🧩 REST Web Source vs APEX_WEB_SERVICE
(Which one should you use in Oracle APEX?
Both let you call external APIs but they serve very different use cases.
Here’s a breakdown that could save you hours of debugging:
⸻
🔹 REST Web Source
→ Declarative, fast setup inside APEX
→ Ideal for simple GET calls (weather, stock, reference data)
→ Easily binds to Interactive Reports, LOVs, Forms
✅ Pros:
• Quick to integrate
• No code required
• Pagination + filtering handled
⚠️ Cons:
• Limited flexibility
• Complex auth = tricky
• Mostly GET, weak support for advanced POST/PATCH logic
⸻
🔹 APEX_WEB_SERVICE (PL/SQL based)
→ Full control over headers, payloads, auth
→ Ideal for complex requests (OAuth2, custom bodies, JSON/XML parsing)
✅ Pros:
• Supports full CRUD (POST, PUT, DELETE)
• Great for secure APIs with tokens
• Can log, retry, and parse manually
⚠️ Cons:
• Requires PL/SQL
• Harder to debug
• More setup for beginners
⸻
💡 When to use what?
→ Use REST Web Source if:
• You’re pulling reference data into a report
• You want to get started fast
→ Use APEX_WEB_SERVICE if:
• You need full control over auth/payload
• You’re writing back to an API (POST/PUT/PATCH)
• You’re integrating with secure or complex APIs