Re: COMPATIBILITY flag

Andrew Thomas wrote in message <_l6K2.2078$Nm3.28848_at_news20.ispnews.com>...
>Can someone direct me to some documentation on the COMPATIBILITY flag
(other
>than an Oracle Press book, if possible)? Web site, PDF, etc. I'm issuing an
>ALTER TABLE command to change MAXEXTENTS, but I'm getting an error about
the
>COMPATIBILITY value. I assume it's set in init.ora, but I'm not sure what a
>good value is (or how important that value is).
>
>Please respond to the email address athomas_at_iminformation.com if at all
>possible.
>
>Thanks,
> -Andrew Thomas-
>
>
>

Presuming you have misspelled the COMPATIBLE initialisation parameter (I don't know which RDBMS version you are using, nor whether the name has changed from 7.x to 8.x), I quote from Oracle7 Server Administrator's Guide, Appendix A, Initialization Parameter Files:

"
COMPATIBLE
Default Value: Release Dependent
Range of values: Default Version to Current Version Multiple instances: Must have the same value

This parameter allows a new release to be used while at the same time guaranteeing backwards compatibility with an earlier version (in case it becomes necessary to retreat to the earlier version). The version that the ORACLE server must retain compatible with is specified by this parameter. In order to maintain compatibility, some features of the current version may be restricted.

The default value is the earliest version with which compatibility can be guaranteed.
"

As I see it, your change of MAXEXTENTS needs a compatibility level higher than the one your database is using. Use svrmgrl to see its current value: show parameters compatible

The maximum value for MAXEXTENTS in an Oracle7 RDBMS is 121 (assuming 2K block size). As far as I know, this limitation is removed in Oracle8. Maybe you have an Oracle8 RDBMS with the COMPATIBLE parameter set to 7.something?

Generally, the COMPATIBLE parameter should be set to the highest level for which all your applications still work.

Anyone correct me if I am mistaken.

Regards,

Roy Brokvam
roy.brokvam_at_conax.com Received on Wed Mar 24 1999 - 11:05:31 CST