How Do I Start Learning Oracle ADF - The 12c Edition

The most popular blog entry on my blog has been the "How do I start Learning ADF" entry for years now. That entry however was last updated in 2012 (and written in 2010) - so I figured it is time to give it another update, point to more recent resources, fix broken links, and cover additional resources that appeared over the years.

So here is the ADF 12c version of that blog entry updated for 2017:

Get started with Oracle ADF in 6 steps

Step 1 - Learn Basic Java

Oracle ADF aims to reduce the amount of coding you need to do for a lot of the tasks you'll need for building an application, and if you follow some of the tutorials mentioned later you'll see how you can build advanced apps without coding. But, at the end of the day, you will write code when developing with ADF - and that code would be written in Java. You don't have to be a Java ninja to work in ADF, but you should be familiar with basic language concepts and constructs.

There are lots of resources out there that will teach you the language (by the way if you are on ADF 12.2.* you should learn the Java/JDK 8 syntax), one option is the Oracle Java Tutorials path. Searching online you'll be able to find many other resources for this task. Since Oracle ADF is based on Java EE architecture - you might want to also get a bit of understanding of that architecture - but don't worry about learning all of Java EE in details - ADF will make it much simpler for you.

While learning the language you should be practicing it with the development tool that you are going to use, if you are going to developer Oracle ADF applications then that tool will be Oracle JDeveloper. Get yourself familiar with the basic IDE features for coders by running through this IDE tutorial.

Step 2 - Get started with Oracle ADF

Now that you know the basics of the Java language (and maybe some Java EE concepts), it's time to start using the framework that will simplify your life. Start by reading the data sheet and technical paper to understand what ADF is all about.

Now get your hands dirty by completing the Overview tutorial for Oracle ADF - this will take you a couple of hours but by the end of it you'll have built a full blown application, and you will touch on most of the parts of the Oracle ADF architecture.

Two other tutorials you should do next will deepen your knowledge about the Oracle ADF Controller Layer and taskflows, and the Oracle ADF Faces UI layer. If you got more time, have a run through other tutorials from our site.

Step 3 - Getting Educated

Now that you have hands-on experience with Oracle ADF, it would be a good point to go and get some deeper knowledge about how the framework works. You can leverage the collection of free online lessons we recorded in the ADF Essentials channel. You don't have to watch all the videos, but I would definitely recommend that at a minimum you'll watch the overview, ADF business components, ADF Controller (both parts) and ADF Faces video. And then you must watch the video about the ADF bindings internal seminars (2 parts) - these are critical for you to understand the inner working of the ADF "magic layer" that makes development so simple. 

By the way if you prefer to get knowledge through live or online instructor-lead courses or by reading books - we have those too - see the list here.

Step 4 - RTFM

Ok, now you have a good grasp of the framework and how it works, it might be a good time to read the manual for Oracle ADF - "Developing Fusion Web Applications with Oracle Application Development Framework". This is the complete guide and you should read it to get more insight into the framework, best practices, and general guidelines. Note that the ADF documentation libraries has additional books about ADF Faces, ADF Desktop Integration, Administration guides and more.

Step 5 - Become an ADF Architect

Now that you know how to build ADF apps, it's time to learn how to architect more complex projects and work in a team environment. The resource to learn from is the ADF Architecture Square - where we discuss best practices, development guidelines, and most importantly how to architect a complete complex application. Here you can find docs and also a link to a set of videos on the ADF Architecture Square YouTube Channel. If you only have time to watch one video from that channel - go for the "Angels in the ADF Architecture". By the way, if you are looking for a platform for your team to collaborate on while building Oracle ADF applications - check out the Oracle Developer Cloud Service and the integration it provides with JDeveloper.

Step 6 - Join the Community

As you continue on your development road, there will be times when you'll want to know "How do I do X?" or "Why do I get this error?". The nice thing is that since many other developers are working with ADF, you can leverage their collective knowledge. Got a question - type it into google and it is likely that you'll find blog entries and youtube videos that explain how to solve your issue.

A great place to search for answers is the indexed collection of ADF and JDeveloper blog articles. Search by keywords or topics and you'll likely get great samples to help you achieve your task.

Still can't find the answer? Ask your question on our ADF community forum, just don't forget to follow the basic rules of asking questions on the forum.

Things keep evolving in the world of Oracle ADF, so to keep up to speed you should follow JDeveloper on Twitter for the latest news.

Over the years Oracle ADF has proven itself to be a great framework for enterprise applications, and each new release introduced further capabilities and simplifications - If you are just now joining the world of Oracle ADF you are in for a great ride. Have fun.