What is Apex and its Features

While many CRM platforms allow customization through configuration or code, Salesforce uses Apex as its primary programming language for advanced customizations. It uses a syntax similar to Java and behaves like a database stored procedure.

For Salesforce developers, it is essential to know the Apex programming language. In this blog, we will provide an introduction to Salesforce Apex basics, including its features, to help you understand its importance in Salesforce.

What is Apex in Salesforce?

Apex in Salesforce is a strongly typed, object-oriented programming language used to write code that runs on the Salesforce platform. It is a proprietary language developed by Salesforce.com that enables developers to execute business logic on the Salesforce platform.

It enables developers to add business logic to most system events, including on-click events, related record updates, VF pages, LWC, and Aura Components.

Apex is used to build the SaaS application on top of Salesforce.com CRM functionality on Salesforce PaaS. Apex code can be initiated by Web service requests and from triggers on objects. It is saved, compiled, and executed on the Salesforce platform’s servers.

How Apex Works in Salesforce?

All Apex runs entirely on-demand on the Lightning Platform. Developers write and save Apex code to the platform. End users trigger the execution of the Apex code via the user interface.

The platform application server initially translates developer-written Apex code into an abstract set of instructions that the Apex runtime interpreter can understand, then saves those instructions as metadata.

A button click or a visit to a Visualforce page could be examples of how an end user initiates Apex execution. In that case, the platform application server retrieves the compiled instructions from the metadata, runs them through the runtime interpreter, and returns the result. There are no variations in execution times between regular platform queries and the end user’s experience.

Features of Apex in Salesforce

Various apex language features in Salesforce make it a useful and efficient programming language. Let’s look at a few of these features.

1. Integration

Common Lightning Platform idioms are supported by Apex, including:

• DML calls (data manipulation language) with integrated DMLException handling, like INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE
• Linear sObject record lists are returned by Salesforce Object Search Language (SOSL) and Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) queries.
• Looping enables the processing of multiple records in bulk.
• Locking syntax to avoid conflicts during record updates
• Custom public API calls that can be constructed using Apex methods that are stored
• When a user attempts to change or remove a custom object or field that Apex references, warnings and errors are displayed.

2. Simple to Employ

The foundation of Apex includes well-known Java idioms, such as object and array notation, variables, expressions, blocks, and conditional statements, as well as loops.

When Apex adds new components, it does so with simple syntax and semantics that promote practical usage of the Lightning Platform. As a result, Apex generates code that is simple to write and concise.

3. Data Focused

Apex is data-focused and allows multiple queries and DML statements to be executed together within a single transaction on the Salesforce server. Similarly, developers can thread together several transaction statements on a database server using database-stored procedures. Unlike other database-stored procedures, Apex does not attempt to offer broad support for rendering UI elements.

4. Hosted by Salesforce

The Lightning Platform interprets, runs, and manages Hosted Apex. Apex is aware of multiple tenants and operates in a multitenant environment, just as the rest of the Lightning Platform does.

This is why the Apex runtime engine is so cautious about runaway code that could otherwise monopolize shared resources. Code that goes outside its bounds fails and generates error messages that are easy to understand. 

5. Easy to Test

Apex includes built-in support for writing and running unit tests. It includes test results that show how much code is covered and where you can improve your code’s efficiency. Before any platform updates, Salesforce runs all unit tests to ensure custom Apex code functions as intended.

NOTE: Apex is included in Performance Edition, Unlimited Edition, Developer Edition, Enterprise Edition, and Database.com.

Features That Are Not Supported By Apex

1. It cannot show the elements in the UI other than an error message.
2. It cannot change the standard SFDC functionality but can be used to stop its execution or to add new functionality.
3. It cannot be used to create a temporary file.
4. It cannot create multiple threads.