Before oracle8.1.6, When application sends a SQL, oracle first check the shared pool to see if there is an exact statement in the shared pool. If the exact statement is not found, then a hard parse is necessary to generate the executable form of the statement. Setting CURSOR_SHARING to EXACT allows SQL statements to share the SQL area only when their texts match exactly. This is the default behavior. Using this setting, similar statements cannot shared; only textually exact statements can be shared
Let me demonstrate CURSOR_SHARING=EXACT
SQL> select count(*),empno from emphist group by empno;
COUNT(*) EMPNO
1 7369
1 7902
4194304 7934
SQL> create index idxemphist on emphist(empno);
Index created.
SQL> execute DBMS_STATS.GATHER_TABLE_STATS(OWNNAME => ‘SCOTT’, TABNAME => ‘EMPHIST’,ESTIMATE_PERCENT
=> 10, METHOD_OPT => ‘FOR ALL COLUMNS SIZE 1’,CASCADE => TRUE);
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
SQL> alter system flush shared_pool;
System altered.
SQL> set autotrace traceonly explain
SQL> alter session set cursor_sharing=’EXACT’;
Session altered.
SQL> select count(ename) from emphist where empno=7934;
COUNT(ENAME)
4194304
Execution Plan
0 SELECT STATEMENT Optimizer=CHOOSE (Cost=2297 Card=1 Bytes=11
)
1 0 SORT (AGGREGATE)
2 1 TABLE ACCESS (FULL) OF ‘EMPHIST’ (Cost=2297 Card=4193270
Bytes=46125970)
SQL> select count(ename) from emphist where empno=7902;
COUNT(ENAME)
1
Execution Plan
0 SELECT STATEMENT Optimizer=CHOOSE (Cost=4 Card=1 Bytes=11)
1 0 SORT (AGGREGATE)
2 1 TABLE ACCESS (BY INDEX ROWID) OF ‘EMPHIST’ (Cost=4 Card=
1 Bytes=11)
3 2 INDEX (RANGE SCAN) OF ‘IDXEMPHIST’ (NON-UNIQUE) (Cost=
3 Card=1)
SQL> select count(ename) from emphist where empno=7902;
COUNT(ENAME)
1
Execution Plan
0 SELECT STATEMENT Optimizer=CHOOSE (Cost=4 Card=1 Bytes=11)
1 0 SORT (AGGREGATE)
2 1 TABLE ACCESS (BY INDEX ROWID) OF ‘EMPHIST’ (Cost=4 Card=
1 Bytes=11)
3 2 INDEX (RANGE SCAN) OF ‘IDXEMPHIST’ (NON-UNIQUE) (Cost=
3 Card=1)
SQL> select count(ename) from emphist where empno=7369;
COUNT(ENAME)
1
Execution Plan
0 SELECT STATEMENT Optimizer=CHOOSE (Cost=4 Card=1 Bytes=11)
1 0 SORT (AGGREGATE)
2 1 TABLE ACCESS (BY INDEX ROWID) OF ‘EMPHIST’ (Cost=4 Card=
1 Bytes=11)
3 2 INDEX (RANGE SCAN) OF ‘IDXEMPHIST’ (NON-UNIQUE) (Cost=
3 Card=1)
SQL> select count(ename) from emphist where empno=7369;
COUNT(ENAME)
1
Execution Plan
0 SELECT STATEMENT Optimizer=CHOOSE (Cost=4 Card=1 Bytes=11)
1 0 SORT (AGGREGATE)
2 1 TABLE ACCESS (BY INDEX ROWID) OF ‘EMPHIST’ (Cost=4 Card=
1 Bytes=11)
3 2 INDEX (RANGE SCAN) OF ‘IDXEMPHIST’ (NON-UNIQUE) (Cost=
3 Card=1)
SQL> set autotrace off
SQL> select sql_text
from v$sql
where sql_text like ‘select count(ename) from emphist where empno=%’;
SQL_TEXT
select count(ename) from emphist where empno=7369
select count(ename) from emphist where empno=7902
select count(ename) from emphist where empno=7934
Conclusion : Oracle does not use bind variable and every unique SQL statement, execution plan will be generated. It forced to hardparse every uniqe SQL statement and it leads to consume lot of CPU cycles. Oracle can not hardparse hundreds of SQL statement concurrently and it end up waiting for shared pool. To overcome this problem, oracle introduced FORCE paramter to use bind variable.
In oracle8.1.6, Oracle introduced new parameter FORCE. This is accomplished by transforming the statement into a new one by replacing the literals with system generated bind variables. The problem with bind variables is that the optimizer cannot predict precise selectivity.
