Search Results dbms_xmlparser




Overview
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Overview

DBMS_XMLPARSER is an Oracle-supplied PL/SQL package owned by the XDB schema and exposed to the E-Business Suite application tier through the PUBLIC synonym XMLPARSER. In Oracle EBS 12.1.1 and 12.2.2 it provides a server-side DOM (Document Object Model) parser interface for XML content that originates outside the standard Oracle XML Publisher or BI Publisher stack. The package allows PL/SQL code to instantiate a parser object, feed it XML from a string, buffer, CLOB, or file, and obtain an in-memory DOM document handle for subsequent navigation and manipulation.

Its primary business function is to support inbound and outbound XML integration flows where EBS must interpret arbitrary XML — supplier catalogues, bank payment messages, EDI payloads converted to XML, tax authority submissions, or configuration extracts — rather than simply transform it through XSL-FO. Within the EBS technology stack, DBMS_XMLPARSER is the entry point of the chain DBMS_XMLPARSER → DBMS_XMLDOM → DBMS_XSLPROCESSOR, with the resulting DOM node tree manipulated through DBMS_XMLDOM and rendered or re-serialized as required.

Key Procedures and Functions

Twenty-three documented program units make up the package. The core lifecycle is handled by NEWPARSER, which returns a parser instance, and FREEPARSER, which releases the underlying DOM memory when processing is complete.

  • NEWPARSER / FREEPARSER — allocate and deallocate a parser handle.
  • PARSE — parses a URI into a DOM document.
  • PARSEBUFFER — parses XML held in a PL/SQL or VARCHAR2 buffer.
  • PARSECLOB — parses XML stored in a CLOB, the typical choice for large payloads held in EBS staging tables.
  • PARSEDTD, PARSEDTDBUFFER, PARSEDTDCLOB — parse DTD definitions from URI, buffer, or CLOB respectively, used when validating against an external grammar.
  • SETBASEDIR / GETBASEDIR — define the base directory used to resolve relative references in parsed documents.
  • SETVALIDATIONMODE / GETVALIDATIONMODE — control whether the parser validates against a DTD, and report the current mode.
  • SETPRESERVEWHITESPACE — retain or strip insignificant whitespace nodes.
  • SETDOCTYPE / GETDOCTYPE — assign or retrieve the document type declaration.
  • SHOWWARNINGS — surface non-fatal parser warnings generated during a parse.
  • SETERRORLOG / GETERRORLOG — direct parser errors to a log destination for diagnostics.
  • GETDOCUMENT — return the DOM document handle produced by the most recent parse.
  • GETRELEASEVERSION — report the internal release of the XML parser library.

Tables Accessed

The package does not read or write application tables. ETRM identifies only UTL_FILE as a referenced object, accessed through an APPS synonym where file-based parsing or error logging is required. Persistent XML content is supplied by the caller, typically from a CLOB column in a custom or interface staging table, which DBMS_XMLPARSER then converts into a transient DOM tree in session memory.

Usage Notes

DBMS_XMLPARSER is virtually never invoked directly from an EBS form; Oracle Forms cannot consume a PL/SQL DOM handle. It is instead called from custom PL/SQL packages, interface programs, and concurrent programs that must interpret XML before mapping values into EBS interface tables. The package is referenced by two other packages documented in ETRM, and DBMS_XMLPARSER itself depends on STANDARD, DBMS_XMLDOM, and SYS. Because DOM trees are held in server memory for the life of the parser handle, FREEPARSER should be called explicitly in exception handlers to avoid PGA growth, and PARSECLOB is preferred over PARSEBUFFER for payloads of significant size.