Search Results is_used_in_formula

Overview

The APPS.FFDICT package is the data dictionary and metadata validation layer for Oracle FastFormula within Oracle E-Business Suite. FastFormula is the interpretive expression language used throughout EBS to drive payroll calculations, compensation plans, benefits eligibility, and other rule-based processing. Every formula is composed of references to database items, contexts, globals, user entities, functions, and route parameters, all of which must resolve unambiguously at compile time and at run time. FFDICT supplies the dictionary services that manage and validate this metadata. It allocates context levels, determines whether a named item is referenced by a formula, and provides a family of validation routines that guard against name collisions and broken references. Because formulas are compiled once and executed many times, the integrity checks performed by FFDICT directly protect the reliability of downstream payroll and compensation processing.

Key Procedures and Functions

The package exposes twenty-seven documented procedures and functions. The following represent the primary entry points.

• GET_CONTEXT_LEVEL — Returns the next available context level. Contexts are assigned power-of-two values so that database item context dependencies can be evaluated efficiently using bit masks.
• IS_USED_IN_FORMULA — Returns TRUE when a named item is referenced in the FDIU table visible from the current business group and legislation, otherwise FALSE. This prevents compilation and run-time failures caused by name clashes.
• DBITL_USED_IN_FORMULA / DBI_USED_IN_FORMULA — Variants of the usage check scoped to translated and base database item definitions respectively.
• VALIDATE_FORMULA — Validates a formula definition, ensuring that the formula and its referenced items are internally consistent before compilation or execution.
• VALIDATE_DBITEM, CORE_VALIDATE_TL_DBITEM, VALIDATE_TL_DBI — Validate database item definitions, including their translated (TL) variants.
• VALIDATE_CONTEXT, VALIDATE_USER_ENTITY, VALIDATE_FUNCTION, VALIDATE_GLOBAL, VALIDATE_TL_GLOBAL — Validate the remaining dictionary entity types: contexts, user entities, functions, and globals.
• VALIDATE_RCU and VALIDATE_RPV — Validate route context usages and route parameter values.
• CREATE_GLOBAL_DBITEM / DELETE_GLOBAL_DBITEM — Manage the association of a global with a database item.
• DELETE_FTCU_CHECK / DELETE_DBITEM_CHECK — Remove stored dependency checks for formula-context usages and database items.
• SET_UE_DETAILS — Persists user entity detail information.

Tables Accessed

FFDICT reads and writes the core FastFormula metadata tables through APPS synonyms. Formula and usage definitions reside in FF_FORMULAS_F and FF_FDI_USAGES_F. Database item definitions are held in FF_DATABASE_ITEMS and FF_DATABASE_ITEMS_TL, while global definitions reside in FF_GLOBALS_F and FF_GLOBALS_F_TL. Context definitions are stored in FF_CONTEXTS, functions in FF_FUNCTIONS, and user entities in FF_USER_ENTITIES. Route-related validation draws on FF_ROUTES, FF_ROUTES_S, FF_ROUTE_PARAMETERS, FF_ROUTE_PARAMETERS_S, and FF_ROUTE_PARAMETER_VALUES. The package also invokes DBMS_SQL to perform dynamic SQL operations during validation.

Usage Notes

FFDICT is an internal infrastructure package rather than an end-user API. It is invoked indirectly by the FastFormula forms, by formula compilation and execution engines, and by other dictionary maintenance packages. The metadata indicates that FFDICT is referenced by twenty-seven other packages, confirming its role as a shared dependency. Custom code should not call the validation routines directly in place of the supported formula APIs; however, developers diagnosing formula errors, particularly compilation failures arising from duplicate or deleted database items, may consult IS_USED_IN_FORMULA and the validation routines to confirm the state of the dictionary. The package header carries a NOSHIP designation, underscoring that its interfaces are subject to change across patch levels.