The Bug Database
If you are working with an established release level of the application, the odds are high that some other Oracle customer will have discovered the same problem that is plaguing you. If Oracle Development has resolved the problem, there will be a bug number, and the solution will be available to you as a patch. Your ultimate goal is to diagnose your problem and get to the patch as soon as possible.
Oracle does not publish comprehensive lists of bugs that have been fixed. You must work with your support analyst or the MetaLink knowledge repository to determine which bugs and patches apply to your implementation, hardware/software combination, and business requirement. Use the techniques outlined in this chapter to define which items in the bug database are needed for your production systems.