Search Results datetime_format_mask

Overview

The APPS.HR_FORM_TEMPLATE_INFO package body is a server-side PL/SQL API within Oracle E-Business Suite (available across 12.1.1 and 12.2.2) that provides programmatic access to form template configuration data stored in the Human Resources foundation tables. Its central purpose is to resolve the metadata that governs how Oracle Forms-based self-service and HR windows are rendered — including which form is associated with a template, which application owns it, and the date/time format masks applied to displayed date fields. The package abstracts direct table access from callers, allowing forms, other PL/SQL packages, and customization code to retrieve template attributes through a stable, cached interface rather than querying the underlying base tables directly. The p_template_name search term commonly associated with this object reflects the package's role in mapping template identity to form behavior.

Key Procedures and Functions

The package exposes a small, focused set of documented program units:

• FORM_TEMPLATE — The principal retrieval function. It returns a record of type t_form_template populated from HR_FORM_TEMPLATES_B for a supplied form template identifier. It includes a cursor-based query and applies a caching pattern using the global g_form_template_id and g_form_template variables, returning the cached value when the requested identifier matches the previously fetched record. This avoids repeated queries during a user session.
• APPLICATION_ID — Returns the application identifier associated with a given form template, supporting determination of the owning EBS application for the form.
• FORM_ID — Returns the Oracle Forms module identifier linked to the template, used to launch or resolve the correct form.
• DATE_FORMAT_MASK — Returns the date display format mask applied to date fields rendered for the template.
• DATETIME_FORMAT_MASK — Returns the combined date and time display format mask.

All functions follow Oracle EBS API conventions, using hr_utility.set_location for debug tracing and applying hr_api.g_number as a sentinel in cache comparisons.

Tables Accessed

The package reads from the following documented tables (through APPS synonyms):

• HR_FORM_TEMPLATES_B — The base table holding form template definitions, including template name, legislation code, enabled flag, help target, and the thirty generic information1..information30 attribute columns. This is the primary source for FORM_TEMPLATE.
• FND_APPLICATION — Provides application name and identifier resolution for the owning application.
• FND_FORM — Supplies the registered Oracle Forms module details associated with the template.
• FND_FORM_FUNCTIONS — Links form templates to functional definitions used for security and menu assignment.
• HR_FORM_PROPERTIES — Stores additional template property and format-mask configuration.

Usage Notes

This package is typically invoked from Oracle Forms clients and supporting PL/SQL during the initialization of HR self-service and template-driven windows, where the runtime must determine which form to open and how to format date fields. It is also referenced by five other packages, indicating it serves as a shared utility layer for template resolution. Customizations may call FORM_TEMPLATE and the format-mask functions directly, but should be aware of the session-level caching behavior: a repeated call with the same p_form_template_id returns the previously cached record without re-querying. Because it is a public API classified as OTHER, extensions should treat the documented signatures as stable and avoid dependence on the internal record layout.