LITERALS Vs BIND VARIABLES WITH CURSOR - SHARING

LITERALS , SUB STITUTION VARIABLES AND BIND VARIABLES
VARIBLE
Very simply , a variable is a programmer defined name.
Variables are used to hold data for Oracle.
Variables may be any SQL data type
Each variable declaration is must be terminated by a semicolon;
DECLARING SIMPLE VARIABLE
VARIABLE_NAME DATATYPE;
val1 number(6);
we can assign values to variables using assignment operator :=
VARIABLE_NAME := value;
val1 := 40; or
val1 number := 40
SIMPLE PL/SQL
SQL>DECLARE
v_cnt NUMBER; -- Define a number variable
BEGIN
v_cnt := 0;
WHILE v_cnt < 10 LOOP
v_cnt := v_cnt + 1;
END LOOP;
END ;
Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

LITERALS
Literals are values , Oracle points a ‘FIXED DATA VALUE’.
Character Literals are ‘ford’, ‘rose’, ‘100’ .
Numeric Literals are is 5001 , 6000.
Character literals are enclosed in single ‘Quotation marks’
Example for NUMERIC LITERALS
SQL> DECLARE
v_var1 NUMBER(2) := 123;
v_var2 NUMBER(3) := 123;
v_var3 NUMBER(5,3) := 123456.123;
BEGIN
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('v_var1: '||v_var1);
END;
NUMERIC LITERAL and STRING LITERAL
SQL> DECLARE
v_var1 VARCHAR2(20);

v_var2 VARCHAR2(6);
v_var3 NUMBER(5,3);
***********************************************
BEGIN
v_var1 := 'string literal';
v_var2 := '12.345';
v_var3 := 12.345;
END;
v_var1: string literal
v_var1: 12.345
v_var1: 12.345
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
'string literal' and '12.345', are string literals because they are enclosed in
single quotes. The third value, 12.345, is a numeric literal.
SUB STITUTION VARIABLES in SQL* Plus
Substitute variable is prefixed with (&) or (&&) i.e., there are

two (2) types of SUB STITUTION VARIABLES ( & and && ).…..
SQL *Plus finds a substitution variable define by using & ampersand.

It prompts the user to enter a value for that variable then it tries
to replace it with the value. Substitution variable may declared with
"define". they have no data type.
**********************
Simple Example
Declare
SQL>define var1 = sam
SQL>Select '&var1' from dual;
RESU
var1
Difference between & and &&
"&" is used to create a temporary substitution variable that will

prompt a value every time it is referenced.

"&&" is used to create a permanent substitution variable. Once

entered a value (defined the variable) its value will used every time
the variable is referenced. Lets see.
*************************************************
The "&&" will actually define the variable similarly to what the DEFINE
command or OLD_VALUE/NEW_VALUE clauses of a COLUMN
statement would have done.
POINTS TO NOTE :
&& substitution variable will reuse the variable value without

prompting the user everytime.

When we run a script or SQL that contains "&" symbols, we can

insert some data into database, what actually happen is SQL*Plus
will prompt the user for a value.
Here , we can use ( SET DEFINE OFF ) command to stop SQL*Plus

perform any variable substitution.
SET DEFINE ON Vs SET DEFINE OFF
SET DEFINE ON command TURNS ON for variable substitution.
There are three (3) combinations of 'SET DEFINE' , they are
: set define ON.  set define OFF.  set define x.
SET DEFINE ON VS SET DEFINE OFF
The SET DEFINE statement is used to specify the value of the non –
alphanumeric character used to prefix substitution variables. The
default value is the apersand (&).
HR> SET DEFINE ON;
HR>SELECT '&HELLO' FROM DUAL;
Enter value for hello: THIS IS ORACLE
RESULT
THIS IS ORACLE
HR> SET DEFINE OFF;
HR>SELECT '&HELLO' RESULT FROM DUAL;
RESULT

&HELLO
 If SET DEFINE ON, then it will ask the variable value. .
 If SET DEFINE OFF , then it will not ask the variable value.
set define x : set define x specifies the prefix character for

substitution variables and default is . ampersand (&).
POINTS TO NOTE
What I say , as far as the database server is concerned, literals and

substitution variables are the same thing. Lets us check .
SQ>select * from dual where dummy ='&var';
SQL>select * from dual where dummy = 'X';
Both statements will be parsed separately (hard pase occurs) so I

am saying ‘ literals and substitution variables are the same thing.
BIND VARIABLES
BIND VARIABLES are differ from literals and substitution variables.
because useage of bind variables to increase query performance.

