Roel Hartman and me are currently very busy with our Kaleidoscope 2011 presentation “XFiles, the APEX Version: The Truth is in There…“. During this presentation, we will demonstrate the awesome possibilities you can create when you combine the APEX and XMLDB functionality of the APEX database environment. And as you probably also know, two “no cost options” delivered with your Oracle database. Our first presentation/demo will be on the AMIS Kaleidoscope Preview Sessions on the 14th of June, to test our “setup” and combined presentation for the real thing during Kaleidoscope, in Long Beach, USA, this year.
Background
The demo will demonstrate how to setup database build-in versioning capabilities, based on standard XMLDB functionality, that can be used by or for APEX applications, while making use of the file/folder metaphor of the XDB Repository.
The XDB Repository can, by default, be used to, currently via WebDAV or FTP, drag and drop files into the database. This XMLDB functionality also has default versioning, checkin/out, an repository event mechanism and security functionality / capabilities. So why work, while working with this great development environment called APEX, with version tooling like Subversion, if the XMLDB realm of the database already has these capabilities to provide this by default.
The XFILES demo application is used to demonstrate XMLDB functionality but currently still main AJAX based regarding its GUI. In 2008 an effort was made, for that years Oracle Open World conference, by Carl Backstrom (Oracle APEX) and Mark Drake (Oracle XMLDB) to combine the two environments and switch the XFILES AJAX based GUI for the APEX front-end. Due to circumstances, it didn’t had the proper follow up regarding cleaning up the code and share the ideas…see the XFILES link on this page, mentioned below, for more info.
Roel and my efforts, regarding this XFILES APEX version, which is based on current and the work done by Mark en Carl in 2008, is called by us, the XFILES APEX Community Edition (abbreviated to XACE), so we are able to implement some chance management without be mistaken by Mark Drake’s still existing AJAX based XFILES version, currently version 5. This version implements and demonstrates Native Database Web Services via XMLDB in the OTN Development Days Virtualbox environment which can be downloaded via Oracle OTN.
More info needed?
More regarding the XFILES XMLDB application and blog posts can be found via the following XFILES link. Information about Roel and his interests can be found on his personal blog roelhartman.blogspot.com and information about official XFILES Oracle XMLDB application and technology can be found on and via the Oracle XMLDB main page. Last but not least, for interest in Oracle APEX go to the apex.oracle.com site
