I too use "when others then null;" in exceptional circumstances. Maybe once every year or two. >How would you otherwise continue in a loop when processing >remaining iterations is of paramount >importance than breaking over an ant in the middle of the road?? Well, I would usually log the problem to the log file or a problem table in the exception handler and then continue processing rather than code it to act like the problem didn't happen. :) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 -----------------------------------------------------------------