APEX vs PHP hosting cost

Am new to APEX so please pardon the ignorance. Am trying to decide on a platform for a small application i have to build for a potential client.
As a long time Oracle developer, I was able to pickup APEX very quickly and was excited at the prospect of not having to learn a new language like PHP.
However, hosting services for APEX applications seem to be extremely costly compared to PHP/MySQL.
How are organizations able to justify the cost ? Or am I missing something ?
Thanks

I have some sympathy here. I help run a dog training school. We are all volunteers, we make no money and we all have day jobs.
I want to put some of the training schedules, notes and class lists on the web so that the instructors don't have to keep their own manual notes. I'm paying £6 per year to host my mySQL database and PHP.
However my heart is broken with the thing. I have a day job, and I can't spend the time on it. Yes there are tools out there that can help generate the code, but nothing compares to what APEX can do. I just can't be bothered coding all the HTML and PHP. Then I've got to make sure it's secure, ugh!
However for a 12 person system I can't go and ask them all to help pay for APEX hosting.
If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. Maybe if someone from Oracle is listening they could alter the terms of using apex.oracle.com so I could host the app there, I don't mind backing it up myself, it will only change a couple of times a week. Make it that no person identifiable data is loaded and that it can't be used for commerical purposes. Think of the take up it could bring to APEX.

Similar Messages

APEX vs PHP

Hello everyone,
I'm about to start an online catalog for schools where teachers upload grades and parents can login-in and see them.It's not very complicated, just a form and a few reports(looking for a nice user-friendly interface).
My friend (and co-worker on this) it's PhP fan, and he knows nothing about Apex(as i don't know much about PhP), so after we lined up all the ideas and ended up chosing a platform.This is our problem!
I love APEX (and i'm pretty good at it) and this would be my favorite. The problem is that he keeps saying that Apex is poor and that lots of top Alexa's sites are Php(Facebook,Wikipedia,etc).
It would be nice if you APEX guru's could give my some arguments to suggest that APEX pawns PhP + MySql.I'm sure that i can make this project in APEX but I really can't find any convincing arguments in front of PhP.
I don't think that pricing is a problem since we won't expect more then 200 visitors at once and 10g XE could make it i hope :).
Kind Regards,
Bogdan Ursea

I've been using APEX for 10 years and I've worked in PHP as well. I've never worked with any PHP frameworks, so it was just pure PHP and MySQL. At the end of the day, PHP is just scripting, like Perl, .Net, Ruby. It's a bunch of code. APEX uses declarative objects like regions, reports, items, validations. You'd have to hand code soooooooo much in PHP that's already built into APEX like every aspect of Interactive Reports, or validations. I'd say you could build an app in APEX that would take you 10 times as long to build in PHP. Have you ever built an app using nothing but the PL/SQL web toolkit (htp.p...)? If so, that's about what it's like in PHP.
What are PHP's strengths? Well it works with any database, one app can go against multiple databases, there are more php / MySQL hosting companies than APEX hosting companies. To be fair, it's a pretty easy language to learn and the code is pretty readable. But again, it's just a bunch of code.
You're not building facebook or wikipedia. For that matter, neither are 99% of the developers in the world. Don't look to their architecture for inspiration. They have to make tradeoffs to support the insane number of concurrent users and data. They do things like using NoSQL databases (MongoDB, etc) that are massively distributed clusters. Even though PHP is plenty scalable for 99% of the web apps out there, facebook needed more speed so they wrote a compiler for it. Their challenges are much different than yours. Your primary challenge is going to be ease of use productivity, which is where APEX shines.
I hope you've considered the security implications of the app you're building. Are you planning on encrypting the data? What type of authentication are you going to do? Make sure you are using session state protection so I can't just change the primary key in the URL and see someone elses grades.
Tyler Muth
http://tylermuth.wordpress.com
"Applied Oracle Security: Developing Secure Database and Middleware Environments": http://sn.im/aos.book

Is the APEX 2.2 hosted on the oracle site only for windows machine

Hi,
Is the APEX 2.2 hosted on the oracle website only for the windows machine.
Can I download the APEX 2.2 s/w for a linux box as well. Kindly let me know
if a linux version is available anywhere else.
Thanks.