Using cursor_sharing = force will parse the FIRST sql statement loaded into memory and will use this execution plan for the subsequent similar sql statements. This might be a problem if the FIRST statement’s literals have good selectivity but those of the subsequent statements don’t. In this case the statements with poor selectivity will also use the index whereas a full table scan would perform better. However, if the firstly run statement doesn’t have good selectivity and a full table scan is used, the subequent similar statements will also use FTS.
Let me demonstrate CURSOR_SHARING=FORCE
SQL> select count(ename) from employee where empno=7934;
COUNT(ENAME)
2097152
SQL>
The below plan is extracted from tkprof output file. Optimizer use the FTS which is right choice.
Rows Row Source Operation
1 SORT AGGREGATE
2097152 TABLE ACCESS FULL OBJ#(30800)
Let us run the another query and see the execution plan.
SQL> select count(ename) from employee where empno=7902;
COUNT(ENAME)
1
SQL>
The below plan is extracted from tkprof output file. Optimizer again use the FTS for this subsequent query which is bad choice.
Rows Row Source Operation
1 SORT AGGREGATE
1 TABLE ACCESS FULL OBJ#(30800)
SQL> select sql_text from v$sql
where sql_text like ‘select count(ename) from emphist where empno=%’;
SQL_TEXT
select count(ename) from emphist where empno=:”SYS_B_0″
SQL>
Conclusion : Oracle generate only one plan and use for all the SQL code. This would turn the hard parse into soft parse. It would require fewer resource. FORCE option is good when the query table is not skewed and all the queries require same execution plan. But in real world, this is not a good option.
To overcome this problem, In Oracle9i we can use CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR setting which makes the right plan based on the statistics.
Let me demonstrate CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR
SQL> ALTER SYSTEM FLUSH SHARED_POOL;
System altered.
SQL>
SQL> select count(ename) from employee where empno=7934;
COUNT(ENAME)
2097152
Let us run the query and see the actual execution plan. Optimizer use the FTS which is right choice.
Rows Row Source Operation
1 SORT AGGREGATE
2097152 TABLE ACCESS FULL OBJ#(30800)
Let us run the another query and see the actual execution plan.
SQL> select count(ename) from employee where empno=7902;
COUNT(ENAME)
1
SQL>
Rows Row Source Operation
1 SORT AGGREGATE
1 TABLE ACCESS BY INDEX ROWID OBJ#(30800)
1 INDEX RANGE SCAN OBJ#(30801) (object id 30801)
SQL> select sql_text
from v$sql
where sql_text like ‘select count(ename)%’;
SQL_TEXT
select count(ename) from emphist where empno=:”SYS_B_0″
select count(ename) from emphist where empno=:”SYS_B_0″
SQL>
Optimizer use the Index range scan which is right choice. Optimizer makes the right choice based on the statistics.
Conclusion : Optimizer replace the literal with bind variable and check if it requires different plan for the query based on the current statistics. If so then, optimizer mark the bind variable as unsafe and store the value in the signature of the query. Next time, user submit the query with the same bind variable value, then oracle resuse the plan. Optimizer would use the same execution plan based on the statistics if user submit the same query with different literal .
SIMILAR option resolve the issues which we had in EXACT. Exact does not use bind variable. But here it is using bind variable. In FORCE option, optimizer use the same execution plan for same query with different literal. But SIMILAR option, it use the different plan for the same query with different literal values based on the current statistics.
For more information continue reading this post
I am a bit puzzled by something you have said: “If you use CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR, you might reduce the number of plans generatedóthen again, you might have exactly the same number of plans.”
What are the factors that influence the number of plans generated? I thought that if CURSOR_SHARING was set to SIMILAR, the optimizer would replace all literals with :SYS_B_?óthis is what we see in our database.
CURSOR_SHARING is a parameter Oracle Database uses to control whether it will “auto-bind” a SQL statement. Oracle Database can take a query of the form SELECT * FROM TABLE WHERE COL = ‘literal’ and replace the ‘literal’ with a bind valueóso the predicate will become WHERE COL = :”SYS_B_0″ . This permits the reuse of the generated query plan, perhaps leading to better utilization of the shared pool and a reduction of hard parses performed by the system. The CURSOR_SHARING parameter can have one of three values:
EXACT : This is the default setting. With this value in place, the query is not rewritten to use bind variables.
FORCE : This setting rewrites the query, replacing all literals with bind values and setting up a one-size-fits-all planóa single plan for the rewritten query. I’ll demonstrate what that implies in a moment.
SIMILAR : This setting also rewrites the query, replacing the literals with bind variables, but can set up different plans for different bind variable combinations. This last point is why CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR might reduce the number of plans generated. Because multiple plans may be generated, the setting of SIMILAR may or may not reduce the number of actual plans you observe in the shared pool.
