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Oracle APEX Cookbook [Second Edition] - Book Review

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Recently the second edition of the APEX Cookbook has seen the light. As I haven’t read the first edition - I know, shame on me - I can’t exactly point out what the differences are, but that doesn’t really matter anyway. I guess no one will buy both versions anyway…

The book follows a different approach than most of the tech books I read (and wrote): Every issue is attacked with a recipe, existing of these steps:
1. Getting ready : Buy the groceries, get the pots and pans; or in APEX terms, do the necessary preparation like create a page or download a JavaScript file.
2. How to do it … : A step-by-step walk through to create the solution.
3. How it works … : A, usually short, explanation of the new or remarkable things you’ve just done when following the steps in the previous paragraph.

So if you don’t like this approach, you can skip te book - and the rest of the review as well. In my opinion, it might work when you’re looking to solve a specific problem - like including Google Maps in your application - but it doesn’t quite read as a novel. There’s no building up in complexity or an increase of tension in the book. It makes it somewhat “dry”…

But, as I said, if you’re looking for a step-by-step approaches of a lot of totally different problems: this is your book of choice! It’s written well, the steps are easy to follow and the code samples are all downloadable.
One thing that’s really stands out because it isn’t covered in a lot of books (if at all), is Websheets. There’s a complete chapter in this one covering all necessary information. There are also chapters on plugins and mobile, but of course these can’t compete with the whole books that are written on these subjects. But if you just want to get to first base, it’s excellent.

In general the book is aimed at beginner to intermediate developers. And even (more) experienced ones might find something useful, like a different approach to a problem, in this book.

So a four star rating f(out of five) rom my side !
Link to publisher's site
Link to Amazon
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