Oracle APEX (also known as APEX) is an enterprise low-code development platform from Oracle Corporation. APEX is used for developing and deploying cloud, mobile, and desktop applications. The platform is a web-based integrated development environment (IDE) with a range of features including wizards, drag-and-drop layout, and property editors to simplify the process of building applications and pages.
Background
APEX tries to simplify the process of creating cloud and mobile applications that serve as a frontend to a database server, among other things.
APEX is currently a fully-supported no-cost feature of the Oracle Database and can be installed anywhere Oracle Database runs. APEX is also offered on Oracle's Cloud across various services including Autonomous Database Cloud Services and the stand-alone fully managed APEX Application Development service.
Releases
Oracle APEX can be installed on any Oracle database from version 9.2 or higher, and starting from Oracle 11g it is installed with the database by default. APEX 4.0 and higher can be installed on an Oracle 10.2.0.3 or higher database. APEX 5.0 and higher can be installed on all editions (SE1, SE, and EE) of the Oracle database, 11.1.0.7 or higher with a valid Oracle Database Technical Support agreement; From APEX 18.1, the minimum database version is 11.2.0.4. It can also be used with Oracle Database 11g Express Edition (XE), but is supported through the Oracle Technology Network discussion forum, and not through Oracle Support Services.
Background
Oracle APEX has gone through many name changes since its inception in 2000. Names include: Flows Oracle Platform Project Marvel HTML DB Application Express (APEX) aka Oracle APEX
APEX was created by Mike Hichwa, a developer at Oracle, after the development of his previous project, WebDB, started to diverge from his original vision. Although APEX shares some functionality with Web DB, it was developed from scratch, and there's no upgrade path from Web DB to APEX. When tasked with building an internal web calendar, Hichwa enlisted the help of Joel Kallman and started development on a project called Flows. Hichwa and Kallman co-developed the Web Calendar and Flows, adding features to Flows as they needed them to develop the calendar. Early builds of Flow had no front-end, so all changes to an application had to be made in SQL*Plus via inserts, updates and deletes.
APEX is extensively used internally by Oracle to develop its support sites. The AskTom knowledge base, online store, Dev Gym, and livesql run on APEX.
Oracle APEX Advantages
Oracle programmers (and DBAs familiar with PL/SQL) can use their skill set to develop web applications Easy to create mock-ups using pre-built themes Easy to deploy (end user opens a URL to access an APEX application) Scalable (can be deployed to laptops, stand-alone servers, or Oracle RAC installations) Server-side processing and validations Basic support for group development Free hosting of demo applications provided by Oracle APEX applications can run on the free Oracle Express Edition (XE) database Individual components of an application can be retrieved or identified using SQL, facilitating customized reports Easily adheres to the SQA development/test/production model (while not exposing DB passwords) Helps put the focus on the DB model supporting a solution (versus coding in Java, .NET or PHP - you only need JavaScript) Easily supports a standardized theme across application sets (and the changing of that theme) While the primary purpose is to interact with load Oracle data tables, it integrates with different datasources such as local database, remote Oracle database, or any web service via the REST API Semi-technical end users with SQL skills can build their own web pages and reports
Low Code Environment
While APEX has existed since 2004 in one form or another, it has recently been included in a new category of application development platforms called Low Code. These low-code environments can trace their origins to 4GL programming languages and rapid application development(RAD) tools. Since APEX was originally marketed as a RAD tool, this progression is a logical one. APEX allows the easy building of web applications with no code. Where the requirements are more complex, APEX allows the extension of the Low Code objects through a declarative framework. This framework lets the developer define custom logic and business rules as well as create an enhanced user interface. The developer can do this through the inclusion of SQL, PL/SQL, HTML, JavaScript, or CSS as well as APEX plug-ins. So APEX permits developers to go from no code to low code to more code.