see the doc http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B19306_01/server.102/b14237/initparams138.htm#REFRN10137 OPEN_CURSORS specifies the maximum number of open cursors (handles to private SQL areas) a session can have at once. You can use this parameter to prevent a session from opening an excessive number of cursors. -- Regards Sidney Chen -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l