Google Map APEX Plugins

I’ve published two three APEX Region Plugins on apex.world that allow you to incorporate a simple Google Map region into your application. They’re easy to use, and you don’t need to apply for a Google API key or anything like that (although you can plug your key in if you have one, which enables a few additional features).

1. Simple Map

plugin-simplemap-preview

This allows you to add a small map to a page to allow the user to select any arbitrary point. If you synchronize it with an item on your page, it will put the Latitude, Longitude into that item. If the item has a value on page load, or is changed, the pin on the map is automatically updated.

Source

2. Report Map

plugin-reportmap-preview.png

This allows you to add a map to a page, and based on a SQL query you supply, it will render a number of pins on the map. Each pin has an ID, a name (used when the user hovers over a pin), and an info text (which can be almost any HTML, rendered in a popup window when the user clicks a pin).

If the user clicks a pin, the ID can be set in a page item.

Source

3. GeoHeatMap

EDIT: the GeoHeatMap plugin was deprecated in 2019; its features have been incorporated into the ReportMap plugin.

Visualise a large set of data points on the map using the Google Maps “Heatmap” visualisation. All you need to do is supply a SQL Query that returns the data points to show, and the visualisation library does the rest.

plugin-heatmap-preview

Your SQL Query must be in the following format:

select lat, lng, weight from mydata;

You can set the Map Style (e.g. to the light blue/greyscale style you see above) easily on this plugin; just copy-and-paste the style codes from a site like snazzymaps.com.

Source

If you notice a bug or have a great idea to enhance a plugin, don’t comment on this post – instead please raise an issue on GitHub.

Refer to GitHub or my Plugins page for future updates.


APEX API for Tabular Forms

grid-edit
Ever since I started exploring the idea of using a TAPI approach with APEX, something I was never quite satisfied with was Tabular Forms.

They can be a bit finicky to work with, and if you’re not careful you can break them to the point where it’s easier to recreate them from scratch rather than try to fix them (although if you understand the underlying mechanics you can fix them [there was an article about this I read recently but I can’t find it now]).

I wanted to use the stock-standard APEX tabular form, rather than something like Martin D’Souza’s approach – although I have used that a number of times with good results.

In the last week or so while making numerous improvements to my TAPI generator, and creating the new APEX API generator, I tackled again the issue of tabular forms. I had a form that was still using the built-in APEX ApplyMRU and ApplyMRD processes (which, of course, bypass my TAPI). I found that if I deleted both of these processes, and replaced them with a single process that loops over the APEX_APPLICATION.g_f0x arrays, I lose a number of Tabular Form features such as detecting which records were changed.

Instead, what ended up working (while retaining all the benefits of a standard APEX tabular form) was to create a row-level process instead. Here’s some example code that I put in this APEX process that interfaces with my APEX API:

VENUES$APEX.apply_mr (rv =>
  VENUES$TAPI.rv
    (venue_id   => :VENUE_ID
    ,name       => :NAME
    ,version_id => :VERSION_ID
    ));

The process has Execution Scope set to For Created and Modified Rows. It first calls my TAPI.rv function to convert the individual columns from the row into an rvtype record, which it then passes to the APEX API apply_mr procedure. The downside to this approach is that each record is processed separately – no bulk updates; however, tabular forms are rarely used to insert or update significant volumes of data anyway so I doubt this would be of practical concern. The advantage of using the rv function is that it means I don’t need to repeat all the column parameters for all my API procedures, making maintenance easier.

The other change that I had to make was ensure that any Hidden columns referred to in my Apply process must be set to Hidden Column (saves state) – in this case, the VERSION_ID column.

Here’s the generated APEX API apply_mr procedure:

PROCEDURE apply_mr (rv IN VENUES$TAPI.rvtype) IS
  r VENUES$TAPI.rowtype;
BEGIN
  log_start('apply_mr');

  UTIL.check_authorization('Operator');

  IF APEX_APPLICATION.g_request = 'MULTI_ROW_DELETE' THEN

    IF v('APEX$ROW_SELECTOR') = 'X' THEN
      VENUES$TAPI.del (rv => rv);
    END IF;

  ELSE

    CASE v('APEX$ROW_STATUS')
    WHEN 'C' THEN

      r := VENUES$TAPI.ins (rv => rv);

    WHEN 'U' THEN

      r := VENUES$TAPI.upd (rv => rv);

    ELSE
      NULL;
    END CASE;

  END IF;

  log_end;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END apply_mr;

The code uses APEX$ROW_STATUS to determine whether to insert or update each record. If the Delete button was pressed, it checks APEX$ROW_SELECTOR to check that the record had been selected for delete – although it could skip that check since APEX seems to call the procedure for only the selected records anyway. The debug logs show APEX skipping the records that weren’t selected.

Now, before we run off gleefully inserting and updating records we should really think about validating them and reporting any errors to the user in a nice way. The TAPI ins and upd functions do run the validation routine, but they don’t set up UTIL with the mappings so that the APEX errors are registered as we need them to. So, we add a per-record validation in the APEX page that runs this:

VENUES$APEX.val_row (rv =>
  VENUES$TAPI.rv
    (venue_id   => :VENUE_ID
    ,name       => :NAME
    ,version_id => :VERSION_ID
    )
  ,region_static_id => 'venues');
RETURN null;

As for the single-record page, this validation step is of type PL/SQL Function (returning Error Text). Its Execution Scope is the same as for the apply_mr process – For Created and Modified Rows.

Note that we need to set a static ID on the tabular form region (the generator assumes it is the table name in lowercase – e.g. venues – but this can be changed if desired).

The val_row procedure is as follows:

PROCEDURE val_row
  (rv               IN VENUES$TAPI.rvtype
  ,region_static_id IN VARCHAR2
  ) IS
  dummy            VARCHAR2(32767);
  column_alias_map UTIL.str_map;
BEGIN
  log_start('val_row');

  UTIL.pre_val_row
    (label_map        => VENUES$TAPI.label_map
    ,region_static_id => region_static_id
    ,column_alias_map => column_alias_map);

  dummy := VENUES$TAPI.val (rv => rv);

  UTIL.post_val;

  log_end;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END val_row;

The pre_val_row procedure tells all the validation handlers how to register any error message with APEX_ERROR. In this case, column_alias_map is empty, which causes them to assume that each column name in the tabular form is named the same as the column name on the database. If this default mapping is not correct for a particular column, we can declare the mapping, e.g. column_alias_map('DB_COLUMN_NAME') := 'TABULAR_FORM_COLUMN_NAME';. This way, when the errors are registered with APEX_ERROR they will be shown correctly on the APEX page.

