Preface

Oracle Web Application Programming for PL/SQL Developers gives PL/SQL programmers the knowledge necessary to build powerful applications on the Web.

PL/SQL, together with the Oracle Internet Application Server (iAS), provides a programmer with the ability to truly develop an entire application, from control over complex data processing on the back end, to the creation of a standardized, professional look-and-feel on the front end.

A programmer familiar with PL/SQL, but not necessarily familiar with the Web, can make the leap to building dynamic Web applications using this book. This book brings together the core pieces of the puzzle of PL/SQL Web development in one volume. In addition to reviewing a few basic PL/SQL concepts with examples, the practicalities of building a Web site are covered, including HTML and JavaScript. The essentials of how a computer connects to the Internet are explained, along with how a Web server handles requests for Web pages, Web browsers, image handling, FTP, and some of the basic UNIX commands you need to get started developing PL/SQL Web applications.

As you read and complete the exercises, you apply what you learn by building an application of your own. You create Web pages, connect them to an Oracle database, and use the power of PL/SQL to create a dynamic, database-driven, Web front-end application. The application presented in this book includes PL/SQL procedures developed using both PL/SQL Web Toolkit and PSP approaches, so that you learn and evaluate different development strategies. This hands-on approach gives you the opportunity to address many of the day-to-day challenges that a PL/SQL Web developer faces. Once you create the application, you should find you are ready to apply your knowledge to other projects.

Throughout the book you will analyze code in detail and are offered practical advice on writing—and debugging—complex code. Anyone that has struggled with the realities of JavaScript validation when it is embedded in HTML and PL/SQL, or dealt with similar situations, can refer to this book for tips and examples.

So many different elements work together to create a Web page that coordinating them can easily become the greatest challenge faced by the PL/SQL Web developer. This book focuses, in particular, on clarifying these issues. Many of the questions that a Web developer would ask are answered in this book. For example: There are references available on PL/SQL, HTML, and JavaScript individually, but how do these elements interact? In cases where they can accomplish the same task, how do they compare? What are the limits of each?

Putting all these various elements together to make an Oracle Web Application is much like preparing tapas, a Spanish meal comprised of many different appetizersized dishes. The beauty of tapas is the way individual elements work together to create a complex and delicious meal. That complexity is also a characteristic of Web programming. To achieve the results you desire, you must combine your knowledge of many different areas, and how they interact. This can be a tricky and frustrating process, but ultimately very powerful, and ideally very satisfying as well.