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Quick development and deployment for simple apps!
November 13, 2019

Quick development and deployment for simple apps!

Lisandro Fernigrini | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Oracle Application Express

Right now I created a small app to track pending/ongoing tasks using APEX on the newly available Oracle Cloud Free Tier. I decided to create it to simplify how I manage and execute my daily tasks in order to be able to both track advance and manage dependencies between tasks. I use Trello to keep boards with simple tasks but managing dependencies was something not simple to achieve, so I decided to try a solution that solved my problems while starting to use APEX.
  • The UI is very easy to use, and you can choose from a number of templates for each "screen" you design.
  • You can design basic CRUD screens without knowing the "details" (technology) under the hood.
  • It's easy to test. Just one click, and the page you are working on is executed.
  • Deployment on an OnPremise DB is not so simple. You need to follow many steps (that's why I used the Cloud version!).
  • I am currently using it myself, since some of the tasks and activities I perform daily were hard to follow up using my company tools. I did not perform an ROI analysis since I developed it in my free time just to simplify my daily work, but I'm really happy with the results I obtained in a few days of development.
I did not evaluate any other Rapid Application Development tool. I wanted a quick and simple solution just for my personal use so I directly tried using APEX since I work with Oracle databases and have a good background on the SQL and PL/SQL languages. I am currently replacing a couple of Trello boards where I used to follow up the task, since I can now manage tasks dependencies.

Do you think Oracle APEX delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Oracle APEX's feature set?

Yes

Did Oracle APEX live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Oracle APEX go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Oracle APEX again?

Yes

I would definitively use APEX for small (department size) applications that can be developed and maintained by a small development team, without a complex design/develop/test/deploy process.
Also, to generate all basic CRUD on complex applications, rather than programming them using other languages (Java. c#, etc) and having more complex deployment processes.

Oracle APEX Feature Ratings

Low-Code Development
8.3
Visual Modeling
7
Drag-and-drop Interfaces
8
Platform Security
9
Platform User Management
9
Reusability
7
Platform Scalability
10

Using Oracle Application Express

1 - I developed a small app to track tasks, I'm currently using it myself
Currently we do not have in-house support. The application was developed and deployed on Oracle Cloud Free Tier so all admin task are automated and handled directly by Oracle Cloud. I developed some new features / enhancements and also fixed a bug once I discovered it, but the business rules of the app are really simply and no additional work is foreseen.
  • Follow up tasks with multiple dependencies
  • I plan to add other devops staff as users
  • Replace traditional CRUD pages developed using C# with CRUD pages hosted on APEX for our Oracle based modules.
I felt very comfortable using Oracle Application Express from the start. I designed my data model and quickly developed the basic CRUD pages for master tables. Then I designed the main functionality and was able to test and deploy it in a couple of days work. I will probably share the app with other members of the team and continue adding some features in the short term.

Evaluating Oracle Application Express and Competitors

  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
Since it is a free to use product, that can be deployed to any existing Oracle Database (or use it on the cloud) I decided to use it to create a small app that help me track daily tasks. It may be later moved to a database hosted in any company server if we decide to use the app with other company employees.
No, I would not change the evaluation / selection process. It was a "direct" one, since I was looking for a free product that could be deployed locally (my own PC, hosting an Oracle XE database instance), on a company (on-premise) server or even on the cloud, and APEX clearly fitted into this criteria.

Oracle Application Express Implementation

Using it on the cloud is really simple, the entire process of configuring and provisioning an Oracle Database takes only a few minutes (less than 10) and then Oracle APEX is already deployed on the database, so you just have to start using it. I would strongly recommend using APEX on Oracle Cloud Free Tier.
  • Implemented in-house
Change management was minimal - Since I'm the only user of current app, and I'm using it as a test to improve the way I can track some complex task status, change management was not required since we still did not change the current company process. In the future if we decide to integrate this with existing task management software it may require adapting the process and the app.
  • To use it locally (on my own PC) it requires a DB instance (I already have an Oracle XE database for prototyping / testing) but the deployment process was not easy, having to decide between different ways to install that require different actions. I preferred to use the CLOUD version of the product that does not require any install / deploy.

Oracle Application Express Support

I did not required support from Oracle, I used to community forums to get some details on specific things I wanted to do and was able to find what I was looking for.
ProsCons
None
None
Not Available
Fortunately, I did not have the need to ask for support with Oracle.

Using Oracle Application Express

It was really simple for me, with a strong background on DB programming (SQL, PL/SQL, T-SQL) but almost no User Interface or frontend experience to design, develop and deploy in few days a simple but efficient application.
Most of the pages I designed required no technical knowledge on the database nor SQL or PL/SQL languages.
ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Familiar
None
  • Page Templates
  • None
Yes, but I don't use it