Louis-Guillaume's Blog

For more information, visit Patrick's blog . You can also follow Patrick on Twitter . Like Dimitri said, it's just before the holidays... :)

A new version of Oracle SQL Developer is available. For more informations, visit Kris' Blog .

Google Public DNS I think this is something interesting to know when you are developing web solutions.

La version 2.0.1 d' APEXQuebec.com propose aujourd'hui des forums de discussion et une foule d'autres fonctionnalités sont à venir. Ces forums favoriseront les échanges et le partage permettant à tous les intervenants du milieu de mieux performer avec APEX. Nous vous demandons de prendre connaissance de la charte d'utilisation du forum et de proposer vos améliorations dans la section "Discussions générales/Salon de discussion". Dans les prochaines semaines, plusieurs ajouts aux forums seront effectués allant des fonctionnalités de recherche à la possibilité de bloguer directement à partir de la plateforme d'échange. Nous offrirons également un inventaire de ressources (jQuery, AJAX, plugins, etc.) que les gens pourront alimenter et suivre au fil des années. Forums d'APEXQuébec

Do you know that you can search for Oracle APEX information using... Google Timeline Google Wonder wheel

Don't miss Dan McGhan 's session at the NYC Metro Oracle Users Group Day hosted by the New York Oracle Users Group (NYOUG) .

SIE-Solutions présente: Oracle APEX dans un contexte d’intelligence d’affaires et l’intégration aux solutions de production de rapports. Voici une capture vidéo de la présentation de SIE-Solutions lors des demi-journées du groupe d'intérêt APEX dans le cadre de l' Ora*Gec . Le vidéo est disponible sur APEXQuebec.com .

Lorsqu'on débute avec le développement Web, une des premières constatations porte sur le comportement des fureteurs qui peut différer énormément. La problématique se divise en 3 volets: 1- Interprétation des balises HTML Lorsque des balises ("tags") ne sont pas correctement ouvertes et fermées, le fureteur peut prendre la décision de compléter le code HTML pour rendre celui-ci valide. Le rendu s'en trouvera affecté si l'ouverture et la fermeture de balises ne correspond pas aux attentes premières du développeur. Il faut donc valider la syntaxe du code HTML. 2- Comportement du DHTML (JavaScript) Chaque fureteur a son engin JavaScript qui permet d'exécuter ce dernier. L'utilisation de librairies JavaScript permet de contourner une majorité des différences sans avoir à connaitre celles-ci. Il faut donc utiliser des librairies JavaScript qui gèrent ces différences et/ou coder nous même certaines parties du code qui son problématique. Pour plus d'informatio...

Tel qu'annoncé aujourd'hui au APEX SIG de Québec. Démos du forum d'APEX Québec

Lors des demi-journées du groupe d'intérêt APEX de l'Ora*Gec , nous allons faire tirer 3 exemplaires du livre Oracle Application Express Forms Converter publié par Packt Publishing . Pour participer, il faut déposer sa carte d'affaire au kiosque de SIE-Solutions . Nous allons ensuite procéder à un tirage. Une critique du livre Oracle Application Express Forms Converter est disponible sur le blog de Roel Hartman. En savoir davantage au sujet de l'auteur du livre, Douwe Pieter van den Bos. Bonne chance à tous! :)

Oracle Application Express (APEX) est une plateforme de développement rapide. Attention! Qui dit rapide ne veut pas dire limitée... J'ai mis à votre disposition deux vidéos qui illustrent parfaitement ce qui est possible d'accomplir rapidement avec Oracle APEX (et APEXFramework ). SIE-Solutions a développé sem , une plateforme d’affaires adaptée aux entreprises québécoises (PME). 1- Prestation de produits 2- Prestation de services Je vais être présent aux demi-journées conférences de l'Ora*GEc (Québec et Montréal) dans le cadre du groupe d'intérêt Oracle APEX . Il me fera plaisir de vous rencontrer pour discuter davantage des projets d'envergures que l'on peut réaliser avec Oracle Application Express (APEX) .

A year ago, I started to blog about APEX . At that time, the main topic I choose was jQuery . What should be the main topic for my second year of blogging?

Improving security Web 2.0 - AJAX

Here's a good guide to demystify vertical alignment using CSS .

