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Overview
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Overview

AX_STRUCTURES is a table in the AX (Global Accounting Engine) schema of Oracle E-Business Suite, present in both 12.1.1 and 12.2.2. Its documented purpose is to hold the structures used by distribution plans to retrieve information. In practice, each row describes how a distribution plan sources values from a source table and maps them into target segments or columns — through a query chain, a source table and column value, or a positioning rule — so the accounting engine can assemble the data that downstream distribution and arithmetic logic consumes.

The table is owned by the AX schema and is reported as VALID. Its primary key is AX_STRUCTURES_PK, defined across six columns: SET_OF_BOOKS_ID, APPLICATION_ID, TRANSLATION_SCHEME, PLAN_NAME, STRUCTURE_TYPE, and STRUCTURE_NUMBER. A unique index, AX_STRUCTURES_U1, mirrors the same six columns, confirming this composite as the business-key candidate. The documented physical schema exposes 20 columns, with the standard Oracle EBS WHO audit columns (LAST_UPDATE_DATE, LAST_UPDATED_BY, CREATION_DATE, CREATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_LOGIN) present.

Under a heuristic Data Vault classification mined from the foreign-key structure, AX_STRUCTURES is satellite-leaning. It should be treated as a modeling suggestion only: the table carries descriptive attributes keyed by a composite business key rather than acting as an independent hub or pure link.

Key Information Stored

The most significant columns are:

  • SET_OF_BOOKS_ID — the ledger context; part of the primary key and the leading column of the composite business key.
  • APPLICATION_ID — identifies the owning application dimension of the structure.
  • TRANSLATION_SCHEME — the translation scheme under which the structure operates; part of the composite key.
  • PLAN_NAME — the distribution plan this structure belongs to; key column and the join point to AX_DISTRIB_PLANS.
  • STRUCTURE_TYPE — classifies the structure variant within the plan.
  • STRUCTURE_NUMBER — the sequence/instance number distinguishing multiple structures of the same type.
  • SOURCE_TYPE, SOURCE_TABLE, SOURCE_COLUMN_VALUE, SOURCE_SEGMENT — describe where data is retrieved from.
  • QUERY_CHAIN_NAME — references AX_QUERY_CHAINS; key column.
  • TARGET_SEGMENT, TARGET_COLUMN_NAME — the destination of the retrieved value.
  • START_POSITION, END_POSITION — positional boundaries used when extracting substrings or defining ranges.

The surrogate/primary key is AX_STRUCTURES_PK; the business-key candidate is the identical column set documented as AX_STRUCTURES_U1.

Common Use Cases and Queries

Typical usage centers on inspecting or troubleshooting a distribution plan's sourcing logic:

  • List all structures for a given ledger and plan: 
    SELECT structure_type, structure_number, source_type,
       source_table, target_column_name
FROM   ax.ax_structures
WHERE  set_of_books_id = :sob
AND    plan_name       = :plan;
  • Trace a query-chain reference back to its definition by joining QUERY_CHAIN_NAME and APPLICATION_ID to AX_QUERY_CHAINS.
  • Reconcile arithmetic expressions and conditions that point at a structure via AX_ARITHMETIC_EXPR and AX_CONDITIONS.
  • Audit who last changed a structure using LAST_UPDATED_BY and LAST_UPDATE_DATE.

Related Objects

  • AX_DISTRIB_PLANS — parent of the structure; joined on SET_OF_BOOKS_ID, APPLICATION_ID, TRANSLATION_SCHEME, and PLAN_NAME.
  • AX_QUERY_CHAINS — referenced by AX_STRUCTURES.APPLICATION_ID and QUERY_CHAIN_NAME.
  • AX_ARITHMETIC_EXPR — child table referencing AX_STRUCTURES on SET_OF_BOOKS_ID, APPLICATION_ID, TRANSLATION_SCHEME, PLAN_NAME, STRUCTURE_TYPE, and STRUCTURE_NUMBER.
  • AX_CONDITIONS — child table referencing AX_STRUCTURES on the same six-key composite.