedback is important for us to develop titles that you really get the most out of.
To send us general feedback, simply send an e-mail to <feedback@packtpub.com>, and mention the book title via the subject of your message.
If there is a book that you need and would like to see us publish, please send us a note in the SUGGEST A TITLE form on www.packtpub.com or e-mail <suggest@packtpub.com>.
If there is a topic that you have expertise in and you are interested in either writing or contributing to a book, see our author guide on www.packtpub.com/authors.
Customer support
Now that you are the proud owner of a Packt book, we have a number of things to help you to get the most from your purchase.
Downloading the example code
You can download the example code files for all Packt books you have purchased from your account at http://www.PacktPub.com. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit http://www.PacktPub.com/support and register to have the files e-mailed directly to you.
Errata
Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you find a mistake in one of our books—maybe a mistake in the text or the code—we would be grateful if you would report this to us. By doing so, you can save other readers from frustration and help us improve subsequent versions of this book. If you find any errata, please report them by visiting http://www.packtpub.com/support, selecting your book, clicking on the errata submission form link, and entering the details of your errata. Once your errata are verified, your submission will be accepted and the errata will be uploaded on our website, or added to any list of existing errata, under the Errata section of that title. Any existing errata can be viewed by selecting your title from http://www.packtpub.com/support.
Piracy
Piracy of copyright material on the Internet is an ongoing problem across all media. At Packt, we take the protection of our copyright and licenses very seriously. If you come across any illegal copies of our works, in any form, on the Internet, please provide us with the location address or website name immediately so that we can pursue a remedy.
Please contact us at <copyright@packtpub.com> with a link to the suspected pirated material.
We appreciate your help in protecting our authors, and our ability to bring you valuable content.
Questions
You can contact us at <questions@packtpub.com> if you are having a problem with any aspect of the book, and we will do our best to address it.