Hello,
ApEx is running inside the database, so there is only one version of it, which can be downloaded here - http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/application_express/download.html
The database itself can be run on Linux. You can see all the available versions in here - http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/database/oracle10g/index.html
Regards,
Arie.

APEX or PHP?

How I choose Apex or PHP for Oracle?
What is difference a diapason, programming skillful, product building period time and customizing of these?

Hello,
To seriously answer that question (obviously bearing in mind you're in an APEX forum, so the vast majority of people in here are going to be pro-APEX, myself included), we need to know a lot more about your exact requirements.
For example -
1) Is this a one-off development?
2) Do you already have skills in one (or both) of the tools?
3) What sort of application(s) are you trying to build?
The more information you can give the better really.
John.
http://jes.blogs.shellprompt.net
http://www.apex-evangelists.com

APEX as a hosted solution

Hi,
Are there providers including Oracle who provide APEX as a hosted solution? Where can I get more information on this?
thanks!

There are a few APEX providers I know of (US Based providers that I have dealt with and would deal with again)..
App Hosting : http://www.appshosting.com/
Revion.com : http://www.revion.com/hosting/apex.html *(I HIGHLY recommend this company..)*
Thank you,
Tony Miller
Webster, TX

Estimating Hosting Costs before the site has been designed.

We want to build a site like these Flash sites.
WebKinz, Club Penguin, Toon Town, etc...
How can we estimate what our hosting costs will be if our site hasn't been designed yet. We have user count targets and the general scope and concept of the site. Partners and investors want to feel comfortable about our hosting cost projections. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Thanks

Then maybe you should ask the companies you named. It is higly unlikely anyone here has access to give you better information than what a hosting company can provide. And hosting costs vary from host to host. I would guess that if you can give a hosting company some real numbers as to your usage needs, then they can quote you a price they can stand by.
The bottom line is, this is not a Flash question, it isn't even an Adobe product-related question. So you are better off trying to find applicable resources for the information you seek.

Mix Apex and PHP

Hello,
Do you think thsi approach will work:
1. Linux server running web server with php and oracle CLIENT on it.
This machine will provide interface (shiny one) for end users(customers)
The machine will connect to another machine running Oracle with APEX on it.
2. Pro users(salesmen, etc) will use the apex interface to look at the same customer data.
Basically I want to know if:
1. PHP via oci8 driver can easily modify data within APEX schema.
2. This approach makes sense.
Thanks,
Peter
Edited by: user12251833 on Jul 30, 2010 2:59 PM

Hi Peter,
yes, it is possible to do that. With PHP you can access the same database and same tables as APEX will use in its parsing schema.
If this approach makes sense? I don't know, i probably would use APEX for both UI's, since you can build good looking and end-user-proof Layouts with APEX.
brgds,
Peter
Blog: http://www.oracle-and-apex.com
ApexLib: http://apexlib.oracleapex.info
Work: http://www.click-click.at
Training: http://www.click-click.at/apex-4-0-workshops

Pasar valores a otra Pagina (de Apex a PHP)

Buen día
Tengo una página básica en ápex que captura el valor de dos campos y los debe de pasar a una página PHP pero no encuentro la forma de que estos valores me pasen a la pagina PHP si alguien tiene esto resuelto
Gracias por la Ayuda

Lo termine solucionando el problema era que uno de los includes entraba en conflicto con la pagina de plantilla porque estaba mal editado

Apex hosting

Hi,
I'm in the process of creating a site with Apex that will generate some $'s for the person I'm building the site for. As apex.oracle.com can not be used for commercial sites I will have to find an Apex “ISP”
I’m looking for a hosting plan that can start low, in price, bandwidth etc, and grow as the visitors and needs increase.
I’ve contacted a few of the hosting sites listed on the [Apex hosting page|http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/application_express/html/apex_com_hosting.html] but have not heard from them after 5 days.
Now I know the potential $’s they can earn from me is small, but I do find the long time in replying disturbing. What if my production site is down? Will they then take 5+ days to respond as well?
I also find that some of the sites mentioned on the Apex Hosting page contain no information about the Apex hosting except a short sentence that they do provide it.
Ok that is my gripe out of the way.
Can anybody suggest a reliable affordable, Apex “ISP” ??
Kind regards
Johannes
Ps. I know I’m being cheap but my budget is +/- 7.50 Euro p/m. The guy I’m building the site for just got declared bankrupt and I’m building it for him out of friendship and I wil pay hosting costs for the 1st 2 years.