Bind variables ensures parsed representations of SQL queries are
reused by the database.
Creating bind Variables
HR>VARIABLE ret_val NUMBER

HR> BEGIN

:ret_val := 4;
END;
/
HR>PRINT ret_val;
RET_VAL
*******************************************
POINTS TO NOTE
LITERALS are same as constants.
Variable used with : (colon) is a BIND VARIABLE – not true always.

When SQL* Plus sees substitution variable it replaces particular
value , it will create many hard parses , affecting performance too.
Bind variables are used in SQL and PL/SQL statements for holding
data. They are commonly used in SQL statements to optimize
statement performance. A statement with a BIND VARIABLE may
be re-executed multiple times without needing to be re-parsed.
BIND VARIABLES Improves the performance because don't replace

variables’ place holder with the value. It just binds them.
When using bind variables database server binds values with the
variable place holder but submitted SQL query text is being same.
Examples for USING BIND VARIABLES

Hard Parses are really bad. Avoiding HARD PARSES can reduce
overall run time of given SQL statement more than once. Oracle
considers identical SQL statements to be the same, hard parses will
be performed for both of these following statements.
SQL> select * From tab1 where eid=12345;

SQL> select * From tab1 where eid=54321;
Above two SQL statements above are not identical This will result in two
different cursors being stored in the Library Cache.
************************************
We can avoid this problem through the use of bind variables used
within your SQL and PL/SQL code.
Bind variable references should be prefixed with a colon. To use a bind

variable, in SQL statement or PL/SQL block use a colon followed by a
variable name to indicate a bind variable is being used.
So we can use bind variables for input variables in any DELETE,

INSERT, SELECT, OR UPDATE statement, or PL/SQL block.
HR> variable v_value number

HR>declare
v_display varchar2(15);
BEGIN
:v_value:=1;
select name into v_display from tab1 where no=:v_value;

dbms_output.put_line(v_display);
END;
/
sam
PL/SQL can be executed many times with different values for :v_value, and
hard parsed once. This approach not only performs better but also is a much
more scalable way of writing SQL and PL/SQL. Multiple concurrent statements
will be able to be executed.
BIND VARIABLES SMALL EXAMPLE PROGRAM
Parsing steps and the use of bind variables are the most important
things to understand for developers variable .
HR>select * from tab1 where no=1 or no=2;
NO NAME EMAIL CITY
1 sony [email protected] new jersy

2 ford [email protected] new jersy
HR> variable b1 number

HR> variable b2 varchar2(30)
HR> exec :b1 :=2;

HR>BEGIN
2 select name into :b2 from tab1 where no=:b1;
3 END;
4 /
HR>print :b2;
B2
ford
POINTS TO NOTE :
Variable and exec are SQL Plus commands and are not part of the pl/sql
language. We can't use them as part of PL/SQL.
Simple Program using BIND VARIABLE with FUNCTION
HR> create or replace function test_fun

return number is
begin
return 1;
end;
/
Function created.
HR>var n number;
HR>exec :n:= test_fun;

HR>print n;
N
1
Using BIND VARIABLES to check PARSING
HR>ALTER SYSTEM FLUSH SHARED_POOL:

