Oracle DBA Question:
Download Questions PDF

What are bind variables and why are they important?

Answer:

With bind variables in SQL, Oracle can cache related queries a single time in the SQL cache (area). This avoids a hard parse each time, which saves on various locking and latching resources we use to check objects existence and so on. BONUS: For rarely run queries, especially BATCH queries, we explicitely DO NOT want to use bind variables, as they hide information from the Cost Based Opitmizer.

BONUS BONUS: For batch queries from 3rd party apps like peoplesoft, if we can't remove bind variables, we can use bind variable peeking!

Download Oracle DBA Interview Questions And Answers PDF

Previous QuestionNext Question
What is the difference between RMAN and a traditional hotbackup?In PL/SQL, what is bulk binding, and when/how would it help performance?