While creating complex applications within Oracle Application Express (APEX)it might happen that an Oracle Database needs to be exposed to the RESTful Web, or the application itself might have to interact with other databases by creating client-side API requests. In either of the two cases mentioned it will certainly be needed to install Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS) which enables turning an Oracle database into a modern RESTful API Service.
REST access to data is a common requirement for most web applications, so by using Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS) together with Oracle Application Express (APEX) the database will be turned into a fully functional hub, enabling a quick build of REST API services.
Installing Oracle REST Data Services (ORDS) and deploying it to an application server would create a URL path in the form of http://server/ords. If it is a requirement to change the URL from http://server/ords to http://server/somethingelse it is necessary to rename the ords.war file before deployment. The most common scenario, that will be covered in this article, is renaming ORDS to APEX, and because Oracle APEX is installed before Oracle REST Data Services it is preferable to keep the consistency by leaving the URL that is already being used http://server/apex.