Things got a little complicated when I tried using this approach for a table that didn’t have any surrogate key, where my TAPI uses ROWID instead to uniquely identify a row for update. In this case, I had to change the generated query to include the ROWID, e.g.:

SELECT t.event_type
      ,t.name
      ,t.calendar_css
      ,t.start_date
      ,t.end_date
      ,t.last_updated_dt
      ,t.version_id
      ,t.ROWID AS p_rowid
FROM   event_types t

I found if I didn’t give a different alias for ROWID, the tabular form would not be rendered at runtime as it conflicted with APEX trying to get its own version of ROWID from the query. Note that the P_ROWID must also be set to Hidden Column (saves state). I found it strange that APEX would worry about it because when I removed* the ApplyMRU and ApplyMRD processes, it stopped emitting the ROWID in the frowid_000n hidden items. Anyway, giving it the alias meant that it all worked fine in the end.

* CORRECTION (7/11/2016): Don’t remove the ApplyMRU process, instead mark it with a Condition of “Never” – otherwise APEX will be unable to map errors to the right rows in the tabular form.

The Add Rows button works; also, the Save button correctly calls my TAPI only for inserted and updated records, and shows error messages correctly. I can use APEX’s builtin Tabular Form feature, integrated neatly with my TAPI instead of manipulating the table directly. Mission accomplished.

Source code/download: http://bitbucket.org/jk64/jk64-sample-apex-tapi


Dumb triggers? Let’s make ’em a bit smarter

Some time back, Connor rightly pointed out that triggers that modify data can get in the way when you need to do out-of-the-ordinary data maintenance, e.g. when you need to fix up a row here or re-insert a row over there. You can’t just disable the trigger or else make your users suffer down-time.

Now, the only purpose for which I use triggers is to do common things like setting audit columns and incrementing a VERSION_ID column, and in certain special cases for carefully implementing cross-row constraints; also, I use them to populate a journal table with all changes to the table. Mind you, in recent times features have been added and improved in the Oracle database (such as Flashback Query and Flashback Data Archive) to the point where I’m almost ready to stop doing this. However, there are still some minor use-cases where having a separate “journal” table can be useful. Any argument about that assertion is ruled “out of scope” for this article! 🙂

So, assuming we’re sticking with triggers that might change data, a solution to this problem is already built-in to the journal triggers and Table APIs (TAPI) that my PL/SQL code generator creates. This allows me to disable the trigger on any table, just for my current session without affecting any other concurrent activity – and no DDL required.

UPDATED 16/2/2016: now uses a context variable (thanks Connor for the idea)

In the trigger I have this code:

create or replace TRIGGER EMPS$TRG 
  FOR INSERT OR UPDATE OR DELETE ON EMPS 
  COMPOUND TRIGGER 
 
  BEFORE EACH ROW IS 
  BEGIN 
    IF SYS_CONTEXT('SAMPLE_CTX','EMPS$TRG') IS NULL THEN 
      ...etc... 
    END IF; 
  END BEFORE EACH ROW; 
 
  AFTER EACH ROW IS 
  BEGIN 
    IF SYS_CONTEXT('SAMPLE_CTX','EMPS$TRG') IS NULL THEN 
      ...etc... 
    END IF; 
  END AFTER EACH ROW; 
 
END EMPS$TRG;

The trigger takes advantage of some extra code that is generated in the Table API:

create or replace PACKAGE EMPS$TAPI AS 
/***********************************************
 Table API for emps 
 10-FEB-2016 - Generated by SAMPLE
***********************************************/ 

... 
 
-- Use these procedures to disable and re-enable the
-- journal trigger just for this session (to disable for
-- all sessions, just disable the database trigger 
-- instead). 
PROCEDURE disable_journal_trigger; 
PROCEDURE enable_journal_trigger; 
 
END EMPS$TAPI; 

The package body code is quite simple:

create or replace PACKAGE BODY EMPS$TAPI AS 
/***********************************************
 Table API for emps 
 10-FEB-2016 - Generated by SAMPLE
***********************************************/ 
 
...

-- may be used to disable and re-enable the journal trigger for this session 
PROCEDURE disable_journal_trigger IS 
BEGIN 
  log_start('disable_journal_trigger'); 
 
  SECURITY.disable_journal_trigger('EMPS$TRG');
 
  log_end;
EXCEPTION 
  WHEN OTHERS THEN 
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm; 
    RAISE; 
END disable_journal_trigger; 
 
PROCEDURE enable_journal_trigger IS 
BEGIN 
  log_start('enable_journal_trigger'); 
 
  SECURITY.enable_journal_trigger('EMPS$TRG');
 
  log_end; 
EXCEPTION 
  WHEN OTHERS THEN 
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm; 
    RAISE; 
END enable_journal_trigger; 
 
END EMPS$TAPI;

A context variable is set with the name of the trigger to disable it – the default state for a new session (i.e. the context variable not set) means the trigger is enabled.

create or replace PACKAGE BODY SECURITY AS

...

PROCEDURE disable_journal_trigger
  (trigger_name IN VARCHAR2
  ,client_id    IN VARCHAR2 := NULL) IS
BEGIN
  -- set the context to any non-null value
  DBMS_SESSION.set_context 
    (namespace => 'SAMPLE_CTX'
    ,attribute => trigger_name
    ,value     => 'DISABLED'
    ,client_id => NVL(client_id, SYS_CONTEXT('USERENV','CLIENT_IDENTIFIER')));
END disable_journal_trigger;

PROCEDURE enable_journal_trigger
  (trigger_name IN VARCHAR2
  ,client_id    IN VARCHAR2 := NULL) IS
BEGIN
  -- clear the context
  DBMS_SESSION.clear_context 
    (namespace => 'SAMPLE_CTX'
    ,attribute => trigger_name
    ,client_id => NVL(client_id, SYS_CONTEXT('USERENV','CLIENT_IDENTIFIER')));
END enable_journal_trigger;

END SECURITY;

So now, to run some data maintenance, I can simply call the TAPI to disable, then re-enable, the trigger:

BEGIN EMPS$TAPI.disable_journal_trigger; END;
/

... do the data maintenance...

BEGIN EMPS$TAPI.enable_journal_trigger; END;
/

Unless the data maintenance is doing something very unusual, this script should be safe to run while the system is still up and running for users.

Also, it would be a trivial exercise to write a routine which disables or enables all the journal triggers at once.

The point of this, of course, is that you should be able to do all this sort of thing without writing a lot of code for each table in your schema – solve it for one table, and then generate the code for all your tables.

Source code/download: http://bitbucket.org/jk64/jk64-sample-apex-tapi


APEX API – call a package for all your DML

If you create an APEX form based on a table, APEX automatically creates processes of type Automatic Row Fetch and Automatic Row Processing (DML) as well as one item for each column in the table, each bound to the database column via its Source Type. This design is excellent as it’s fully declarative and is very quick and easy to build a data entry page for all your tables.

The downside to this approach is that if you want to use a Table API (TAPI) to encapsulate all DML activity on your tables, you need to write a whole lot of code to replace the processes that Apex created for you. In order to mitigate this as much as possible, I’ve augmented my code generator with an “APEX API” generator. This generates a second package for each table which can be called from APEX, which in turn calls the TAPI to run the actual DML. In addition, the validations that are performed by the TAPI are translated back into APEX Errors so that they are rendered in much the same way as built-in APEX validations.

