Oracle Application Express Forms Converter Book Review

Oracle Forms have been instrumental for millions of web developers around the world. Its simplicity and ease of use have led developers to create highly intricate applications with accuracy and expected performance. The relevance of Oracle Forms also significantly grained traction as many websites are becoming online applications that handle and configure massive amount of data.

But even with the impressive features attached to Oracle Forms, the new platform for online data handling is Oracle APEX. The APEX is not just another fad for some developers to follow as it’s considered more powerful and even better when reacting to other programming languages. The popularity of APEX is now encouraging many developers to convert their current data interface into an improved form in APEX.

This book tries to cover the subject of transforming Oracle Forms in APEX. It's a relatively simple subject but the book tries to expand the information and provide additional techniques on how to implement this process.

About the Author

The name Douwe Pieter van den Bos may not be really popular to Oracle developers worldwide, but he is a highly recognized personality in IT industry in Netherlands. He is highly experienced in Oracle Forms and the reputedly one of the first database administrators to recognize the power of Oracle APEX. He is also well known in his community as he consistently updates his personal website which contains extensive information on APEX and everything related to database administration.

Early Book Impression

The book is relatively limited in pages compared to regular PackT Publishing books. This is understandable because the topic is limited. The book was expanded to more than 150 pages (172 pages) because additional information was added to provide more data to the reader. Because of its concise size, the early impression is that the book will only focus on the process with limited discussion on the background of APEX and Oracle Forms.

Chapter Reviews

The book has eight chapters with an index. The following are the reviews of each chapter:

Chapter 1: Understanding your Project

The book starts by discussing the importance of conversion. The chapter prepares the reader on the following processes that will happen during the conversion. This part of the book also tries to explain the advantages of APEX in terms of its functionality.

Chapter 2: Preparing your Forms Conversion

The 2nd chapter discusses the first step of the process of conversion. There are components that need to be implemented first before the conversion even commences. In this chapter, XML files are extensively discussed as the file format is used in APEX instead of the Forms. The book discusses how to use the converted information on various destinations.

Chapter 3: Create your Forms Conversion project

This chapter provides the information needed to officially start the conversion. At first glance, the data provided is pretty basic that you might think it's not necessary to discuss them. But the chapter continues to provide more data about the conversion project. The information on application defaults and applicability are very interesting.

Chapter 4: Planning your Project

This is the interesting part of the book. The author opted to create a separate chapter instead of combining the information. This was done probably to highlight every component on project planning with Oracle APEX. This chapter will provide almost every data needed by users as it discusses every component and actions that needs to be done in to easily implement the conversion.

Chapter 5: Getting Your Logic Right!

This chapter highlights the importance of efficient business logic during conversion. The chapter shows which information should be double checked and how to properly analyze the business logic. This is essential so that the business logic optimize the conversion process.

Chapter 6: Generating your Application

The chapter is relatively short but it discusses a very crucial part of conversion. This chapter will show how to use the conversion through application generation. Various forms of design will be discussed and on how the application could work in various scenarios.

Chapter 7: Reviewing and Customizing your Application

Another short but very important part of the book. The chapter will provide tips on how to improve the application. From the homepage, values and validations are extensively discussed and on how they can be improved according to the user's preferences. Look for ideas and tips on optimizing the application as this chapter has the data you need to improve the application from the start.

Chapter 8: Delivering your Application

The final chapter provides detailed instructions on how to fully implement the application for live use. The chapter is very interesting since it will show how Oracle APEX can work in various environments. The chapter also shows how the application can be integrated with other modules. The most interesting part in the chapter is actually on exporting and importing the applications. This is very important for those who want to expand their application or apply the application in other modules.

Intended Audience of the Book

The book obviously is not for beginners. However, it comes with a lot of information that can help provide anyone interested known more about Oracle APEX. Knowledge about Oracle Forms is a must as this is the basis of the book. Familiarity with Oracle APEX is also a must but expertise on Oracle APEX is not required.

Conclusion

The book is very impressive considering the book has less than 200 pages. Because the book covers a very specific topic, the chapters are short and concise. The first chapter is very impressive since it provides a very good background for those who wanted a specific reason why a conversion is very important.

The step-by-step instructions with screenshots are extensively added as expected. Since it focuses on a specific Oracle processes, these screenshots will are very relevant in real situations. The book, unfortunately, lacks a section dedicated to troubleshooting in case the implementation doesn't proceed as expected but it compensates with highly detailed instructions. It's a perfect reference book for the experienced for those already familiar with Oracle APEX and a good introduction for those who want to efficiently convert their Oracle Forms.

This book is available for purchase at packtpub.com

Read Sample Chapter 2