Search Results blocks_are_different

Overview

APPS.HXC_TIMECARD_BLOCK_UTILS is a utility PL/SQL package within the Oracle E-Business Suite Time and Labor module (HXC schema). It provides a reusable library of helper functions and procedures used to inspect, classify, convert, and manipulate the in-memory "block" structures that represent timecard data during self-service time entry. The package revolves around the HXC_BLOCK_TYPE and HXC_BLOCK_TABLE_TYPE collection types, which model individual timecard building blocks and collections of blocks respectively. Its classification API is OTHER, indicating it is an internal support package rather than a public, user-facing API — it is not designed for direct invocation by external integrations but is consumed by the wider Time and Labor self-service stack.

The package is central to determining the state and role of any given timecard block — whether a block is new, existing, active, updated, a parent, a detail, a day, or a timecard block. A user searching for is_active_block is typically looking to understand how the application identifies which timecard block is currently the "active" (in-focus or editable) block within a timecard being edited.

Key Procedures and Functions

The package exposes 21 documented procedures and functions. The most relevant to block classification and state management include:

• IS_ACTIVE_BLOCK — Returns a BOOLEAN indicating whether the supplied block (p_block) is the active block on the timecard. This is the object of interest for users querying active-block logic.
• IS_NEW_BLOCK — Determines whether a block has been newly created and not yet persisted.
• IS_EXISTING_BLOCK — Determines whether a block already exists in the underlying data store.
• IS_UPDATED_BLOCK — Detects blocks carrying unsaved modifications.
• IS_TIMECARD_BLOCK, IS_DAY_BLOCK, IS_DETAIL_BLOCK — Classify a block by its structural role in the timecard hierarchy.
• IS_PARENT_BLOCK — Two overloads that test whether a block is the parent of a given parent id/version, one returning BOOLEAN and one returning PLS_INTEGER.
• ANY_NEW_BLOCKS — Tests a whole block collection for the presence of any new blocks.
• FIND_ACTIVE_TIMECARD_INDEX, INITIALIZE_TIMECARD_INDEX — Locate and initialize the positional index of the active timecard within a block collection.
• CONVERT_TO_DPWR_BLOCKS — Converts blocks into the HXC_SELF_SERVICE_TIME_DEPOSIT.timecard_info structure used by the self-service deposit path.
• PARENT_HAS_CHANGED, BLOCKS_ARE_DIFFERENT, SORT_BLOCKS, NEXT_BLOCK_ID, PROCESS_BLOCK, CAN_PROCESS_BLOCK, BUILD_BLOCK, DATE_VALUE — Support change detection, ordering, identity generation, processing eligibility, block construction, and date parsing.

Tables Accessed

The package references two tables via APPS synonyms:

• HXC_TIME_BUILDING_BLOCKS — The core Time and Labor table storing timecard building blocks. The package reads parent/child identity and object version numbers here to resolve relationships and detect changes (notably in the IS_PARENT_BLOCK and PARENT_HAS_CHANGED logic).
• PLITBLM — A PL/SQL-indexed table structure referenced for in-memory collection handling.

Usage Notes

HXC_TIMECARD_BLOCK_UTILS is invoked primarily by Time and Labor self-service timecard pages and by other PL/SQL packages in the stack; it is referenced by 18 other packages. It is not a standalone concurrent program. Developers extending or debugging self-service time entry typically encounter it when tracing how the active block is resolved, how new versus existing blocks are distinguished, or how blocks are converted for the deposit/processing path. Because it depends on internal block type structures, custom code should call it only within a compatible Time and Labor session context.