Jes wrote:
Rob,
Just to clarify, I have nothing to do with Apexskins at all (other than hosting it for the owner), so I'm not sure which themes you're referring to?
Thanks,
John.
Blog: [http://jes.blogs.shellprompt.net]
Work: [http://www.apex-evangelists.com]
Author of Pro Application Express: [http://tinyurl.com/3gu7cd]
REWARDS: Please remember to mark helpful or correct posts on the forum, not just for my answers but for everyone!Hi John,Sorry, I didnt mean to suggest you were. I was just explaining one of my (minor) exasperations when I was looking for some custom themes. Having bought your book - and learnt from many of the constributions you and your co-conspiritor have made here, when I was looking for alternate themes I scanned your website first. I saw this...
^Template Factory^
^Whether you want a completely customised look and feel to your application or you just want a change from the standard built-in themes and templates that are shipped with Application Express, our experienced APEX experts together with our talented graphic designers can come up with the design that suits your needs.^
^You can either give us a specific design or idea to work with, or leave it completely up to us to come up with a unique design for you, alternatively you may wish to use one of our custom designs from our library.^
I like the idea of being able to browse a library and possibly buy. But I was unable to do so on the site. So I looked elsewhere, and as I say, eventually made purchases from both www.apexskins and www.apex-themes. I didnt realise you were the host.
In any case, this was more a case of me being frustrated at not being able to do what I wanted when I wanted, and not meant to be a damning criticism.
Keep up the good work - you and many others in this forum have improved my own skill sets, so thank you!
Cheers,
Rob

PHP and Apex

I like PHP and I like Apex. Is there any chance to see an interaction between the two? I know that it
is possible to link PHP with the Apache server which runs Apex but I am asking for the field addressing
and exchanging the variables between PHP code and PL/SQL code. That would really turn Apex into a
killer app.
Mladen Gogala

Chris, I was thinking about addressing the Apex form fields through PHP. The application in question has to upload some files to Oracle database. The problem is that I need to fetch it first from another machine. That can be easily done with PHP and I would like to be able to address the form fields in Apex from PHP. As for another book, yes, I would like to write one. I've already been putting some ideas on the paper but it is still at the very beginning.

(( APEX host needed - Suggestions? ))

July 29, 2010
Hello,
I am new to APEX.
I am learning APEX with
APEX.ORACLE.COM
I would like to find an INEXPENSIVE APEX HOST--
that is a GOOD HOST.
I would like to spend $10 month.
(Maybe $15 or so if necessary.)
Is it possible to get a GOOD HOST in this price range?
I would like to get FEEDBACK
about HOSTS people are using.
Information like this would help me and a LOT of new
APEX users:
WHAT HOST are you using?
How much are you PAYING?
How GOOD is their SERVICE?
Do they have PHONE SUPPORT?
How fast is their EMAIL / TICKET support?
Is it in the U.S? UK? India? Where?
How much do you LIKE them?
Do they have any MAJOR LIMITATIONS?
Are they RELIABLE?
Is there anything you DON'T LIKE about them?
What do you LIKE MOST about them?
Your answers will help me and A LOT of other people!
Thanks for your help.
I really appreciate it!
DAVID888
Edited by: DAVID888 on Jul 29, 2010 5:49 PM

Hi
We have been using http://www.maxapex.com for last 2 years. Very satisfied. Initially we hosted our Issue Tracking system at MaxApex. After that we hosted several applications for different clients. Everyone satisfied.
Their hosting plan starts with $10/month for 25MB. Support is prompt. They have gone extra mile for us many times if we need anything special. Servers are in US.