System altered.
SET VERIFY
SET VERIFY only has an effect on substitution variables used in SQL
and PL/SQL statements: SET VERIFY command is used to control

whether SQL*Plus echoes the old and new statement text when it
substitutes a variable's value.
*******************************************
HR> SET VERIFY ON;
HR> DEFINE VAL1=100;
HR> SELECT * FROM TAB1 WHERE NO=&VAL1;
old 1: SELECT * FROM TAB1 WHERE NO=&VAL1
new 1: SELECT * FROM TAB1 WHERE NO=100
<< output >>
HR> SET VERIFY OFF;
HR> SELECT * FROM TAB1 WHERE NO=&VAL1;
<< output >>

CURSOR_SHARING
CURSOR_SHARING is an init.ora parameter. Oracle database uses to control
whether it will "auto-bind" a SQL statement. It allow users to change the

shared pool's default behavior when parsing and caching SQL statements.
CURSOR_SHARING determines what kind of SQL statements can share the
same cursors. CURSOR_SHARING can have one of three values ;
 FORCE  SIMILAR  EXACT (default)

 SQL > show Parameter cursor_sharing ;
Oracle offers the cursor_sharing parameter starting with oracle 8i. When
CURSOR SHARING is enabled setting of parameter CURSOR_SHARING to
FORCE/ EXACT/SIMILAR. SIMILAR is only available above oracle 8i. Oracle
will replace literal values with system generated bind values.
Oracle database can take a query of the form SELECT * FROM TABLE
WHERE COL = 'literal' and replace the 'literal' with a bind value - so the
predicate will become WHERE COL = :"SYS_B_0" . This permits the reuse of
the generated query plan , to better utilization of the shared pool and a
reduction of hard parses performed by the system.
CURSOR_SHARING = EXACT - ( DEFAULT )
EXACT (default) allows SQL statements must match exactly in
order to share the parse code in shared pool. When setting

cursor_sharing to exact ‘only textually exact statements can be
shared’. The query is not rewritten to use bind variables.

CURSOR_SHARING = FORCE
This setting rewrites the query. Share the plan (forcibly) of a SQL.
If the text of SQL matches (except the literal values of the SQL) in
shared pool. ‘CURSOR_SHARING to allows similar statements to share
SQL. Two (2) SQL statements which differ only by a literal value).
CURSOR_SHARING = SIMILAR
This is very tricky one ! This setting also rewrites the query,
replacing the literals with bind variables, but can setup different
plans for different bind variable combinations. SIMILAR might reduce
the number of plans generated because multiple plans may be
generated, the setting of SIMILAR may or may not reduce the number
of actual plans to observe in the shared pool.
EXAMPLE FOR CURSOR_SHARING = EXACT
CURSOR_SHARING= EXACT : In oracle database, every unique SQL
statement will create a new entry in V$SQL , it will be hard-parsed,

and an execution plan will be created for it.
EXACT.txt
There can be hundreds or thousands of very similar queries in the

shared pool that differ only in the literals used in the SQL statement.
This implies that the application itself is not using bind variables, and

that implies that the database is forced to hard-parse They not only
consumes a lot of CPU cycles but also leads to decreased scalability.
Because the database cannot hard-parse hundreds or thousands of

SQL statements concurrently, the application ends up waiting for the
shared pool to become available. That was the motivation behind
adding CURSOR_SHARING=FORCE .
EXAMPLE FOR CURSOR_SHARING = FORCE
CURSOR_SHARING= FORCE : In oracle database, It is generated
only one shareable query in the shared_pool Literals are replaced

with :"SYS_B_0" and made the cursor shareable by as many sessions.
FORCE.txt
***************************************************
In general , one query plan would be reused by many sessions. This

would turn the hard parse into a soft parse. It consumes just some
resources and simultaneously increase the scalability of the system.
Settings of CURSOR_SHARING to FORCE/SIMILAR are the same
because both resulted in a single plan. So what is the difference

between these two settings ?
EXAMPLE FOR CURSOR_SHARING = SIMILAR

If CURSOR_SHARING set to SIMILAR, the optimizer would replace all

literals with :SYS_B_? — This is what we see in Oracle database.
CURSOR_SHARING = SIMLAR: is a compromise between the two
extremes: cursor_sharing = exact (which doesn't change anything) and

cursor_sharing = force (which forces replacement of literals with
system-generated bind variables wherever possible).
SIMILAR causes statements that may differ in some literals, but are
otherwise identical to share a cursor, unless the literals affect either

the meaning of the statement or the degree to which the plan is
optimized.
SIMILAR.txt
In this option cursor reuse is not guaranteed, by design.

