Search Results get_debug_messages




Overview
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Overview

FA_DEBUG_PKG is a diagnostic utility package in the Oracle E-Business Suite Applications schema (APPS) used by the Oracle Assets (FA) module to capture, buffer, and surface runtime debug messages generated by server-side PL/SQL programs. Its documented header revision ($Header: FADEBUGS.pls 120.3 2005/06/25) indicates a long-standing, stable component that has changed little across the 12.1.1 and 12.2.2 releases. The package provides a lightweight, in-memory logging framework: server routines write trace entries into a global debug buffer, and client routines read those entries back for display. It is not a business-transaction API and does not create, update, or validate Oracle Assets business data; its sole purpose is instrumentation and troubleshooting. Its broad adoption is reflected in the ETRM classification of OTHER, with the package referenced by 123 other packages across the Applications schema, making it one of the most widely depended-upon utility routines in the FA code set.

Key Procedures and Functions

  • INITIALIZE — Invoked by a server program to clear the global debug message table, reset the index and counter, and set the debug flag state. It establishes a clean buffer at the start of a processing run.
  • PRINT_DEBUG — A function that returns a Boolean indicating whether the debug flag is currently set to YES; returns FALSE otherwise. Server code uses it to guard calls to the ADD procedures so that debug overhead is incurred only when tracing is enabled.
  • ADD — An overloaded procedure used by server programs to append a debug message to the debug message table. Four overloads exist, differing only in the datatype of the value parameter: VARCHAR2 (base), NUMBER, DATE, and BOOLEAN. Each overload accepts the calling function name and an element (variable) name, together with an optional log-level record of type FA_API_TYPES.LOG_LEVEL_REC_TYPE.
  • GET_DEBUG_MESSAGES — The client-side counterpart, called to retrieve buffered debug messages from the debug table. Per the documented header, it returns ten messages per invocation and also returns a flag indicating status, allowing a client to page through the buffer until exhausted. This is the routine most commonly associated with the search term "get_debug_messages."
  • SET_DEBUG_FLAG — Sets the internal debug flag that PRINT_DEBUG evaluates, enabling or disabling trace capture for the session.
  • RESET_INDEX — Resets the read index used by GET_DEBUG_MESSAGES, permitting the buffer to be re-read from the beginning without clearing it.
  • DUMP_DEBUG_MESSAGES — Writes the accumulated buffer contents out, typically for diagnostic or log-file output.
  • WRITE_DEBUG_LOG — Persists or emits debug entries to a log destination, complementing the in-memory buffer.

Tables Accessed

The only documented table reference is PLITBLM, reached through an APPS synonym. PLITBLM is the standard Oracle Developer/PL/SQL infrastructure table used to store server-side debug or message output (associated with DBMS_OUTPUT and Forms PL/SQL buffering). FA_DEBUG_PKG stages its debug entries so they can be collected and returned by GET_DEBUG_MESSAGES. The package header documentation also refers to an internal FA_DEBUG_TABLE global structure that is cleared and indexed by INITIALIZE; this is the session-level buffer that underlies the ten-message retrieval behavior.

Usage Notes

FA_DEBUG_PKG is typically invoked in three contexts. First, from Oracle Assets server-side PL/SQL programs (depreciation, transfer, and other concurrent processing), where INITIALIZE establishes the buffer, PRINT_DEBUG gates tracing, and ADD records values at each step. Second, from client-side code—most notably Oracle Forms-based FA windows—where GET_DEBUG_MESSAGES and RESET_INDEX are called repeatedly to page ten messages at a time out of the buffer for display to the user or support analyst. Third, from custom or extension code that wishes to participate in the same trace mechanism; because the package is owned by APPS and its procedures follow a fixed, overloaded signature, custom routines can call ADD and PRINT_DEBUG without any configuration. Toggling the debug flag through SET_DEBUG_FLAG governs whether messages accumulate. Because 123 other packages reference it, any modification or invalidation of FA_DEBUG_PKG should be treated as a high-impact change within an Oracle Assets environment.