The first Ora*Gec APEX SIG meetup was in May 2008. November 2009 will host the second edition of this much anticipated event. The number of sessions and partners is exploding. Events will took place in Montreal and Quebec City. The complete description of the APEX SIG sessions is available. (French only!) Ora*Gec Host the events. Oracle APEX 4.0 for mission critical systems Insum Solutions - Session # 1: Choosing APEX to build applications that are stable, efficient, robust, and integrated to your security scheme. SIE-Solutions - Session # 2: APEX in a context of business intelligence (BI) and reporting solutions integration. Momentum Technologies - Session # 3: APEX integration with existing applications of diverse technologies and testing to confirm proper operation. CGI - Session # 4: The gains of using APEX with ERP systems such as Oracle eBusiness Suite, PeopleSoft and others. It's a rendez-vous you can't miss.

Yesterday, I was surprised to learn about the new Certification Exam for Oracle Application Express . I think this is good news for the APEX community because it shows the commitment of Oracle for this tool that makes our lifes full of joy and happy developments! ;)

Dan McGhan 's webminar is available...

This morning, I realize that the official Oracle APEX website got a new face lift! Check it out!

Here's a summary of the news which attracted my attention in the last weeks. Oracle APEX 4.0 Statement of Direction Oracle APEX 4.0 New Features Oracle APEX Listener

For those of you who won't be travelling to San Francisco... Here's your chance to stay up to date with the Oracle OpenWorld events. Oracle OpenWorld LiveStream View the complete list of APEX sessions

Le mois de septembre vient généralement avec son lot de nouveautés... Dans les dernières semaines, j'ai mis en place le site web d' APEX Framework, la plateforme de développement de SIE-Solutions . Aujourd'hui, j'annonce officiellement la refonte du site web corporatif de SIE-Solutions . L'intégration de menus Flash fût l'occasion pour moi d'élargir mes connaissances et du même coup, de bonifier l'apparence de sites web dédiés à la clientèle. Cette expérience nous sera probablement très utile dans nos prochains mandats. Il faut aussi noter que tous nos sites web sont propulsés par Oracle Application Express (APEX) et SIE-Solutions APEX Framework . Je vous invite donc consulter la refonte du site web corporatif de SIE-Solutions . Vos commentaires sont appréciés! :)

Oracle Press Release

D'abord, je tiens à remercier les participants qui ont fait de cette rencontre un excellent lieu d'échange et de partage. Le groupe était composé des plusieurs intervenants provenant de différents secteurs de l'économie. Cet échantillonnage permet de constater que les organisations ont des problèmes communs et qu'il faut des solutions communes et génériques pour y remédier. Les principaux sujets abordés: 1- Conversion FORMS vers APEX 2- APEX Framework 3- Méthodologie

Un framework a pour objectif d'aider les organisations à simplifier et à encadrer les projets de développement tout en bénéficiant des acquis de l'organisation. Le framework de développement d'applications Oracle Application Express (APEX) proposé par SIE-Solutions a pour objectif de faciliter la mise en place de la technologie APEX au sein de l'organisation et d'assurer un retour sur investissement maximal des efforts investis en technologies de l'information. Tout au long du cycle de vie d'un système, que ce soit de la phase de migration/développement jusqu'à celle de l'évolution, le framework encadrera les efforts et maximisera le temps. Voyez comment la plateforme de développement d'applications Oracle Application Express (APEX) SIE-Solutions peut rentabiliser plus rapidement vos investissements en technologie de l'information. Consulter le siteweb d'APEX Framework J'attends vos commentaires et suggestions !

Avis aux retardataires - Un déjeuner technologique aura lieu dans 2 semaines. Les sujets traités seront la conversion de FORMS vers APEX et les plateformes de développement. Comme prix de présence, il y a aura 3 livres "Oracle Application Express Forms Converter" publié chez Packt Publishing , livre pour lequel j'ai fait la révision technique. Pour toutes les informations, voir un précédent article . Inscription au séminaire Au plaisir de vous voir en grand nombre!

This week, David Peake blogged about the new book Oracle Application Express Forms Converter. A website was created to support this book. We are waiting for you! :)

For more information, refer to Patrick Wolf's blog .

Date : MONTRÉAL - Mardi 15 septembre 2009 Conférenciers : Bruno-Pierre Privé, Président et architecte organique & Louis-Guillaume Carrier-Bédard, directeur du développement APEX - SIE-Solutions Lieu : Locaux AFI - 1100, René-Lévesque Ouest, bur. 1205, Montréal Prix : Séminaire gratuit *** Réservez tôt - places limitées *** Inscription au séminaire Avec la popularité grandissante de l’outil de développement Oracle Application Express (APEX) , SIE-Solutions est fière de s'associer à AFI pour vous entretenir à propos de deux sujets d’actualité : la migration d'applications FORMS vers APEX ainsi que la mise en place d'un cadre de développement d'applications . Au sujet de la conférence Depuis la version 3.2, Oracle a mis à la disposition de la communauté une solution de migration des applications FORMS vers APEX . Voyez les fonctionnalités de l'outil de migration ainsi que des choix auxquels vous serez confrontés au cours de son utilisation. Issu de l'exp...

