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Software Development Lifecycle with Oracle APEX

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The software development lifecycle (SDLC) with Oracle APEX can take many forms. This blog post will give you an overview of four common scenarios. If you are interested to learn the details, I recommend reading the following paper from the APEX team: https://apex.oracle.com/go/lifecycle-technical-paper Author Steve Muench, Version 3.2, June 2025 1. Single environment, single developer In a situation where a single developer works directly against the production environment, the lifecycle couldn’t be simpler. In this scenario, you typically would create a working copy of the app in APEX, make changes, test and merge changes automatically back into the main app. You should regularly backup your app and the database in case you need to restore. This lifecycle is best suited for citizen developers and IT developers creating small and simple non-critical apps used by a few users. 2. Multiple environments, single developer When you’re working alone on different environments like developm...
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Low-code bashing on Reddit

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Lately, I stumbled upon this thread on Reddit:  https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/18uj3id/why_im_skeptical_of_lowcode/ There are so many misunderstandings of "low-code" in this thread, that I tried to comment it, but it seems like this isn’t appreciated by the moderator. Maybe because there is a link in it, maybe because I am mentioning a product, I don’t know and I don’t have the time to “battle” the policy of Reddit, so I decided to post my thoughts in this blog post instead.  Being a professional low-code programmer, I use Oracle APEX and LLMs to speed up my development process. Does this mean that everything can be done using out-of-the-box components? Of course not. The last 20% is done by using traditional programming languages, but if you look at the total time required, it is dramatically reduced. When working with metadata (the 80% that makes up a low-code app) and not on a programmatic level, you gain several advantages. One is that the underlying techno...
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Getting up to speed with Oracle Application Express (Oracle APEX)

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Want to start developing web applications with Oracle Application Express (Oracle APEX)? Make sure you don't reinvent the wheel and adapt good practises from industry experts right from the start. Here are some tips for beginners: 1. If you don't already have Oracle APEX installed, don't install it yourself, but get a free workspace within minutes on apex.oracle.com  to be used for demo purposes. To learn about Oracle APEX in the Oracle Cloud, you can use the always free tier on cloud.oracle.com/free with two databases up to 20 GB database storage each without any cost. For production purposes, we recommend that you pay 115 €/month (as of 20-JAN-2025) for the Oracle APEX Service on the Oracle Cloud. 2. Start making your first apps using one of the Oracle APEX tutorials: Hyand (German):  apex.hyand.com/development  (includes good practises!) Oracle (English):  apex.oracle.com/en/learn/tutorials  ( here is a good overview of these) 3.  Take note ...
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My favorite new features in APEX 24.2 at a glance

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Oracle APEX 24.2 is out! Here are some of the major features in APEX 24.2 that I think are a great productivity booster for APEX developers. JSON Sources With storing JSON in a CLOB or BLOB column, you get some flexibility in your data model. Before 24.2, you couldn't let your APEX chart, form or report interact with the JSON structure without custom coding. With 24.2, this is now possible using JSON Sources. There is no need anymore to deal with JSON yourself using SQL, just let APEX do the heavy lifting. For those of you using 23ai of the Oracle Database, it works even with JSON Collection Tables and Duality Views! APEX Workflow enhancements Major features here include the possibility to call a workflow from with another workflow. This will let you re-use smaller workflow definitions. Also, a workflow administrator can now resume a workflow at any given activity in case of an unforeseen situation. Great must have features! For those of you that need to be BPMN-compliant, you migh...
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Flows for APEX 24.1 is here!

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Flows for APEX 24.1 is now available for download at  https://flowsforapex.org . Minimum requirements for installation are Oracle DB 19c+ and Oracle APEX 22.1+. For a quick start, I suggest to install it in a free workspace on  https://apex.oracle.com  (will take only a few minutes to install). Be aware that only the English language is installed by default. For other language versions, please go to Shared Components > Application Translations > Publish Translated Applications. Here you can select and publish the required languages. The Community Edition of Flows for APEX 24.1 has some great new features for you to check out: New User Tasktyp "Simple Form" New App "Simple Process Starter" Updated Sample App "Expense Claims" Support for storing JSON in a process variable Coloring of BPMN elements If you are new to BPMN 2.0, I recommend looking at the preinstalled tutorials in the Flows for APEX app. For those of you seeking even more features, we now ...
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Common misperceptions around Oracle APEX

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In the last years, I spoke with many in the IT industry about low-code and there seem to be several misperceptions around Oracle APEX, so I thought it is time to address these in this blog post. Here we go: 1. "APEX is only for Oracle customers" Existing Oracle Database customers can install APEX right-away without paying anything extra, have the infrastructure and licensing already set up, have the personnel to manage it all and store their data already in the Oracle Database. So, yes, APEX is very attractive for existing Oracle Database customers. Does that mean it is limited to this scenario? No. There are multiple reasons why you should start using APEX, although your company has no track record with Oracle: - Your data can reside outside the Oracle database. No matter if you are using PostgreSQL, MS SQL Server, SAP, Hubspot, MS Dynamics, Spotify, etc.: you can integrate it all without programming a single line of code! APEX is doing a great job and can handle even comple...
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APEX 24.1 & AI

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Starting with APEX 24.1, there are some great features in the product that leverage AI. These features are already covered really good in APEX Office Hours, so I recommend watching the replay in case you missed it:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F5Tu7xQuXE What I felt was missing, is a packaged app to get you started. Together with my valued colleague Bach, we created a demo app that you can import ie. in your free workspace on apex.oracle.com. You just have to set the API key for the AI provider you are using and you can start playing around. Have fun! Download demo app "APEX 24.1 & AI for end users" .
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