Search Results update_element

Overview

APPS.PER_ABSENCE_ATTENDANCES_PKG2 is a server-side PL/SQL package body within the Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) Human Resources (HR) module. Despite its name, the documented content of this package body addresses element entry processing rather than absence and attendance records directly. The package functions as an intermediary interface layer between the Oracle Forms user interface and the HR entry API (HR_ENTRY_API).

The package header comments explicitly state that the procedures were written as a workaround because the HR_ENTRY_API procedure could not be called directly from the form. The original developers identified several potential causes: differing PL/SQL versions between the Forms client and the database server, a large number of variables involved in the call, or overloading of package headers. This package therefore serves as a bridge, encapsulating element entry creation and maintenance logic on the server side so that the Forms layer can invoke it reliably.

The package carries the identifier peaba02t.pkb with a header version of 115.3, dated 2002/12/11. This places the code within the lineage that persists across both EBS 12.1.1 and 12.2.2, as the underlying HR element entry architecture has remained relatively stable across these releases.

Key Procedures and Functions

The ETRM metadata documents two procedures in this package body:

• INSERT_ELEMENT — Creates a new element entry record for an assignment. The procedure accepts effective dating parameters, an assignment identifier, an element link identifier, creator information, entry type, and a single input value. It first re-derives the element link identifier through HR_ENTRY_API.GET_LINK to correct a known defect (Bug 1806161) where the form could supply an incorrect link under certain circumstances. Local variables are used to prevent unintended values from being passed back to the client, a fix documented against WWbug 269609.
• UPDATE_ELEMENT — Modifies an existing element entry, serving the maintenance path for element entries already created by the form. This is the procedure most directly associated with the search term "update_element."

Parameter lists are not reproduced here; the documented excerpts show that INSERT_ELEMENT uses IN OUT NOCOPY parameters for effective dates and the element entry identifier, with IN parameters for the remaining values.

Tables Accessed

The documented table reference is PAY_ELEMENT_LINKS_F, accessed via an APPS synonym. The package queries this table through the cursor C_GET_ELEMENT_TYPE, which selects the distinct element_type_id for a given element_link_id where the supplied effective start date falls between the link's effective start and end dates. This lookup resolves the element type that governs the entry being created or updated. The package additionally relies on HR_ENTRY_API.GET_LINK to validate and re-obtain the correct element link, which itself operates against the element link definitions.

Usage Notes

This package is invoked from Oracle Forms during element entry maintenance, specifically where the form cannot call HR_ENTRY_API directly. It is not referenced by any other documented packages, indicating that its callers are form-based rather than part of a broader PL/SQL dependency chain. Custom code should treat this package as an internal interface layer rather than a public API; direct invocation bypasses the form validations the package assumes. When diagnosing issues such as incorrect element links or unexpected effective dates being returned to the user interface, the local-variable handling and the get_link re-derivation logic described above are the primary areas of interest.