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drew5101 Apex book recommendation
I have very little background in programming and therefore find the tutorials and documentation available from force.com completely inadequate for my Apex learning needs.
It is clearly written for those that have a bit of programming knowledge. I am looking for a step by step "Apex for dummies", or something that can walk me through all of the available components one by one. I find all the documentation on methods and variables interesting, but I don't know what apex:actionsupport is, or what apex:outputlink is, etc... AndI have not found anything that lists them one by one with examples, perhaps I have not looking in the right place...
In searching, there are a number of books for Apex in relation to Oracle. Is this the same thing? Can I use one of those books?
Thanks
Hi there,
I understand how frustrating it can be to try and learn a new technology and not find material at the right level for your needs.
From what you mention in your email, it sounds like you're looking for more information on Visualforce, and not necessarily Apex. Visualforce is a technology similar to HTML where you use tags to create new user interfaces. Apex, on the other hand, is a programming language based on Java that allows you to add custom logic to your applications. The things you mentioned, <apex:outputLink> and <apex:actionSupport> are both Visualforce tags. Although you can build sophisticated Visualforce pages that use Apex to add logic, it's also possible to build a lot of functionality into a Visualforce page without writing any Apex at all. As a result, I'd suggest you start learning by focusing on Visualforce before tackling Apex.
To get started with Visualforce, I suggest going through the quick start tutorial that's available in the Visualforce Developer's Guide at http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/pages/index.htm#StartTopic=Content/pages_quick_start.htm. It walks through the mechanics of building your first Visualforce page and covers many of the standard tags that are available, including <apex:outputLink> and <apex:actionSupport>. Although the quick start doesn't cover every single component in Visualforce, it does cover many of them, and it gives you the foundation that you need to use the others. To see samples of all the other components, check out the Visualforce component reference -- the final appendix in the Visualforce guide.
If you're still set on learning about Apex but need more introductory information, I suggest getting started by first learning as much as you can about Java. Apex was built on a Java foundation, so much of the syntax and structure is exactly the same. Since Java is a more mature language, there's tons of getting started books that you can buy, not to mention the free tutorials available on the Sun website. Once you've got a good grasp of the mechanics of Java, learning Apex will be a lot easier for you.
Some day I hope that we will have the kind of comprehensive, tutorial-based information that you're seeking so I don't have to tell you to learn Java before Apex. However, since Apex has only been generally available for a little over a year, and Visualforce only for 6 months or so, the salesforce documentation team just hasn't had the time to get there yet. We're working hard though, so stay tuned.
Hope that helps,
Caroline Roth
Manager, Platform Documentation
salesforce.com
PS: In answer your question, the books about Apex and Oracle are about a completely different technology that Oracle announced a while ago. I don't know much about it, but they're totally unrelated to the Force.com platform, so they won't help you much.
All Answers
Have you reviewed the Fundamentals, Cookbook or Developer Guide? Each of these book speaks to Apex Code at varying skill levels.
http://wiki.apexdevnet.com/index.php/Documentation#Force.com_Library
Hope that helps,
Sati
Yes, I have reviewed all of these and are using them as the only tools I can find, none of them are actually written for beginners. Not at all. I have not found anything that walks through all of the major abilities of apex one by one...
Many years ago I was learning HTML and ASP on my own (I am in a different industry now, I have never been a programmer) and there were plenty of websites that walk you through each command in a build your own fashion for each one.
There are a few of these types of things in the apex/visualforce tutorials, but they are all listed as examples of how to use apex/visualforce, they are FAR from a comprehensive course that takes you through the possibilities. They absolutely do NOT build on each other. Other than the first tutorial or two it seems to be expected that you understand most of the commands...
How about just a listing of all the major commands and what they do??? That would help a lot!
I feel like you get that in the developer guides (Apex and Visualforce). And in the Visualforce Guide, you can get a list of the Standard Component and certain ones have working examples to illustrate.
Best,
Sati
Hi there,
I understand how frustrating it can be to try and learn a new technology and not find material at the right level for your needs.
From what you mention in your email, it sounds like you're looking for more information on Visualforce, and not necessarily Apex. Visualforce is a technology similar to HTML where you use tags to create new user interfaces. Apex, on the other hand, is a programming language based on Java that allows you to add custom logic to your applications. The things you mentioned, <apex:outputLink> and <apex:actionSupport> are both Visualforce tags. Although you can build sophisticated Visualforce pages that use Apex to add logic, it's also possible to build a lot of functionality into a Visualforce page without writing any Apex at all. As a result, I'd suggest you start learning by focusing on Visualforce before tackling Apex.
To get started with Visualforce, I suggest going through the quick start tutorial that's available in the Visualforce Developer's Guide at http://www.salesforce.com/us/developer/docs/pages/index.htm#StartTopic=Content/pages_quick_start.htm. It walks through the mechanics of building your first Visualforce page and covers many of the standard tags that are available, including <apex:outputLink> and <apex:actionSupport>. Although the quick start doesn't cover every single component in Visualforce, it does cover many of them, and it gives you the foundation that you need to use the others. To see samples of all the other components, check out the Visualforce component reference -- the final appendix in the Visualforce guide.
If you're still set on learning about Apex but need more introductory information, I suggest getting started by first learning as much as you can about Java. Apex was built on a Java foundation, so much of the syntax and structure is exactly the same. Since Java is a more mature language, there's tons of getting started books that you can buy, not to mention the free tutorials available on the Sun website. Once you've got a good grasp of the mechanics of Java, learning Apex will be a lot easier for you.
Some day I hope that we will have the kind of comprehensive, tutorial-based information that you're seeking so I don't have to tell you to learn Java before Apex. However, since Apex has only been generally available for a little over a year, and Visualforce only for 6 months or so, the salesforce documentation team just hasn't had the time to get there yet. We're working hard though, so stay tuned.
Hope that helps,
Caroline Roth
Manager, Platform Documentation
salesforce.com
PS: In answer your question, the books about Apex and Oracle are about a completely different technology that Oracle announced a while ago. I don't know much about it, but they're totally unrelated to the Force.com platform, so they won't help you much.
Thank you very much Caroline. You have definitely sent me the direction that I need to go. I did not realize that when I saw apex on a visualforce page that it was a visualforce tag... I kept looking up apex documentation trying to find out about these basic tags...
This weekend I will go through the entire visualforce quick start tutorial that you suggested piece by piece. It looks like it is much more geared towards my current level.
Thank you very much,
Drew
I realize this is a very old message, which is why I'm posting this question. I'm trying to teach myself Apex and Visualforce, and like the OP I'm struggling to pull it all together and to figure out where to start and how to order my studies. I have had one semester of FORTRAN in college and can hack my way through basic HTML, javascript and CSS.
Is it still recommended to learn Java before tackling Apex, or are there sufficient resources now that I could skip Java and go straight to Apex Iwhich I would greatly prefer to do).
Thanks!