Customer Reviews

Easy HTML-DB Oracle Application Express: Create Dynamic Web Pages with OAE (Easy Oracle Series)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Start with this book is comprehensive, detailed and enthusiastic. However they started off on the wrong foot with the misleading image that shows a cover for Oracle Application express but then the book arrives with the old cover Easy Oracle HTML DB. OK I forgive them the marketing fluff but my suspicions are raised.

As I use this book I discover the scripts have syntax errors(i.e. wrong table names, etc) and in many cases the book refers to the wrong objects in step by step exercises. Or they miss a step or ask you to do something you haven't been shown yet. Then there are times when they tell you to do things that are just plain confusing/illogical, ie. page 98 they tell me to use a date mask on the unit price (which, by the way, they sent me to the wrong table to locate on p96). I tried following their instructions to the letter, tried applying some intelligence by using a date column instead. Bottom line I could not get what they were trying to teach me to work. They failed again 2 pages later on the use of shortcuts. It did not work... (at least in my humble experience). These flaws mean I lose the point of what they are trying to teach me because I am struggling to discern their intent.

I read other reviews that stated the book was an easy read. While the language is friendly and down to earth, this is not a book that you just curl up with. I tried, even took it with me on jury duty! I tried to curl up on the couch with it but found I needed to be at a machine trying the things it was listing. Then I would get frustrated because the steps would not work.

Some parts of this book are great, they work and they get you moving on using application express. But be prepared for some serious stumbles along the way.

This is a good book for the new or beginner application express developer. It tells the reader lots of useful stuff and omits the more esoteric and advanced functionality.

The authors approach is to tell the reader what they are going to show, why they are going to show it and how it may be useful in the wider context, then they go ahead and demonstrate it.
Thus the relevance of the text is pretty good.

I feel that the books is best read cover-to-cover (not necessarily working through the examples on the first pass) so that the reader can get a good feel for the product and to give a good insight on how application express can and should be used (at least by the beginning user) The book is easy to read and flows well.

Throughout there are useful snippets, such as how to set the max length for a tabular form column; they are often presented almost as throw-away lines so are at times, in my opinion, a bit too easy to miss. In addition, you can find references to checkboxes and radio buttons in the index.

I could not give the book 5 stars because I am uneasy about technical books which do not explicitly give readers the means to contact the authors or publishers with feedback. No wonder the errata for this book is empty. There are at least a dozen errors, mainly issues with spelling, grammar, layout and misleading explanations. Also, for some reason the authors departed from their usual approach when they wrote the section on collections. The detail presented looks useful, but it is presented with no reference to where and how it can be used practically.

Immediately after reading this book, I began working with applications developed in an Oracle Application Express environment. The technical content and examples in the book provided me with the tools that I needed.

The examples are progressive, so the novice OAE user can effectively practice their new skills! It's a true jumpstart!

I am currently working on a project that requires Oracle Application Express (APEX) and was fortunate to have this book. Note that although the book's title indicates HTML-DB, it is based on the latest Oracle Application Express 2.0. The authors have done an exceptional job in providing great technical content along with useful examples.

The major topics on APEX are covered in an organized fashion with well thought-out and accurate examples that the reader can immediately start applying to their environment. Within no time at all, readers can have a fully functionally APEX environment setup and configured to start building applications!

When learning any new production, it is imperative to have a guide that can walk you through the basics of installation, setup and configuration. The book accomplishes this goal by providing in-depth steps that assume the reader has never seen APEX to having a secure and stable environment ready for creating their first web application in one easy to read chapter.

Before creating that first application, however, the authors provide the basics an administrator would need to know like creating and configuring workspaces and users. Although a short chapter, it contains invaluable information to better understanding how to work in the APEX environment. Finally, the reader is shown the power of the wizards in APEX and will have the opportunity to create their first fully functional web application.

By now, the reader should be comfortable working in the APEX framework. The remainder of the book continues by thoroughly explaining the Application Builder (where a developer will spend most of their time) along with creating forms and reports.

Note that this book is not a guide on simply how to use the wizards. Much of the book is dedicated to understanding the APEX framework and how to build high-quality custom web applications. Much attention is given to shared components, navigation, templates and application deployment along with useful troubleshooting tips. I would, however, have liked to seen much more on security (authorization and authentication). The authors did a wonderful job covering the important concepts of APEX and organized it in an easy to follow guide. I highly recommend this book.

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Jeffrey M. Hunter, OCP
Sr. Database Administrator
[...]
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I bough this HTML-DB book and the Oracle Press one and there is no real comparison. The Oracle Press book spews silliness about how HTML-DB is like .NET and other off-base text that makes it look like that don't use APEX every day.

This book is clearly written by APEX developers and it has sample code to show how to implement difficult HTML-DB constructs like repeating update lists and advanced security.

I really needed a good reference and this is the one to buy.

I am an OAE/Html DB application developer and confess to knowing the author. Since I was able to get a copy of the book in advance, I have been using it to train myself on some areas of OAE. It is very well written and can amazingly take you from knowing nothing about a subject into being able to use it quite adeptly by the end of a chapter. The examples are easy to follow and through the course of the book you build a robust, full-featured application.

You might as well print the manuals that Oracle supplies with Apex/HTMLDB.

This book gives no practical examples. This book does not give information about how to use features of Apex/HTMLDB in real life. It is only a list of all the features and options without explanation.

After using the book for some time, I doubt the authors ever used Apex / HTMLDB in a serious way.

The book is great. Much better than tutorials, etc. that are available from Oracle or the Web. I refer to it all the time.

One very important aspect is that the author explains the WHY. You don't just click settings, etc. and wonder why you did. Knowing the why behind doing things the way you do is very important to me. Certain chapters are for how to and some are for reference. It's a good mix.

The later chapters are not as informative as the first ones, but if everything were spelled out in detail it would make the book much longer. I would like to see the author publish a book on high level concepts.

I bought the book. It says, goto rampant.cc/html_db.htm, and download scripts.

I do that, and a screen comes that asks the username and the password. Which username, which password? I did not get any usernames with the book. I had to sign up on rampant.cc site. But i still can not pass this silly rampant.cc/html_db.htm page.

This is the first time i saw the book scripts zone is passworded.

Congratulations rampant, i could not download the scripts. What a clever idea to password the scripts zone!!!

I finally got my copy this week... I have only had a chance to browse through it, but two areas I was really hoping would have some guidance were VPD & authentication/authorization. The VPD entry simply stated what a VPD was, Oracle provides that much for free in the user guide. The same goes for the latter. I know this whole area is new so I have to give credit to these guys, maybe the next edition can go more in-depth in advanced topics..