Low code development that flies high : Oracle Application Express
July 03, 2019
Low code development that flies high : Oracle Application Express
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Oracle Application Express
Oracle Application Express (APEX) is used by my organization to solve business problems for other organizations. APEX enables us to create data-centric web applications using a low-code development tool. Developed applications are fast, responsive, scalable and secure.
The business problems are totally diverse, ranging from HR, CRM, ERP, mobile apps and portals.
APEX is mostly used in an environment where an Oracle database is already present -- that could be for developing in-house applications, or hosting Oracle's own ERP systems like Oracle E-Business Suite or any other Fusion product. APEX is the tool of choice if you want to build extensions or customizations to these standard applications.
And APEX is by design "cloud ready" -- it always has been and will always be.
The business problems are totally diverse, ranging from HR, CRM, ERP, mobile apps and portals.
APEX is mostly used in an environment where an Oracle database is already present -- that could be for developing in-house applications, or hosting Oracle's own ERP systems like Oracle E-Business Suite or any other Fusion product. APEX is the tool of choice if you want to build extensions or customizations to these standard applications.
And APEX is by design "cloud ready" -- it always has been and will always be.
- Fast development due to the low code approach.
- Responsive out of the box due to the built-in Universal Theme.
- Cloud enabled by design. You can build applications only using a web browser.
- Scalable: if it runs inside the Oracle database, it uses the full power of that database.
- Free: it is a no-cost option for the Oracle database.
- It runs everywhere where Oracle runs, from a small (free) XE database on your laptop, to an Exadata machine.
- The only languages you need to know are SQL and PL/SQL. Some JavaScript and CSS knowledge might be handy but not strictly necessary.
- Version control. As all metadata is stored in the database, there are no files to store in a GIT or Subversion repository (unless you export from the database).
- Lock in: you are locked in into the Oracle database, and that's why it is mostly used in an environment where that database is already present.
- Oracle is not "popular" at the moment, so the average developer is somewhat older than the regular (JavaScript) developer.
- As web applications can be built much faster (about 10x faster than using plain Java or JavaScript) we have way more value for the buck.
- All Oracle developers are already familiar with SQL and PL/SQL, so switching to APEX was easy -- it's a very efficient learning curve.
- The tool is available on Oracle free of charge. So there are no additional or hidden costs!
I haven't looked at any (allegedly) competing product as there has never been a need for it.