Results for “dbms_lob”

AI-generated from documented ETRM metadata — verify critical details on the linked pages.

Overview

DBMS_LOB is the Oracle-supplied PL/SQL package body owned by SYS that provides the core application programming interface for manipulating large objects (LOBs) within the Oracle database. In the Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.1 and 12.2.2 environments, this package is a foundational infrastructure component rather than a business-facing API. It supplies the primitive operations—reading, writing, copying, comparing, truncating, and managing temporary LOBs—that EBS application code relies upon whenever data is stored in BLOB, CLOB, NCLOB, or BFILE columns. The ETRM metadata confirms the object status as VALID, with the documented package body exposing ninety-two procedures and functions.

Key Procedures and Functions

The documented API surface covers several functional groups. The following represent the procedures and functions recorded in the ETRM metadata for this package:

• APPEND — Appends the contents of one internal LOB to another.
• COMPARE — Compares two internal LOBs, typically over a specified offset and length, returning a match indicator.
• CLOSE — Closes a previously opened internal LOB.
• COPY — Copies a portion of one internal LOB into another, supporting offset and length semantics.
• CREATETEMPORARY — Creates a temporary LOB in the user's temporary tablespace for intermediate processing.
• ERASE — Erases a specified portion of an internal LOB by overwriting it with zero-byte fillers.
• FILECLOSE — Closes a BFILE that was previously opened with FILEOPEN.
• FILECLOSEALL — Closes all BFILEs currently open in the session.
• FILEEXISTS — Verifies whether the operating-system file referenced by a BFILE locator is present and accessible.
• FILEGETNAME — Returns the directory alias and file name associated with a BFILE locator.
• FILEISOPEN — Reports whether a given BFILE is currently open.
• FILEOPEN — Opens a BFILE for read access.
• FREETEMPORARY — Releases a temporary LOB, returning its space to the temporary tablespace.
• GETCHUNKSIZE — Returns the optimal chunk size for accessing a LOB, used to size read/write buffers efficiently.
• GETLENGTH — Returns the current length in bytes or characters of a LOB.
• GET_STORAGE_LIMIT — Returns the storage limit configured for the LOB.
• ISTEMPORARY — Indicates whether a LOB locator refers to a temporary LOB.
• ISOPEN — Reports whether an internal LOB is currently open.
• LOADFROMFILE — Loads data from a BFILE into an internal LOB.
• LOADBLOBFROMFILE — Loads BLOB data from a BFILE into an internal BLOB, supporting offset-based partial loads.

Tables Accessed

The ETRM metadata records no application tables accessed through APPS synonyms for this package. DBMS_LOB operates directly against LOB locators and the underlying LOB segments and BFILE directory objects, rather than against EBS application tables. Its effect on persistent data is expressed through LOB columns defined on application tables, not through direct SQL against named business entities.

Usage Notes

DBMS_LOB is invoked pervasively across EBS. The metadata notes the package body is referenced by 182 other database objects, reflecting its role as shared infrastructure. Typical invocations include EBS forms that attach documents to entities such as Purchase Orders or Items, concurrent programs that stage or load attachments, and custom PL/SQL that reads or writes CLOB and BLOB columns. The package body itself references SYS DBMS_LOB, STANDARD, SYS_STUB_FOR_PURITY_ANALYSIS, and UTL_IDENT. Because DBMS_LOB is a SYS-owned, VALID object at the documented release level, it should never be modified; any customized LOB handling must wrap the supplied API rather than replace it.