Write to Oracle concurrent request output / log from a SQLPlus program - sql

Question

I have an Oracle concurrent request that calls a SQLPlus program. The program itself is working correctly, but I would like to add some logging information to the concurrent request output / log in EBS.
I have tried a number of variations of:
set heading off
--set pagesize 0 embedded on
set pagesize 50000
set linesize 32767
set feedback off
set verify off
set term off
set echo off
set newpage none
set serveroutput on
dbms_output.enable(1000000);
--prepare data
EXECUTE program (&1,&2,&3,&4,&5);
--extract data
#"path/file.SQL";
fnd_file.put_line(FND_FILE.LOG,'do some logging here');
fnd_file.put_line(FND_FILE.OUTPUT,'do some logging here');
/
But everything I've tried so far results with either
no logging added to request output or log
no request output whatsoever
errors like:
SP2-0734: unknown command beginning "dbms_outpu..." - rest of line ignored.
and
PLS-00103: Encountered the symbol "ENABLE" when expecting one of the following: := . ( # % ;
Is it possible to write to the request output or log from a SQLPlus script that is called from concurrent manager?

Answer 1

First of all, your SQL*Plus script does not even run without your attempts at logging.
dbms_output enable(...) is missing a dot ('.').
Your anonymous PL/SQL block has no end; statement
#"path/file.SQL` is a SQL*Plus command -- it cannot be embedded in an anonymous PL/SQL block.
Aside from those basic problems, FND_FILE.PUT_LINE is only for PL/SQL concurrent programs. That is, concurrent programs whose executable points to a PL/SQL package procedure and not a .sql file under $APPL_TOP.
For SQL*Plus concurrent programs, i.e., running a .sql file under $APPL_TOP, FND_FILE.PUT_LINE does not work. Instead, your SQL*Plus output is automatically written to the request output. There is no standard way to write to the request log.
If you really need to write to the request log, you could maybe call FND_FILE.PUT_NAMES to cause FND_FILE.PUT_LINE to write to temporary files that you name. Then, knowing the concurrent request ID and the logic Oracle EBS uses to local output and log files, do a FND_FILE.CLOSE and host command to move the custom-named files you specified to the actual locations. That might work.
It'd be much better to redo your concurrent program as a PL/SQL package. Then FND_FILE works just fine. If you know how to call Java from the database, there is very little you can do in a .sql script that you cannot do in a PL/SQL package.
I have not written a .sql concurrent program in years, and I write concurrent programs all the time.

Answer 2

I have resolved this problem. The solution is incredibly simple - and now I'm bent out of shape because it took so long to realize.
Step 1 - SET ECHO ON
Step 2 - PROMPT whatever you want written to concurrent request output
The following sample writes 'Output is written to this folder' to the concurrent request output.
set heading off
--set pagesize 0 embedded on
set pagesize 50000
set linesize 32767
set feedback off
set verify off
set term off
set echo on
set newpage none
set serveroutput on
prompt Output is written to this folder
--prepare data
EXECUTE program (&1,&2,&3,&4,&5);
--extract data
#"path/file.SQL";
/
This is exactly what I was looking for. Maybe this will be useful to someone in another galaxy.

Answer 3

If this is for testing/debugging purposes, you can specify the location of the log and output files with the routine: FND_FILE.PUT_NAMES and as soon as you log all the required information you need to close the file with: FND_FILE.CLOSE

Answer 4

As Matthew mentioned, logging in SQL*Plus executables doesn't work well. If you can't move your code to a PL/SQL Stored Procedure for some reason, a Host script might work for you instead. From there, you can execute SQL, e.g. sqlplus -s $FCP_LOGIN ... and write log information as required.
If you just need to prepare data by PLSQL and then spool it to CSV via SQL, you can use our company's Blitz Report instead, which does this more convenient and is for free for such use. It also uses a Host type executable and calls sqlplus from there.