Results for “ff_ext”

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

Overview

APPS.BIS_FORM_FUNCTION_EXTENSION_VL is a Validated Language (VL) view in the Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) 12.1.1 and 12.2.2 application schema. It exposes metadata describing extensions that Oracle Forms-based functions attach to standard EBS form functionality, typically in the context of the Balanced Scorecard and business intelligence (BIS) product family. The view is built as a language-dependent join over the base extension entity and its translation table, so it presents a single row per extension object in the session's active language.

Because it resolves the session language through the USERENV('LANG') call, the view is intended for interactive reporting and integration scenarios where localized names and descriptions are appropriate — for example, on report output or in form-driven LOV queries. In practice, developers and analysts query this view to enumerate which form functions have BIS extensions and to read those extensions' displayable labels, rather than to inspect raw multilingual data. This aligns with the standard EBS "_VL" convention, where the view filters the underlying translation (TL) table to the user's language.

Underlying Base Objects

Although the documented metadata lists no referenced base objects, the view text reveals that it is defined over two base tables:

• BIS_FORM_FUNCTION_EXTENSION (aliased FF_EXT) — the primary entity table that stores one row per form function extension, holding the object name, object type, application, functional area, and standard audit columns.
• BIS_FORM_FUNCTION_EXTENSION_TL (aliased FF_EXT_TL) — the translation table that stores the language-specific NAME and DESCRIPTION for each extension record.

The two tables are joined on OBJECT_NAME, and the join does not require the translation to be the same object type — the view matches purely on object name. The translation side is further restricted so that FF_EXT_TL.LANGUAGE = USERENV('LANG'), ensuring the returned NAME and DESCRIPTION match the session language. All other projected columns are sourced from the base FF_EXT table, so the core attributes remain language-independent aside from the translated labels. Because it is a view, no storage is consumed; the base tables remain the objects of record for inserts, updates, and deletes.

Key Columns

• OBJECT_NAME — the identifier of the form function extension object; also the join key between the base and translation tables.
• OBJECT_TYPE — classifies the extension object, distinguishing the type of form functionality being extended.
• NAME — the localized display name of the extension, retrieved from the TL table for the current language.
• DESCRIPTION — the localized description of the extension, likewise from the TL table.
• APPLICATION_ID — the application owning the extension; joins to FND_APPLICATION for application context.
• FUNCTIONAL_AREA_ID — the functional area to which the extension belongs, useful for grouping and filtering.
• CREATED_BY, CREATION_DATE — standard audit columns recording who created the base record and when.
• LAST_UPDATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_DATE — standard audit columns reflecting the most recent update to the base record.
• LAST_UPDATE_LOGIN — the login identifier of the user who performed the last update, supporting audit traceability.

Common Use Cases and Queries

A frequent requirement is simply to enumerate all extensions with their localized labels for the current session language:

• SELECT object_name, object_type, name, description, application_id, functional_area_id FROM apps.bis_form_function_extension_vl ORDER BY object_name;
• Restrict to a single application using the numeric APPLICATION_ID, or resolve the application name by joining to FND_APPLICATION.
• Filter by OBJECT_TYPE to isolate a particular category of form extension when auditing how a form function has been customized.
• Join FUNCTIONAL_AREA_ID to the relevant functional area table to group extensions by area for reporting.
• Use the audit columns to identify recently changed extension definitions or the user responsible for a modification.

Where the search term "ff_ext_tl" appears, it refers to the underlying translation table FF_EXT_TL that this view abstracts; querying the view is preferable because it applies the language filter and presents both base and translated columns in one result set, sparing callers from writing an explicit join to the translation table.