The Transformative Power of Low Code Development

Oracle Academy Tech Chat

In this Episode Orlaith Lawton speaks with Oracle ACE Roberto Capancioni about the importance of APEX and why it is the world's most popular low-code application platform.

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Episode Transcript:

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:35:14 Unknown Welcome to the Oracle Academy Tech Chat. This podcast provides educators and students in-depth discussions with thought leaders around computer science, cloud technologies, and software design to help students on their journey to becoming industry ready technology leaders of the future. Let's get started. Hello and welcome to Oracle Academy Texas, where we discuss how Oracle Academy prepares the next generation's workforce.

00:00:35:15 - 00:01:03:22 Unknown I'm your host Orlaith Lawton. In this episode, we dive into the transformative power of the low code software development and explore how it's reshaping industries, streamlining workflows, and enabling faster innovation. Our guest today is Oracle Ace Roberto Journey, and he shares his expertise on Oracle Apex, the world's most popular low code application platform. You're very welcome, Roberto.

00:01:04:02 - 00:01:34:01 Unknown Lovely to talk to you. And thank you so much for being our guest today on our podcast. Start off, Roberto, can you please give me a little bit about your background and your current job role? Thank you all for inviting me. If I'm open for me to be here with you and to share my knowledge in Oracle Apex and the Oracle technology in general, because I'm very, enthusiast of these environments.

00:01:34:01 - 00:02:37:17 Unknown And I try to explain why. My name is Roberto. I'm, I'm an engineer, and, I've been working in, in I.T for about 30 years. I started, focusing in databases or relational databases and, application development that many years ago for multi utility companies, also in, service sectors company. At the moment I work with mainly exclusively in apex project because they're a when I found the apex about 15 years ago, I thought that it was the, the only take for developing application in, in my career and the, in the the following of this podcast, I try to explain, explain why I also collaborators,

00:02:37:19 - 00:03:14:13 Unknown as a trainer and the also a consultant with companies and also education institution. So, I'm, I'd like to explain to student mainly to student and school because I think that at the moment the there is the need of this kind of, example of code of, the middle word technology, because, Oracle technology is suitable for company and also for educational institutions.

00:03:14:15 - 00:03:48:01 Unknown Thank you, Roberto, for that. And what is apex and what are the benefits of using Apex? Okay. In the apex is the, so-called low code development platform. Why low code look on? Because it the code at the moment is, mainly. And the hype word because the when you say low code, do you want to say that everybody can develop, quick and dirty applications.

00:03:48:03 - 00:04:30:01 Unknown And if you want, the apex can also do that. You can, develop in about an hour a very simple application. But the, the secret is that is also low code application. So it's suitable for business user, for student, for junior developers and also for enterprise applications or grades of housing because the technology that is below apex, that is the Oracle database is an enterprise platform.

00:04:30:01 - 00:05:16:07 Unknown So every company can leverage of database and the, the, low code, the environment, the to develop to develop application. So the secret is that, if you know, languages, if, you know, business problem, apex can without writing, single frontend code, the frontend means all the code that you have to write to create the web application that that usually it's not simple for also, for all the, old style, developers, apex do it for you.

00:05:16:07 - 00:05:51:11 Unknown So you can have to write frontend code. Also business code that you know that also or developers can do in they career and they don't know, web application because they are doing another job with apex. You can develop it quickly. Business application. So why is this the world's most popular low code application platform? I think for, for several reasons.

00:05:51:11 - 00:06:24:12 Unknown First of all, apex is included inside the, he tried the the Oracle database license, if you haven't to pay for apex because, apex is the database. Oracle is an extension of the database Oracle. So if you have a database, you data but you have to pay nothing to have Apex. You have a really apex in your environment.

00:06:24:12 - 00:07:23:01 Unknown You have even the two, provide the, application server or other, tech inside your component. Because if you have Oracle database, you have a really also apex. So, it's, it's very simple to start, but also, if you haven't developed with it and the it is, a mature technology because, even if, only this year we hear about, apex because when, Oracle became, cloud company about two, five years ago mainly, you know, also before, but, it's, the last five years that that there was an explosion in the cloud of Oracle apex became strategic because is inside the the cloud technology

00:07:23:01 - 00:08:02:03 Unknown of of Oracle. Sure. Oracle has auto language database. Autonomous database is a platform as a service that Oracle asks for. For the companies, you with a simple, subscription you and access, instantaneously to the database in the cloud. And also, apex also updated the maintain need that fine tuning the from Oracle you UI to be, online subscription and all is, provided for you.

