Search Results cs_kb_element_types_vl




Overview
Explore in AI Chat

Overview

CS_KB_ELEMENT_TYPES_VL is a multlingual (VL) view owned by the APPS schema in Oracle E-Business Suite, belonging to the CS (Service) product family. It exposes knowledge base element type definitions used by Oracle Knowledge Base and related Service modules. Because the underlying data is stored using the Oracle multi-language architecture — a base table holding language-independent attributes and a translation table holding language-dependent text — the VL view joins the two and filters translations by the session language so that consumers see records in their own locale.

The view is defined as a reporting and integration-friendly interface rather than a transactional entry point. It presents element type identity, descriptive text, descriptive flexfield segments, and date-range activation controls in a single flattened row, allowing concurrent programs, Discoverer workbooks, OAF/Forms lookups, and external integrations to resolve element type names without issuing separate joins against the base and translation tables. All access is read-oriented, and the view inherits the standard EBS "WHO" audit columns from the base table.

Underlying Base Objects

The documented ETRM metadata states the view is constructed over two referenced base objects, both exposed as synonyms in the APPS schema:

The join is performed on ELEMENT_TYPE_ID, with the translation side restricted by T.LANGUAGE = USERENV('LANG'). This is the standard seeded VL pattern: one row per base entity, resolved to the translation matching the current runtime language. Because USERENV('LANG') returns the session-level language code, the same row identifier can return different NAME and DESCRIPTION values depending on the language environment of the connecting user.

Key Columns

  • ROW_ID — the ROWID of the base table row; useful for direct row access and debugging.
  • ELEMENT_TYPE_ID — primary key and foreign key target; the join key between base and translation records.
  • ELEMENT_TYPE_NAME — the internal, untranslated name carried on the base table; typically used programmatically.
  • NAME — the translated display name from the TL table in the session language.
  • DESCRIPTION — the translated long description from the TL table.
  • CREATION_DATE, CREATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_DATE, LAST_UPDATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_LOGIN — standard EBS audit (WHO) columns.
  • ATTRIBUTE_CATEGORY and ATTRIBUTE1–ATTRIBUTE15 — descriptive flexfield segments available for customer-defined element type metadata.
  • START_DATE_ACTIVE, END_DATE_ACTIVE — effective dating range controlling whether an element type is considered active at a point in time.

Common Use Cases and Queries

Typical uses include populating LOVs and list pages in Service and Knowledge Base extensions, joining element type names to knowledge article or solution data for reporting, and validating that expected element types exist and are within their active date range. A basic listing query is shown below:

SELECT element_type_id,
       element_type_name,
       name,
       description,
       start_date_active,
       end_date_active
  FROM apps.cs_kb_element_types_vl
 WHERE TRUNC(SYSDATE) BETWEEN NVL(start_date_active, SYSDATE)
                         AND NVL(end_date_active, SYSDATE + 1)
 ORDER BY name;

To resolve a stored element type id to its display text in the current session language:

SELECT v.name
  FROM apps.cs_kb_element_types_vl v
 WHERE v.element_type_id = :p_element_type_id;

Because the view applies the USERENV('LANG') filter internally, callers should not add their own LANGUAGE predicate; doing so is unnecessary and can suppress rows if the requested language lacks an installed translation. For reporting that must be language-independent, query CS_KB_ELEMENT_TYPES_B directly and reserve the VL view for user-facing output.