Search Results igs_uc_hrc_timstmps

Overview

The IGS_UC_HRC_TIMSTMPS table is a data object within the Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) 12.1.1 and 12.2.2 releases, specifically belonging to the now-obsolete IGS (Student System) product family. Its primary role was to manage timestamp metadata for the "Hercules" data views within the context of a UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) application cycle. The table served as a control mechanism, storing the last recorded timestamp for each distinct Hercules view per admissions cycle, which was likely critical for data synchronization, incremental data extraction, and ensuring the integrity of UCAS-related reporting processes. The provided metadata explicitly states this table was "Not implemented in this database," indicating it may have been part of a documented data model that was not deployed in standard installations or was superseded by other functionality.

Key Information Stored

The table's structure is defined by a composite primary key, which dictates the core data it holds. The two key columns are VIEW_NAME and UCAS_CYCLE. The VIEW_NAME column identifies the specific Hercules view for which the timestamp is recorded. The UCAS_CYCLE column denotes the relevant admissions cycle or period. While the exact supplemental columns are not detailed in the provided excerpt, the table's purpose implies it would contain at least one column to store the actual timestamp value, which would mark the last update or data extraction point for the corresponding view and cycle combination. This design allows the system to maintain and track multiple timestamps across different data views and academic cycles independently.

Common Use Cases and Queries

Practical use cases for this table would revolve around ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) processes and audit reporting for UCAS data integration. A common operation would be to retrieve the current timestamp for a specific view to perform incremental data loads. For example, a batch process might query the timestamp before extracting new or updated records from a Hercules view where the transaction date exceeds the stored value. Sample SQL to fetch this control data would be: SELECT timestamp_column FROM igs_uc_hrc_timstmps WHERE view_name = 'VIEW_X' AND ucas_cycle = '2024';. Following a successful data transfer, an update statement would refresh the timestamp: UPDATE igs_uc_hrc_timstmps SET timestamp_column = SYSDATE WHERE view_name = 'VIEW_X' AND ucas_cycle = '2024';. Reporting use cases would include generating audit logs of data synchronization activities across all Hercules views.

Related Objects

Based on the provided relationship data, the primary structural relationship for this table is its own primary key constraint, IGS_UC_HRC_TIMSTMPS_PK, defined on the columns (VIEW_NAME, UCAS_CYCLE). The documentation does not list any foreign key constraints referencing this table. However, in a functional data model, this table would be closely related to the various underlying tables or materialized views that constitute the "Hercules Views" referenced by the VIEW_NAME column. It would act as a supporting control table for those data sources. Any PL/SQL packages or concurrent programs responsible for UCAS data extraction and interface management would likely query and maintain this table to manage their processing state.