Search Results ff_globals_f

Overview

FF_GLOBALS_F is the FastFormula globals definition table owned by the HR schema in Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.1 and 12.2.2. It stores the global values and their associated data types that are referenced by FastFormula definitions across Oracle HRMS and other EBS modules. FastFormula is the rules engine used to evaluate payroll calculations, benefits eligibility, absence accruals, compensation formulas, and similar business logic. Global values act as named constants or variables that a formula can reference without re-declaring them, providing a centralised mechanism for sharing typed values between formulas within a business group or legislation context.

From a heuristic Data Vault modelling perspective, this object is classified as standalone. It exhibits no enforced foreign key relationships to other documented tables, which suggests it functions as an independent reference dimension rather than a transactional hub or a dependent satellite. Modelers should treat GLOBAL_ID combined with the effective dating columns as the natural hub key candidate, while descriptive attributes such as the description and value columns would populate a satellite in a Data Vault design.

Key Information Stored

The table is date-tracked using EFFECTIVE_START_DATE and EFFECTIVE_END_DATE, allowing historical versions of a global to be retained and queried as of any point in time. The documented physical schema contains 16 columns, of which the following are most significant.

• GLOBAL_ID — surrogate identifier for the global value record; part of the primary key FF_GLOBALS_F_PK.
• GLOBAL_NAME — the textual name used to reference the global from within a FastFormula. Along with BUSINESS_GROUP_ID and LEGISLATION_CODE it forms the business-key unique index FF_GLOBALS_F_UK2, ensuring a global name is unique per business group and legislation.
• BUSINESS_GROUP_ID — identifies the HR business group that owns the global, enabling multi-tenant partitioning of formula globals.
• LEGISLATION_CODE — the legislative context (for example, country-specific payroll rules) under which the global applies.
• DATA_TYPE — declares the data type of the global value (such as number, text, or date), which FastFormula uses for type checking during compilation.
• GLOBAL_VALUE — the actual value assigned to the global that formulas resolve at runtime.
• GLOBAL_DESCRIPTION — free-text description explaining the purpose of the global.
• LAST_UPDATE_DATE, LAST_UPDATED_BY, LAST_UPDATE_LOGIN, CREATED_BY, CREATION_DATE — standard WHO audit columns recording creation and last modification metadata.
• OBJECT_VERSION_NUMBER — optimistic locking column used by the Oracle Application Framework (OAF) and concurrent updates.
• ZD_EDITION_NAME — editioning column supporting Oracle EBS 12.2 online patching, appearing in both unique indexes.

Common Use Cases and Queries

Developers and functional consultants query FF_GLOBALS_F when troubleshooting formula compilation errors, verifying that a referenced global exists with the correct data type, or auditing which globals are defined for a business group and legislation. A typical lookup resolves the current effective row for a given name.

• Retrieve the active value of a named global: SELECT global_name, data_type, global_value FROM hr.ff_globals_f WHERE global_name = :p_name AND business_group_id = :p_bg AND TRUNC(SYSDATE) BETWEEN effective_start_date AND effective_end_date;
• List all globals for a legislation to assess coverage before a payroll patch.
• Detect duplicate or orphaned globals after a business group consolidation by joining on GLOBAL_NAME and BUSINESS_GROUP_ID.
• Audit changes by filtering on LAST_UPDATE_DATE for a reporting window.

Related Objects

Although the mined relationship data classifies FF_GLOBALS_F as standalone, it participates logically in the FastFormula schema family. The most relevant companion objects include FF_FORMULAS_F, which holds the formula definitions that reference globals by name; FF_FORMULA_TYPES, which categorises formulas consuming these globals; and the FastFormula compiler and runtime APIs such as FF_EXEC and the FastFormula parser routines that resolve GLOBAL_NAME against this table. Reporting queries frequently join FF_GLOBALS_F to HR_ORGANIZATION_UNITS on BUSINESS_GROUP_ID to translate the owning business group into a readable name, and to FND_TERRITORIES or HR_LEGAL_ENTITIES via LEGISLATION_CODE for legislative context. Because the relationship classification is standalone, joins to these objects are conventional application-level relationships rather than enforced foreign keys.