Messages in Oracle Application

What is a message in Oracle Application?

Oracle Application uses the Message Dictionary to store translatable Error and Warning messages that can be used by any programs written in Forms, Reports, Java, or PL/SQL.

These messages mainly provide information about business rule errors, such as missing or incorrect data, and how to resolve them, warn about the consequences of intended actions, inform about the status of an application, pages, or business objects, and indicate that processes and actions are performing or are completed.

By using the messages in the Message Dictionary, you can define standard messages that you can use in all your applications(Oracle Form, Reports, OAF and ADF), provide consistency for messages within and across all your applications, define flexible messages, and change or translate the text of your messages without regenerating or recompiling your application code.

How will you create a Message?

In Application Developer Responsibility, navigate to (N) Application | Messages.

Using that screen, the new messages can be created by entering records. The contents entered in field message text become visible to the end user. The content of the message can optionally have tokens, which act as placeholders for dynamically substituted values at runtime.

You can also create messages from OAF Page. For that-

1] Login to Functional Administrator responsibility – then choose Home.

2] Choose the ‘Core Services’ Tab – then the “Messages” Sub-Menu.

The components of a Message:

Component Name	Description
Name	Every message must have a unique name. You should include a unique prefix that makes it easier to find your custom messages and that helps to avoid name conflicts with non-custom messages.
Language	Select the language that your message is written in.
Application	Select the application that the message belongs, this will usually be the custom application.
Current Message Text	Message text is required. This is a brief statement of the operation attempted and the problem that occurred as a result, or information that the user needs to know. The maximum field size for messages stored in the Message Dictionary is 240 characters.
Number	A unique and persistent message number can be included with each message. When displayed, the number takes the format of (Application Shortname–Number). If the message does not have a message number, the formatted number is not displayed.
Type	The message type indicates which message components are applicable, determines whether implicit logging and incident creation occurs, and determines the logging level if the message is logged.
Maximum Length	Maximum number of display characters the translators can use to translate the message.
Description	Description of the Message.
Alert Category	This will allow user interfaces and other programs to filter exception messages based on category. The types are Product, System, Security and User.
Alert Severity	This will allow user interfaces and other programs to filter exception messages based on severity. The types can be: Critical, Error or Warning.
Log Severity	This group indicates the Log severity levels like: Unexpected, Error, Exception, Event, Procedure, Statement or Off.

About Tokens:

Tokens are identified in the message text by their use of & and all uppercase letters. The token values are supplied at runtime by the code that raises the message. For example, the following token &FIELD_NAME is replaced by a field when the user receives the error message on their screen:

“A Value must be entered for &FIELD_NAME.

Becomes: “A Value must be entered for PO Number.”.

Table Used by Messages Dictionary:

FND_NEW_MESSAGES stores application messages for Message Dictionary. Each row includes the application to which the message belongs, the language the message is in, the message name, the message text, and the message number. You need one row for each application message in each of the language.

APIs to Set, Retrieve, Clear the messages:

Use the Message Dictionary APIs to retrieve a Message Dictionary message. The PL/SQL methods are in the FND_MESSAGE package and the Java methods are in the messageService package. There are many functions and procedures in the package- FND_MESSAGE. However I have given the details of three most used procedures below.

procedure SET_NAME(APPLICATION in varchar2, NAME in varchar2)

In Database Server, this Sets a message name in the global area without actually retrieving the message from Message Dictionary.

procedure SET_TOKEN(TOKEN     in varchar2,

                        VALUE     in varchar2,

                        TRANSLATE in boolean default false)

This procedure defines a message token with a value. In Database Server, SET_TOKEN adds a token/value pair to the global area without actually doing the substitution. Call FND_MESSAGE.SET_TOKEN once for each token/value pair in a message.

function GET return varchar2

This function gets a translated and token substituted message from the message dictionary database. It returns NULL if the message cannot be found. If this function is called from a stored procedure on the database server side, the message is retrieved from the Message Dictionary table. If the function is called from a form or forms library, the message is retrieved from the messages file on the forms server.

How to use message in PL/SQL Concurrent Program:

fnd_message.clear;
fnd_message.set_name ('XXSCM', 'XXSCM_MANDATORY_FIELD');
fnd_message.set_token('FIELD_NAME', 'PO Number');
--Now get the final string
l_message := fnd_message.get;
--Display the message text in output of concurrent program
fnd_file.put_line(fnd_file.OUTPUT, l_message);

How to use message in Oracle Forms:

fnd_message.set_name('XXSCM', 'XXSCM_MANDATORY_FIELD');
fnd_message.set_token('FIELD_NAME', 'PO Number');
fnd_message.show;

How to use message in OA Framework Controller:

String sReturnMsg = oapagecontext.getMessage("XXSCM", " XXSCM_MANDATORY_FIELD ", new MessageToken[] {new MessageToken(" FIELD_NAME ", "PO Number") });

Example of retrieving message from the Stack:

-- setting INVALID_USER as the current message
fnd_message.set_name('FND', 'INVALID_USER');
-- setting value for token NAME for INVALID_USER message
fnd_message.set_token('NAME', 'TESTUSER');
-- saving the current message onto stack
fnd_message.push;
-- setting LOGIN_FAILED as the current message
fnd_message.set_name('FND', 'LOGIN_FAILED');
-- saving the current message onto stack
fnd_message.push;
-- poping one message out of stack and set it as the current message
fnd_message.pop;
-- get the translated and token subsituted LOGIN_FAILED message
-- then clear the current message
msg := fnd_message.get;
-- poping one message out of stack and set it as the current message
fnd_message.pop;
-- get the translated and token subsituted INVALID_USER message
-- then clear the message
msg := fnd_message.get;

FNDLOAD for Messages:

Download:

FNDLOAD apps/apps 0 Y DOWNLOAD $FND_TOP/patch/115/import/afmdmsg.lct XXSCM_MANDATORY_FIELD_MSG.ldt  FND_NEW_MESSAGES APPLICATION_SHORT_NAME=’XXSCM’ MESSAGE_NAME=”XXSCM_MANDATORY_FIELD”

Upload:

FNDLOAD apps/apps 0 Y UPLOAD $FND_TOP/patch/115/import/afmdmsg.lct XXSCM_MANDATORY_FIELD_MSG.ldt

SQL related to Oracle Application Messages:

SELECT m.message_name,
  m.message_text,
  m.message_number,
  a.application_short_name
FROM FND_NEW_MESSAGES M,
  FND_APPLICATION a
WHERE upper(m.message_text) LIKE upper('%&Enter_Message_Text%')
AND m.language_code  = 'US'
AND M.APPLICATION_ID = a.APPLICATION_ID;

SELECT m.message_name,
  m.message_text,
  m.message_number,
  a.application_short_name
FROM FND_NEW_MESSAGES M,
  FND_APPLICATION a
WHERE m.message_name LIKE '%&Enter_Message_Name%'
AND m.language_code  = 'US'
AND M.APPLICATION_ID = a.APPLICATION_ID;