As I discussed in my last blog about usage and benefits of having jQuery in Oracle APEX, today I will discuss about CSS on same lines.
About CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. It is a stylesheet language used for describing the look and formatting of a document written in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) or XML (Extensible Markup Language).
CSS is used to control the layout, colors, fonts, and other visual elements of web pages, making it easier to create consistent and attractive designs across multiple pages. CSS styles can be defined in a separate file and then linked to a web page, or they can be included directly in the HTML code.
CSS allows web developers to separate the content of a web page from its presentation, which makes it easier to maintain and update the look and feel of a website over time. Additionally, CSS makes it possible to create responsive designs that adjust to different screen sizes, which is important for creating web pages that look good on desktop computers, tablets, and smartphones.
Overall, CSS is an essential tool for web development, and it plays a critical role in creating dynamic and engaging websites and web applications.
Why we should use CSS in Oracle APEX application ?
There are several reasons why you should use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) in Oracle APEX applications:
Consistency: CSS allows you to define a consistent look and feel for your application. You can easily apply styles to all pages and components within your application, which ensures a consistent user experience.
Improved Accessibility: CSS can improve the accessibility of your application for users with disabilities. For example, you can use CSS to change the color contrast, font size, and other visual elements, making your application more accessible to people with visual impairments.
Better Control over Layout: CSS gives you greater control over the layout of your application, allowing you to easily arrange components and define the layout for different screen sizes.
Improved Performance: By using CSS, you can reduce the amount of HTML markup required to create your application, which can improve the performance of your application.
Reusability: CSS styles can be easily reused and shared across multiple pages and components, which saves time and effort.
In short, using CSS in Oracle APEX applications can help improve the overall design, usability, and accessibility of your application.
Next is, how to integrate CSS in Oracle APEX application
There are several ways to integrate CSS in an Oracle APEX application:
Inline Styles: You can add CSS styles directly to an HTML component using the "style" attribute. This is a quick and simple way to apply styles to a single component, but it can make the HTML code cluttered and difficult to maintain.
Page-Level Styles: You can add CSS styles to a specific page in your application using the "Inline CSS" section in the Page Attributes section of the Page Designer. This allows you to define styles that will only be applied to the current page.
Application-Level Styles: You can define CSS styles that will be applied to all pages in your application using the "File Browse" option in the Application Builder. This allows you to store and manage your CSS styles in a separate file, which makes it easier to maintain and reuse styles across your application.
External Stylesheets: You can also link to an external CSS file from within your Oracle APEX application. This allows you to keep your CSS styles in a separate file, which makes it easier to maintain and reuse styles across your application.
Regardless of the method you choose, it's important to remember that CSS styles should be organized and well-structured to ensure maintainability and scalability. You should also consider the performance impact of your CSS styles and try to minimize the amount of styles and the size of your CSS files.
Here are some examples where CSS can be used in APEX application
Page and Component Styling: You can use CSS to style various components and elements within your pages, such as buttons, forms, tables, and images. For example, you can use CSS to change the font size and color, add borders, set background colors, and control the spacing and alignment of elements.
Layout: You can use CSS to control the layout of your pages, such as setting the width and height of elements, defining margins and padding, and arranging elements using flexbox or grid layouts.
Responsive Design: You can use CSS media queries to create responsive designs that adjust to different screen sizes. For example, you can use CSS to hide certain elements on smaller screens, change the layout of elements, or adjust the font size to make your application more usable on different devices.
Themes and Skins: You can use CSS to create custom themes and skins for your application, which allows you to define consistent styles for your application. You can also use CSS to customize the look and feel of built-in themes in Oracle APEX.
Animations: You can use CSS animations to create dynamic effects and transitions for your application. For example, you can use CSS to animate elements when they are hovered over, or create smooth transitions when navigating between pages.
These are just a few examples of how you can use CSS in an Oracle APEX application. By leveraging the power of CSS, you can create rich, interactive, and aesthetically pleasing applications that meet the needs of your users.
Some example of native CSS classes used in default Oracle APEX themes
There are several native CSS classes used in the default Oracle APEX themes that you can use to customize the look and feel of your application:
.t-Body: This class defines the style for the main body of a page, including the background color, font size, and text color.
.t-Header: This class defines the style for the header of a page, including the background color and text color.
.t-Button: This class defines the style for buttons within your application, including the background color, font size, and border radius.
.t-Report: This class defines the style for reports and tables within your application, including the background color, font size, and text color.
.t-Form: This class defines the style for forms within your application, including the background color, font size, and text color.
.t-Alert: This class defines the style for alerts within your application, including the background color and text color.
.t-NavBar: This class defines the style for the navigation bar within your application, including the background color and text color.
These are just a few examples of the native CSS classes used in the default Oracle APEX themes. You can use these classes as a starting point for customizing the look and feel of your application, or you can create your own custom classes and styles to meet the specific needs of your application.
You can inspect the source code of your Oracle APEX application to see the classes and styles that are being used. You can also refer to the Oracle APEX documentation for more information on the available CSS classes and how to customize them.
This was a brief introduction of CSS used with Oracle APEX. I hope you enjoyed reading the article.
Thanks for giving time to this blog !!