Let’s first look at what might happen if I execute the same set of queries with these three settings. The queries will simply be SELECT * FROM DUAL WHERE DUMMY = , and I’ll use ‘A’ and ‘B’ for . Then I’ll look in the shared pool via the V$SQL dynamic performance view and see how many cursors were set up for each query. Listing 1 sets the three CURSOR_SHARING values, runs SELECT queries, and looks at the content of the SQL_TEXT column in V$SQL to see the actual SQL used in the queries.
Code Listing 1: EXACT, FORCE, and SIMILAR for CURSOR_SHARING
SQL> alter session set cursor_sharing=exact;
Session altered.
SQL> select * from dual CS_EXACT where dummy = ‘A’;
no rows selected
SQL> select * from dual CS_EXACT where dummy = ‘B’;
no rows selected
SQL> alter session set cursor_sharing=force;
Session altered.
SQL> select * from dual CS_FORCE where dummy = ‘A’;
no rows selected
SQL> select * from dual CS_FORCE where dummy = ‘B’;
no rows selected
SQL> alter session set cursor_sharing=similar;
Session altered.
SQL> select * from dual CS_SIMILAR where dummy = ‘A’;
no rows selected
SQL> select * from dual CS_SIMILAR where dummy = ‘B’;
no rows selected
SQL> select sql_text
2 from v$sql
3 where sql_text like ‘select * from dual CS% where dummy = %’
4 order by sql_text;
SQL_TEXT
select * from dual CS_EXACT where dummy = ‘A’
select * from dual CS_EXACT where dummy = ‘B’
select * from dual CS_FORCE where dummy = :”SYS_B_0″
select * from dual CS_SIMILAR where dummy = :”SYS_B_0″
As you can see in Listing 1, with CURSOR_SHARING=EXACT (the default), every unique SQL statement I submit will create a new entry in V$SQL , it will be hard-parsed, and an execution plan will be created just for it. There can be hundreds or thousands of very similar queries in the shared pool that differ only in the literals used in the SQL statement itself. This implies that the application itself is not using bind variables, and that implies that the database is forced to hard-parse virtually every query, which, in turn, not only consumes a lot of CPU cycles but also leads to decreased scalability. The database just cannot hard-parse hundreds or thousands of SQL statements concurrentlyóthe application ends up waiting for the shared pool to become available. One of the major scalability inhibitors in the database is not using bind variables . That was the motivation behind adding CURSOR_SHARING=FORCE in Oracle8i Release 2 (8.1.6)óto help alleviate this performance and scalability inhibitor.
With CURSOR_SHARING=FORCE in place in Listing 1, the database generated only one shareable query in the shared poolóit replaced ‘A’ and ‘B’ with :”SYS_B_0″ and made the cursor shareable by as many sessions as would need it. In general, just one query plan would be reused by all sessions. This would turn the hard parse into a soft parse, which would consume fewer resources and simultaneously increase the scalability of the system, by allowing for more concurrent work, because a soft parse needs to “latch” (use a certain type of lock on) the shared pool less than a hard parse.
However, looking at the example in Listing 1 might lead you to assume that the settings of FORCE and SIMILAR are the sameóthe results certainly seem that way right now, because both resulted in a single plan. So what is the difference between these two settings? I’ll need another example to show that, but I can describe it first. When CURSOR_SHARING is set to SIMILAR , Oracle Database will replace all literals with bind variables, just as FORCE would, but the SIMILAR value does one other thingóit looks at each literal it replaces and asks, “Could different values for this bind variable lead, in turn, to different plans?” For example, if the predicate WHERE X=6 implies that I would want to use a full scan but the predicate WHERE X=5 implies that I would want to use an index range scan, the database would recognize that and set up different plans for me. In the case of different plans, you mark the bind variable as unsafe and add its value to the signature of the query, so to reuse this cursor, you must not only have the same SQL statement but also the same value for that particular bind variable.
That is why SIMILAR might reduce the number of plans you see in the shared pool but, then again, might not. In order to let you observe this and really see what is happening, I’ll set up a table with some very skewed dataóso skewed that when I query WHERE ID=1 , Oracle Database will want to use an index on ID , and when I query WHERE ID=99 , Oracle Database will not want to use an index. Listing 2 creates the skewed data and index and returns the execution plans for the skewed data.
Code Listing 2: Creating table, index, and plans for skewed data
SQL> create table t
2 as
3 select decode(rownum,1,1,99) ID,
4 all_objects.*
5 from all_objects
6 /
Table created.
SQL> create index t_idx on t (id);
Index created.
SQL> begin
2 dbms_stats.gather_table_stats
3 ( ownname => USER,
4 tabname => ‘T’,
5 method_opt => ‘for all indexed columns size 254’,
6 cascade => TRUE
7 );
8 end;
9 /
PL/SQL procedure successfully completed.
