Database used by Apex and other dev tools

Question

Hi
As the applications here start to get more complex, I have noticed that much of the business logic in the database is getting more dependent on Apex-specific procedures and packages.
For instance, in many places we use v('APP_USER') to get the connected user, or rely on Apex authorisation schemes to control access etc. This happens - I think - because it is so easy to integrate the logic in the DB with the Apex environment and vice-versa (what would not be the case if other tool were used).
However, if we start using another tool to develop a new app that uses the same logic in the database, obviously much of the code will not work.
Anyone faced with this situation? Is it a bad practice to reference Apex-specific calls in the business logic? What have you done to circumvent this problem?
Thanks,
Luis

Answer 1

Hi,
APP_USER is indeed a "lightweight user", as you name it. The actual connection to the database runs on a technical user. You can change APEX authentication to use database credentials in order to have APP_USER mapped to existing database accounts, if that would help you, or use a custom authentication scheme that links to some SSO-solution, but the acting database user will always be the technical user.
I'm not sure what kind of JAVA user you mean, I assume you mean other technical users, e.g. users in a datasource of your J2EE application.
It wouldn't be too difficult to put the special case into your policy, like
IF USER = 'APEX_PUBLIC_USER' THEN
  l_login_user=v('APP_USER');
ELSE
  l_login_user=USER;
END IF;This should work easily if you use database authentication in APEX. Otherwhise, you may have to implement a more complex policy.
Hope this helps you setup your policy.
-Udo