SIMILAR is no more exists in Oracle 12c. The option has been
deprecated. in oracle 11g. Oracle metalink 1169017.1
*****************************
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SIMILAR AND FORCE
The CURSOR SHARING parameter is for auto binding of the literals,

and it does not optimize/deoptimize the plan in anyway.
FORCE option contains so many bugs like Incorrect results ,

crashing instances etc. Oracle does NOT recommend to set FORCE.
Setting the CURSOR_SHARING to FORCE may cause the optimizer to

generate unexpected execution plans because the optimizer does not

know the values of the bind variables. This may positively or negatively
impact the database performance.
CURSOR_SHARING of FORCE/SIMILAR is something that a DBA can

occasionally use to work around poorly written applications. Ideally,
either should be a temporary measure until the developers fix the
problem code. To get light CURSOR SHARING = SIMILAR/ FORCE.
There are numerous bugs associated with CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR.
CURSOR_SHARING=EXACT is sufficient if the application is written

correctly. Best link from ask tom.

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LITERALS , SUB STITUTION VARIABLES AND BIND VARIABLES

Very simply , a variable is a programmer defined name.

Variables are used to hold data for Oracle.

Variables may be any SQL data type

Each variable declaration is must be terminated by a semicolon;

DECLARING SIMPLE VARIABLE

we can assign values to variables using assignment operator :=

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

Literals are values , Oracle points a ‘FIXED DATA VALUE’.

Character Literals are ‘ford’, ‘rose’, ‘100’ .

Numeric Literals are is 5001 , 6000.

Character literals are enclosed in single ‘Quotation marks’

Example for NUMERIC LITERALS

v_var1 NUMBER(2) := 123;

v_var2 NUMBER(3) := 123;

v_var3 NUMBER(5,3) := 123456.123;

NUMERIC LITERAL and STRING LITERAL

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

v_var1 := 'string literal';

v_var1: string literal

PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.

SUB STITUTION VARIABLES in SQL* Plus

Substitute variable is prefixed with (&) or (&&) i.e., there are

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

Difference between & and &&

"&" is used to create a temporary substitution variable that will

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

"&&" is used to create a permanent substitution variable. Once

&& substitution variable will reuse the variable value without

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

When we run a script or SQL that contains "&" symbols, we can

Here , we can use ( SET DEFINE OFF ) command to stop SQL*Plus

SET DEFINE ON Vs SET DEFINE OFF

SET DEFINE ON command TURNS ON for variable substitution.

There are three (3) combinations of 'SET DEFINE' , they are

: set define ON.  set define OFF.  set define x.

SET DEFINE ON VS SET DEFINE OFF

HR> SET DEFINE ON;

HR>SELECT '&HELLO' FROM DUAL;

Enter value for hello: THIS IS ORACLE

HR> SET DEFINE OFF;

HR>SELECT '&HELLO' RESULT FROM DUAL;

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

 If SET DEFINE ON, then it will ask the variable value. .

set define x : set define x specifies the prefix character for

What I say , as far as the database server is concerned, literals and

SQ>select * from dual where dummy ='&var';

SQL>select * from dual where dummy = 'X';

Both statements will be parsed separately (hard pase occurs) so I

BIND VARIABLES are differ from literals and substitution variables.

because useage of bind variables to increase query performance.

Creating bind Variables

HR>VARIABLE ret_val NUMBER

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu

LITERALS are same as constants.

Variable used with : (colon) is a BIND VARIABLE – not true always.

BIND VARIABLES Improves the performance because don't replace

Examples for USING BIND VARIABLES

Exploring the Oracle DBA Technology by Gunasekaran ,Thiyagu