How Flexfields Work with Oracle Application Cloud Architecture
To capture additional data, administrators or implementors configure flexfield segments that represent attributes of business objects. Business objects are enabled for both descriptive flexfields and extensible flexfields.
Application developers create a flexfield and register it so that it's available for configuration. Administrators and implementation consultants configure segments and other properties of the available flexfields. This information is stored as additional flexfield metadata in the database. Deploying the flexfield generates ADF business components based on the flexfield metadata in the database.
The following aspects are important in understanding how flexfields and Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications architecture work together:
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Integration
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Deployment
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Import and export
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Runtime
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Patching
Integration
The attributes that you add by configuring flexfields are available throughout the Oracle Middleware technology stack. You can use the flexfield segment's Application Programming Interface (API) to identify segments and integrate the flexfields in the following:
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User interface pages
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Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) infrastructure
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Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence
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Extended Spread Sheet Database (ESSbase)
Flexfield configurations are preserved across application updates.
Deployment
The metadata for the flexfield is stored in the application database as soon as you save your configuration changes. Deploying the flexfield generates the ADF business components so that the user interface reflects the latest flexfield definition in the metadata.
Importing and Exporting
Using the Setup and Maintenance work area, you can import and export flexfields across the implementation site. The deployment status must be either Deployed or Deployed to sandbox. Therefore, before you attempt migration, verify and ensure that a flexfield is successfully deployed.
Runtime
The latest definitions of a flexfield reflect on the user interface only if the flexfield is deployed. When the user interface accesses a business object, the deployed flexfield definition identifies the attributes associated with the captured values. On a page, if you add display configurations for a flexfield using the Application Composer tool, the same flexfield segments can appear differently on different pages.
Patching
Flexfield configurations are preserved during patching and upgrading.