FROM ENGLISH TO SQL: ORACLE APEX AI BRIDGES THE LANGUAGE GAP

Oracle has added AI capabilities to its APEX low-code development platform, enabling users to generate SQL statements using natural language.

译自 From English to SQL: Oracle APEX AI Bridges the Language Gap，作者 Darryl K Taft。

Oracle this week released an AI-driven update to its Oracle APEX low-code development platform, enabling non-developers to execute vector queries in less than two minutes without having to know SQL.

In fact, Mike Hichwa, Oracle's senior vice president of software development, demonstrated this capability to The New Stack using the APEX AI Assistant.

During a demonstration showcasing the app designed for New York City schools, Hichwa highlighted the tool's AI-powered Q&A, multifaceted search capabilities, and data visualization.

This update includes AI capabilities to build applications from scratch based on natural language descriptions. The platform is designed to help developers create applications with AI components without the need for coding expertise.

APEX AI Assistant

Hichwa, who is also a designer, developer, and creator of APEX, shows how the new APEX AI Assistant enables developers to create effective SQL statements from natural language user prompts. The APEX AI assistant remembers SQL syntax so developers don't have to, and automatically writes SQL queries. It explains existing code and suggests code bug fixes that can be adopted with one click, he said.

"As a developer, writing SQL every day, I know how challenging it is to remember table names, column names, and syntax that I don't use often," Hichwa explained in a statement. "Having an AI assistant to contextually determine column names, concatenate and generate complex syntax is a real game-changer."

Hichwa told The New Stack that the new version, APEX 24.1, "dramatically changes the trajectory of APEX, and it makes it easier to create applications by embedding AI into it." "But more importantly, you can bring AI into your applications so that your end users can take advantage of AI to do all sorts of things."

In addition, "With the APEX AI Assistant, developers can now declare their intent using natural language and have APEX automatically generate the SQL needed to create the application," said Bradley Shimmin, Principal Analyst for AI and Data Analytics at Omdia, in a statement. "Basically, users can state what they want the app to do, not how. In addition, APEX applies this declarative development style to trial questions to help improve code or provide suggestions. It's all well thought out to be a transformative experience for developers. ”

In addition to the APEX AI Assistant, the APEX AI Assistant simplifies writing SQL queries and fixing code issues with natural language prompts. Other new APEX features include the Create Application Assistant, which facilitates the creation of application blueprints by specifying the required properties and features using natural language prompts. Also newly introduced is the conversational AI conversational feature, which enables end users to interact with applications using natural language through a built-in interface.

Because Oracle's APEX is a low-code solution, "the key value proposition is that you can develop applications faster, but with much less code." So you're capturing the intent, not the fulfillment. It's not a code generator; It's a model-driven execution engine," Hichwa told The New Stack.

Bundled with Oracle Database

Oracle APEX is bundled with Oracle Database and all Oracle Database services, including Oracle Autonomous Database.

Oracle officials claim that APEX's declarative development methodology enables developers to build and deploy mission-critical enterprise applications 20 times faster with 100 times the amount of code. More than 850,000 developers have built more than 21 million apps using APEX, the company says.

Originally introduced in 2004, Hichwa says, APEX is a cost-effective solution because it's free in Oracle Database and also available as a standalone cloud service. It enables developers to develop applications using code by leveraging a model-driven execution engine instead of a code generator.

In addition, APEX now integrates with large language models (LLMs) to provide context-aware AI support in application development and user interactions. "Oracle APEX 24.1 fundamentally revolutionizes low-code application development," said Marc Stamier, senior analyst at CUBE Research, in a statement. "APEX has always been a great low-code development platform...... But now Oracle has taken it to the next level, with comprehensive GenAI LLM integrations that allow even novice developers to build world-class applications without writing a single line of SQL code. ”

Oracle Code Assistant

While APEX has added new GenAI capabilities, it is different from Oracle's recently introduced Oracle Code Assistant tool.

Hichwa explains that APEX is a low-code application development platform for customers who want to minimize the amount of code required to create new applications. In addition, he points out that APEX integrates with Oracle Database and inherits all of its features, including dual views of vectors and JSON relationships.

At the same time, "Oracle Code Assistant is a general-purpose code assistant that incorporates AI to help development teams accelerate application creation using traditional development methods," Hichwa told The New Stack. "In contrast, Oracle APEX provides an AI-driven assistant in the context of the Oracle APEX low-code application development environment. We want our customers to take advantage of generative AI capabilities, regardless of their application development approach. Our customers often use APEX and traditional coding methods, depending on their development team and organization. ”