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Overview

FND_FLEX_DSC_API is the public PL/SQL API package provided by Oracle Application Object Library for the programmatic definition and maintenance of descriptive flexfields in Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.1 and 12.2.2. Descriptive flexfields (DFFs) extend standard EBS tables and forms with customer-specific attribute columns. While this metadata is ordinarily maintained through the Descriptive Flexfields window, the FND_FLEX_DSC_API package exposes the same model to batch and integration code, allowing administrators to register flexfields, create and modify contexts and segments, wire global and context-sensitive segments to underlying database columns, and validate the resulting structure without manual form entry. The package resides in the APPS schema, is classified as a public API, and is implemented as a package body with dependencies on the FND_API error-handling framework and the underlying flexfield dictionary tables. It is referenced by eighteen other database objects, confirming its role as a foundational service rather than a leaf-level utility.

Key Procedures and Functions

The package exposes twenty-eight documented procedures and functions, which fall into several functional groups.

• Session and diagnostic control: SET_SESSION_MODE, SET_VALIDATION, DEBUG_ON, DEBUG_OFF, and VERSION manage runtime behavior, enable validation of DFF definitions during execution, and support diagnostics.
• Error and registration handling: MESSAGE, REGISTER, and the utility FLEXFIELD_EXISTS support message retrieval, registration of flexfield metadata, and pre-flight existence checks.
• Context creation and maintenance: CREATE_CONTEXT, UPDATE_CONTEXT, DELETE_CONTEXT, and SETUP_CONTEXT_FIELD establish and manage the context (structure) definitions that determine which segments appear under a given condition.
• Segment definition: CREATE_SEGMENT, MODIFY_SEGMENT, and DELETE_SEGMENT create, alter, and remove context-sensitive or global segments, including their assignments to underlying table columns.
• Column and reference field management: ENABLE_COLUMNS, DISABLE_COLUMNS, and CREATE_REFERENCE_FIELD bind flexfield segments to database columns and define reference field behavior.
• Lifecycle operations: FREEZE and DELETE_FLEXFIELD finalize a flexfield definition or remove it entirely.

Tables Accessed

The package works primarily against the descriptive flexfield dictionary. Definition-level data resides in FND_DESCRIPTIVE_FLEXS, FND_DESCRIPTIVE_FLEXS_TL, and FND_COMPILED_DESCRIPTIVE_FLEXS. Context definitions are stored in FND_DESCR_FLEX_CONTEXTS and FND_DESCR_FLEX_CONTEXTS_TL, while segment definitions and their column bindings are held in FND_DESCR_FLEX_COLUMN_USAGES, FND_DESCR_FLEX_COL_USAGE_TL, and FND_DESCR_FLEX_COL_USAGE_VL. Supporting data comes from FND_FLEX_VALUE_SETS, FND_FLEX_VALIDATION_TABLES, FND_DEFAULT_CONTEXT_FIELDS, FND_FLEX_TYPES, FND_COLUMNS, FND_TABLES, FND_APPLICATION, FND_LOOKUP_VALUES, and FND_LANGUAGES. Through these tables the API reads and writes the entire structure of a flexfield, including multilingual prompts and value-set validation sources.

Usage Notes

FND_FLEX_DSC_API is normally invoked programmatically rather than interactively. It is called by the EBS Descriptive Flexfields form and by concurrent programs that implement flexfield registration and deployment, and it is referenced by eighteen other packages within the flexfield framework. Custom code should invoke the API rather than inserting into the underlying tables directly, because the package enforces validation rules, maintains the compiled flexfield metadata, handles multilingual rows, and applies the FND_API error-handling conventions. Session mode and validation should be set before structural changes are attempted, and developers should expect the standard FND_API return-status and message conventions.