00:08:02:03 - 00:08:37:13 Unknown So it's very easy to have an environment that is secure, is maintaining with the GDPR, at the moment. But, watchdog every DPO has to concern about the, the security, the, the explosion, exploitation and the all the problems that you have to maintain updated your environment with the autonomous database, the Oracle do it for you and apex is it inside the autonomous database.

00:08:37:15 - 00:09:20:18 Unknown So with a minimal effort, you have a mature, enterprise ready. GDPR really needs to read the environment. And, inside the your organization. So, I think that the company appreciate that because determinative there are several out there native. But only tools, only development tools. So Oracle is a complete the stack from the infrastructure from the Sabara database middleware, application server from them.

00:09:20:18 - 00:09:49:15 Unknown But, it it is the only product in the world, that can do that at the moment. That's a very detailed account of this. Thank you so much for that. Roberto, may I ask you can apex help with generators, AI or AI? Apex makes it easy to integrate AI model and external services inside the, inside is environment.

00:09:49:17 - 00:10:26:11 Unknown Mainly because, apex is the DB oracle. So as you know, the last, version of the, Oracle database is a 23 I why I mainly because you use that and marketing subject all today. All all products are AI but Oracle provide the SAP environment agent in the EAS autonomous cloud that can integrate with apex.

00:10:26:13 - 00:11:02:15 Unknown Apex has the, enterprise ready Add-On to, integrate with, a Lem agent that so you can do in ad declarative way without to, hassle, experience program because there are several weeds. And the several. Yeah. It really application inside the, the the gallery and the, demo product that, installed in provided in the apex environment.

00:11:02:17 - 00:11:48:17 Unknown So, always the AI is, increasing every way. The model, the MCP server, today we can have also tool that the provide the ASR, in interface to interact with the, agent that in, in the industry from which are GP3, cloud, IEEE, all the, the agent that we ever in at the moment and apic is the, enterprise ready to do that for the novice and the for the experience developer?

00:11:48:19 - 00:12:49:08 Unknown How do you see apex being used in the future? I believe that the apex will, becoming increasingly strategic for the organization. And the speed to, to see many extension also because of AI, IoT analytics. Don't forget that Oracle as wide ecosystem side that is cloud. The from the diffusion application that the software as a service application that Oracle provide to the companies and the analytics application we have in Oracle analytic servers in the apex again, can be the, the Swiss knife that the can integrate with the tailor made this process, all the orchestration, all the workflow that we can have between all

00:12:49:08 - 00:13:23:09 Unknown the Oracle ecosystem product but not also Oracle because the in the mean the Odeon world or the, enterprise application as a software as a service application and the, the rice there is that there are the, the standard interfaces to, interact with, the other products. Is convenience also focused on development, of integration.

00:13:23:09 - 00:13:57:19 Unknown So apex can do, invite development environment for software application, software as a service application, but also also integration application. And at the moment this is the most important things for the companies because all the companies, has ERP, cloud Europe very valued and the expensive environment and that are migrating in cloud.

00:13:57:21 - 00:14:42:22 Unknown So we are losing the but ability to connect directly with the database, because at the moment that they have on premise, product, when they, on cloud is more difficult to interact directly with the database. So they have an API, they have Rest services. They and, need other, tools to interact with the application to get, to fetch all their data for business intelligence, application front orchestration, AI application and data analysis.

00:14:43:00 - 00:15:21:09 Unknown Oracle apex can help a lot. And this is one of the my main, a job at the moment to integrate, into prize, application like ERP with custom software in the company with the Oracle Apex autonomous database to provide business intelligence, application reporting application, orchestration workflow application. Because the don't forget, apex is the, a very powerful environment also to create workflow application.

00:15:21:11 - 00:16:02:17 Unknown And the, is the mobile first, the, environment. So every, application that I create, the is provided first on the mobile mobile phone tablet, with also progressive web application that is and and I look and feel of native application but is more cheaper and more quickly to develop and the is robust and enterprise in the use of finally as a native application of the mobile.

00:16:02:18 - 00:16:39:02 Unknown So apex has all the instrument on the characteristic to be the first environment for, consumer enterprise applications and also integration application between software as a service, enterprise software. That is really interesting to hear. You know, I didn't realize just how valuable that is. Because when you look at apex, sometimes it seems so simple. You know, it is a low code, but it just shows you how instrumental it is.

