Re: What use is OCP? they did it again!

"mario" <mario_jvn_at_yahoo.it> wrote in message news:b84ce0d2.0211200929.85ed698_at_posting.google.com...
> From the last issue (November/December 2002) of
> Oracle Magazine, page 134:
>
> " Select two characteristics of locally managed tablespaces:
>
> A. extents are managed by the data dictionary.
>
> B. a bitmap in the datafile keeps track of the free
> or used status of blocks (sic!) in the datafile.
>
> C. Each segment stored in the tablespace can have a
> different storage clause.
>
> D. no coalescing is required.
>
> E. UNDO is not generated when allocation or
> deallocation of extents occurs.
>
> For locally managed tablespaces, the correct answers
> are B (sic!), D and E. "

To be fair - albeit through gritted teeth - I rather suspect that this was an error by the author of the article, and not necessarily in the question/answer. Had the author read the question correctly (don't they teach people to do that anymore? ) he'd have spotted that the question was asking for *two* correct answers (D,E) and not three.

I'm not entirely happy with option C either since you can specify whatever storage clause you like for segments in locally managed tablespaces, the clause just gets ignored. C sort of gives the impression that you must specify identical storage clauses for segements in a locally managed tablespace.

I was also dumbfounded by

What answer best describes the process that results in the loss of one redo log file member in a redo log group?
A. The database hangs, and no further transactions are processed. B. The database will continue to write to valid members of the redo log group, and further transactions are processed. C. The database shuts down and requires the DBA to resolve the problem. D. Log switches will not occur

Since none of the answers result in the loss of logfile members at all. In other words the question does not match any of the answers.

The answers refer to how Oracle *responds to* the loss of a log file member. Moreover, even if the question were phrased "what answer best describes what happens when Oracle suffers the loss of one redo log file member in a redo log group?" the correct answer depends on whether there are any valid members of the redo log group left.

All in all it looks as if the review of the questions needs to be tightened up.

--
Niall Litchfield
Oracle DBA
Audit Commission UK
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