Search Results invoke_request

Overview

PAY_FLOW_REQUESTS_PKG is an Oracle EBS Payroll (PAY) package owned by APPS and classified as OTHER in the ETRM repository for release 12.2.2 (with the same payload applicable to 12.1.1). Its header comment describes it as the package that "contains the procedures used by the process-flow data model." The package is deliberately generic: it is designed to service multiple flow-process designs so that only the underlying data model needs to change when a new process flow is introduced, and none of its procedures reference any particular flow. Oracle's guidance in the header is explicit that future modifications must remain flow-agnostic and apply to every process flow that consumes the package, rather than being tailored to one design.

In business terms, the package provides the runtime engine for the Payroll process-flow framework. Process flows in Oracle Payroll allow a sequence of concurrent requests (for example, payroll run, pre-payments, costing, and archiving steps) to be modelled, parameterised, submitted, tracked, and cleaned up as a single logical unit. PAY_FLOW_REQUESTS_PKG encapsulates the mechanics of creating those requests, invoking them, monitoring their status, and purging or cancelling them when they are no longer required.

Key Procedures and Functions

The ETRM metadata documents seven procedures or functions, plus a REQUEST_DETAIL record type used to carry request attributes between calls.

• CREATE_REQUEST — Establishes a new request record within the process-flow data model, capturing the definition of the work to be submitted.
• INVOKE_REQUEST — Submits or launches the request so that the concurrent manager can process it.
• UPDATE_PROCESS_STATUS — Maintains the status of the process flow and its constituent requests as execution progresses.
• EXECUTE_REQUEST — The procedure most commonly sought by developers searching for "execute_request"; it performs the execution logic for a flow request, driving the request through its lifecycle.
• CANCEL_REQUEST — Terminates a request that is no longer required or that must be stopped before completion.
• PURGE_REQUESTS — Removes obsolete request data from the process-flow tables, supporting housekeeping and data retention.
• INSERT_CHILD_REQUEST — Creates dependent or subordinate requests that form part of a parent flow, enabling multi-step process designs.

Parameter lists are not reproduced here, as the documented metadata does not expose them. Developers should inspect the package specification in the APPS schema for exact signatures before calling these programs directly.

Tables Accessed

The package operates against the FND and PAY tables that constitute the process-flow model, accessed through APPS synonyms:

• FND_CONCURRENT_REQUESTS — the core concurrent request table used to track submitted requests.
• PAY_PROCESS_REQUESTS — the process-flow request table that records each request belonging to a flow.
• PAY_PROCESS_FLOWS, PAY_PROCESS_FLOW_SETS — define the flows and flow sets that the requests belong to.
• PAY_PARAMETER_SETS, PAY_PARA_SET_VARIABLES, PAY_PARA_SET_VAR_VALUES, PAY_PARA_SET_OVERRIDE_VARS — supply parameter-set definitions, variables, values, and overrides used when constructing and executing requests.
• PAY_VOID_PROCESS_REQUEST_S1, PAY_VOID_PROCESS_REQUEST_S2, PAY_VOID_SET_VAR_VAL_ID_S — sequences used to generate surrogate keys for void process requests and parameter value identifiers.
• DUAL — used for single-row lookups and sequence-based assignments.

Usage Notes

PAY_FLOW_REQUESTS_PKG is invoked by the Payroll process-flow forms and concurrent programs rather than being called from end-user screens directly. It is also referenced by one other package in the APPS schema. Custom code should treat EXECUTE_REQUEST and INVOKE_REQUEST as the entry points for triggering a flow request, with CREATE_REQUEST and INSERT_CHILD_REQUEST used to build the request hierarchy and UPDATE_PROCESS_STATUS used to reflect progress. Because the package header is marked AUTHID CURRENT_USER, execution is subject to the privileges of the calling schema. The header file revision (pyprflow.pkh 120.1.12020000.1, dated 2013) indicates the package has been stable across 12.1.1 and 12.2.2, so implementations should avoid modifying it and instead consume it through its published specification.