Search Results ce_debug_pkg

Overview

CE_DEBUG_PKG is a diagnostic utility package owned by the APPS schema in Oracle E-Business Suite. It belongs to the Cash Management (CE) product family and is classified under the generic API grouping OTHER, indicating that it is not a public business API but rather an internal developer aid. The package was created in 2002 and is unchanged (version 120.0) across both the 12.1.1 and 12.2.2 releases, confirming its stability as a low-level debugging mechanism rather than a functional component subject to business logic changes.

The package provides a lightweight, file-based tracing facility for PL/SQL code. It allows a developer or support engineer to redirect diagnostic output generated during execution of Cash Management programs into a server-side flat file, and to switch that tracing off when it is no longer required. It is declared with AUTHID CURRENT_USER, meaning that privileges are evaluated against the invoker's schema rather than the definer's, which is consistent with a utility intended for controlled diagnostic use by privileged technical users.

Key Procedures and Functions

The package exposes three documented procedures, all of which are parameter-light and oriented toward a simple on/off debugging workflow:

• ENABLE_FILE_DEBUG — Accepts a directory path and a file name and activates file-based debug output, directing subsequent trace messages to the identified file. It is the entry point that a developer calls before running the code under investigation.
• DISABLE_FILE_DEBUG — Takes no arguments and terminates the active file debug session. This is the object referenced in the search term "disable_file_debug" and is the recommended way to release the debug file handle and flush output once diagnostics are complete.
• DEBUG — Accepts a text line and writes it to the currently active debug file. Callers embed DEBUG calls at strategic points in their code to record variable values, loop counters, or milestone messages. If file debugging has not been enabled, or has been disabled, the call is effectively inert.

Tables Accessed

The package does not read or write any database tables. Its only documented external object is UTL_FILE, the Oracle-supplied PL/SQL file I/O package, accessed through an APPS synonym. All output is written to a flat file on the database server host, not to a database table. Consequently, CE_DEBUG_PKG has no transactional footprint, generates no redo relative to application data, and imposes no locking on application objects. The destination directory must be one registered in the database's allowed directory list (for example UTIL_FILE_DIR or an equivalent parameter), since file access is governed by the database server's directory security settings.

Usage Notes

CE_DEBUG_PKG is a developer and support tool rather than an end-user feature. It is not invoked from an Oracle Forms screen and is not exposed through a concurrent program definition. Its typical use cases are:

• Temporarily instrumenting a custom or seeded Cash Management PL/SQL routine during unit testing, then removing the instrumentation before promoting the code.
• Reproducing a production issue under a controlled script, where a support engineer inserts ENABLE_FILE_DEBUG at the start of the session and DISABLE_FILE_DEBUG in an exception handler or at the end of the script.
• Diagnosing integration or reconciliation flows in CE-related processes where tracing of intermediate values is required.

Because the package is referenced by only one other object in the APPS schema, its footprint is deliberately minimal. Technicians should treat ENABLE_FILE_DEBUG and DISABLE_FILE_DEBUG as a paired operation: leaving file debug enabled can accumulate large files on the database host and, in some environments, hold an open file handle. Output files should be reviewed promptly and removed after diagnosis. The package should never be relied upon for production auditing or error logging; for those purposes the standard EBS logging and diagnostic facilities, or a dedicated custom logging table, are preferable.