> Thanks for your help on this. The additional column is a varchar2(32) data > type. I ran some tests too see the effect on the number of blocks retrieved > to satisfy a query. The single column required 360 blocks, whereas the > concatenated column required 369 blocks. Not much difference, but I guess > it all depends on the performance requirement of the application. > > Thanks, > > Rick Stephenson > I wouldn't think that a 2.5% decrease in the number of index blocks read would justify another index. The 2.5% difference translates to a smaller overall change in response time, particurlary if the query must also read table blocks. ie. the index alone cannot satisfy the query. Jared ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 -----------------------------------------------------------------