Search Results utl_ident




Overview
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Overview

SYS.UTL_IDENT is an Oracle-supplied system package that forms part of the database kernel infrastructure shipped with every Oracle database release, including those versions underpinning Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1.1 and 12.2.2. Unlike application-tier PL/SQL packages that implement specific business logic for General Ledger, Order Management, or Payables, UTL_IDENT is an internal utility whose principal role is to expose database identity and version information to other server-side PL/SQL units. It allows dependent packages to determine characteristics of the database environment — most notably the database version and related feature flags — so that conditional code paths can be selected at runtime. Within the EBS technology stack this places UTL_IDENT in the same foundational layer as STANDARD, DBMS_UTILITY, and DBMS_SQL, all of which depend upon it. Because it is owned by SYS and is a core component, it is not an object that EBS implementers modify, register, or extend; it is delivered, patched, and upgraded only through Oracle database maintenance activities.

Key Procedures and Functions

The ETRM documentation for this object records no application-facing procedures or functions. Its API classification is listed as OTHER, and the documented callable surface is empty, which is consistent with its designation as an internal kernel package. The package specification and body are documented in the metadata as existing entries, and the package status is VALID, confirming the object is compiled and available in the database. Practically, the package exposes version-identification primitives that other Oracle-supplied packages consume to branch between release-specific implementations. No parameter lists, signatures, or procedure descriptions are documented, and none should be assumed or reconstructed. Any investigation of the package internals should be performed using DBMS_METADATA or by querying DBA_SOURCE against the SYS schema in a controlled, read-only manner.

Tables Accessed

The ETRM metadata documents no tables referenced through APPS synonyms. This is expected: UTL_IDENT is a self-contained utility package that returns identity information derived from the database itself rather than from application data stored in EBS tables. It is not related to any Oracle EBS product schema, and it neither reads nor writes business data. Its dependency footprint consists of the SYS.STANDARD package, which supplies the base PL/SQL environment in which it executes.

Usage Notes

The documented dependency chain shows that SYS.UTL_IDENT is referenced by a broad set of Oracle-supplied packages, including DBMS_ISCHED, DBMS_LOB, DBMS_REPCAT_RGT, DBMS_SQL, DBMS_SYS_SQL, DBMS_UTILITY, and UTL_RECOMP. Several of these appear multiple times with invalidated or recompiled states, underscoring that UTL_IDENT is a critical compile-time dependency for core database functionality used by the EBS database tier. Because of this, the package is indirectly invoked whenever those dependent packages are loaded or executed — for example during concurrent manager processing, SQL execution, scheduled job management, and database recompilation operations. It is not invoked from EBS forms, concurrent programs, or custom application code as a direct call. Practitioners encountering UTL_IDENT in a dependency or invalid-object listing should treat it as a symptom of an invalidated core package rather than as an object to be altered. Remediation should follow standard Oracle database recompilation practice — typically utlrp.sql or UTL_RECOMP — rather than any application-level action. Because the package belongs to SYS, no APPS grants or synonyms should be created against it, and modifications are neither supported nor permissible under Oracle licensing and support terms.