Cette année, nous aurons la chance de rencontrer Tom Kyte dans le cadre de l'évènement Demi-Journée Prestige Ora*Gec 2009 . L'évènement aura lieu à Québec et à Montréal . Les inscriptions se font sur le site officiel de l'Ora*Gec. Au plaisir de vous rencontrer! :)

Funny video... ;)

Since the end of last week, Mike Hichwa's APEX 4.0 Presentation is available to the public. For those of you who didn't had the opportunity to go at the ODTUG Kaleidoscope , here's your chance to see a popular presentation. Many people blogged about this video... follow the links to learn more about their thoughts. Dietmar Aust Patrick Wolf John Scott Scott Spendolini David Peake Download an .mp4 version for you iPod/iPhone In this video, we learn lots of stuff about: Websheets (00:23) Dynamic Actions (oo:37) Charts (00:40) REST Web Services (00:46:30) Plug-Ins (00:56:30) Improved Interactive Reports (01:02:45) Improved Application Builder (01:09:30) APEX Extended Vision (01:12:45) APEX Listener (01:13:25) Q&A (01:24:30) But we don't learn a lot about: Declarative Tabular Forms AJAX Client-Side Validations Improved Error Handling Improved Tree Controls jQuery and jQuery UI Item Attributes (Textareas: Resizable) JavaScript Date pickers Combo Box (editable select list...

There's something new coming up for those of you interested in converting Oracle FORMS applications to Oracle Application Express (APEX). I am talking about a new book written by Douwe Pieter van den Bos I have participated to the technical review of this book. I would like to say thanks to Douwe Pieter who took the time to write a book explaining the complete conversion process. Make sure to visit Packt Publishing website to order/buy a copy of the book. If your organization wants to convert FORMS applications to APEX, the best way to do so is by using an APEX Framework to build robust applications easily maintainable. For more information about FORMS conversion to APEX and an APEX Framework to cut back development time by 20-30%, you can contact me directly or one of my colleague at SIE-Solutions . You can read additional articles to help you with your conversion projects .

I've decided to create an application to host plugins specifically made for Oracle APEX. Oracle Application Express (APEX) - jQuery Plugins Send me your plugins so we can all enjoy them!

Today, I came across a bug when trying to use the "Page Items to Submit" feature of an Interactive Report. For more information and a workaround, visit the OTN Discussion Forums .

Depuis la semaine dernière, un nouvel outil est offert à la communauté Oracle Apex. Je parle du nouveau siteweb d'Apex Québec ... ce site se veut LA RÉFÉRENCE québécoise francophone en matière de développements avec l'outil Oracle Application Express . C'est un lieu d'échange et de partage permettant à tous les intervenants du milieu de s'informer et d'apprendre. Liens rapides vers les ressources La section des ressources, en constante évolution, sera bonifiée au fil des semaines et des mois. N'hésitez pas à ajouter ce site dans vos favoris, il deviendra rapidement votre ami! ;) Séminaire APEX - Mai 2009 Pour ceux qui n'ont pas eu l'occasion d'assister au déjeuner technologique... voici ce que Bruno-Pierre Privé , un collègue, et moi avons présenté.

If you want to learn more about SQL Developer’s newest Data Modeling Tool, you can watch this video. For more information, you can visit Oracle Database Insider Blog .

For those of you who doesn't have the chance to be at the ODTUG. Here's 2 links I found: Apex 4.0 presentation Apex 4.0 Plug-Ins Enjoy! Thanks to Roel and John for sharing this.

This post will interest those who develop systems in many languages. If you want to translate the Interactive Reports, you have to create "Text Messages" (located in the shared components). Official documentation on Translating Messages Used Internally by Oracle Application Express . -------------- Cet article saura intéresser ceux parmi vous qui développent des systèmes en plusieurs langues. Lorsque vous voulez traduire un rapport interactif, vous devez créer des "Text Messages" (situés dans les composants partagés). Documentation officielle sur Traduction des messages internes utilisés par Oracle Application Express .

Conférences et stratégies Web 2.0 étaient au menu pour cette 6e conférence internationale du webcom . J'ai mis la main sur la présentation de Simon Lamarche de chez Advisio . Investir moins et convertir plus Bonne présentation qui devrait vous aider à mieux structurer vos efforts.