Probably the best way to explain this is to show an example. Here’s my EMPS table (same as from my last article):

CREATE TABLE emps
  (emp_id       NUMBER NOT NULL
  ,name         VARCHAR2(100 CHAR) NOT NULL
  ,emp_type     VARCHAR2(20 CHAR) DEFAULT 'SALARIED' NOT NULL
  ,start_date   DATE NOT NULL
  ,end_date     DATE
  ,dummy_ts     TIMESTAMP(6)
  ,dummy_tsz    TIMESTAMP(6) WITH TIME ZONE
  ,life_history CLOB
  ,CONSTRAINT emps_pk PRIMARY KEY ( emp_id )
  ,CONSTRAINT emps_name_uk UNIQUE ( name )
  ,CONSTRAINT emp_type_ck
     CHECK ( emp_type IN ('SALARIED','CONTRACTOR')
  );
CREATE SEQUENCE emp_id_seq;

By the way, my table creation script calls DEPLOY.create_table to do this, which automatically adds my standard audit columns to the table – CREATED_BY, CREATED_DT, LAST_UPDATED_BY, LAST_UPDATED_DT, and VERSION_ID. My script also calls GENERATE.journal for the table which creates a journal table (EMPS$JN) and a trigger (EMPS$TRG) to log all DML activity against the table.

I then call GENERATE.tapi which creates the Table API (EMPS$TAPI) which has routines for validating, inserting, updating and deleting rows (or arrays of rows using bulk binds) of the EMPS table.

Finally, I call GENERATE.apexapi which creates the APEX API (EMPS$APEX) which looks like this:

Package Spec: EMPS$APEX

create or replace PACKAGE EMPS$APEX AS
/**************************************************
 Apex API for emps
 10-FEB-2016 - Generated by SAMPLE
**************************************************/

-- page load process
PROCEDURE load;

-- single-record page validation
PROCEDURE val;

-- page submit process
PROCEDURE process;

END EMPS$APEX;

Notice that these routines require no parameters; the API gets all the data it needs directly from APEX.

Package Body: EMPS$APEX

create or replace PACKAGE BODY EMPS$APEX AS
/*******************************************************************************
Table API for emps
10-FEB-2016 - Generated by SAMPLE
*******************************************************************************/

PROCEDURE apex_set (r IN EMPS$TAPI.rowtype) IS
  p VARCHAR2(10) := 'P' || UTIL.apex_page_id || '_';
BEGIN
  log_start('apex_set');

  sv(p||'EMP_ID',          r.emp_id);
  sv(p||'NAME',            r.name);
  sv(p||'EMP_TYPE',        r.emp_type);
  sd(p||'START_DATE',      r.start_date);
  sd(p||'END_DATE',        r.end_date);
  st(p||'BLA_TSZ',         r.bla_tsz);
  st(p||'DUMMY_TS',        r.dummy_ts);
  sv(p||'CREATED_BY',      r.created_by);
  sd(p||'CREATED_DT',      r.created_dt);
  sv(p||'LAST_UPDATED_BY', r.last_updated_by);
  sd(p||'LAST_UPDATED_DT', r.last_updated_dt);
  sv(p||'VERSION_ID',      r.version_id);

  log_end;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END apex_set;

FUNCTION apex_get RETURN EMPS$TAPI.rvtype IS
  p  VARCHAR2(10) := 'P' || UTIL.apex_page_id || '_';
  rv EMPS$TAPI.rvtype;
BEGIN
  log_start('apex_get');

  rv.emp_id     := nv(p||'EMP_ID');
  rv.name       := v(p||'NAME');
  rv.emp_type   := v(p||'EMP_TYPE');
  rv.start_date := v(p||'START_DATE');
  rv.end_date   := v(p||'END_DATE');
  rv.bla_tsz    := v(p||'BLA_TSZ');
  rv.dummy_ts   := v(p||'DUMMY_TS');
  rv.version_id := nv(p||'VERSION_ID');

  log_end;
  RETURN rv;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END apex_get;

FUNCTION apex_get_pk RETURN EMPS$TAPI.rvtype IS
  p  VARCHAR2(10) := 'P' || UTIL.apex_page_id || '_';

  rv EMPS$TAPI.rvtype;
BEGIN
  log_start('apex_get_pk');

  IF APEX_APPLICATION.g_request = 'COPY' THEN

    rv.emp_id := v(p||'COPY_EMP_ID');

  ELSE

    rv.emp_id     := nv(p||'EMP_ID');
    rv.version_id := nv(p||'VERSION_ID');

  END IF;

  log_end;
  RETURN rv;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END apex_get_pk;

/*******************************************************************************
                               PUBLIC INTERFACE
*******************************************************************************/

PROCEDURE load IS
  p  VARCHAR2(10) := 'P' || UTIL.apex_page_id || '_';
  rv EMPS$TAPI.rvtype;
  r  EMPS$TAPI.rowtype;
BEGIN
  log_start('load');

  UTIL.check_authorization('Reporting');

  rv := apex_get_pk;
  r := EMPS$TAPI.get (emp_id => rv.emp_id);

  IF APEX_APPLICATION.g_request = 'COPY' THEN

    r := EMPS$TAPI.copy(r);

  END IF;

  apex_set (r => r);

  log_end;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END load;

PROCEDURE val IS
  p             VARCHAR2(10) := 'P' || UTIL.apex_page_id || '_';
  rv            EMPS$TAPI.rvtype;
  dummy         VARCHAR2(32767);
  item_name_map UTIL.str_map;
BEGIN
  log_start('val');

  IF APEX_APPLICATION.g_request = 'CREATE'
  OR APEX_APPLICATION.g_request LIKE 'SAVE%' THEN

    rv := apex_get;

    UTIL.pre_val
      (label_map     => EMPS$TAPI.label_map
      ,item_name_map => item_name_map);

    dummy := EMPS$TAPI.val (rv => rv);

    UTIL.post_val;

  END IF;

  log_end;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END val;

PROCEDURE process IS
  p  VARCHAR2(10) := 'P' || UTIL.apex_page_id || '_';
  rv EMPS$TAPI.rvtype;
  r  EMPS$TAPI.rowtype;
BEGIN
  log_start('process');

  UTIL.check_authorization('Operator');

  CASE
  WHEN APEX_APPLICATION.g_request = 'CREATE' THEN

    rv := apex_get;

    r := EMPS$TAPI.ins (rv => rv);

    apex_set (r => r);

    UTIL.success('Emp created.');

  WHEN APEX_APPLICATION.g_request LIKE 'SAVE%' THEN

    rv := apex_get;

    r := EMPS$TAPI.upd (rv => rv);

    apex_set (r => r);
    UTIL.success('Emp updated.'
      || CASE WHEN APEX_APPLICATION.g_request = 'SAVE_COPY'
         THEN ' Ready to create new emp.'
         END);

  WHEN APEX_APPLICATION.g_request = 'DELETE' THEN

    rv := apex_get_pk;

    EMPS$TAPI.del (rv => rv);

    UTIL.clear_page_cache;

    UTIL.success('Emp deleted.');

  END CASE;

  log_end;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END process;

END EMPS$APEX;

Now, given the above package, we can create an APEX page that allows users to view, create, update, copy and delete a record from the EMPS table, using all the features provided by our TAPI.

