Preface

Oracle Application Express API Reference describes the Application Programming Interfaces, referred to as APIs, available when programming in the Oracle Application Express environment.

This preface contains these topics:

Topic Overview

This document contains the following chapters:

Title Description
APEX_UTIL Use the APEX_UTIL package to get and set session state, get files, check authorizations for users, reset different states for users, and also to get and set preferences for users.
APEX_MAIL Use the APEX_MAIL package to send an email from an Oracle Application Express application.
APEX_ITEM Use the APEX_ITEM package to create form elements dynamically based on a SQL query instead of creating individual items page by page.
APEX_APPLICATION Use the APEX_APPLICATION package to take advantage of a number of global variables.
APEX_CUSTOM_AUTH Use the APEX_CUSTOM_AUTH package to perform various operations related to authentication and session management.
APEX_LDAP Use APEX_LDAP to perform various operations related to Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) authentication.
APEX_INSTANCE_ADMIN Use the APEX_INSTANCE_ADMIN package to get and set email settings, wallet settings, report printing settings and to manage schema to workspace mappings.
APEX_UI_DEFAULT_UPDATE You can use the APEX_UI_DEFAULT_UPDATE package to set the user interface defaults associated with a table within a schema. The package must be called from within the schema that owns the table you are updating.
JavaScript APIs Use these JavaScript functions and objects to provide client-side functionality, such as showing and hiding page elements, or making XML HTTP Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (AJAX) requests.
APEX_PLSQL_JOB Use APEX_PLSQL_JOB package to run PL/SQL code in the background of your application. This is an effective approach for managing long running operations that do not need to complete for a user to continue working with your application.
APEX_LANG Use APEX_LANG API to translate messages.

Note:

In release 2.2, Oracle Application Express APIs were renamed using the prefix APEX_. Note that API's using the previous prefix HTMLDB_ are still supported to provide backward compatibility. As a best practice, however, use the new API names for new applications unless you plan to run them in an earlier version of Oracle Application Express.

Audience

Oracle Application Express API Reference is intended for application developers who are building database-centric Web applications using Oracle Application Express. The guide describes the APIs available when programming in the Oracle Application Express environment.

To use this guide, you need to have a general understanding of relational database concepts as well as an understanding of the operating system environment under which you are running Oracle Application Express.

Documentation Accessibility

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Related Documents

For more information, see these Oracle resources:

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Conventions

For a description of PL/SQL subprogram conventions, refer to the Oracle Database PL/SQL Language Reference. This document contains the following information:

  • Specifying subprogram parameter modes

  • Specifying default values for subprogram parameters

  • Overloading PL/SQL subprogram Names

The following text conventions are used in this document:

Convention Meaning
boldface Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements associated with an action, or terms defined in text or the glossary.
italic Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for which you supply particular values.
monospace Monospace type indicates commands within a paragraph, URLs, code in examples, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter.