One of the strengths of Oracle APEX is how easily we can take standard components like Classic Reports and extend them with custom JavaScript to create modern, dynamic user experiences.
Recently, I built an e-commerce style product catalog to showcase mobile phones where users can sort and filter products seamlessly.
Classic Reports as a foundation
Oracle APEX Classic Reports are flexible by design:
- They allow us to display structured data (like product details).
- With templating, we can convert rows into card-style layouts (image, title, price, specs).
- We can easily extend them with CSS and JavaScript for a modern UI.
In my case, each product card displayed:
- Mobile image
- Brand & model
- Price
Adding interactivity with JavaScript
By embedding custom JavaScript in the APEX page, I enhanced the report to support:
- Filtering → Users can filter phones by brand (Apple, Samsung, OnePlus), price ranges, or features like 5G.
- Sorting → Options like Price Low to High, Price High to Low, or Newest First.
- Dynamic updates → No need for a full page refresh; results instantly rearrange on the screen.
- Smooth transitions → Products animate as they are shown/hidden, making the experience engaging.
This is a great example of how low-code (APEX) meets custom code (JavaScript) to build a solution that’s both rapidly developed and highly user-friendly.
Isotope Method Is Used for Sorting and filtering.
The Isotope method in JavaScript usually refers to the Isotope library (by Metafizzy) — a powerful JavaScript library for filtering, sorting, and laying out elements in a grid.
CSS:
Why this approach works well
- ✅ APEX handles the data – Classic Reports are tied directly to SQL queries, making it simple to fetch the latest products.
- ✅ JavaScript handles the UX – Sorting, filtering, and smooth transitions are controlled on the client side.
- ✅ Future-ready – Adding new filters (like battery capacity or screen size) just requires small changes in the Classic Report query and JavaScript logic.
- ✅ Reusable design – The same technique can be applied to books, clothes, electronics, or any product catalog.
🔹 Key Takeaway
Oracle APEX Classic Reports are much more than static tabular views. With just a layer of JavaScript customization, they can be transformed into interactive, e-commerce ready catalogs that rival modern web apps.
This balance of low-code speed and custom code flexibility makes Oracle APEX an ideal platform for building business applications with great user experiences.
💡 Next time you’re working with APEX Classic Reports, think beyond tables — with some creativity, they can become dynamic product showcases that delight users.
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