Deprecated in Previous Releases

The following section lists features which were deprecated in a previous release but have not been fully removed or desupported from Oracle APEX.

Oracle strongly recommends that developers start to modify their applications as described in this section. Use APEX Advisor to scan existing applications for deprecated attributes.

Deprecated Public Views and Public View Columns

Public Views

As of APEX 26.1, the apex_appl_ai_configs and apex_appl_ai_config_rag_srcs views are deprecated, and will be removed in a future release. Instead, use apex_appl_ai_agents and apex_appl_ai_agent_tools.

AI Configuration Columns

With the APEX 26.1 rename of AI Configurations to AI Agents, the ai_config_id and ai_config_name columns are deprecated, and will be removed in a future release. Instead, use ai_agent_id and ai_agent_name. This change affects the following views:

apex_application_page_items
apex_application_page_regions
apex_application_page_da_acts

STATIC_ID Column

As of APEX 26.1, the STATIC_ID column in the following public views is deprecated:

apex_application_page_regions
apex_application_page_rpt_cols
apex_application_page_buttons
apex_application_page_ir_col
apex_appl_page_ig_columns

While APEX retains the STATIC_ID column for backward compatibility, Oracle recommends using the new HTML_DOM_ID column.

Deprecated Substitution Strings

As of APEX 26.1, the following substitution strings are deprecated:

#REGION_STATIC_ID#
#BUTTON_ID#
APP_REGION_STATIC_ID

While these substitutions still function, Oracle recommends developers update their environments to use the replacements below:

For #REGION_STATIC_ID# and #BUTTON_ID#, use #DOM_ID#
For APP_REGION_STATIC_ID, use APP_REGION_DOM_ID

Deprecated JavaScript APIs

As of APEX 26.1, the following JavaScript APIs are deprecated:

apex.util functions cancelInvokeAfterPaint and invokeAfterPaint are now deprecated. Use the native browser functions requestAnimationFrame and cancelAnimationFrame instead.
widget.grid method getSelectedRange is deprecated. Use getSelectedRanges instead.

Deprecated Property

As of APEX 26.1, the JavaScript Static ID property, introduced for JET Chart Series components to maintain backward compatibility, is deprecated and displays in Page Designer only if it already has a value. Going forward, use the unique Static ID property in new applications.

Legacy Calendar Templates Deprecated

As of APEX 26.1, Legacy Calendar Templates are now deprecated. The Legacy Calendar template is no longer present in Universal Theme 26.1, and APEXlang exports raise an error if Legacy Calendar regions are present. When upgrading your application, APEX automatically removes unreferenced Legacy Calendar Templates.

Deprecated APIs

As of APEX 26.1, the following APIs are deprecated:

In APEX_AI, the following procedures are deprecated:

GENERATE Function Signature 3
CHAT Function Signature 3

Instead, use the two new signatures that contain a p_agent_static_id parameter instead of the deprecated p_config_static_id parameter.

The following fields in APEX_PLUGIN.T_REGION are deprecated:

static_id
filter_region_static_id

Use dom_id and filter_region_dom_id for new development.

The name member of the APEX_PLUGIN.t_plugin record is deprecated. Use the new static_id member instead.

In APEX_UTIL, the following APIs are deprecated:

CACHE_GET_DATE_OF_PAGE_CACHE
- Instead, use APEX_PAGE.GET_CACHE_DATE
CACHE_GET_DATE_OF_REGION_CACHE
- Instead, use APEX_REGION.GET_CACHE_DATE
PUBLIC_CHECK_AUTHORIZATION
- Instead, use APEX_AUTHORIZATION.HAS_ACCESS
PURGE_REGIONS_BY_NAME
PURGE_REGIONS_BY_PAGE
PURGE_REGIONS_BY_APP

As of APEX 24.2, the following APIs are deprecated:

APEX_LANG.MESSAGE is deprecated. Instead, use APEX_LANG.GET_MESSAGE to support named substitution parameters.
APEX_PLUGIN_UTIL.EXECUTE_PLSQL_CODE is now deprecated. Instead, use APEX_EXEC.EXECUTE_PLSQL Signature 1 or Signature 2.
In APEX_UTIL, the following APIs are deprecated:
- custom_calendar
- increment_calendar

As of APEX 24.1, the following APIs are deprecated:

The APEX_APPROVAL package is deprecated. Use APEX_HUMAN_TASK instead.
The URL_ENCODE function in APEX_UTIL is now deprecated. Instead, use the built-in database function UTL_URL.ESCAPE.
The apex_plugin_util.print_display_only API is deprecated. Instead, use apex_plugin_util.print_read_only.
The ABORT function in APEX_AUTOMATION is now deprecated. Instead, use TERMINATE to terminate a currently executing automation.

Deprecated Dynamic Action Event

As of APEX 24.1, the APEX Dynamic Action event “Page Unload” is deprecated because the underlying browser event unload is deprecated. For more information, see Window: unload event.

Deprecated Plug-In Attribute

As of APEX 24.1, when editing a region plug-in, the Substitute Attribute Values switch is now deprecated. When you move to the Procedure interface, this switch disappears. To perform substitutions on the attribute value, use apex_plugin_util.replace_substitutions.

Number Field Substitutions

As of APEX 24.1, dynamic substitutions for Min/Max Value attributes for the Number field page item, including &P1_MIN., are deprecated. This will be fixed in a future release by allowing developers to declaratively pick an item to use for Min/Max Value attributes.

