Results for “log_traces”

AI-generated from documented ETRM metadata — verify critical details on the linked pages.

Overview

CTXSYS.CTX_OUTPUT is a utility package body supplied by the Oracle Text (interMedia Text) option that underpins full-text indexing and searching within the Oracle E-Business Suite database. In the EBS 12.1.1 and 12.2.2 environments, this package provides the logging, tracing, and diagnostic instrumentation that the Oracle Text engine uses to record the behavior of indexing, querying, and DML synchronization operations. Its role is primarily observability rather than business logic: it allows administrators and developers to capture a detailed audit trail of how the CONTEXT, CTXCAT, and CTXRULE indexes behave during concurrent program runs, online DML, and ad hoc queries.

The object is classified as an OTHER API under the CTXSYS schema. Because CTXSYS is a privileged Oracle-supplied schema, the package is not intended for direct modification by EBS implementers. It is, however, referenced by other application packages — the ETRM metadata indicates that ten other packages depend on it — so its behavior can surface indirectly through EBS functionality that relies on Oracle Text, such as the Knowledge Base, iRepository, or any custom schema employing interMedia indexes. The fact that the body is wrapped (obfuscated) confirms that Oracle ships it as proprietary code.

Key Procedures and Functions

The documented API exposes seventeen procedures and functions aligned with log lifecycle, trace lifecycle, and query statistics control.

• START_LOG — Opens a new log session for capturing Oracle Text activity, establishing the output context for subsequent events.
• END_LOG — Closes the active log session and flushes accumulated diagnostics.
• START_QUERY_LOG — Initiates logging specifically scoped to query execution, useful for diagnosing search performance.
• END_QUERY_LOG — Terminates the query-scoped logging session.
• ADD_EVENT — Registers a named event within the current log, allowing categorization of diagnostic messages.
• REMOVE_EVENT — Removes a previously registered event from the active logging configuration.
• LOGFILENAME — Returns or sets the destination file name used for log output.
• LOGFILEOVERWRITE — Controls whether an existing log file is overwritten on a new session.
• DUMPEDERRORS — Exposes errors captured during the logging session for inspection.
• ADD_TRACE, REMOVE_TRACE, RESET_TRACE, LOG_TRACES, GET_TRACE_VALUE — Manage the trace facility: enabling, disabling, clearing, emitting, and retrieving trace values respectively.
• ENABLE_QUERY_STATS, DISABLE_QUERY_STATS — Toggle collection of query statistics used in performance analysis.
• LOGGING — A function that reports whether logging is currently active.

Tables Accessed

The only table documented as referenced through APPS synonyms is PLITBLM (PL/SQL InterMedia Table). This is the internal Oracle Text work table used to stage pending DML operations for text indexes before they are processed by the index synchronization job. CTX_OUTPUT interacts with PLITBLM as part of its diagnostics around index maintenance activity. No other application tables are documented in the ETRM metadata.

Usage Notes

CTX_OUTPUT is invoked implicitly by the Oracle Text engine and by other CTXSYS components rather than through EBS forms. Administrators typically enable it in custom PL/SQL blocks or during concurrent program debugging sessions to trace index behavior. Because it writes diagnostics to server-side files, care must be taken with directory objects and file permissions. In EBS 12.1.1 and 12.2.2, it should never be patched or altered manually; any tuning occurs through supported Oracle Text configuration parameters.