Subject: Re: Indexing NULL in the Oracle Database, is this the best practice?
To: Michael D O'Shea/Woodward Informatics Ltd
 <woodwardinformatics@strychnine.co.uk>
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 <2863f93e-d201-00e1-9de8-ac36294e17ae@gmail.com>
 <11801CB2-EB74-487D-920E-D548543DA79A@strychnine.co.uk>
Cc: oracle-l@freelists.org
From: Mladen Gogala <gogala.mladen@gmail.com>
Message-ID: <ae12fa7f-edb2-62bd-afaf-e7fccdc66f65@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 1 Jan 2017 13:34:41 -0500
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On 01/01/2017 06:49 AM, Michael D O'Shea/Woodward Informatics Ltd wrote:
> > I am not a big fan of using semi documented functions like
> > that, because developers usually don't know anything about them.
>
> And yet we accept Oracle SQL 'hinting' without challenge, despite such 
> demonstrably poor Oracle documentation.
>
> —
>
> Michael D. O’Shea
> Woodward Informatics Ltd: http://www.strychnine.co.uk
>
>

Hinting is usually done by the DBA, who should know the basic hints and 
how to use them. Other than that, I am not sure who are "we" and how do 
"we" accept Oracle SQL hinting without challenge? Given that hints are 
usually issued by the DBA, what would that challenge look like? DBA 
walking on the walls of the Elsinore castle, and saying something like 
"to hint, or not to hint, that is the question now"? Besides the dubious 
literary value, I am not sure that such a soliloquy would have any 
effect of on the functioning of the database(s) entrusted to the DBA.


-- 
Mladen Gogala
Oracle DBA
http://mgogala.freehostia.com


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    <div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 01/01/2017 06:49 AM, Michael D
      O'Shea/Woodward Informatics Ltd wrote:<br>
    </div>
    <blockquote
      cite="mid:11801CB2-EB74-487D-920E-D548543DA79A@strychnine.co.uk"
      type="cite">
      <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
      <div class="">&gt; I am not a big fan of using semi documented
        functions like</div>
      <div class="">&gt; that, because developers usually don't know
        anything about them. </div>
      <div class=""><br class="">
      </div>
      <div class="">And yet we accept Oracle SQL 'hinting' without
        challenge, despite such demonstrably poor Oracle documentation.</div>
      <div class=""><br class="">
      </div>
      <div class="">—</div>
      <div class="">
        <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 12px; font-style:
          normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position:
          normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric:
          normal; font-variant-alternates: normal;
          font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-weight: normal;
          letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto;
          text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none;
          white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;
          -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class=""><br class="">
        </div>
        <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 12px; font-style:
          normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position:
          normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric:
          normal; font-variant-alternates: normal;
          font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-weight: normal;
          letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto;
          text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none;
          white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;
          -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">Michael D. O’Shea</div>
        <div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 12px; font-style:
          normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position:
          normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-numeric:
          normal; font-variant-alternates: normal;
          font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-weight: normal;
          letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto;
          text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none;
          white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;
          -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;" class="">Woodward Informatics
          Ltd: <a moz-do-not-send="true"
            href="http://www.strychnine.co.uk" class="">http://www.strychnine.co.uk</a><br
            class="">
          <br class="">
        </div>
      </div>
      <br class="">
    </blockquote>
    <br>
    Hinting is usually done by the DBA, who should know the basic hints
    and how to use them. Other than that, I am not sure who are "we" and
    how do "we" accept Oracle SQL hinting without challenge? Given that
    hints are usually issued by the DBA, what would that challenge look
    like? DBA walking on the walls of the Elsinore castle, and saying
    something like "to hint, or not to hint, that is the question now"?
    Besides the dubious literary value, I am not sure that such a
    soliloquy would have any effect of on the functioning of the
    database(s) entrusted to the DBA. <br>
    <p><br>
    </p>
    <pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">-- 
Mladen Gogala
Oracle DBA
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://mgogala.freehostia.com">http://mgogala.freehostia.com</a>
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