The best way to experiment with Google AJAX APIs is to use the Google AJAX APIs Playground . Find out what's new in version 2... Another great tool provided by Google! ;)

Recently, I had lots of work to do with the latest version of AnyChart . I like this tool, it's easy to use whatever is your platform. It integrates perfectly with APEX, thanks to the guys at Apex Evangelists for bringing AnyChart Integration Kit for Apex 3.x . To get started, it's a good idea to read the user guide and the XML Reference . Both documents are useful. The first one gives plenty of examples (charts and source codes). The second one is more "visual" and was more helpful in my case. Part 2 of the review will focus on things that might not be evident at start.

Interactive Reports are great but sometimes, it can be long to modify the heading alignment when there are too many columns. You can't modify this attribute using the tabular form. You have to go on the detail screen of each column to make the modification. 1)You have to change the value of the "heading alignment". 2)You have to click on the arrow to apply changes and edit the next column. It's not hard but it's boring. My solution requires less click and a lower level of attention. 1)Copy this code (Ctrl+C). j=document.createElement("SCRIPT"); j.src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3/jquery.min.js"; document.getElementsByTagName("HEAD")[0].appendChild(j); setTimeout(function(){ jQuery('#P687_HEADING_ALIGNMENT').val('LEFT'); jQuery('#GET_NEXT_ID').click(); },1000); 2) Open the Firebug Console. 3) Press Ctrl+V to paste the code. 4) Press Ctrl+Return to execute the script. 5) Goto...

I have been using CSSTint for quite a long time and I think it's time to present it to the APEX Community. This little tool will save you time and efforts. It's perfect when you want to adjust the color of existing themes. Happy Styling!

Sometimes, clients will give you images to incorporate in themes. What if you want to apply somewhere else the fonts used by those images? Let WhatTheFont do the dirty job for you. It will analyze the images and find the closest matching fonts. If the tool doesn't have the answer, post the images in the forum and someone will help you . WhatTheFont is also available for the iPhone.

In the middle of May, Google will be present in Quebec City for the 7th edition of Géodiffusion . This year's theme is: " Business Intelligence and Geospatial Technologies : Must-Have Allies in Tough Economic Times ". Oracle is a gold partner for this event. Links (French): technaute CNW Telbec ----- À la mi-mai, Google sera présent dans la ville de Québec pour la 7e édition de Géodiffusion . Le thème de cette année est: " L’intelligence d’affaires et le géospatial, des alliés indispensables en temps de crise économique ". Oracle est partenaire or pour cet événement. Liens: technaute CNW Telbec

I hope everyone in the APEX Community who planned to participate at the Oracle Open World 2009 had the time to post their paper. I posted mine. ;) The title of my abstract is "Implementing a database centric framework for Oracle Application Express".

At the beginning of the year, David Peake blogged about APEX books and authors wanted . I was approached by Packt Publishing to do a technical review of Douwe Pieter 's book on Forms Conversion to APEX. The book will cover every aspect of a conversion project. It's a good and useful tool for the majority of programmers, analysts and project managers. Those who are new to APEX or Forms will have plenty of information to go through the conversion process without much pain. And for those who know Forms and APEX, it will help them go a lot faster. Remember, Forms Conversion to APEX won't be magic and you'll need to read the official documentation and or a book that will help you learn faster. Don't miss my Forms Conversion to APEX presentation in Montreal and Quebec City on May 19th 2009 and May 21th 2009 respectively. I hope to see your there! :)

Recently, I moved from Montreal to Quebec City. From now on, I'll work for SIE-Solutions . SIE offers solutions for SMEs/SMBs, all products developments are using a unique APEX framework they made to speed up the development process by 20-30%. Rapid application development (RAD) is even faster. For more information about the framework and how it can serve your organization, contact SIE-Solutions sales department . My blog will still be covering the development of applications with the wonderful tool that is APEX. Stay tuned for my new demo application website. I am in charge of Apex Québec an initiative of SIE. This website is a tool aimed at the French Community working in the province of Quebec. It will be the perfect place to learn basic and advanced features of APEX, and to carry on networking! It's also a good reference for all French speakers in the APEX community! It's the beginning of a great adventure! ;)

For the bloggers and those who think about blogging, I found 2 good websites to help you success. You'll learn the good and the bad moves you can do. The first one is Blogger Buster . "Blogger Buster is a resource blog for bloggers, offering hints, hacks, tips and tricks to help enhance your blogging experience." The second one is Blogger Tips . "post articles and news that interest both new and experienced bloggers with topcs ranging from promoting your blog to design and coding as well as industry news and views" Happy blogging! :)

I build a quick demo for those of you who need the "good old Oracle Forms" Alert functionality in APEX. example: BEGIN IF [condition] THEN Alert("the alert message!", OK, Cancel); END IF; END; There's not much to explain. As usual, you'll find all the code on the demo page. Here's the working demo of an Alert Message initiated by PL/SQL code .

