Attached libraries are external PL/SQL libraries that you have associated with a report or another external library. When an external library is attached, you can reference its packages, functions, and procedures from within your report. For example, if you attached an external library name MYLIB to your report and it contained a function named ADDXY, then you could reference ADDXY from any PL/SQL in the report.
External PL/SQL libraries are independent of a report definition.
Local PL/SQL executes more quickly than a reference to a procedure or function in an external PL/SQL library. As a result, you should only use external PL/SQL libraries when the benefits of sharing the code across many applications outweigh the performance overhead.
Cyclic references are allowed for attached libraries (that is, LIB A attaches LIB B and LIB B attaches LIB A). Thus, if you attach LIB A to a report, it will attach LIB B, which in turn will try to attach LIB A.
If Reports Builder cannot find a library that you specify in the Attached Libraries list, a warning will be raised when you accept the dialog box, save the report, or open the report. If you try to run the report or compile the PL/SQL in it, an error will be raised.
The Attached Libraries list is saved. The next time you open the report or library the list will have the same contents it did when you last saved the report.
If an external library references another library, you must attach both libraries to the report even if the first library already has the second one attached.
About external PL/SQL libraries
Copyright © 1984, 2005, Oracle. All rights reserved.