Re: Undocumented features

Mark Vandenbroeck (mvandenb_at_be.oracle.com) wrote:
: Ruud de Haas <100121.1053_at_CompuServe.COM> wrote:
: >
: > We found the following undocumented Oracle feature:
: >
: > ALTER SESSION SET EVENTS 'IMMEDIATE TRACE NAME CONTROLF LEVEL 99'
: >
: > Can anyone tell me:
: > what other commands besides SET EVENTS are possible ?
: > which other keywords besides CONTROLF are possible as well as
: > what the do;
: > what 99 means in this respect and what other values are posible.
: > are there any ORA messages given as this command is used ?
: >
: >
: These 'events' are undocumented and should remain so. You are not
: supposed to use these unless instructed by support.
 

: I work in Technical Support (Belgium) and even we can't get hold of
: any documentation on this. Only the support 'Supercenters'
: (escalation centers) have this kind of info.
 

: There is a good reason for this. These events can cause great damage to
: a database if used not properly.
 

: Don't touch !

 Are you saying that my Oracle DB contains hidden logic bombs and all that  it requires is for the office monkey to come up with the right combination  of key strokes and then WIPEOUT. Sounds like you're playing the company  secret game a bit too seriously.  

 If you're not been duped by super techos jealous of their little tricks or  if you yourself are not doing the duping then I would have to seriously  consider if Oracle is a suitable repository for my important data. I like  to know that the data is safe and that I understand the environment within  which it is kept. I have been asked by tech support in the past to use one  or two of the undocumented routines but I was never led to believe that  they could wipe my data.

 Some re-assurance please. Maybe someone from the 'Supercenters' might like  to comment.

 Liam Received on Tue Jan 24 1995 - 11:20:10 CET