Oracle delivers a new version of its Application Express 4.0 database development tool.
Oracle has delivered a new version of its popular database development tool,
Oracle Application Express 4.0.
Mike Hichwa, vice president of software development at Oracle, said June 23,
"This latest release of Oracle Application Express helps reduce the time
and complexity of building opportunistic Web 2.0 applications and reports."
"Oracle Application Express (Oracle APEX) is a rapid Web application
development tool for the Oracle database. Using only a Web browser and [with]
limited programming experience, you can develop and deploy professional
applications that are both fast and secure," the company said on its
product page.
"Oracle Application Express combines the qualities of a personal database,
productivity, ease of use and flexibility with the qualities of an enterprise
database, security, integrity, scalability, availability and [being] built for
the Web. ... Application Express is a tool [with which] to build Web-based
applications and the application development environment is also conveniently
Web-based," Oracle said.
"Application Express is a departmental tool that's very database-centric,"
Hichwa said. "It's aimed at users who are comfortable with SQL statements,
but are less comfortable with object-oriented programming like Java and C++.
There's lots of forms work."
Oracle Application Express Release 4.0 is available now and can be downloaded
from the Oracle
Technology Network. "Oracle Application Express is a feature included,
at no additional cost, with all editions and releases of Oracle Database
11g," the company said.
"This is by far our most significant release to date," Hichwa
said. "It's the biggest by a large margin." The 4.0 release is the
ninth release of the technology since Oracle introduced it in 2006, and there
are more than 300,000 Application Express developers, he said.
The company said new features in Release 4.0 include: "New Dynamic
Actions: allows developers to declaratively incorporate dynamic client-side
processes, alleviating the need to learn JavaScript and AJAX to provide a
robust Web 2.0 user experience. Plug-Ins: extend the development environment,
enabling developers to incorporate custom components. RESTful Web Services: enables
integration with RESTful Web services via a declarative interface. Websheets:
provides a quick and simple way to integrate and share content and data on the
Web. Improved themes: provide a modernized user interface that is compliant
with XHTML and CSS standards."
"Oracle Application Express is the primary custom development platform
at General Healthcare Group," Marc Yaneza, General Healthcare Group's technology
director of IT, said in a statement. "Its speed of delivery and ease of
use [have] given GHG an excellent, cost-effective, scalable platform to get the
right tailored applications delivered when required. We're really looking
forward to Oracle Application Express 4.0 where Dynamic Actions and the new
reporting capabilities will provide a much richer user experience. Plug-Ins
will also help us to technically streamline the way that we create, deliver and
reuse custom code, increasing productivity."
"Using only a Web browser, Oracle Application Express allows developers
to rapidly build and deploy professional-grade applications for Oracle
databases," Hichwa said.
"At Pinnacle Software Corporation, a division of PAETEC Incorporated,
we utilize Oracle Application Express to develop our enterprise-class Service
Lifecycle Management software that is used to help IT organizations manage
their service support and service delivery business operations," Dennis
Vanill, senior manager of software development at PAETEC, said in a statement.
"We are eager to begin leveraging several of the new and enhanced features
available within Oracle Application Express 4.0 designed to help facilitate
larger team development. We are particularly excited about the ability to
create dynamic actions and plug-ins to easily extend the functionality of the
tool. Additionally, we hope to drive efficiencies within our development
organization by leveraging the integrated project management, feedback and bug
tracking features built inside the tool."
Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.
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