RE: full-scan vs index for "small" tables

Quoting oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org:

> All combined, I'd argue that this picture is a lot better than what we used
> to have to endure in the days of RBO.

Absolutely! I'd rather have the CBO as is now - in latest 9i releases and 10g - than the RBO. Back in 8i and before, I'd think twice about it. Not now. Other than logistic considerations - re-testing, fine tuning, etcetc - I reckon anyone not switching to CBO in these releases is asking for trouble.
Got exactly that problem right now: older app developed in 7, needs CBO badly so we can fully use parallel/partitioning, yet there is no financial commitment to the necessary testing prior to switch. Don't see any easy solutions, it's one of those things that just must be done.
The degree of flexibility in CBO nowadays is certainly right up there with all the "wish list" items!

> There's just this inconvenience of
> having to inform the Oracle query optimizer about your data, the process for
> doing which involves so many complicated decisions that probably few people
> will really ever do it very well.

Do you see any future developments in this area besides the usual "we won't need dbas in the next release, it's all self-tuning and self-administered"?

-- 
Cheers
Nuno Souto
from sunny Sydney
--
http://www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l