  1. Create Page, select Form, select Form on a Table or view, select the table EMPS.
  2. Accept the defaults, or change them to taste, and click Next, Next.
  3. On the Primary Key wizard step, change type to Select Primary Key Column(s) and it should pick up the EMP_ID column automatically. Click Next.*
  4. For Source Type, leave the default (Existing trigger).** Click Next, Next, Next.
  5. For Branching, enter page numbers as required. Click Next, then Create.

* the APEX API and Table API generator also handles tables with no surrogate key by using ROWID instead; in this case, you would leave the default option selected (Managed by Database (ROWID)) here.
** note however that our TAPI will handle the sequence generation, not a trigger.

The page should look something like this:

Notice that it has created a Fetch Row from EMPS process for when the page is loaded, as well as the Process Row of EMPS and reset page processes for when the page is submitted. It has also created a few validations.

Notice also that all the items are named consistently with the column names; this is important as my APEX API package generator relies on this one-to-one mapping. You can, of course, add additional non-database items to the page – they won’t be affected by the generator unless the table is altered with columns that match.

Now, this page will work fine, except that it bypasses our TAPI. To change the page so that it uses our TAPI instead, edit the page as follows:

  1. Delete all the Fetch Row from EMPS, Process Row of EMPS and reset page processes.
  2. Delete all the validations.
  3. For all the page items, set Source Type to Null. In Apex 5 this is easy – just Ctrl+Click each item, then make the change to all of them in one step!
  4. Make the audit column items (CREATED_BY, CREATED_DT, LAST_UPDATED_BY, LAST_UPDATED_DT) Display Only.
  5. Make the VERSION_ID item Hidden.
  6. Under Pre-Rendering, add an After Header process that calls EMPS$APEX.load;.
  7. In the Page Processing tab, under Validating, add a validation with Type = PL/SQL Function (returning Error Text).
  8. Set the PL/SQL Function Body Returning Error Text to EMPS$APEX.val; RETURN null;.
  9. Set Error Message to “bla” (this is a mandatory field but is never used – I think this is a small bug in Apex 5).
  10. Under Processing, add a process that calls EMPS$APEX.process;.
  11. Set Error Message to #SQLERRM_TEXT#.

Run the page – you should find that it works just as well as before, with all the TAPI goodness working behind the scenes. Even the validations work, and they will point at the right items on the page.

But that’s not all! You can easily add a useful “Copy” function that your users will thank you for because (depending on the use case) it can reduce the amount of typing they have to do.

  1. Add a button to the region, named SAVE_COPY (this name is important) with the label Copy. Tip: if you want an icon set the Icon CSS Classes to fa-copy.
  2. Add a hidden item named after the PK item prefixed with “COPY_”, e.g. P14_COPY_EMP_ID.
  3. Under After Processing, add a Branch that goes to this same page (e.g. 14, in this example).
  4. On the branch, set Request (under Advanced) to COPY and assign &P14_EMP_ID. to the item P14_COPY_EMP_ID.
  5. Set When Button Pressed to SAVE_COPY.
  6. Change the order of the branches so that the Copy branch is evaluated before the other branches (see below)

Now, when they click Copy, the page will first save any changes they had made to the record, then go back to the same page with a copy of all the details from the original record. The user can then edit the new record and Create it if they so desire, or Cancel.

An advantage of this design is that, if you want to add a validation that applies whether someone is updating the table from APEX or from some other UI or interface, you can add it in one place – the TAPI (specifically, you would add it to the TAPI template). If you add a column, just add an item to the APEX page and regenerate the TAPI and Apex API. It’s a nice DRY-compliant solution.

Addendum: you may be wondering why we need a P14_COPY_EMP_ID item, instead of simply reusing the P14_EMP_ID item that’s already there. The reason for this is that after saving a copied record, in some cases we may want to copy some or all the child records from the original record to the copy, or do some other operation that needs both the old and the new ID.

Source code/download: https://github.com/jeffreykemp/jk64-sample-apex-xapi


TAPI Generator MkII

The last few weeks I’ve made quite a few improvements to my TAPI generator which I thought I’d share. I’ve also added an Apex API generator which generates code suitable for interfacing between simple Apex applications and my TAPIs. This reduces the volume of PL/SQL required within Apex to a bare minimum.

  • Templates are now defined in a package spec, so they are easier to edit in a tool with syntax highlighting (more or less)
  • Most dynamic code generation is defined within the template using a simple syntax
  • Makes inferences from schema metadata to generate code, including some guesses based on object and column naming conventions.
  • Ability to insert table-specific code into the template so that it is retained after re-generating the TAPI.
  • As much as possible, allow generated code to follow my preferred code formatting rules as possible.
  • The Table API (“TAPI”) package defines two record types; one (rowtype) is based on the table, the other (rvtype) uses mostly VARCHAR2(4000) columns in order to hold a pre-validated record.

Assumptions

My generator makes the following assumptions:

  • All tables and columns are named non-case-sensitive, i.e. no double-quote delimiters required.
  • (APEX API) All columns are max 26 chars long (in order to accommodate the Apex “P99_…” naming convention)
  • (APEX API) Table has no more than 1 CLOB, 1 BLOB and 1 XMLTYPE column (in order to support conversion to/from Apex collections)

If any of the above do not hold true, the TAPI will probably need to be manually adjusted to work. All TAPIs generated should be reviewed prior to use anyway.

