Search Results payment_methods

Overview

The APPS.GMF_AP_GET_PAYMENT_METHODS package body is a Process Manufacturing (GMF) utility within Oracle E-Business Suite that exposes a lookup-driven list of accounts payable payment methods to calling applications. It belongs to the API classification "OTHER" in the ETRM repository for releases 12.1.1 and 12.2.2, and is owned by the APPS schema. The package's core purpose is to retrieve valid payment method codes and their descriptions from the Oracle Payables lookup repository so that process manufacturing transactions — invoices, payments, and related supplier-facing documents — can present or validate the correct set of payment instruments.

The implementation is intentionally lightweight. It relies on a private PL/SQL cursor named payment_methods rather than a stored view or a full API, which signals that the package was designed as a helper routine for a specific caller rather than as a general-purpose public interface. The header comment (gmfpaymb.pls), dated July 1999, indicates it predates many later EBS APIs and has been carried forward largely unchanged, a common pattern for niche GMF utilities.

Key Procedures and Functions

The package exposes a single documented procedure:

• AP_GET_PAYMENT_METHODS — Returns a payment method lookup code and its description to the caller, together with a status indicator. It accepts date range and payment method filtering inputs, provides output parameters for the lookup code and description, uses an in/out row counter to control iterative fetching, and returns a numeric status code that reports either normal exhaustion of the result set (100) or an Oracle error captured through the WHEN OTHERS handler. The procedure is designed around the caller driving the fetch loop: the row counter informs the procedure when to close the cursor, and the status code tells the caller whether more data remains.

Tables Accessed

The only documented table referenced by the package is AP_LOOKUP_CODES, accessed through the APPS synonym. The cursor selects lookup_code and description from this table, filtering with WHERE lookup_type LIKE NVL(payment_method, lookup_type). This use of NVL is the package's most significant design characteristic: when the caller supplies a specific payment method, the query narrows to matching lookup types; when the parameter is null, the filter collapses and all matching lookup types are returned. Because LIKE is used rather than equality, callers can pass prefix patterns to retrieve grouped sets of payment method lookups. No inserts, updates, or deletes are documented, confirming that the package is strictly read-only.

Usage Notes

Because this package is referenced by zero other packaged APIs in the ETRM metadata, it is best understood as a low-level helper invoked directly by forms, concurrent programs, or custom PL/SQL rather than by other server-side packages. Typical invocation patterns include:

• Process Manufacturing Payables forms that need to populate a payment method list of values at runtime.
• Custom concurrent programs or interfaces that must validate a supplier payment method before posting an invoice or payment.
• Legacy customization code migrated from earlier releases, where the cursor-based fetching contract must be preserved.

Developers should note several caveats. The cursor is declared at package level, so its open state persists for the duration of the session; callers must consistently drive the row counter to ensure the cursor is closed and not left dangling. The procedure traps all exceptions and returns SQLCODE, so error handling is code-based rather than exception-based. Finally, a status code of 100 simply signals that no further rows were found and should not be treated as a failure. Given the age and limited documentation of this object, it is advisable to verify current behavior against the target instance before relying on it in new development, and to prefer supported Payables payment method APIs where they are available.