Why complicate things indeed? If it had to be a binary file, it could well have been the control file as you suggest. All this spfile/pfile rigmarole is just an unnecessary and unwarranted complication. But it's great to generate revenue out of OCP training... Cheers Nuno Souto in sunny Sydney, Australia dbvision@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----- Original Message ----- From: "Powell, Mark D" <mark.powell@xxxxxxx> To: <oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 10:47 PM Subject: RE: More spfile goodness > I have no problem with the concept of an spfile to hold database parameters, > but I wonder why Oracle did not use the existing control file. After all > where else does control information belong? > ---------------------------------------------------------------- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send email to: oracle-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. -- Archives are at //www.freelists.org/archives/oracle-l/ FAQ is at //www.freelists.org/help/fom-serve/cache/1.html -----------------------------------------------------------------