Message Dictionary lets you catalog messages for display from your application without hardcoding them into your forms and programs. Using Message Dictionary, you can:
Define standard messages you can use in all your applications
Provide a consistent look and feel for messages within and across all your applications
Define flexible messages that can include context-sensitive variable text
Change or translate the text of your messages without regenerating or recompiling your application code
Message Dictionary makes it easy for you to modify your messages. All your message text is available from one simple form, and you do not need to regenerate your forms or recompile your programs if you change your message text.
Message Dictionary displays your application messages in a format you choose. For example, you can display your messages in a dialog box or on the message line. You can also display messages without codes, such as warnings that have an intuitive remedy or do not need one.
Message Dictionary facilitates translation of your messages by allowing you to easily modify your messages and by allowing you to define message notes for each message. Message Dictionary saves you time because you do not need to regenerate your forms or recompile your programs after translation of message text.
Message Dictionary lets you create standardized messages you can use in your application. Message Dictionary reduces redundant programming of standard messages by storing all of your messages as entries in Message Dictionary. Once you define your messages in the Message Dictionary, you can refer to them in your forms, concurrent programs, and other application modules using a simple message name you define. You can call the same message many times, from anywhere in your application. If you need to change your message, you only need to change it in one place.
Message Dictionary lets you include information in your message that Oracle Application Object Library derives at runtime. You can define your messages to accept variable text such as field values or module names. You specify the values of the variable message parts when you call Message Dictionary from a form or other application module. Message Dictionary inserts these values in the message before it returns the message to you. You can also include a field reference in your message call from a form, displaying the field's value in the message your user sees.
A non-updatable internal identifier for a message in your application. A message name can be up to 30 characters of text. A message name, together with your application name and language name, uniquely identifies your message text. You specify the message name when you call Message Dictionary from a form or program module.
Text your application displays or prints to an output file. You can define your message to be up to about 1800 characters long (about 1260 in English to allow for translation into longer languages such as German).
A number that appears with your message. If you define a non-zero message number for your message, Message Dictionary automatically prepends your message with the prefix APP- (or its translated equivalent).
A keyword you create to represent a value when you define a message. You specify the same variable token, along with its current value, when you call Message Dictionary from your form or program module. Message Dictionary replaces each variable token in your message with the current value you specify and then displays the message.