Problem with Apex hosted SQL Workspace

Hi,
I am having trouble with using currval on this site in SQL workshop. I have a demo table and have defined a sequence via sql. I successfully insert a sequence_name.nextval but when I try to add a related child record with current value of the sequence I keep getting this:
ORA-08002: sequence ORDERS_ORDER#_SEQ.CURRVAL is not yet defined in this session
I can check on nextval from dual and I can select the currval from dual also but when I try to use the currval in an insert, I get the same error above. Also, sometimes I get the same message even when selecting currval from dual. Seems like a problem with Apex at this hosted site. Or does Apex SQL workshop have issues with currval.
PM

Scott, Can you explain a little more about the difference between a hidden item that is set to display never & the other type of item which I am assuming is "display as text saves state" and display never?
When I viewed the source for both of these I could not see the items in source code.
Also for an item that is passed into a popup I am exposing hidden item's identity is there a different way to pass values... here is my example:

<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">


function popupPage(url) {w = open(url,"winDnsName","Scrollbars=1,resizable=1,width=500,height=450"); if (w.opener == null) w.opener = self; w.focus(); }
//-->
</script>
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">
function callDnsNamePopup (IPId) {
var IPId = document.getElementById('P103_IP_ID').value;
var url;
url = 'f?p=110:106:2066309280674317::::P106_IP_ID:' + IPId;
w = open(url,"winDnsName","Scrollbars=1,resizable=1,width=800,height=600");
if (w.opener == null)
w.opener = self;
w.focus();
</script>

At the same time if I set an item as hidden and display never I cannot use it with a call to a popup...

Windows, Oracle XE & PHP

I have the following code failing to connect to my database even though I can access that database using sqldeveloper as well as apex(http://localhost:8080/apex/)
<?php
    $SGMDBUsername            = "big";
    $SGMDBPassword            = "big";
    $SGMDBName                = "s7s";
// ORACLE_HOME=C:\oraclexe\app\oracle\product\10.2.0\server
//    $conn=oci_connect($SGMDBUsername, $SGMDBPassword, $SGMDBName);
    // The above gives ORA-12514: TNS:listener does not currently know of service requested in connect descriptor
//    $conn=oci_connect($SGMDBUsername, $SGMDBPassword);
    // The above gives ORA-12560: TNS:protocol adapter error
//    $conn = oci_connect($SGMDBUsername, $SGMDBPassword, 'localhost/'.$SGMDBName);
    // The above gives ORA-12514: TNS:listener does not currently know of service requested in connect descriptor
    $conn = oci_connect($SGMDBUsername, $SGMDBPassword, '127.0.0.1/'.$SGMDBName);
    // The above gives ORA-12514: TNS:listener does not currently know of service requested in connect descriptor
    if ( ! $conn )
        $e = oci_error(); // For oci_connect errors pass no handle
//        echo 'Unable to OCILogon to database. '.$e['message'];
        echo $e['message'];
        die();
    echo "Connected!";
?>As you can see I have attempted various ways to connect and have listed the error messages I get from each within the code.
Please tell me how to fix this.

Okay, now what's the value of the SERVICE_NAMES parameter in the database?
Some more information:
//    $conn=oci_connect($SGMDBUsername, $SGMDBPassword, $SGMDBName);
    // The above gives ORA-12514: TNS:listener does not currently know of service requested in connect descriptorYou'll get this error if the SERVICE_NAME in your TNSNAMES.ORA file doesn't match that of the database parameter.
//    $conn=oci_connect($SGMDBUsername, $SGMDBPassword);
    // The above gives ORA-12560: TNS:protocol adapter errorThis uses Oracle's bequeath protocol and only works if the client and server exist on the same machine. If it does, then you are missing additional information like an ORACLE_SID environment variable.
//    $conn = oci_connect($SGMDBUsername, $SGMDBPassword, 'localhost/'.$SGMDBName);
    // The above gives ORA-12514: TNS:listener does not currently know of service requested in connect descriptor
    $conn = oci_connect($SGMDBUsername, $SGMDBPassword, '127.0.0.1/'.$SGMDBName);
    // The above gives ORA-12514: TNS:listener does not currently know of service requested in connect descriptorFor these two you need to enable EZCONNECT by setting the correct value in your SQLNET.AUTHENTICATION_SERVICES parameter in your SQLNET.ORA file. Also your string you passed is not correct either. It should be:
//host:port/service_nameor
host:port/service_name

APEX and Oracle XE

I am trying to use the APEX (as a substitute for my PHP forms base application) for a new client.
Can I use the APEX and Oracle XE in production, without spending any money for a license from Oracle - i.e. for listener, Web server, etc,?
I already have setup the APEX that works fine on my laptop, able to see and work with the form on the browser, so can I take the same to a server as a production?
Any help is appreciated,
Merdad