00:16:39:02 - 00:17:00:01 Unknown And I love the description you give. It's a Swiss Army knife. That's a very good description of it being the Swiss knife, being able to, knit and everything together and fix everything together. And it sounds like it's, it's it can be used in very complicated manners as well, which is fantastic. So it's great for, our students and faculty to hear that.

00:17:00:03 - 00:17:38:06 Unknown And finally, Roberto, if you could give one piece of advice to faculty or students, what would that advice be? And my advice is, to start experimenting as soon as possible. Apex offers free and via romance. You can have, a workspace. A is the the first environment that you can have a workspace, asking for Oracle in, five minutes, account subscription.

00:17:38:08 - 00:18:12:20 Unknown Or you can ask for, free environment, a free tier and Oracle specify always free the always free because it is not not a thought. The these the environment the more. And then you have to be always free means that you can be inside always. And that this is the same enterprise environment is not limited. You have the same function ability.

00:18:12:20 - 00:18:43:08 Unknown And, all the environments that are major, apex, and not, machine learning, machine learning for Python at the moment with the students that we, providing an initiative where you start from the database with Apex, then extend with the Python library, machine learning Python, then back to the database, make to apex. So there is an integration and you can do that.

00:18:43:12 - 00:19:24:21 Unknown But in the free environment you have no limit. Also resource limit that for an education environment is not a problem. And neither for elite or enterprise leader. Business environment is not a problem because, you, you have a natural resource for how to, leader. Leader environment sure is suitable for a school for students that want to try because, if Oracle has the in several tutorials, several, initiative documentation, lab activity.

00:19:24:23 - 00:19:55:15 Unknown So you can also yourself as a student or, or as a teacher that want to provide to a class, a demo environment to, to start learning, experiment is the first one because you can do that. But with, a general in the I value deductive environment because, don't forget that the, the, sequel Oracle database is, is your stand up 23.

00:19:55:15 - 00:20:38:14 Unknown So, I'm afraid I need the teacher that say to me, but you, you are teaching, appropriate theory technology. Oracle is not that. Yes. Oracle is not open source. That sequel is just standard visual queen. If you learn Oracle database, you learn all the relational database. And the Oracle is more than that. If you learn apex is a web application and the user experience pattern that you can learn, genera, you can do that from, recreate from scratch, free within other environment.

00:20:38:14 - 00:21:17:02 Unknown But in apex you can learn faster. You can learn faster. Database, relational database. Web application paper. You pattern on application, master detail, application workflow, application automation, all the things that you find in apex. Standard, web standard tool that in another environment you have to create impact with the server. Yeah. Or but experience that or studying for more more time that with apex apex in weeks.

00:21:17:04 - 00:21:54:03 Unknown At the moment I it tomorrow I would finish at 20. Yeah I was course in apex where where and experience had people business user in 20 hours can create but I keep the business ready environment that can be used in production. And also you can do that with another tool at the moment. So is important in this code because, the theory is in the theory is important school as, as to lead to teach.

00:21:54:05 - 00:22:33:10 Unknown Start knowledge of AI. The first and the first. The to say that the you can, reinforce the abstract knowledge with practice and if you have demo, industrial ready and business ready tools, you can understand better. And the at the end is not the, the main important thing for a school, but it helps. You are ready for, company, because if you go to a company and they, you can provide the, the demonstration that you can develop an application as you do in apex.

00:22:33:12 - 00:23:04:07 Unknown Many Sara applications inside the company. Not so well developed as a, develop it also in, in education. And then when battlement so it's too easy also to find a job if you have portfolio a done in epic. Absolutely. And that's great information for our students and faculty. Thank you so much, Roberto, for giving us your time today.

00:23:04:09 - 00:23:35:12 Unknown For sharing your expertise. On apex, I know you're an oracle case. You're a true believer in apex. And you've been fantastic for all of our students and faculty in SC in particular. And I really want to thank you and my colleague Robert Bertelli for being part of this podcast. Thank you so much. And for those of you who are listening who may not be familiar with Oracle Academy, please take a look at our website and see if there's any resources that you think will be useful to you and your students.

00:23:35:18 - 00:23:55:04 Unknown Once again, many thanks to Roberto. And thank you so much. And thank you again soon. That wraps up this episode. Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for the next Oracle Academy Tech Chat podcast.