difference between apex and adf

Question

What would be better if need to migrate from Oracle Forms 10g , Either Apex or ADF

If Apex then Why and Why not ADF

If Adf then Why and Why not Apex

Whelm

Better is going to be very subjective so it's not answerable. APEX is likely to be much more similar to Forms than ADF in that they are relatively low-code frameworks for generating applications. ADF is a framework for generating enterprise Java applications so you get all the positives and all the negatives of enterprise Java apps. – Solfatara

Answer 1

Obviously, this will be an opinion-based answer.

They say "Forms is dead" for at least two decades now, but - Forms is still alive. Guys in India still develop applications in 6i, I'm not sure they switched to web yet (how do I know? By reading questions on different Oracle forums).

ADF looked like a great choice for everyone who wanted to abandon Forms. ADF looks pretty. ADF is Java. I don't like Java (but that's irrelevant). ADF is not a simple tool and people who don't speak Java can expect certain problems. You probably know how simple it is to create a master-detail form (for example, based on Scott's EMP and DEPT tables) using Forms? Matter of minutes. I don't know about ADF, but I've watched a Java developer who spent hours (literally) to do the same task (while, at the same time, another person created it in Delphi even faster than in Forms).

APEX is way simpler than ADF (and Forms, to be honest). All you need is a web-browser. No complex IAS or Web logic installation, JInitiator and stuff ... OK - embedded listener does its job if it must, but you'd better switch to ORDS. If you have fair (PL/)SQL background, creating an Apex application is matter of several hours/days, and you'll have a nice-looking application. How robust is it? Quite, as far as I can tell. What about you, as a developer? Lucky you, you came when Apex 19.x is out. In pre-dynamic actions era (3.x), you'd suffer in pain because Forms does everything with triggers - there are none in Apex. But now, now you have dynamic actions which are the closest thing to triggers so far.

If you keep the logic in the database (stored procedures, packages) and let APEX take care about nice presentation to users, you shouldn't expect too many problems. I've heard (just yesterday) that ADF developer I know does the same - keeps everything in the database and uses ADF to create a nice application. Users don't like Forms applications because they look ugly. But hey, what do they know? Forms applications - if well written - are really good, robust, reliable piece of software.

I've heard (on one of OUG conferences) that - on OpenWorld - there were zillion APEX presentations and zero ADF ones. Apex is in nowadays, ADF seems to be out.

Would I want to migrate my Forms applications to anything? No, I wouldn't. I sympathize with you.

Sprint

All the information he needs packaged with some nice humor :) – Crankshaft

If your developer is "keeping everything in the DB " - do you mean he is calling PL/SQL on a regular basis from ADF? If that is the case I would tell him He is violating the spirit and intention of ADF and move away from ADF and move to APEX. . ADF BC was designed specifically to avoid calling PL/SQL as Oracle suggests that best practice is to move the logic to the middle tier for widespread share use. This is why there is no declarative mechanism in ADF to call PL/SQL and it has to be custom coded. In a real sense he may not be using the ADF fwk as intended and so why use it all then? – Caseose

Answer 2

Depends on the experience and knowledge of your developers and what language you want to develop in. ADF is actually 2 products (well, really 4...) ADF Business Components (ADF BC) is the back-end server ORM framework and ADF Faces (JSF) is for front end server generated Web Pages.

ADF is a full JEE Solution using servlets, JSP/JSF, ORM and sophisticated concurrency and data management. It is for those who want a Java solution for their Apps. That being said, most ppl are leaving ADF Faces (Front End) for JET (JS) or APEX (PL/SQL) and are choosing ADF BC for its excellent ability to create RESTFul web services declaratively, which can be extended with custom Java code. ADF BC can work with many different data sources and databases - basically anything that has a JDBC driver. APEX is Oracle DB ONLY.

The migration from Forms to APEX is much more direct and there are migration tools in APEX to help with this. APEX is all PL/SQL vs ADF which is Java.

If it were me I would use APEX if I want a Web App on top of an Oracle DB or are migrating from Froms. Knowing Java well, I would use ADF BC if I had to create RESTFul Web Services and need to integrate with different servers and sources. While I can create RESTFul web services in APEX/ORDS - it is a SQL/PL/SQL solution only, ADF BC allows for the use of Java across any data source.

Caseose

Do u think we can run apex with other databases like adf can be run with Mysql or T SQL so what about apex ? – Whelm

Apex is yet another schema within the Oracle database, so it best works with Oracle. However, nothing prevents you from connecting Oracle with, for example, MS SQL Server and fetching data from that database. I'd expect performance to suffer, though. But - is that relevant in your case? Which database does your current Forms application use? – Sprint

Answer 3

Choosing between Oracle APEX and Oracle ADF for migrating from Oracle Forms 10g depends on various factors such as the complexity of the applications, the skill set of the development team, and the specific requirements of the project.

https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=Oracle%20APEX: • https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=Low-code%20platform: APEX is a low-code development platform that allows for rapid application development with a strong focus on database applications difference between apex and adf.

• https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=Ease%20of%20Use: It is generally considered easier to learn and use, especially for developers with a PL/SQL background difference between apex and adf.

• https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=Direct%20Migration: There are tools within APEX that can assist with the migration from Oracle Forms difference between apex and adf.

• https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=Oracle%20DB%20Centric: APEX is designed to work exclusively with the Oracle Database difference between apex and adf.

https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=Oracle%20ADF: • https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=Enterprise%20Java%20Framework: ADF is a more traditional Java EE framework that offers a lot of flexibility and power for enterprise applications difference between apex and adf.

• https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=Complexity: It can be more complex and may require a good understanding of Java difference between apex and adf.

• https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=Flexibility: ADF can work with many different data sources and databases, anything that has a JDBC driver difference between apex and adf.

In summary, if your team has a strong PL/SQL background and you are looking for a more straightforward and quicker migration path, https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=APEX might be the better choice. It's particularly well-suited for database-centric applications and offers a simpler learning curve.

On the other hand, if you need the flexibility to work with multiple data sources, or if you're developing complex enterprise-level applications and your team is proficient in Java, https://www.bing.com/search?form=SKPBOT&q=ADF could be the way to go.

It's important to evaluate both options in the context of your specific needs and resources. You might also want to consider the future direction of your applications and how they might need to scale or integrate with other systems.

Robey