Example

For example, given the following schema:

CREATE TABLE emps
  (emp_id       NUMBER NOT NULL
  ,name         VARCHAR2(100 CHAR) NOT NULL
  ,emp_type     VARCHAR2(20 CHAR) DEFAULT 'SALARIED' NOT NULL
  ,start_date   DATE NOT NULL
  ,end_date     DATE
  ,dummy_ts     TIMESTAMP(6)
  ,dummy_tsz    TIMESTAMP(6) WITH TIME ZONE
  ,life_history CLOB
  ,CONSTRAINT emps_pk PRIMARY KEY ( emp_id )
  ,CONSTRAINT emps_name_uk UNIQUE ( name )
  ,CONSTRAINT emp_type_ck
     CHECK ( emp_type IN ('SALARIED','CONTRACTOR')
  );
CREATE SEQUENCE emp_id_seq;

I can run this:

BEGIN GENERATE.tapi('emps'); END;
/

This generates the following package (I’ve removed large portions, the full version is linked below):

create or replace PACKAGE EMPS$TAPI AS
/**********************************************************
 Table API for emps
 10-FEB-2016 - Generated by SAMPLE
**********************************************************/ 

SUBTYPE rowtype IS emps%ROWTYPE; 

TYPE arraytype IS TABLE OF rowtype INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER; 

TYPE rvtype IS RECORD
  (emp_id       emps.emp_id%TYPE
  ,name         VARCHAR2(4000)
  ,emp_type     VARCHAR2(4000)
  ,start_date   VARCHAR2(4000)
  ,end_date     VARCHAR2(4000)
  ,dummy_ts     VARCHAR2(4000)
  ,dummy_tsz    VARCHAR2(4000)
  ,life_history emps.life_history%TYPE
  ,version_id   emps.version_id%TYPE
  ); 

TYPE rvarraytype IS TABLE OF rvtype INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER; 

-- validate the row (returns an error message if invalid)
FUNCTION val (rv IN rvtype) RETURN VARCHAR2; 

-- insert a row
FUNCTION ins (rv IN rvtype) RETURN rowtype; 

-- insert multiple rows, array may be sparse
-- returns no. records inserted
FUNCTION bulk_ins (arr IN rvarraytype) RETURN NUMBER; 

$if false $then/*need to grant DBMS_CRYPTO*/
-- generate a hash for the record
FUNCTION hash (r IN rowtype) RETURN VARCHAR2;
$end

...

END EMPS$TAPI;
create or replace PACKAGE BODY EMPS$TAPI AS
/**********************************************************
 Table API for emps
 10-FEB-2016 - Generated by SAMPLE
**********************************************************/ 

FUNCTION val (rv IN rvtype) RETURN VARCHAR2 IS
  -- Validates the record but without reference to any other rows or tables
  -- (i.e. avoid any queries in here).
  -- Unique and referential integrity should be validated via suitable db
  -- constraints (violations will be raised when the ins/upd/del is attempted).
  -- Complex cross-record validations should usually be performed by a XAPI
  -- prior to the call to the TAPI.
BEGIN
  log_start('val'); 

  UTIL.val_not_null (val => rv.name, column_name => 'NAME');
  UTIL.val_not_null (val => rv.emp_type, column_name => 'EMP_TYPE');
  UTIL.val_not_null (val => rv.start_date, column_name => 'START_DATE'); 

  UTIL.val_max_len (val => rv.name, len => 100, column_name => 'NAME');
  UTIL.val_max_len (val => rv.emp_type, len => 20, column_name => 'EMP_TYPE');
  UTIL.val_date (val => rv.start_date, column_name => 'START_DATE');
  UTIL.val_date (val => rv.end_date, column_name => 'END_DATE');
  UTIL.val_timestamp (val => rv.dummy_ts, column_name => 'DUMMY_TS');
  UTIL.val_timestamp_tz (val => rv.dummy_tsz, column_name => 'DUMMY_TSZ'); 

  --TODO: add more validations if necessary 

  log_end;
  RETURN UTIL.first_error;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END val; 

FUNCTION ins (rv IN rvtype) RETURN rowtype IS
  r         rowtype;
  error_msg VARCHAR2(32767);
BEGIN
  log_start('ins'); 

  error_msg := val (rv => rv); 

  IF error_msg IS NOT NULL THEN
    raise_error(error_msg);
  END IF; 

  INSERT INTO emps
        (emp_id
        ,name
        ,emp_type
        ,start_date
        ,end_date
        ,dummy_ts
        ,dummy_tsz
        ,life_history)
  VALUES(emp_id_seq.NEXTVAL
        ,rv.name
        ,rv.emp_type
        ,UTIL.date_val(rv.start_date)
        ,UTIL.date_val(rv.end_date)
        ,UTIL.timestamp_val(rv.dummy_ts)
        ,UTIL.timestamp_tz_val(rv.dummy_tsz)
        ,rv.life_history)
  RETURNING
         emp_id
        ,name
        ,emp_type
        ,start_date
        ,end_date
        ,dummy_ts
        ,dummy_tsz
        ,life_history
        ,created_by
        ,created_dt
        ,last_updated_by
        ,last_updated_dt
        ,version_id
  INTO   r.emp_id
        ,r.name
        ,r.emp_type
        ,r.start_date
        ,r.end_date
        ,r.dummy_ts
        ,r.dummy_tsz
        ,r.life_history
        ,r.created_by
        ,r.created_dt
        ,r.last_updated_by
        ,r.last_updated_dt
        ,r.version_id; 

  msg('INSERT emps: ' || SQL%ROWCOUNT); 

  log_end;
  RETURN r;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN DUP_VAL_ON_INDEX THEN
    UTIL.raise_dup_val_on_index;
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END ins; 

FUNCTION bulk_ins (arr IN rvarraytype) RETURN NUMBER IS
  rowcount NUMBER;
BEGIN
  log_start('bulk_ins'); 

  bulk_val(arr); 

  FORALL i IN INDICES OF arr
    INSERT INTO emps
           (emp_id
           ,name
           ,emp_type
           ,start_date
           ,end_date
           ,dummy_ts
           ,dummy_tsz
           ,life_history)
    VALUES (emp_id_seq.NEXTVAL
           ,arr(i).name
           ,arr(i).emp_type
           ,UTIL.date_val(arr(i).start_date)
           ,UTIL.date_val(arr(i).end_date)
           ,UTIL.timestamp_val(arr(i).dummy_ts)
           ,UTIL.timestamp_tz_val(arr(i).dummy_tsz)
           ,arr(i).life_history); 

  rowcount := SQL%ROWCOUNT; 

  msg('INSERT emps: ' || rowcount); 

  log_end('rowcount=' || rowcount);
  RETURN rowcount;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN DUP_VAL_ON_INDEX THEN
    UTIL.raise_dup_val_on_index;
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END bulk_ins; 

$if false $then/*need to grant DBMS_CRYPTO*/
FUNCTION hash (r IN rowtype) RETURN VARCHAR2 IS
  sep    CONSTANT VARCHAR2(1) := '|';
  digest CLOB;
  ret    RAW(2000);
BEGIN
  log_start('hash'); 

  digest := digest || sep || r.emp_id;
  digest := digest || sep || r.name;
  digest := digest || sep || r.emp_type;
  digest := digest || sep || TO_CHAR(r.start_date, UTIL.DATE_FORMAT);
  digest := digest || sep || TO_CHAR(r.end_date, UTIL.DATE_FORMAT);
  digest := digest || sep || TO_CHAR(r.dummy_ts, UTIL.TIMESTAMP_FORMAT);
  digest := digest || sep || TO_CHAR(r.dummy_tsz, UTIL.TIMESTAMP_TZ_FORMAT); 

  ret := DBMS_CRYPTO.hash(digest, DBMS_CRYPTO.hash_sh1); 

  log_end(ret);
  RETURN ret;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END hash;
$end

...

