Results for “ff_fdi_usages_f”

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

Overview

FF_FDI_USAGES_F is a compiler-generated metadata table owned by the HR schema in Oracle E-Business Suite, resident in the FastFormula (FF) product module. It stores the description of every data item (variable, database item, context, or token) referenced by a formula, as resolved by the FastFormula compiler at formula save or compile time. In effect, the table is the persisted inventory of "what a formula touches": for each formula, it records each item the compiler found, how the item was used, its data type, and any alternate or generated names produced during compilation. It is a core component of the FastFormula metadata layer that supports formula validation, diagnostics, and run-time binding in releases 12.1.1 and 12.2.2.

The documented FK relationship (FF_FDI_USAGES_F.ROUTE_ID references FF_ROUTES) and the ETRM relationship metadata classify this object heuristically as satellite-leaning in Data Vault terms. This is a modeling suggestion rather than a physical construct: the table describes attributes of a business key (a formula item within an effective-dated formula) rather than acting as a standalone hub or a pure many-to-many link, and it carries effective-dating columns as part of its unique key.

Key Information Stored

The primary key is documented as FF_FDI_USAGES_F_PK (FORMULA_ID, ITEM_NAME, EFFECTIVE_START_DATE, EFFECTIVE_END_DATE), which in the 12.2.2 physical schema is extended with ZD_EDITION_NAME. This composite key is a business key rather than a synthetic surrogate: it identifies a specific item usage within a specific effective-dated version of a formula. The unique index is therefore the authoritative uniqueness guarantee.

• FORMULA_ID — the formula whose compilation produced this usage record; the principal join back to the formula definition.
• ITEM_NAME — the name of the data item as written in the formula text, the second component of the business key.
• EFFECTIVE_START_DATE / EFFECTIVE_END_DATE — the effective-dating pair that allows historical and future versions of the same formula's item list to coexist.
• DATA_TYPE — the resolved type of the item (text, number, date, and so on) as determined by the compiler.
• USAGE — how the item is used within the formula, such as input, output, or database item.
• ITEM_GENERATED_NAME — a compiler-assigned internal name, typically produced when the original item name is not a valid run-time identifier.
• ALTERNATIVE_ITEM_NAME — an alternate name mapped to the item, supporting translation or aliasing.
• LOAD_WHEN_RUNNING — governs whether the item is fetched at formula execution time, an important performance and correctness flag.
• CONTEXT_LEVEL_SUM / CONTEXT_ID — context-level information used to resolve context-sensitive items referenced by the formula.
• INDICATOR_VAR_NAME — the indicator variable associated with the item during compilation.
• GLOBAL_ID — identifier linking the usage to its global or database definition.
• ROUTE_ID — foreign key to FF_ROUTES, indicating the formula route under which the item usage is recorded.
• ZD_EDITION_NAME — the editioning column introduced in 12.2.2 to support online patching and edition-based redefinition.

Common Use Cases and Queries

Typical uses center on impact analysis, compilation diagnostics, and reporting on which database items and contexts a given formula consumes. Querying by formula and date range is the standard pattern:

• Impact analysis: locate all formulas referencing a given item before changing or retiring a database item.
• Dependency reporting: list items grouped by USAGE and DATA_TYPE for a formula, useful when auditing payroll or absence formulas.
• Run-time load tuning: identify items with LOAD_WHEN_RUNNING set to determine execution-time fetch behavior.

A representative query joins the usages to the formula definition and filters to the current effective version:

• SELECT fu.formula_id, fu.item_name, fu.data_type, fu.usage FROM hr.ff_fdi_usages_f fu WHERE fu.formula_id = :formula_id AND sysdate BETWEEN fu.effective_start_date AND fu.effective_end_date;
• SELECT fu.item_name, COUNT(*) FROM hr.ff_fdi_usages_f fu GROUP BY fu.item_name ORDER BY 2 DESC;
• SELECT fu.formula_id, fr.route_id FROM hr.ff_fdi_usages_f fu JOIN hr.ff_routes fr ON fr.route_id = fu.route_id WHERE fu.item_name = :item_name;

Related Objects

The table sits within the FastFormula metadata cluster. Its documented dependencies are:

• FF_ROUTES — referenced through FF_FDI_USAGES_F.ROUTE_ID = FF_ROUTES.ROUTE_ID; a direct foreign key and the primary documented relationship.
• FF_FORMULAS_F — the formula definition header; joins on FORMULA_ID to obtain formula name, type, and status.
• FF_FORMULA_TYPES — classifies the formula, supporting filtered reporting by formula type.
• FF_DATABASE_ITEMS — supplies the definition and data type of database items referenced by ITEM_NAME.
• FF_CONTEXTS — provides context definitions used by CONTEXT_ID and context-level resolution.
• FF_GLOBALS_F — defines global values that GLOBAL_ID may reference.
• FF_COMPILER_ERRORS (or the equivalent compiler log) — the companion diagnostics object populated during the same compilation that produces these usage rows.
• FastFormula and formula-validation APIs — the compilation interfaces that generate and consume these records at formula save and run time.

Because FF_FDI_USAGES_F is compiler-generated, it should be treated as derived data: it is normally written by the FastFormula compiler and read by diagnostics, impact-analysis, and reporting tools rather than maintained manually.