Basic PL/SQL Question about running context

Question

We are trying to create some generalized tools with PL/SQL procedures that would be used by a number of different Oracle Users/Schema. The idea was to store them in an administrative schema (call it ADMIN), create public synonyms for them, and grant execute to public. Then we could run them from the user schema (call it USER) to do the work.
It was my assumption, that while the procedures were stored in ADMIN, when they were run by USER they would run in the USER context. EG, a table (call it MYTABLE) that was referenced in the procedure without a schema reference (SELECT * FROM MYTABLE) would expect to find MYTABLE in the context of the schema which called the procedure. In other words, call the procedure from USER, I expected the procedure to look for MYTABLE in USER. However, we are getting errors that indicate that even though the procedure is called from USER, it is looking for the table in ADMIN (the procedures creation context), no in USER (the running context).
QUESTIONS: How is PL/SQL supposed to operate in this situation? Are there any options/parameters that can be set so the procedure will use the runtime context for table lookup, or do we have to write dynamic SQL which will fully qualify the table with the owner schema?
Thanks for your help
John Conroy

Answer 1

Hy,
from the manual:
The AUTHID clause is allowed only in the header of a stand-alone subprogram, a
package spec, or an object type spec. The header syntax is
-- stand-alone function
CREATE [OR REPLACE] FUNCTION [schema_name.]function_name
[(parameter_list)] RETURN datatype
[AUTHID {CURRENT_USER | DEFINER}] {IS | AS}
-- stand-alone procedure
CREATE [OR REPLACE] PROCEDURE [schema_name.]procedure_name
[(parameter_list)]
[AUTHID {CURRENT_USER | DEFINER}] {IS | AS}
-- package spec
CREATE [OR REPLACE] PACKAGE [schema_name.]package_name
[AUTHID {CURRENT_USER | DEFINER}] {IS | AS}
-- object type spec
CREATE [OR REPLACE] TYPE [schema_name.]object_type_name
[AUTHID {CURRENT_USER | DEFINER}] {IS | AS} OBJECT
where DEFINER is the default option. In a package or object type, the AUTHID
clause applies to all routines.
Note: Most supplied PL/SQL packages (such as DBMS_LOB, DBMS_PIPE, DBMS_
ROWID, DBMS_SQL, and UTL_REF) are invoker-rights packages.