sorry -- I was trying to say two things at the same time. The CHOOSE hint only kicks in CBO if statistics are available, because otherwise it would default back to RULE, making the hint useless. Therefore I assumed the presence of object statistics. So if the intent is to deviate from RULE behavior for a specific SQL statement, using ALL_ROWS or FIRST_ROWS(n) is the preferred method. Lex. -----Original Message----- From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Lex de Haan Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 15:52 To: JBECKSTROM@xxxxxxxxx; oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; oracle-db-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; ORACLE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; oracledba@xxxxxxxxxxx; oracle-rdbms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: RE: Plan stability with rule based optimzier of course you can do that -- the hint will unconditionally kick in the CBO. I think it is better to throw in an ALL_ROWS or FIRST_ROWS(n) hint, by the way. Lex. -----Original Message----- From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jeffrey Beckstrom Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 15:09 To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; oracle-db-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; ORACLE-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; oracledba@xxxxxxxxxxx; oracle-rdbms@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Plan stability with rule based optimzier Before going to far, I want to make sure this will work. Our database is running with RULE set at the database level. We would like to tune an SQL statement in a third party application by using a stored outline. For the sql in question, we are going to add a "Choose" database hint. Is it possible to use stored outlines if the database is running in RULE mode? Jeffrey Beckstrom Database Administrator Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority 1240 W. 6th Street Cleveland, Ohio 44113 -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l