END EMPS$TAPI;

Example Template

The following is a template which provides the source used to generate the above TAPI. The syntax may look very strange, but if you read on you can read my explanation of the syntax below. My goal was not to invent an all-singing all-dancing general-purpose syntax for code generation – but to have “just enough” expressive power to generate the kind of code I require.

create or replace PACKAGE TEMPLATES AS
$if false $then
<%TEMPLATE TAPI_PACKAGE_SPEC>
CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE #TAPI# AS
/**********************************************************
 Table API for #table#
 #SYSDATE# - Generated by #USER#
**********************************************************/
<%IF EVENTS>
/*Repeat Types*/
DAILY    CONSTANT VARCHAR2(100) := 'DAILY';
WEEKLY   CONSTANT VARCHAR2(100) := 'WEEKLY';
MONTHLY  CONSTANT VARCHAR2(100) := 'MONTHLY';
ANNUALLY CONSTANT VARCHAR2(100) := 'ANNUALLY';
<%END IF>
SUBTYPE rowtype IS #table#%ROWTYPE;

TYPE arraytype IS TABLE OF rowtype INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;

TYPE rvtype IS RECORD
  (<%COLUMNS EXCLUDING AUDIT INCLUDING ROWID,EVENTS.REPEAT_IND>
   #col#--- VARCHAR2(4000)~
   #col#--- #table#.#col#%TYPE{ID}~
   #col#--- #table#.#col#%TYPE{LOB}~
   #col#--- VARCHAR2(20){ROWID}~
   #col#--- VARCHAR2(1){EVENTS.REPEAT_IND}~
  ,<%END>
  );

TYPE rvarraytype IS TABLE OF rvtype INDEX BY BINARY_INTEGER;

-- validate the row (returns an error message if invalid)
FUNCTION val (rv IN rvtype) RETURN VARCHAR2;

-- insert a row
FUNCTION ins (rv IN rvtype) RETURN rowtype;

-- insert multiple rows, array may be sparse; returns no. records inserted
FUNCTION bulk_ins (arr IN rvarraytype) RETURN NUMBER;

...

<%IF DBMS_CRYPTO><%ELSE>$if false $then/*need to grant DBMS_CRYPTO*/<%END IF>
-- generate a hash for the record
FUNCTION hash (r IN rowtype) RETURN VARCHAR2;
<%IF DBMS_CRYPTO><%ELSE>$end<%END IF>

END #TAPI#;
<%END TEMPLATE>

<%TEMPLATE TAPI_PACKAGE_BODY>
CREATE OR REPLACE PACKAGE BODY #TAPI# AS
/**********************************************************
 Table API for #table#
 #SYSDATE# - Generated by #USER#
**********************************************************/

FUNCTION val (rv IN rvtype) RETURN VARCHAR2 IS
  -- Validates the record but without reference to any other rows or tables
  -- (i.e. avoid any queries in here).
  -- Unique and referential integrity should be validated via suitable db
  -- constraints (violations will be raised when the ins/upd/del is attempted).
  -- Complex cross-record validations should usually be performed by a XAPI
  -- prior to the call to the TAPI.
BEGIN
  log_start('val');

  <%COLUMNS EXCLUDING GENERATED,SURROGATE_KEY,NULLABLE>
  UTIL.val_not_null (val => rv.#col#, column_name => '#COL#');~
  <%END>
  <%IF EVENTS>
  IF rv.repeat_ind = 'Y' THEN
    UTIL.val_not_null (val => rv.repeat, column_name => 'REPEAT');
    UTIL.val_not_null (val => rv.repeat_interval, column_name => 'REPEAT_INTERVAL');
  END IF;
  <%END IF>
  <%COLUMNS EXCLUDING GENERATED,SURROGATE_KEY,LOBS INCLUDING EVENTS.REPEAT_IND>
  UTIL.val_ind (val => rv.#col#, column_name => '#COL#');{IND}~
  UTIL.val_yn (val => rv.#col#, column_name => '#COL#');{YN}~
  UTIL.val_max_len (val => rv.#col#, len => #MAXLEN#, column_name => '#COL#');{VARCHAR2}~
  UTIL.val_numeric (val => rv.#col#, column_name => '#COL#');{NUMBER}~
  UTIL.val_date (val => rv.#col#, column_name => '#COL#');{DATE}~
  UTIL.val_datetime (val => rv.#col#, column_name => '#COL#');{DATETIME}~
  UTIL.val_timestamp (val => rv.#col#, column_name => '#COL#');{TIMESTAMP}~
  UTIL.val_timestamp_tz (val => rv.#col#, column_name => '#COL#');{TIMESTAMP_TZ}~
  UTIL.val_integer (val => rv.#col#, range_low => 1, column_name => '#COL#');{EVENTS.REPEAT_INTERVAL}~
  UTIL.val_domain
    (val          => rv.#col#
    ,valid_values => t_str_array(DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, ANNUALLY)
    ,column_name  => '#COL#');{EVENTS.REPEAT}~
  ~
  <%END>
  <%IF EVENTS>
  UTIL.val_datetime_range
    (start_dt => rv.start_dt
    ,end_dt   => rv.end_dt
    ,label    => 'Event Date/Time Range');
  <%END IF>
  <%IF EVENT_TYPES>
  UTIL.val_cond
    (cond        => rv.event_type = UPPER(rv.event_type)
    ,msg         => 'Event Type Code must be all uppercase'
    ,column_name => 'EVENT_TYPE');
  UTIL.val_cond
    (cond        => rv.event_type = TRANSLATE(rv.event_type,'X -:','X___')
    ,msg         => 'Event Type Code cannot include spaces, dashes (-) or colons (:)'
    ,column_name => 'EVENT_TYPE');
  UTIL.val_date_range
    (start_date => rv.start_date
    ,end_date   => rv.end_date
    ,label      => 'Event Types Date Range');
  <%END IF>
  --TODO: add more validations if necessary

  log_end;
  RETURN UTIL.first_error;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END val;

FUNCTION ins (rv IN rvtype) RETURN rowtype IS
  r         rowtype;
  error_msg VARCHAR2(32767);
BEGIN
  log_start('ins');

  error_msg := val (rv => rv);

  IF error_msg IS NOT NULL THEN
    raise_error(error_msg);
  END IF;

