Oracle ApplicationsDevelopers GuideRELEASE 11

April 1998

Oracle Applications Developers Guide Release 11

The part number for this guide is A5818701.

Copyright 1990, 1998, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.

Major Contributors: Anne Carlson, Christopher Lunt, Elizabeth Mitcham, Lisa Nordhagen, PeterWallack, Millie Wang, Sara Woodhull

Contributors: Steve Carter, Robert Hoexter, John Kucera, Doug McMahon, Anil Mukundan, TomMorrow, Susan Stratton, Dan Tow

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iContents

Contents

Preface i. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Documentation Set ii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Audience ii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related Publications ii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Typographic Conventions iii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Function Keys iii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Screen Messages iii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Command and Example Syntax iii. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Case Sensitivity iv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Syntax Examples iv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Your Comments Are Welcome iv. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 1 Overview of Coding Standards 1 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of Coding Standards 1 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Importance of these Standards 1 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coding Principles 1 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coding With Handlers 1 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Libraries 1 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Performance 1 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PlatformSpecific Code 1 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Standard Development Environment 1 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shared Objects 1 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Standard Libraries 1 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Property Classes 1 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Visual Attributes 1 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Overview of Building an Application 1 14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overall Design Issues to Consider 1 14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ii Oracle Applications Developers Guide

Overview of Application Development Steps 1 15. . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of Form Development Steps 1 16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 2 Setting Up Your Application Framework 2 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of Setting Up Your Application Framework 2 2. . . . . . . .

Definitions 2 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set Up Your Application Directory Structures 2 3. . . . . . . . . . . . Register Your Application 2 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modify Your Environment Files 2 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set Up and Register Your Oracle Schema 2 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create Database Objects and Integrate with APPS Schema 2 4. Add Your Application to a Data Group 2 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set Up Concurrent Managers 2 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Applications Window 2 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prerequisites 2 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applications Block 2 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 3 Building Your Database Objects 3 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tables 3 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tracking Data Changes with WHO 3 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oracle8 Declarative Constraints 3 5. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LONG, LONG RAW and RAW Datatypes 3 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Columns Using a Reserved Word 3 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Views 3 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sequences 3 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Table Registration API 3 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Procedures in the AD_DD Package 3 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Example of Using the AD_DD Package 3 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 4 Using PL/SQL in Oracle Applications 4 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overview of Using PL/SQL in Applications 4 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Definitions 4 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . General PL/SQL Coding Standards 4 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Database Server Side versus Client Side 4 6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Formatting PL/SQL Code 4 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exception Handling 4 9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using PL/SQL With Date Fields 4 11. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SQL Coding Guidelines 4 12. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Triggers in Forms 4 13. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

iiiContents

Resources 4 14. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Replacements for Oracle Forms Builtins 4 16. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coding Item, Event and Table Handlers 4 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Coding Item Handlers 4 19. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coding Event Handlers 4 21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coding Table Handlers 4 22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Example ClientSide Table Handler 4 23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Example ServerSide Table Handler 4 26. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 5 Setting the Properties of Container Objects 5 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modules 5 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Windows 5 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NonModal Windows 5 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modal Windows and Modal Windows with Menu 5 5. . . . . . . .

Canvasses 5 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Content Canvasses 5 8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Stacked Canvasses