SQL> set autotrace traceonly explain
SQL> select * from t where id=1;
Execution Plan
0 SELECT STATEMENT Optimizer=ALL_ROWS (Cost=2 Card=1 Bytes=96)
1 0 TABLE ACCESS (BY INDEX ROWID) OF ‘T’ (TABLE) (Cost=2 Card=1 Bytes=96)
2 1 INDEX (RANGE SCAN) OF ‘T_IDX’ (INDEX) (Cost=1 Card=1)
SQL> select * from t where id=99;
Execution Plan
0 SELECT STATEMENT Optimizer=ALL_ROWS (Cost=197 Card=48028 Bytes=4610688)
1 0 TABLE ACCESS (FULL) OF ‘T’ (TABLE) (Cost=197 Card=48028 Bytes=4610688)
Table T in Listing 2 contains a column ID , which is very much skewedómost of the values are 99, with one record containing a value of 1. After I index and gather statistics on the table (generating histograms on that indexed column, so the optimizer knows that the data is skewed), I can see that the optimizer prefers an index range scan over a full scan when ID=1 is used and vice versa for ID=99 .
Now, let’s query that table with different ID= predicates, using CURSOR_SHARING=FORCE and then SIMILAR , as shown in Listing 3 (I already know what to expect with CURSOR_SHARING=EXACT óa single plan for each unique ID value supplied).
Code Listing 3: FORCE, SIMILAR, and skewed data
SQL> alter session set cursor_sharing=force;
Session altered.
SQL> select * from t CS_FORCE where id = 1;
1 row selected.
SQL> select * from t CS_FORCE where id = 50;
no rows selected
SQL> select * from t CS_FORCE where id = 99;
48029 rows selected.
SQL> select * from t CS_FORCE where id = 1;
1 row selected.
SQL> select * from t CS_FORCE where id = 50;
no rows selected
SQL> select * from t CS_FORCE where id = 99;
48029 rows selected.
SQL> alter session set cursor_sharing=similar;
Session altered.
SQL> select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = 1;
1 row selected.
SQL> select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = 50;
no rows selected
SQL> select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = 99;
48029 rows selected.
SQL> select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = 1;
1 row selected.
SQL> select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = 50;
no rows selected
SQL> select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = 99;
48029 rows selected.
SQL> select sql_text
2 from v$sql
3 where sql_text like ‘select * from t CS% where id = %’
4 order by sql_text;
SQL_TEXT
select * from t CS_FORCE where id = :”SYS_B_0″
select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = :”SYS_B_0″
select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = :”SYS_B_0″
select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = :”SYS_B_0″
As you can see in Listing 3, when CURSOR_SHARING=FORCE was true, oneóand only oneóplan was generated. It was, in fact, the one-size-fits-all plan, and in this case, the plan would use the index range scan (because the first query I parsed used ID=1 and the optimizer would use that bind variable value to generate the plan).
However, when CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR was true in Listing 3, three plans were generated, because the optimizer detected that a different value used when searching against the ID column could lead to a different plan (the statistics generated in Listing 2 gave it that information). Hence the actual bind variable value was added to the signature of that query plan and only a query with exactly the same signature could reuse the plan. That was the purpose of running each of the queries twice: to show that cursor reuse is possible. There were not six queries in V$SQL , just four. With CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR cursor reuse is not guaranteed, by design .
So, does that mean that for any unique set of literals, CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR will generate a new plan? No, I already saw that demonstrated with the DUAL table in Listing 1 when using WHERE DUMMY=’A’ and WHERE DUMMY=’B’ . It is only when the bind variable substitution is deemed unsafe that CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR will generate a new plan. Using the example in Listing 2, the only unsafe binding is against the ID columnóif I query against that column and some other column but keep the ID column constant, I’ll see cursor reuse, as shown in Listing 4.
Code Listing 4: CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR
SQL> alter session set cursor_sharing=similar;
Session altered.
SQL> select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id=1 and object_id=1;
no rows selected
SQL> select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id=1 and object_id=2;
no rows selected
SQL> select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id=1 and object_id=3;
no rows selected
SQL> select sql_text
2 from v$sql
3 where sql_text like ‘select * from t CS% where id = % and object_id=%’
4 order by sql_text;
SQL_TEXT
select * from t CS_SIMILAR where id = :”SYS_B_0″ and object_id=:”SYS_B_1″
I varied the literals used to search against the OBJECT_ID columnóbut not the ID columnóin Listing 4. The optimizer recognized that OBJECT_ID is safe; it would not generate different plans based on different inputs for that column, so it did not add OBJECT_ID to the signature of the cursor. Only when a different value is used against ID will a new plan be generated.
So, that shows that CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR might reduce the number of entries you see in the shared pool. If this application were to vary the literals used against the ID column and use hundreds or thousands of unique values, CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR would not have a significant impact on the shared pool utilization. On the other hand, if the application used only two values against the ID column, CURSOR_SHARING=SIMILAR could have a dramatic, positive effect on shared pool utilization.
