AD_APPLIED_PATCHES install date

In the old R12 version (12.1.X) one could query AD_APPLIED_PATCHES.CREATION_DATE and find the date a patch was applied to the system.

In the current version 12.2 you can still find that info there, but because of the current patching method, this date and time is now incorrect. It lists the technical date of the patch being applied to the Patch-system. So, technically this is correct, but it no longer represents a logical data anymore. That is : suppose you run ADOP Apply patch today, now, it will store the current time.

But then, X hours, or X-days later, I decide to run Cutover. Even when I start Cutover, that is also not the "patching time", the real patching time is the time when the Cutover itself is actually processed. And because the environment is down at that exact time, that time is also the logical time of patch installation since end-users, no matter if they are administrator or normal end-user, will see the patch visible ONLY after that date.