Oracle 8i (Version 8.1.5) bug

I like to report an extremely serious and dangerous bug in Oracle8i (Version 8.1.5). This bug has been reported in TAR 1093520.999 and has been verified by Oracle support.

The error, simply stated, is that two equivalent SQL SELECT queries can return different results. I have submitted a test case consisting of four SQL scripts: (1) create schema of 5 tables, (2) populate tables (app. 20 rows of data) and the two SQL SELECT statements that return correct and incorrect result sets. Oracle support has run the test case against both 32 bit & 64 bit Oracle8i version 8.1.5 for both the Solaris and HP platforms. In all these cases, the results are consistent, i.e., the two SQL SELECT statements return different answers. For Johnson Controls Inc., a leader in the building automation industry, the consequence of such a bug can be disastrous. Oracle has found the source of the bug and has issued a patch that at least works against the test case I submitted on the HP 64 bit platform.

I have suggested that Oracle issue an advisory, warning Oracle customers of the potential problem. Oracle has steadfastly refused to issue such warning, claiming the condition under which this error can occur is rare. IMHO, I believe it's more common than Oracle thinks.

I can post the 4 SQL scripts if there is enough interest in the newsgroup.

Hwa N. Shen
Johnson Controls, Inc.

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