Search Results ls_apps

Overview

ETRM_PNAV is the navigational core of the Oracle Applications eTRM (Engineering Technical Reference Manual) repository browser, a diagnostic utility shipped by Oracle to expose the internal structure and dependencies of the E-Business Suite database. Authored by Peter Goldthorp and carrying a copyright range of 2001 through 2014, the package belongs to the APPS schema and is classified as an OTHER API rather than a business-facing interface. Its purpose is to let technical users traverse the data dictionary as it applies to EBS — listing schemas, objects, and object types, then drilling into the source, columns, constraints, indexes, and dependent code of any selected object. In practice, ETRM_PNAV underpins the HTML reports that consultants and support engineers use to answer questions such as which view a concurrent program reads, where a package is referenced, or what the underlying SQL of a synonym is. It does not participate in transaction processing, validation, or accounting; it is a read-only inspection layer over DBA_* and FND_* metadata.

Key Procedures and Functions

The package exposes nine documented callables, most of them procedure wrappers that emit output for the repository browser.

• LS_APPS — Lists the Oracle Applications schemas registered in the environment; an overloaded form accepts a display mode controlling the level of detail.
• LS_OBJECT — Lists objects filtered by name, owner, type, and status, serving as the primary inventory query for the browser.
• SHOW_OBJECT — Produces a detailed report for a single object identified by name, owner, and type.
• SHOW_DETAILS — Renders the object's structural detail; the additional detail-type argument selects which category of metadata (for example columns, constraints, or indexes) is displayed.
• SHOW_SQL — Retrieves and displays the SQL or PL/SQL source text for a given object, keyed by object ID. This is the routine users reach when searching for "show_sql."
• SHOW_DEPENDENT_CODE — Reports other objects that reference the specified object, exposing dependency chains within the repository.
• PRN_OBJECT_TYPE — Prints object inventory filtered by name, owner, type, and status, complementing LS_OBJECT for formatted output.
• GET_OBJECT_NAME — A function returning the object name for a given object ID, with a mode parameter defaulting to BOTH; it resolves identifiers back into readable names for cross-references.

Tables Accessed

ETRM_PNAV reads exclusively through APPS synonyms, with no documented writes. DBA_OBJECTS supplies the master object inventory used by every listing and lookup routine. DBA_SOURCE provides the code text consumed by SHOW_SQL, while DBA_ERRORS reports compilation failures. Structural detail is drawn from DBA_TABLES, DBA_VIEWS, DBA_COL_COMMENTS, DBA_CONSTRAINTS, DBA_CONS_COLUMNS, DBA_INDEXES, DBA_IND_COLUMNS, DBA_METHOD_PARAMS, and DBA_MVIEWS. FND_APPLICATION, FND_PRODUCT_GROUPS, and FND_TABLES relate objects back to the EBS application and product group definitions, which is what distinguishes this browser from a generic dictionary query tool.

Usage Notes

This package is invoked interactively through the ETRM repository browser rather than from forms or concurrent programs. Technical staff call procedures such as LS_APPS or LS_OBJECT to browse the repository, then use SHOW_OBJECT, SHOW_DETAILS, and SHOW_SQL to inspect a specific artifact. Because it is documented as an OTHER API, Oracle does not guarantee interface stability across releases; custom code referencing ETRM_PNAV should be treated as diagnostic rather than production. It is also referenced by two other packages, indicating internal reuse within the eTRM toolset. In 12.1.1 and 12.2.2 the package remains available in APPS, and the object ID it accepts corresponds to DBA_OBJECTS.OBJECT_ID, so callers must resolve the ID before invoking SHOW_SQL or SHOW_DEPENDENT_CODE. Note that the DBA_* views require elevated privileges, so access to the ETRM browser is normally restricted to DBAs and senior technical consultants.