2015 was simply a magnificent year for the Oracle Application Express community, as foretold on this blog exactly one year ago. In addition to the release of Oracle Application Express 5.0 in April 2015, which enabled you to easily build modern, responsive and beautiful Web applications anywhere the Oracle Database runs (including the Oracle Cloud!), the community also delivered in numerous, bold ways, including:
apex.world - The APEX Community site, developed by the community for the community. It includes something for everyone in the APEX Community - plug-ins, job market, member discussion, meetups, news, Twitter feed, and more!
The Oracle APEX Talkshow - An innovative podcast with various members of the Oracle APEX community, all the brainchild of APEX super-luminary Jürgen Schuster.
The APEX Fan Shop - Show your APEX pride with stickers, mugs, umbrellas and clothing!
translate-apex.com - Over 30 community-provided translations for APEX applications, a fantastic initiative from our friends at Pretius.
Customer Quotes on apex.oracle.com/community - Numerous customers provided quotes about their use of Oracle APEX, both big and small. We are grateful for the time and energy spent by these customers to deliver these quotes for the benefit of the broader APEX community.
But the fun is just starting, and 2016 holds even more promise for everyone in the ever-expanding Oracle APEX community. The release of Oracle Application Express 5.1 in 2016 will deliver the highly anticipated "Interactive Grid" and an entirely new charting engine based upon the data visualization tools of Oracle JET. These two features alone, building on top of the rich feature set of Oracle Application Express 5, will perfectly round out the APEX framework for Oracle Database and Oracle Database Cloud customers alike. Fasten your seat belt!
The list of conferences offering an expanding menu of world-class Oracle Application Express content continues to grow. You should circle one or more of these conferences on your calendar now:
OUG Ireland 2016 (March 3, 2016 - March 4, 2016), Dublin, Ireland - 12th annual conference with numerous streams of content, this year including a handful of sessions on Oracle Application Express!
APEX World 2016 (March 7, 2016 - March 8, 2016), Rotterdam, The Netherlands - 7th annual conference, expanding to two days this year, and again on the beautiful SS Rotterdam.
APEX Connect 2016 (April 26, 2016 - April 28, 2016), Berlin, Germany - 2nd annual conference and now being held in Berlin. Expanded to three full days, including PL/SQL sessions, and more sessions and attendees than ever!
2016 Great Lakes Oracle Conference (May 18, 2016 - May 19, 2016), Cleveland, Ohio, USA - A collection of Oracle Application Express sessions in addition to a pre-conference Oracle Application Express workshop, being held at the historic Cleveland Public Auditorium.
ODTUG Kscope16 (June 26, 2016 - June 30, 2016), Chicago, Illinois, USA - 46 sessions over 5 days (wow!), and as a bonus, the Oracle Application Express product development team exclusively presents on the must-attend Sunday Symposium. If you're into APEX, Kscope16 cannot be missed. And while in Chicago, you'll be able to sample the best pizza in the world!
Oracle Open World 2016 (September 18, 2016 - September 22, 2016), San Francisco, California, USA -Numerous Oracle Application Express and Oracle Database Cloud sessions and hands-on labs from the Oracle Application Express product development team and world-class speakers from the global Oracle APEX community.
Slovenian Oracle User Group 2016 (October 2016), Portorož, Slovenia - In 2015, there was a great collection of world class speakers from the APEX Community and 2016 will continue the tradition, catering to the expanding APEX community in Slovenia. Don't forget the APEX Meetups that happen in Slovenia throughout the year.
Croatian Oracle User Group 2016 (October 2016), Rovinj, Croatia - At the 20th annual conference in 2015, the Croatian Oracle User Group conference featured a first-ever dedicated track for Oracle Application Express with world-class speakers. The tradition continues in 2016, and this has quickly become a must-attend conference for anyone doing Oracle Application Express development in Croatia and the Balkans.
DOAG Konferenz + Ausstellung (November 15, 2016 - November 18, 2016), Nürnberg, Germany - The passionate APEX community in Germany comes together at this very technical and professionally delivered conference, with content delivered by world-class speakers from around the globe.
UKOUG Technology Conference and Exhibition (December 4, 2016 - December 7, 2016), Birmingham, England - There were more APEX sessions than ever in 2015, and enthusiasm continues to grow. The passionate APEX community in the United Kingdom converges at this conference (to wit, Exhibit A).
Don't forget the Oracle APEX Meetup groups, which continue to expand across the globe. As of January 1, 2016, there are 32 groups across 5 continents, and growing. Come join one of the most passionate and enthusiastic user communities on the planet!