Expert Oracle Application Express–BUY THIS BOOK

I was delighted when John Scott approached me last year to ask if I’d like to help write a book. But when he told me that all author royalties would be donated, split 50/50, to the families of Carl Backstrom and Scott Spadafore there wasn’t much of a thought process – “Yes!” just flew out of my mouth.

Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet Scott, but a quick look at the APEX forum’s “Top Users in Forum” list speaks volumes about the kind of guy he was – and his name will deservedly remain there for a long time to come. The number of people that Scott was able to help, myself included, is truly impressive and inspirational.

When it came to being helpful and inspirational, Carl was very much the same kind of guy that Scott was and I’m very grateful to have met him. He was incredibly influential in my development career, having helped me along while I learned the basics of client side development. He even introduced me to jQuery!

I find it especially rewarding that I was asked to write a chapter on plug-ins in APEX – a topic that often involves lots JavaScript. To me it’s proof positive that people like Carl and Scott live on in those that they helped and mentored. I will always strive to have the same impact on others as they had on me.

Ultimately, the book was authored by 12 of the best known APEX experts. Each author took on one chapter and tapped into their expertise with the product to provide many unique insights. For a complete listing of authors check out John’s post here: http://jes.blogs.shellprompt.net/2011/03/30/expert-oracle-application-express/

As a self professed plug-in addict, the chapter on plug-ins was a natural fit. I begin the chapter by laying out some of the tools used to build plug-ins, including the various components of APEX plug-in architecture, as well as some lesser known jQuery UI goodies (Carl would be proud)! 

In the next part of the chapter, everything from the first part is put to use as I walk readers through the creation of 4 plug-ins – one of each plug-in type. These are NOT “Hello World” plug-ins. These are real plug-ins that demonstrate the kinds of techniques that could be reused to create new and useful plug-ins.

The end of the chapter covers some “best practices” that should help guide one’s plug-in development efforts down a successful path. These best practices cover different areas of plug-in development including Plug-ins in general, JavaScript & CSS, and PL/SQL.

The importance of purchasing this book cannot be overstated. Like many of the other authors that will receive a free copy of the book, I too have purchased one as well. So what are you waiting for? Please follow this link and complete your order today: http://amzn.com/1430235128