Recently, Tyler started a thread about jQuery plugins for APEX . At the same time, I was working on 2 jQuery plugins. Links to the jQuery plugins for APEX. Tyler's Plugins 1) jApex 0.2 L-G's Plugins 1) jquery.apex-session-0.0.1.js 2) jquery.apexpage-0.0.2.js Personally, I prefer to use many plugins. Each plugin should be use for a specific task. I think it's also easier to update a small plugin because the impact is smaller. So what do you think: One big plugin or many small plugins?

This week, my grand-father passed away. He's the one who teaches me lots of stuff about life. Without him, I wouldn't be the same person. For the last year, he wasn't able to read anymore... all his life was about reading and learning. He couldn't read my articles and that makes him frustrated and sad. I want to dedicate him all my work. Papi, I will never forget you. Ton petit fils, Louis-Guillaume.

My newest demo cover a lot of content. Get and set the region title using AJAX . Use Fade in , fade out , and mouse event to toggle the display of edit links. Prompt the user with Impromptu . Use jGrowl to display the log of events. Use Corner for styling DOM elements. You can try a working example of How to dynamically edit a region title.

I was working on a Forms conversion to APEX project with requirements like a prompt with 2 subsequent dialog/alert boxes. Unfortunately that was before the release of jQuery Impromptu 2.0 . This new version introduces "States", exactly was I was for wishing for. Download the latest version of jQuery Impromptu.

If you are using "Partial Page Refresh" to navigate through the pages of a report, the new methods live and die should be useful. The "Partial Page Refresh" functionality uses the JavaScript function $a_report to request the report's body and then refresh the report without refreshing the whole page (AJAX). Before, we were able to bind a click event to DOM elements. The click event was not propagating itself to new DOM elements created dynamically after the bind action. For example: if you bind the click event to every rows of your report, you have to bind the click event to new rows generated after calling the function $a_report. Now, we are able to bind a live event to our DOM elements. The click event is now able to propagate itself to new DOM elements created dynamically after the bind action. You can try a working example of jQuery Event Live in APEX . Happy Web 2.0 coding! :)

Good news everyone! A new release of jQuery saw the day. Find more information about jQuery 1.3 on the official website. The major new features are: * Sizzle: A sizzlin’ hot CSS selector engine. * Live Events: Event delegation with a jQuery twist. * jQuery Event Overhaul: Completely rewired to simplify event handling. * HTML Injection Rewrite: Lightning-fast HTML appending. * Offset Rewrite: Super-quick position calculation. * No More Browser Sniffing: Using feature detection to help jQuery last for many more years to come. For more information, read the jQuery 1.3 release documentation . I'll try to do demos showing the new features in the upcoming days... Happy coding!

To make your application look more Web 2.0, it's a good idea to add a Tag Cloud section on some pages. ;) I did a little search for a jQuery plugin that can do the job and I found DynaCloud . You can include a Tag Cloud on your page in 4 steps. 1) Add on your page a container for the tag cloud. For good results create an HTML Region and put the following code in the region source. (Set the template to Sidebar Region) <div id="dynacloud" style="font-size:12px;"></div> 2) Load jQuery using Google AJAX Libraries API <script src="http://www.google.com/jsapi"></script> <script> // Load jQuery google.load("jquery", "1.2.6", {uncompressed:false}); </script> 3) Load DynaCloud Plugin <script src="&WORKSPACE_IMAGES.jquery.dynacloud-4.js"></script> 4) Add CSS styles to display the Tag Cloud <style type="text/css"> div#dynacloud { font-size:5px...

I'll start the year by showing you how to add a simple feed reader to your page. For my demo, I decided to use the feed from the "official" Apex Blog Aggregator . Using Google AJAX Feed API , you can easily load and parse feeds. Using Google Visualization API , you can easily display the information in a datagrid. For more information, consult my online demo of the Google AJAX Feed API in Oracle APEX .

Dear APEX Community, I want to wish you a Happy New Year. For 2009, I wish you many many many APEX projects. 2009 will be full of APEX demos and tutorials! :D Take care