Best Practices Question: How to send error message to SSHR web page.

Question

Best Practices Question: How to send error message to SSHR web page from custom PL\SQL procedure called by SSHR workflow.
For the Manager Self-Service application we’ve copied various workflows which were modified to meet business needs. Part of this exercise was creating custom PL\SQL Package Procedures that would gather details on the WF using them on custom notification sent by the WF.
What I’m looking for is if/when the PL\SQL procedure errors, how does one send an failure message back and display it on the SS Page?
Writing information into a log or table at the database level works for trouble-shooting, but we’re looking for something that will provide the end-user with an intelligent message that the workflow has failed.
Thanks ahead of time for your responses.
Rich

Answer 1

We have implemented the same kind of requirement long back.
We have defined our PL/SQL procedures with two OUT parameters
1) Result Type (S:Success, E:Error)
2) Result Message
In the PL/SQL procedure we always use below construct when we want to raise any message
hr_utility.set_message(APPL_NO, 'FND_MESSAGE_NAME');
hr_utility.raise_error;
In Exception block we write below( in successful case we just set the p_result_flag := 'S';)
EXCEPTION
WHEN APP_EXCEPTION.APPLICATION_EXCEPTION THEN
p_result_flag := 'E';
p_result_message := hr_utility.get_message;
WHEN OTHERS THEN
p_result_flag := 'E';
p_result_message := hr_utility.get_message;
fnd_message.set_name('PER','FFU10_GENERAL_ORACLE_ERROR');
fnd_message.set_token('2',substr(sqlerrm,1,200));
fnd_msg_pub.add;
p_result_message := fnd_msg_pub.get_detail;
After executing the PL/SQL in java
We have written some thing similar to
orclStmt.execute();
OAExceptionUtils.checkErrors (txn);
String resultFlag = orclStmt.getString(provide the resultflag bind no);
if ("E".equalsIgnoreCase(resultFlag)){
String resultMessage = orclStmt.getString(provide the resultMessage bind no);
orclStmt.close();
throw new OAException(resultMessage, OAException.ERROR);
It safely shows the message to the user with all the data in the page.
We have been using this construct for a long time for all our projects. They are all working as expected.
Regards,
Peddi.