Mehrdad wrote:
I am trying to use the APEX (as a substitute for my PHP forms base application) for a new client.
Can I use the APEX and Oracle XE in production, without spending any money for a license from Oracle - i.e. for listener, Web server, etc,?
I already have setup the APEX that works fine on my laptop, able to see and work with the form on the browser, so can I take the same to a server as a production?Yes. Oracle XE is free to use for internal use or use in your products subject to the license terms for Oracle Database Express Edition.
APEX is a no-cost database option, so if you have a licensed database (including XE), you can use APEX to develop applications. (Note that if XE is upgraded to use the latest version of APEX, some of the built-in GUI database admin features described in the guides will be lost. All admin will then have to be performed using SQL*Plus or SQL Developer.)
The licensing information covers the features included (and not included) in Oracle XE.
There's a dedicated {forum:id=251} forum. This is the only channel for XE support as Oracle do not support the product through MOS (even for customers paying for support of other database editions).

How can I set #HOST# variable referenced in the Chart template?

#HOST# and #HOST_PROTOCOL# are being set incorrectly by APEX from CGI variables when I create a chart. I am using APEX 4.1 and Oracle 11g. The get the continual "Loading data..." and then after it times out I get "Error loading file".
Before we changed to a secure http environment, our charts worked. After we changed to the new web layer, the charts do not work. The #HOST# substitution was set to http://correctservername/ and #HOST_PROTOCOL# was set to http. We set PlsqlCGIEnvironmentList REQUEST_PROTOCOL=https in the dads configuration file and now the #HOST# displays https but it also includes the default port number which we do not want (https://correctservername:port/) The charts work without the port. REQUEST_PROTOCOL is not in the cgi list and setting this variable set #HOST_PROTOCOL#. What variable can we set to make #HOST# correct. It seems like #HOST# is being set by #REQUEST_PROTOCOL#'://'||HTTP_HOST||':'||SERVER_PORT||SCRIPT_NAME||'/'. SERVER_NAME could also be used in of HTTP_HOST. I don't know how APEX is setting #HOST#. Does it come from a host alias somewhere in the environment?
I don't want to add a new cgi variable called HOST because HOST sounds so generic and it might interfere with something else running in our environment. Or, I don't want to change the plsql cgi environment variable (such as HTTP_HOST) because many developers may use owa_util.get_cgi_env('HTTP_HOST') to get the current server. If the SERVER_PORT is part of the #HOST# then what could I change it to if it needs to be null. If you leave it blank, then the default SERVER_PORT comes from the CGI variables.
I would rather not create a global variable (hard-coding) and create a new chart template using the global variable or create a before header application process to re-direct url without a port.
Edited by: Donna C-Houston on Oct 10, 2012 1:06 PM

Hi Donna,
changing the CGI environment variables HTTP_HOST, REQUEST_PROTOCOL and SERVER_PORT is the correct way how to resolve this, because it appears that your hiding the web server where you have installed mod_plsql or EPG by a different outside facing web server (also called reverse proxy). That's why APEX gets the host name, protocol and port of the internal web server, but should actually get the values of your reverse proxy web server. Can can fix that by changing the following CGI environment variables.
HTTP_HOST should just contain the domain name (no protocol or port). For example: www.oracle.com
REQUEST_PROTOCOL should contain http or https
SERVER_PORT should be the port for https
I don't want to add a new cgi variable called HOST because HOST sounds so generic and it might interfere with something else running in our environment. Or, I don't want to change the plsql cgi environment variable (such as HTTP_HOST) because many developers may use owa_util.get_cgi_env('HTTP_HOST') to get the current server. If the SERVER_PORT is part of the #HOST# then what could I change it to if it needs to be null. If you leave it blank, then the default SERVER_PORT comes from the CGI variables.The value of HTTP_HOST is wrong anyway and points to your internal web server, but I assume your developers actually want to get the host name of your external web server if they use it to generate absolute URLs. That's why I wouldn't bother and set it to the correct host name.
Regards
Patrick
My Blog: http://www.inside-oracle-apex.com
APEX Plug-Ins: http://apex.oracle.com/plugins
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/patrickwolf

APEX vs PHP hosting cost

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