Quick SQL Deprecated Functionality

Deprecated Settings

As of APEX 23.2, the following Quick SQL settings are deprecated:

Data Language (#language:"DE"): No longer generates sample data into different languages (German, Korean, Japanese, Spanish).
Tags Framework (#tags:true): No longer generates tag framework objects (table, trigger, sync procedure).
On Delete (#ondelete:"cascade"): No longer supports system-wide ondelete settings. Handle these settings through the new /cascade column directive.
Longer Varchar2 (#longVC:true): No longer supports artificially shortening or increasing VARCHAR2 size.
Tenant ID (#tenantID:true): No longer supported.

Deprecated Directives

As of APEX 23.2, the following Quick SQL directives are deprecated:

/select: No longer generates a SQL SELECT statement after generating data for each table.

Deprecated Object Browser Features

As of APEX 23.1, some functionality in Object Browser is deprecated:

The Model tab for tables is removed.
The Create Materialized View Wizard is removed. Create materialized views by using a CREATE MATERIALIZED VIEW statement in SQL Commands or SQL Scripts. You can still view materialized views in Object Browser.

Preventing Double Escaping of LOV Display Values

As of APEX 23.1, APEX prevents double escaping of LOV display values.

By default, APEX automatically HTML-escapes Lists of Values (LOV) display values as necessary. To ensure backward compatibility with legacy apps, APEX checks whether the LOV query already includes a utility function to escape the display value. If it does, APEX avoids double-escaping the value when displaying it in a Select List, Popup LOV, Shuttle, Display Only item, or similar components.

Oracle recommends removing redundant inline escaping calls from your LOVs. In a future version of APEX, this prevention mechanism may be removed, which could cause some display values to appear double-escaped.

To identify whether any of your LOVs are impacted, run the following queries:

select *
  from apex_application_lovs
 where lov_type = 'Dynamic'
   and (   upper(list_of_values_query) like '%HTF.ESCAPE_SC%'
        or upper(list_of_values_query) like '%APEX_ESCAPE.HTML%'
        or upper(list_of_values_query) like '%WWV_FLOW_ESCAPE.HTML%' );

select *
  from apex_application_page_items
 where lov_named_lov is null
   and (   upper(lov_definition) like '%HTF.ESCAPE_SC%'
       or upper(lov_definition) like '%APEX_ESCAPE.HTML%'
       or upper(lov_definition) like '%WWV_FLOW_ESCAPE.HTML%' );

If the queries returns no rows, then no action is required. Otherwise, check the LOV definition and/or page items, remove any manual escaping, and test your applications to ensure that the values still appear as intended.

Display Only Item with Format HTML (Unsafe) Deprecated

As of APEX 23.1, Format HTML sanitizes the HTML content on the client before displaying it. This simplifies the display of user-provided HTML, including the content of HTML-based rich text editors.

To maintain backward compatibility with existing applications, all current Display Only page items using the Format HTML option will be migrated to HTML (Unsafe) to preserve their current behavior. However, going forward, this option is deprecated, and displaying “unsafe” HTML, such as script tags or javascript: expressions, onclick attributes, and others, is no longer possible, as this content is stripped away.

Although it is not recommended to display unsafe HTML content, you can still choose to display it.

Deprecated Functions and Procedures

As part of moving existing APIs from APEX_UTIL to APEX_APPLICATION_ADMIN, some comments changed. As of APEX 23.1, the following functions and procedures are deprecated:

set_build_option_status
get_build_option_status (two times, overloaded)
set_application_status
get_application_status
set_global_notification
get_global_notification
set_app_build_status

Deprecated APEX Item Markup

Future releases of APEX may include fixes and improvements to the accessibility, usability, and functionality of various items that require changing the markup or using custom elements (web components). These changes may create more dynamic behaviors for items, and will be done in a way that minimizes impact to items and forms in existing apps.

As of APEX 22.2, the apex.item namespace and item interface are the only supported APIs for customizing and programmatically working with items. APEX discourages customizations that rely on undocumented item markup or CSS classes, as these may not work as expected in future releases.

Assumptions about the HTML markup used by each of the native APEX items may not hold in the future. Item customization through Advanced attributes (CSS Classes), Custom Attributes, JavaScript code, and CSS rules that assumes particular markup could break.

For example, you could make the text area item character counter bold by adding class important-text to the Advanced: CSS Classes attribute of a text area and then add a custom CSS rule like:

.important-text.apex-item-textarea + .apex-item-textarea-counter {
    font-weight: bold;
}

This currently works, but may not in the future because it relies on undocumented class names and the counter element directly following the textarea element. It is also not a best practice to add event handlers in Custom Attributes.

Future releases may document new custom element markup, classes, and CSS variables to allow more supportable customization.

Deprecated jQuery Date Picker

As of APEX 22.2, jQuery Date Picker is now deprecated and cannot be used for new pages or applications. The old jQuery Date Picker JavaScript APIs are not supported.

Oracle recommends replacing all old Date Pickers with the new Date Picker.

Previously Deprecated APIs

As of APEX 22.1, the APEX_IR.GET_REPORT API is deprecated. Instead, use APEX_REGION.OPEN_QUERY_CONTEXT to get interactive report data.

Deprecated Legacy Web Service References

As of APEX 22.1, SOAP style Web Service references and legacy support for REST style Web Services references are deprecated.

jQuery UI Deprecated

As of APEX 20.1, jQuery UI is deprecated. Oracle recommends that customers update third-party APEX plug-ins and custom JavaScript code to remove any jQuery UI references. Native APEX components that use jQuery UI will continue to function, but support will be removed in a future release.

Oracle ships a custom bundle of JQuery UI 1.14.1 that includes only the modules that APEX needs. Oracle no longer ships individual widgets or any jQuery UI CSS files.