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Overview

PA_CI_TYPES_VL is a translated (VL) view owned by the APPS schema in Oracle E-Business Suite, belonging to the Projects (PA) product family. It exposes the list of existing control item types defined in the system. Control items are used within Oracle Projects to track and manage project-related items such as deliverables, submittals, and other controlled artifacts that flow through a project lifecycle. The view joins the base table PA_CI_TYPES_B with its translation table PA_CI_TYPES_TL, resolving the language-specific columns (NAME, SHORT_NAME, DESCRIPTION) based on the session language via USERENV('LANG'). Because it is a VL view, it is the primary access point used by Oracle Forms, OAF pages, and concurrent programs whenever user-facing control item type information is required in the current language context. From an integration and reporting standpoint, it provides a stable, denormalized read interface that combines descriptive attributes, control flags, category assignments, and Who columns, without requiring the consumer to handle the B/TL join or language filtering.

Underlying Base Objects

The view is defined over two underlying objects, both referenced through APPS synonyms:

• PA_CI_TYPES_B — the base (non-translated) table holding the canonical control item type definition, including all flags, category references, activation dates, and DFF attributes.
• PA_CI_TYPES_TL — the translation table holding language-specific text (NAME, SHORT_NAME, DESCRIPTION, plus LANGUAGE and SOURCE_LANG).

The join predicate is TL.CI_TYPE_ID = B.CI_TYPE_ID combined with TL.LANGUAGE = USERENV('LANG'), which restricts the result set to a single row per control item type in the session language. If a translation is missing the row is suppressed, so the effective row count reflects only types localized for the current language. The view is documented as VALID in ETRM 12.2.2, and the same definition applies in 12.1.1 as the object spans both releases without material structural change.

Key Columns

• CI_TYPE_ID — primary identifier of the control item type; used as the FK join key throughout Oracle Projects.
• CI_TYPE_CLASS_CODE — classifies the type, determining its functional behavior.
• NAME / SHORT_NAME / DESCRIPTION — translated descriptive text sourced from PA_CI_TYPES_TL.
• AUTO_NUMBER_FLAG / PREFIX_AUTO_NUMBER — control automatic numbering of control items of this type.
• RESOLUTION_REQUIRED_FLAG / APPROVAL_REQUIRED_FLAG / APPROVAL_TYPE_CODE — workflow-related behavior controlling whether resolution and approval steps are enforced.
• SOURCE_ATTRS_ENABLED_FLAG / ALLOW_ALL_USAGE_FLAG — govern attribute sourcing and usage scope.
• CLASSIFICATION_CATEGORY / REASON_CATEGORY / RESOLUTION_CATEGORY — DFF category assignments returned by these source code references.
• START_DATE_ACTIVE / END_DATE_ACTIVE — date-range validity of the type.
• SUBCONTRACTOR_REPORTING_FLAG / IMPACT_BUDGET_TYPE_CODE — reporting and budget impact controls.
• COST_COL_FLAG / REV_COL_FLAG / DIR_COST_REG_FLAG / SUPP_COST_REG_FLAG / DIR_REG_REV_COL_FLAG — indicate which cost, revenue, and commitment columns the type affects.
• ATTRIBUTE_CATEGORY and ATTRIBUTE1–15 — descriptive flexfield columns from the base table.
• LANGUAGE / SOURCE_LANG — translation identifiers.
• CREATION_DATE, CREATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_DATE, LAST_UPDATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_LOGIN, RECORD_VERSION_NUMBER — audit and optimistic locking columns.
• ROW_ID — pseudo column for the base table row, useful for mass updates in Forms.

Common Use Cases and Queries

The view is typically queried for lookup lists, validation of CI_TYPE_ID values, and reporting on control item configuration. A representative query to list active control item types in the current session language is:

SELECT ci_type_id, ci_type_class_code, name, short_name, auto_number_flag, approval_required_flag FROM pa_ci_types_vl WHERE TRUNC(SYSDATE) BETWEEN NVL(start_date_active, SYSDATE) AND NVL(end_date_active, SYSDATE) ORDER BY name;

A second common pattern joins the view to transactional control item tables (for example PA_CI_HEADERS) to resolve type descriptions in reports:

SELECT c.ci_type_id, t.name, t.short_name FROM pa_ci_headers c, pa_ci_types_vl t WHERE c.ci_type_id = t.ci_type_id;

Because the view filters on the session language, reports intended for multi-language environments should either join directly to PA_CI_TYPES_TL with an explicit language, or accept the current USERENV('LANG') behavior. For integration purposes, the view should be treated as read-only; DML must be directed to PA_CI_TYPES_B and PA_CI_TYPES_TL respectively.