About LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, connecting millions of people globally. It helps individuals build professional identities, showcase skills, grow networks, and explore career opportunities. For businesses, it’s a powerful platform to hire talent, promote services, and strengthen brand presence. The platform focuses on career development, job opportunities, and professional content sharing.
Nature of LinkedIn’s Platform
LinkedIn is a Professional Networking and Career Development Platform (PaaS – Platform as a Service). It combines features of a social network with business tools, making it unique compared to other platforms. LinkedIn’s platform is a professional social networking and career development ecosystem designed to foster business connections, career growth, and knowledge sharing. Its nature is distinct from casual social media, emphasizing professional interactions and career-oriented functionalities.
Inside LinkedIn’s Workflow
At its core, LinkedIn works as a digital ecosystem for professionals:
Profiles act like online resumes.
Connections build your professional network.
Posts & Articles let you share knowledge and updates.
LinkedIn APIs enable external apps to connect with LinkedIn data for features like authentication, posting updates, or fetching professional details.
Key LinkedIn Use Scenarios
Building and maintaining a professional brand.
Finding and applying for jobs.
Recruiting the right talent.
Sharing thought leadership and industry knowledge.
Engaging with like-minded professionals and communities.
Purpose of Integrating LinkedIn with Oracle APEX
Oracle APEX is excellent for building enterprise apps quickly. Integrating it with LinkedIn can:
Enable single sign-on (SSO) using LinkedIn authentication.
Fetch professional profiles directly into your APEX apps.
Allow social sharing of achievements, events, or posts from APEX.
Enrich CRM, HR, or recruitment apps with real-time LinkedIn data.
Target Users for LinkedIn Integration
HR teams – for seamless talent acquisition and candidate tracking.
Sales & Marketing teams – for better networking and lead generation.
Developers & Businesses – building apps that require professional identity verification or social sharing.
Benefits of Performing LinkedIn Integration
To streamline workflows like hiring or lead management.
To add credibility by linking real LinkedIn profiles with APEX apps.
To increase engagement by allowing users to share directly from applications.
To save time by reducing manual profile data entry.
Oracle APEX – LinkedIn Integration Code
Our APEX application leverages LinkedIn APIs for secure authentication, fetching user profiles, posting content, revoking tokens, and uploading images, providing end-to-end LinkedIn integration for clients.
g_linkedin_auth_url varchar2(500) := 'https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/accessToken';It is the endpoint where your app sends a POST request (with client_id, client_secret, code, redirect_uri etc.) to exchange an authorization code (or use client credentials) for an access token from LinkedIn.
g_linkedin_me_url varchar2(500) := 'https://api.linkedin.com/v2/me';It is the LinkedIn Profile API endpoint used to get the current authenticated user’s profile data (like name, headline, profile picture), subject to the permissions your app has.
g_linkedin_post_url varchar2(500) := 'https://api.linkedin.com/rest/posts';It is the LinkedIn REST endpoint used for creating, retrieving, updating, and deleting posts (both organic and sponsored) by members or organizations, subject to permission scopes.
g_linkedin_revoke_url varchar2(500) := 'https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/revoke';It is the OAuth endpoint used to revoke (invalidate) an access token or refresh token by sending a POST request with client_id, client_secret and the token to be revoked, so the token can no longer be used.
g_linkedin_image_upload_url varchar2(500) := 'https://api.linkedin.com/rest/images?action=initializeUpload';It is the endpoint used to start (register) an image upload in LinkedIn’s Images API — you send a request declaring who owns the asset (user or organization), then LinkedIn returns an upload URL and an image URN to be used for the actual image upload
Authenticated through LinkedIn
An APEX report showcasing LinkedIn integration by retrieving and displaying user data and content directly within the application.
Success with Oracle APEX and LinkedIn
Our organization successfully integrated LinkedIn into our SaaS application, enabling clients to leverage LinkedIn’s powerful platform directly through our system. We implemented LinkedIn Authentication, allowing each client to securely sign in with their own LinkedIn account, ensuring personalized and safe access. In addition, we enabled LinkedIn Post functionality, allowing users to create and share articles or content seamlessly from our application to their LinkedIn profiles. This integration not only enhanced user experience but also empowered our clients to manage their professional presence and engagement efficiently, all within a single platform.