  INSERT INTO #table#
        (<%COLUMNS EXCLUDING GENERATED>
        #col#~
        ,<%END>)
  VALUES(<%COLUMNS EXCLUDING GENERATED>
         #seq#.NEXTVAL{SURROGATE_KEY}~
         rv.#col#~
         UTIL.num_val(rv.#col#){NUMBER}~
         UTIL.date_val(rv.#col#){DATE}~
         UTIL.datetime_val(rv.#col#){DATETIME}~
         UTIL.timestamp_val(rv.#col#){TIMESTAMP}~
         UTIL.timestamp_tz_val(rv.#col#){TIMESTAMP_TZ}~
        ,<%END>)
  RETURNING
         <%COLUMNS INCLUDING VIRTUAL>
         #col#~
        ,<%END>
  INTO   <%COLUMNS INCLUDING VIRTUAL>
         r.#col#~
        ,<%END>;

  msg('INSERT #table#: ' || SQL%ROWCOUNT);

  log_end;
  RETURN r;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN DUP_VAL_ON_INDEX THEN
    UTIL.raise_dup_val_on_index;
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END ins;

FUNCTION bulk_ins (arr IN rvarraytype) RETURN NUMBER IS
  rowcount NUMBER;
BEGIN
  log_start('bulk_ins');

  bulk_val(arr);

  FORALL i IN INDICES OF arr
    INSERT INTO #table#
           (<%COLUMNS EXCLUDING GENERATED>
            #col#~
           ,<%END>)
    VALUES (<%COLUMNS EXCLUDING GENERATED>
            #seq#.NEXTVAL{SURROGATE_KEY}~
            arr(i).#col#~
            UTIL.num_val(arr(i).#col#){NUMBER}~
            UTIL.date_val(arr(i).#col#){DATE}~
            UTIL.datetime_val(arr(i).#col#){DATETIME}~
            UTIL.timestamp_val(arr(i).#col#){TIMESTAMP}~
            UTIL.timestamp_tz_val(arr(i).#col#){TIMESTAMP_TZ}~
           ,<%END>);

  rowcount := SQL%ROWCOUNT;

  msg('INSERT #table#: ' || rowcount);

  log_end('rowcount=' || rowcount);
  RETURN rowcount;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN DUP_VAL_ON_INDEX THEN
    UTIL.raise_dup_val_on_index;
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END bulk_ins;

<%IF DBMS_CRYPTO><%ELSE>$if false $then/*need to grant DBMS_CRYPTO*/<%END IF>
FUNCTION hash (r IN rowtype) RETURN VARCHAR2 IS
  sep    CONSTANT VARCHAR2(1) := '|';
  digest CLOB;
  ret    RAW(2000);
BEGIN
  log_start('hash');

  <%COLUMNS EXCLUDING GENERATED,LOBS>
  digest := digest || sep || r.#col#;~
  digest := digest || sep || TO_CHAR(r.#col#, UTIL.DATE_FORMAT);{DATE}~
  digest := digest || sep || TO_CHAR(r.#col#, UTIL.DATETIME_FORMAT);{DATETIME}~
  digest := digest || sep || TO_CHAR(r.#col#, UTIL.TIMESTAMP_FORMAT);{TIMESTAMP}~
  digest := digest || sep || TO_CHAR(r.#col#, UTIL.TIMESTAMP_TZ_FORMAT);{TIMESTAMP_TZ}~
  <%END>

  ret := DBMS_CRYPTO.hash(digest, DBMS_CRYPTO.hash_sh1);

  log_end(ret);
  RETURN ret;
EXCEPTION
  WHEN UTIL.application_error THEN
    log_end('application_error');
    RAISE;
  WHEN OTHERS THEN
    UTIL.log_sqlerrm;
    RAISE;
END hash;
<%IF DBMS_CRYPTO><%ELSE>$end<%END IF>

END #TAPI#;
<%END TEMPLATE>

$end
END TEMPLATES;

Template Syntax

You may be wondering what all the <%bla> and #bla# tags mean. These are the controlling elements for my code generator.

All template code is embedded within $if false $then ... $end so that the template package spec can be compiled without error in the schema, while still allowing most syntax highlighters to make the template easy to read and edit. This source is then read by the generator from the TEMPLATES database package.

Each template within the TEMPLATES package is delineated by the following structural codes, each of which must appear at the start of a line:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%TEMPLATE template_name&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
...
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END TEMPLATE&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Anything in the TEMPLATES package not within these structural elements is ignored by the generator.

Some simple placeholders are supported anywhere in a template:

  • #SYSDATE# – Today’s date in DD-MON-YYYY format
  • #TABLE# – Table name in uppercase
  • #table# – Table name in lowercase
  • #USER# – User name who executed the procedure
  • #Entity# – User-friendly name based on table name, singular (e.g. EVENTS -> Event)
  • #Entities# – User-friendly name based on table name
  • #TAPI# – Table API package name
  • #APEXAPI# – Apex API package name
  • \n – Insert a linefeed (not often required, since actual linefeeds in the template are usually retained)

These are all case-sensitive; in some cases an UPPERCASE, lowercase and Initcap version is supported for a placeholder.

Code portions that are only required in certain cases may be surrounded with the IF/ELSE/END IF structure:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%IF condition&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
   ...
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%ELSE&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
   ...
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END IF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Currently the list of conditions are limited to LOBS (true if the table has any LOB-type columns), ROWID (true if the table does NOT have a surrogate key (i.e. a primary key matched by name to a sequence), or the name of a table (useful to have some code that is only generated for a specific table), or the name of a DBMS_xxx package (useful to have code that is only generated if the owner has been granted EXECUTE on the named DBMS_xxx package).

To negate a condition, simply leave the first part of the IF/ELSE part empty, e.g.:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%IF LOBS&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%ELSE&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; /*this table has no LOBS*/ &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END IF&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Code portions that need to be repeated for each column (or a subset of columns) in the table use the COLUMNS structure:

(&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
 #col#--- =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :#COL#~
,&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;)

The COLUMNS structure looks very weird and might take a while to get used to, but basically it contains a list of sub-templates, delimited by tildes (~). The first sub-template (e.g. #col#--- => :#COL#) is used for each column, and the second sub-template (e.g. ,) is inserted between each column (if there is more than one column). In the above example, our emps table would result in the following generated:

(emp_id       =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :EMP_ID
,name         =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :NAME
,emp_type     =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :EMP_TYPE
,start_date   =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :START_DATE
,end_date     =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :END_DATE
,dummy_ts     =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :DUMMY_TS
,dummy_tsz    =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :DUMMY_TSZ
,life_history =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :LIFE_HISTORY)

Notice that #col# is replaced with the column name in lowercase, and #COL# is replaced with the column name in uppercase. In addition, the --- is a special code that causes the generator to insert additional spaces so that the code is aligned vertically. Notice also that the second sub-template (the separator bit with the comma) also includes a carriage return (after ~ and before ,). If we had instead used the following template:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
#col#--- =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :#COL#~,&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

This would have been the result:

emp_id       =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :EMP_ID,name         =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :NAME,emp_type     =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :EMP_TYPE,start_date   =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :START_DATE,end_date     =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :END_DATE,dummy_ts     =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :DUMMY_TS,dummy_tsz    =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :DUMMY_TSZ,life_history =&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; :LIFE_HISTORY

