Search Results icx_plug_utilities




Overview
Explore in AI Chat

Overview

The APPS.ICX_PLUG_UTILITIES package body is a utility layer within the Oracle E-Business Suite Internet Computing Architecture (ICX) product family. Its primary business function is to centralise the generation of the presentation elements that make up the Oracle EBS self-service user interface — page colours, banners, toolbars, plug headings, session-driven JavaScript, and navigation links to the main menu. Rather than hard-coding these elements in every JSP or PL/SQL-based UI component, the ICX framework delegates them to this package so that branding, look-and-feel, and navigational consistency are maintained across all self-service pages.

The package sits at the boundary between the database tier and the HTML-rendering tier. It reads configuration and session state from ICX and FND tables and emits HTML fragments through the Oracle Web Toolkit (HTF, HTP, OWA_UTIL). In Oracle EBS 12.1.1 and 12.2.2, this behaviour remains largely unchanged at the PL/SQL level, although in 12.2.x the surrounding OAF and Web ADI rendering paths may invoke it less directly. The body is documented as VALID and is referenced by thirteen other database objects, confirming its role as a shared utility.

Key Procedures and Functions

The package exposes twenty-two documented procedures and functions. They fall into four functional clusters:

  • Colour and scheme resolution: BGCOLOR, PLUGBGCOLOR, PLUGHEADINGCOLOR, HEADINGCOLOR, PLUGBANNERCOLOR, PLUGCOLORSCHEME, BANNERCOLOR, TOOLBARCOLOR, and COLORSCHEME derive the appropriate hex or named colour values for page backgrounds, headings, plug regions, banners, and toolbars. They consult the ICX_PAGE_COLOR_SCHEME configuration so that administrators can rebrand a deployment without code changes.
  • Agent and URL generation: GETPLSQLAGENT, GETREPORTPLSQLAGENT, and GETREPORTURL construct the URLs and PL/SQL agent entry points used to launch reports and PL/SQL-based pages from the self-service UI.
  • Navigation and titles: GETPLUGTITLE retrieves the display title of a plug; GOTOMAINMENU and MAINMENULINK render the link and HTML anchor that return the user to the top-level menu.
  • Page furniture rendering: BANNER, PLUGBANNER, SESSIONJAVASCRIPT, TOOLBAR, and BUTTONLEFT output the visible chrome of a self-service page — the banner, plug banner, session-specific JavaScript blocks, the toolbar, and the left-aligned button control.

Tables Accessed

All tables are accessed through APPS synonyms. ICX_PAGE_COLOR_SCHEME and ICX_PAGE_PLUGS supply colour and plug metadata respectively, driving the rendering routines. ICX_SESSIONS provides the current session context, which the JavaScript and navigation routines rely upon to identify the logged-in user and session. HTF, HTP, and OWA_UTIL are the Oracle Web Toolkit packages invoked to emit HTML tags and escape output, rather than tables in the strict sense.

Usage Notes

ICX_PLUG_UTILITIES is typically invoked from the PL/SQL-based self-service pages and JSPs that compose the EBS framework, most notably the page-plug infrastructure and the main menu. It is also called by the thirteen dependent packages documented in the ETRM reference. Customisations should not call the colour or banner routines directly to override branding; the supported path is to configure the ICX colour scheme tables so all callers, including this package, pick up the change. Because the routines emit HTML through HTP and HTF, they must be invoked in a web-enabled session where the HTTP header has not yet been flushed. Direct calls from concurrent programs are not appropriate, as the colour and banner routines are intended for interactive rendering contexts only.