Oracle Interview Questions = Part - 12

When is cost based optimization triggered? (for DBA)
It's important to have statistics on all tables for the CBO (Cost Based Optimizer) to work correctly. If one table involved in a statement does not have statistics, Oracle has to revert to rule-based optimization for that statement. So you really want for all tables to have statistics right away; it won't help much to just have the larger tables analyzed.
Generally, the CBO can change the execution plan when you:
1. Change statistics of objects by doing an ANALYZE;
2. Change some initialization parameters (for example: hash_join_enabled, sort_area_size, db_file_multiblock_read_count).

How can one optimize %XYZ% queries? (for DBA)
It is possible to improve %XYZ% queries by forcing the optimizer to scan all the entries from the index instead of the table. This can be done by specifying hints. If the index is physically smaller than the table (which is usually the case) it will take less time to scan the entire index than to scan the entire table.

What Enter package procedure does ?
Enter Validate-data in the current validation unit.

Where can one find I/O statistics per table? (for DBA)
The UTLESTAT report shows I/O per tablespace but one cannot see what tables in the tablespace has the most I/O. The $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/catio.sql script creates a sample_io procedure and table to gather the required information. After executing the procedure, one can do a simple SELECT * FROM io_per_object; to extract the required information. For more details, look at the header comments in the $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/admin/catio.sql script.

My query was fine last week and now it is slow. Why? (for DBA)
The likely cause of this is because the execution plan has changed. Generate a current explain plan of the offending query and compare it to a previous one that was taken when the query was performing well. Usually the previous plan is not available.
Some factors that can cause a plan to change are:
. Which tables are currently analyzed? Were they previously analyzed? (ie. Was the query using RBO and now CBO?)
. Has OPTIMIZER_MODE been changed in INIT.ORA?
. Has the DEGREE of parallelism been defined/changed on any table?
. Have the tables been re-analyzed? Were the tables analyzed using estimate or compute? If estimate, what percentage was used?
. Have the statistics changed?
. Has the INIT.ORA parameter DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT been changed?
. Has the INIT.ORA parameter SORT_AREA_SIZE been changed?
. Have any other INIT.ORA parameters been changed?
. What do you think the plan should be? Run the query with hints to see if this produces the required performance.

Why is Oracle not using the damn index? (for DBA)
This problem normally only arises when the query plan is being generated by the Cost Based Optimizer. The usual cause is because the CBO calculates that executing a Full Table Scan would be faster than accessing the table via the index.
Fundamental things that can be checked are:
. USER_TAB_COLUMNS.NUM_DISTINCT - This column defines the number of distinct values the column holds.
. USER_TABLES.NUM_ROWS - If NUM_DISTINCT = NUM_ROWS then using an index would be preferable to doing a FULL TABLE SCAN. As the NUM_DISTINCT decreases, the cost of using an index increase thereby is making the index less desirable.
. USER_INDEXES.CLUSTERING_FACTOR - This defines how ordered the rows are in the index. If CLUSTERING_FACTOR approaches the number of blocks in the table, the rows are ordered. If it approaches the number of rows in the table, the rows are randomly ordered. In such a case, it is unlikely that index entries in the same leaf block will point to rows in the same data blocks.
. Decrease the INIT.ORA parameter DB_FILE_MULTIBLOCK_READ_COUNT - A higher value will make the cost of a FULL TABLE SCAN cheaper.
. Remember that you MUST supply the leading column of an index, for the index to be used (unless you use a FAST FULL SCAN or SKIP SCANNING).
. There are many other factors that affect the cost, but sometimes the above can help to show why an index is not being used by the CBO. If from checking the above you still feel that the query should be using an index, try specifying an index hint. Obtain an explain plan of the query either using TKPROF with TIMED_STATISTICS, so that one can see the CPU utilization, or with AUTOTRACE to see the statistics. Compare this to the explain plan when not using an index.

When should one rebuild an index? (for DBA)
You can run the 'ANALYZE INDEX VALIDATE STRUCTURE' command on the affected indexes - each invocation of this command creates a single row in the INDEX_STATS view. This row is overwritten by the next ANALYZE INDEX command, so copy the contents of the view into a local table after each ANALYZE. The 'badness' of the index can then be judged by the ratio of 'DEL_LF_ROWS' to 'LF_ROWS'.

What are the unrestricted procedures used to change the popup screen position during run time ?
Anchor-view
Resize -View
Move-View.

What is an Alert ?
An alert is window that appears in the middle of the screen overlaying a portion of the current display.

Deleting a page removes information about all the fields in that page ?
a. True. b. False
a. True.

Two popup pages can appear on the screen at a time ?Two popup pages can appear on the screen at a time ?
a. True. b. False?
a. True.

Classify the restricted and unrestricted procedure from the following.
a. Call
b. User-Exit
c. Call-Query
d. Up
e. Execute-Query
f. Message
g. Exit-From
h. Post
i. Break?

a. Call - unrestricted
b. User Exit - Unrestricted
c. Call_query - Unrestricted
d. Up - Restricted
e. Execute Query - Restricted
f. Message - Restricted
g. Exit_form - Restricted
h. Post - Restricted
i. Break - Unrestricted.

What is an User Exits ?
A user exit is a subroutine which are written in programming languages using pro*C pro *Cobol , etc., that link into the SQL * forms executable.

What is a Trigger ?
A piece of logic that is executed at or triggered by a SQL *forms event.

What is a Package Procedure ?
A Package procedure is built in PL/SQL procedure.

What is the maximum size of a form ?
255 character width and 255 characters Length.

What is the difference between system.current_field and system.cursor_field ?
1. System.current_field gives name of the field.
2. System.cursor_field gives name of the field with block name.

List the system variables related in Block and Field?
1. System.block_status
2. System.current_block
3. System.current_field
4. System.current_value
5. System.cursor_block
6. System.cursor_field
7. System.field_status.

What are the different types of Package Procedure ?
1. Restricted package procedure.
2. Unrestricted package procedure.

What are the types of TRIGGERS ?
1. Navigational Triggers.
2. Transaction Triggers.

Identify package function from the following ?
1. Error-Code
2. Break
3. Call
4. Error-text
5. Form-failure
6. Form-fatal
7. Execute-query
8. Anchor View
9. Message_code?

1. Error_Code
2. Error_Text
3. Form_Failure
4. Form_Fatal
5. Message_Code

Can you attach an lov to a field at run-time? if yes, give the build-in name.?
Yes. Set_item_proprety

Is it possible to attach same library to more than one form?
Yes

Can you attach an lov to a field at design time?
Yes

List the windows event triggers available in Forms 4.0?
When-window-activated,
when-window-closed,
when-window-deactivated,
when-window-resized

What are the triggers associated with the image item?
When-Image-activated(Fires when the operator double clicks on an image Items)
When-image-pressed(fires when the operator selects or deselects the image item)

What is a visual attribute?
Visual Attributes are the font, color and pattern characteristics of objects that operators see and intract with in our application.

How many maximum number of radio buttons can you assign to a radio group?
Unlimited no of radio buttons can be assigned to a radio group