If you're new to APEX development, prepare yourself for one of the most productive tools available for Oracle application development. The speed with which you can create fully functional, secure, web-based applications is truly astounding, especially when compared to using a tool like Java. If you are used to writing procedural or object-oriented code, you may find APEX's declarative development methodology a little challenging at first, but the learning curve is not significant. When you consider that you only need an Oracle database to get started, the barriers to beginning APEX development are minimal.

The first edition of this book, Pro Oracle Application Express, was written in 2008 using APEX 3.2. In 2010, Oracle released APEX 4.0, which included a significant number of new features along with a major upgrade of the development environment's user interface. Along with the much improved look and feel, Oracle included several Web 2.0 features like Dynamic Actions, Plug-ins, and RESTFul web service support. Prior to APEX 4.0, you could implement the newest web features, but it usually required custom coding. With APEX 4.0, you can use the familiar declarative development techniques to add an Ajax feature, for example. The inclusion of these significant new features obviated the need for a revision of the original book.

In general, APEX 4.0 lets you create professional looking, feature-laden applications with less effort than ever before.