The generator gives you a great deal of control over which columns are included. The COLUMNS structure supports three optional clauses: INCLUDING, EXCLUDING and ONLY.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (all columns in the table, EXCEPT for virtual columns)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS INCLUDING VIRTUAL&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (all columns in the table, including virtual columns)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS EXCLUDING PK&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (all columns except for Primary Key columns)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS EXCLUDING LOBS&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (all columns except for LOB-type columns)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS EXCLUDING EMPS.NAME&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (all columns - except for the specified column)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS EXCLUDING AUDIT&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (all columns except for the audit columns such as CREATED_BY, etc.)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS ONLY PK&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (only Primary Key columns)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS ONLY PK,NAME&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (only Primary Key columns and columns named NAME)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS INCLUDING ROWID&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (all columns in the table, plus the pseudocolumn ROWID)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS INCLUDING MADEUPNAME&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (all columns in the table, plus a fake column)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS INCLUDING EMPS.MADEUPNAME&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (all columns in the table, plus a fake column for the specified table)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS ONLY SURROGATE_KEY,VERSION_ID INCLUDING ROWID&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
  (multiple criteria may be combined)
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Within a sub-template the following placeholders are recognised:

  • #COL# – column name in uppercase
  • #col# – column name in lowercase
  • #Label# – generated user-friendly label based on column name
  • #MAXLEN# – max length for a CHAR-type column
  • #DATA_DEFAULT# – column default value
  • #SEQ# – surrogate key sequence name
  • #00i# – 001, 002, 003 etc. in order of column id
  • --- – padding (inserts just enough extra spaces depending on length of column name so that code is aligned vertically)

For example, the following generates a comma-delimited list of user-friendly labels for each column in the table:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;#Label#~, &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
Emp, Name, Emp Type, Start, End, Dummy, Dummy, Life History

Side Note: it’s noteworthy that I have no need for a “#datatype#” placeholder; in most cases my templates will anchor to the column’s datatype anyway, so a template just needs to use #col#%TYPE.

Multiple additional sub-templates may be provided within a <%COLUMNS> structure, to be used for certain columns. These must end with a {X} indicator, where X can be a data type or column name. Other indicators are supported for special cases as well.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%COLUMNS&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;
Default subtemplate                       ~
ID column                                 {ID}~
NUMBER column                             {NUMBER}~
Date/time column                          {DATETIME}~
Date column                               {DATE}~
Timestamp column                          {TIMESTAMP}~
Timestamp with time zone                  {TIMESTAMP_TZ}~
Indicator (Y or null) column              {IND}~
Yes/No (Y or N) column                    {YN}~
Any other VARCHAR2 column                 {VARCHAR2}~
Any LOB-type column (e.g. BLOB, CLOB)     {LOB}~
Any specific datatype                     {CLOB}~
Primary key matched to a sequence         {SURROGATE_KEY}~
Special case for a specific column        {TABLE.COLUMN}~
Extra code to be used if NO columns match {NONE}~
,&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%END&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

The “data type” for a column is usually just the data type from the schema data dictionary; however, there are some special cases where a special data type is derived from the column name:

  • ID: a NUMBER column with a name ending with _ID
  • DATETIME: a DATE column with name ending with _DT
  • IND: a VARCHAR2 column with a name ending with _IND
  • YN: a VARCHAR2 column with a name ending with _YN

Within a template it is possible to import the code from another template (e.g. to share code between multiple templates, or to facilitate a nested-IF structure) using this structure:

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;%INCLUDE OTHERTEMPLATE&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

This will cause the generator to find a template named OTHERTEMPLATE, evaluate it, then insert it at the given position.

This method has allowed my code generator to be quite flexible and powerful, makes it easy to add additional code to all my API packages and other generated code, and makes it easy to find and fix errors.

You can download all the source for the template and generator below. Note that a new Sample Apex application is included (f560.sql) which works in Apex 5 and uses the new Apex API. Disclaimer:This is a work in progress!

If you find it useful or you have suggestions for improvement please comment.

Source code/download: https://github.com/jeffreykemp/jk64-sample-apex-xapi


Refresh APEX Calendar

calendarwithrefreshbutton.PNG
Sometimes it’s the simple little things that can add polish and make your Apex application shine. One simple little thing that you can do is add a Refresh button to improve the usability of your Apex 5 calendar. This makes it easy for the user to see recent changes on the database, e.g. if events had been added or changed since the page had last been loaded.

  1. Set the Static ID on the Calendar region (e.g. “eventscalendar“)
  2. Add an Icon button (Button Template = “Icon”) to the calendar region
  3. Set the button’s Static ID (e.g. “refreshbutton“)
  4. Set Icon CSS Classes to “fa-refresh
  5. Set Action to “Defined by Dynamic Action”
  6. (optional) Set Template Option -> Style to “Remove UI Decoration”
  7. Add a Dynamic Action to the button, Event = “Click”
  8. Set Fire on Page Load to “No”
  9. Add a True Action “Execute Javascript Code” with the code below:
$("#eventscalendar_calendar").fullCalendar("refetchEvents");

This calls the refetchEvents method of the FullCalendar object. Replace the “eventscalendar” part of the id with whatever static ID you set on the Calendar region in step #1.

Now, to add a bit of pizzazz you can get the refresh button icon to spin while the calendar is being refreshed. To do this, change the dynamic action code to this instead:

$("#refreshbutton span.t-Icon").addClass("fa-spin");
window.setTimeout(function() {
  $("#eventscalendar_calendar").fullCalendar("refetchEvents");
  window.setTimeout(function() {
    $("#refreshbutton span.t-Icon").removeClass("fa-spin");
  }, 1000);
}, 50);

This code starts the refresh icon spinning before invoking refetchEvents, then stops the icon spinning after it has completed. Note that these are done via timeouts (otherwise the icon isn’t repainted until after the entire javascript function has completed). I added a wait of 1 second prior to stopping the spinning because most of the time the refresh is too quick to notice the spinning effect.

You can, if it makes sense in your case, also make the calendar automatically refresh itself periodically, using some simple javascript: add the following function to the page Function and Global Variable Declaration:

function refreshCalendar() {
  $("#refreshbutton span.t-Icon").addClass("fa-spin");
  window.setTimeout(function() {
    $("#eventscalendar_calendar").fullCalendar("refetchEvents");
    window.setTimeout(function() {
      $("#refreshbutton span.t-Icon").removeClass("fa-spin");
    }, 1000);
  }, 50);
}

Then add this to start the timer in the page attribute Execute when Page Loads:

var periodicrefresh = setInterval(function() {
                                    refreshCalendar();
                                  }, 30000);

In this example, I’ve set the timer to go off every 30 seconds. Not only does it refresh the calendar, but the user gets feedback on what’s going on because the refresh button icon is spinning. Be careful not to set the timeout too low, or else your database could get very busy!

The function I’ve declared can now also be reused by the button’s dynamic action, so I can replace the DA javascript with simply:

refreshCalendar();