Results for “ff_database_items_tl”

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

Overview

FF_DATABASE_ITEMS_TL is the translation (TL) table for FastFormula database item definitions in Oracle E-Business Suite. It resides in the HR schema and is owned by the FastFormula (FF) product module. The table stores the language-specific, translated names of database items — the named values that FastFormula formulas reference at runtime, such as EMPLOYEE_NUMBER, ASSIGNMENT_ID, or PAY_RATE. While the base table FF_DATABASE_ITEMS_VL (or its underlying _B and _TL pair) holds the language-independent definition, this table carries the counterpart rows that allow the FastFormula interface and error messages to present database item names in the user's session language.

From a Data Vault modeling perspective, the mined heuristic classifies this object as satellite-leaning. That is a reasonable suggestion: the table is a descriptive attribute satellite attached to a business key composed of the database item name, its owning user entity, and the language. It is not a hub (it does not originate the identifier) and not a link (it does not resolve a many-to-many relationship between two independent hubs). The row changes only when translations or descriptive attributes change, which is the classic satellite pattern.

Key Information Stored

The documented schema exposes 11 columns. The most operationally significant are:

• USER_NAME — the language-independent name of the database item, forming part of the composite primary key and the primary human-readable identifier used in formulas.
• USER_ENTITY_ID — the foreign key to FF_USER_ENTITIES, tieing each database item to the user entity (table or view) that exposes it.
• LANGUAGE — the language code for the translation row, closing the composite primary key.
• SOURCE_LANG — the language code of the source row from which this translation was derived, typically US for the base English definition.
• TRANSLATED_USER_NAME — the localized, display-facing name of the database item, which is the reason this table exists.
• DESCRIPTION — localized descriptive text, often shown in FastFormula editing tools.
• LAST_UPDATE_DATE, LAST_UPDATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_LOGIN, CREATED_BY, CREATION_DATE — the standard EBS WHO audit columns.

The surrogate primary key is FF_DATABASE_ITEMS_TL_PK, spanning USER_NAME, USER_ENTITY_ID, and LANGUAGE. No separate single-column surrogate is documented; the primary key itself is the business-key candidate captured by the unique index of the same name. There is a single foreign key: USER_ENTITY_ID references FF_USER_ENTITIES, confirming that every translated database item belongs to exactly one registered user entity.

Common Use Cases and Queries

Typical usage centers on localization validation and metadata reporting. A common query checks that every base row has a matching translation in a target language:

SELECT b.user_name, b.user_entity_id
FROM ff_database_items_tl b
WHERE b.language = 'US'
AND NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM ff_database_items_tl t
WHERE t.user_name = b.user_name
AND t.user_entity_id = b.user_entity_id
AND t.language = 'DE');

Reporting queries join to FF_USER_ENTITIES to resolve which entity a translated item belongs to, and to FND_LANGUAGES to convert the language code into a display name. Extract queries for translation workbench tooling typically select SOURCE_LANG, TRANSLATED_USER_NAME, and DESCRIPTION together, filtered by LANGUAGE and USER_ENTITY_ID. Because this is a TL table, queries written against the view layer usually rely on the session language rather than filtering explicitly.

Related Objects

• FF_USER_ENTITIES — parent table; joined on USER_ENTITY_ID. Defines the entities that own database items.
• FF_DATABASE_ITEMS_VL — the view exposing the base plus translated rows, the normal read path for FastFormula consumers.
• FF_DATABASE_ITEMS_B — the language-independent base table holding non-translatable columns.
• FF_DATABASE_ITEMS_TL (self) — the translation pair used in completeness checks.
• FF_FORMULAS_F and FF_FORMULA_CONTEXTS — consumers that resolve database items by name during formula parsing and execution.
• FND_LANGUAGES — reference table mapped to the LANGUAGE and SOURCE_LANG columns for display.

Together these objects form the metadata spine that lets FastFormula translate the logical names authors write into the physical database items the engine evaluates.