Pro Oracle Application Express 4 - Fox_ Tim.pdf - Pro Oracle Application Express 4 (4209) - superktos86

For your convenience Apress has placed some of the front

matter material after the index. Please use the Bookmarks

and Contents at a Glance links to access them.

Contents at a Glance

About the Authors ................................................................................................. xv

About the Technical Reviewer ............................................................................ xvii

Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. xviii

Foreword ............................................................................................................. xix

Introduction ......................................................................................................... xxi

Chapter 1: Development Best Practices ................................................................. 1

Chapter 2: Authentication and User Management ............................................... 41

Chapter 3: Conditions and Authorization Schemes ............................................ 101

Chapter 4: Data Security..................................................................................... 137

Chapter 5: Navigation and Layout....................................................................... 187

Chapter 6: Reports and Charts............................................................................ 241

Chapter 7: Dynamic Actions ............................................................................... 299

Chapter 8: Websheets ......................................................................................... 331

Chapter 9: Reporting and Printing ...................................................................... 367

Chapter 10: Themes and Templates ................................................................... 409

Chapter 11: Localization Issues.......................................................................... 455

Chapter 12: Plug-ins ........................................................................................... 495

Chapter 13: Web Services................................................................................... 527

Chapter 14: Performance and Scalability ........................................................... 559

Chapter 15: Production Issues............................................................................ 599

Chapter 16: APEX Dictionary............................................................................... 647

Index ................................................................................................................... 689

Introduction

If you’re new to APEX development, prepare yourself for one of the most productive tools available for

Oracle application development. The speed with which you can create fully functional, secure, web-

based applications is truly astounding, especially when compared to using a tool like Java. If you are

used to writing procedural or object-oriented code, you may find APEX’s declarative development

methodology a little challenging at first, but the learning curve is not significant. When you consider

that you only need an Oracle database to get started, the barriers to beginning APEX development are

minimal.

The first edition of this book, Pro Oracle Application Express , was written in 2008 using APEX

3.2. In 2010, Oracle released APEX 4.0, which included a significant number of new features along with a

major upgrade of the development environment’s user interface. Along with the much improved look

and feel, Oracle included several Web 2.0 features like Dynamic Actions, Plug-ins, and RESTFul web

service support. Prior to APEX 4.0, you could implement the newest web features, but it usually required

custom coding. With APEX 4.0, you can use the familiar declarative development techniques to add an

Ajax feature, for example. The inclusion of these significant new features obviated the need for a

revision of the original book.

In general, APEX 4.0 lets you create professional looking, feature-laden applications with less

effort than ever before.

xxi

C H A P T E R 1

Development Best Practices

Oracle Application Express (APEX) makes it extremely easy to quickly prototype and develop a web

application. However, as a software developer, you’re probably aware that speed of development is only

one of a number of criteria that will contribute to the perceived success (or failure) of your project.

Of course, perceptions about a project’s success can vary. For example, the people who encounter a

typical project might include developers, testers, managers, production support, and end users. The

developers may feel that the project was a success because development went quickly, Production

support might feel like the project was a failure because no one has a clear strategy for performing

application upgrades. The end users may dread using the application because it runs incredibly slowly.

Clearly, for the project to be considered a success, you need to satisfy the expectations of all these people

(or as many as you reasonably can). Ideally, you should strive for an application that has the following

characteristics:

Easy to develop

Easy to deploy and upgrade

Easy to maintain and debug

Enjoyable for end users to use

Fast enough for the users’ requirements

Stable from the end users’ perspective

Secure enough to protect your data from unauthorized access

You should never end up feeling like developing, deploying, maintaining, or (even worse) using the

application is seen as a chore. Each of these areas can often benefit from the adoption of some best

practices to ensure that everyone involved sees your application as a success.

Chapter 1 is the best place to introduce best-practice techniques, since they should form the

foundation of every significant development project you undertake. You can certainly create

applications without using any of the techniques we’ll discuss, but adopting techniques like these will

make your job as a developer easier, and your applications will be considerably more successful.

Pro Oracle Application Express 4 - Fox_ Tim.pdf

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