A similar example at http://www.oracledba.co.uk/tips/9i_first_rows.htm hth connor On 5/28/05, Zhai Jingmin <zhai_jingmin@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > I changed optimizer_mode to 'first_rows_1',and my query can use the right= index too!I never thought there's so much difference between 'first_rows' = and 'first_rows_1' before this query problem,I checked the oracle manuels,f= ound following words,please note the 'Note',hope anyone like me note this b= ig difference.Thanks a lot for Lex's notification. >=20 > FIRST_ROWS_n >=20 > The optimizer uses a cost-based approach, regardless of the presence of s= tatistics, and optimizes with a goal of best response time to return the fi= rst n number of rows; n can equal 1, 10, 100, or 1000. >=20 > FIRST_ROWS >=20 > The optimizer uses a mix of cost and heuristics to find a best plan for f= ast delivery of the first few rows. >=20 > Note: Using heuristics sometimes leads the query optimizer to generate a = plan with a cost that is significantly larger than the cost of a plan witho= ut applying the heuristic. FIRST_ROWS is available for backward compatibili= ty and plan stability; use FIRST_ROWS_n instead. >=20 --=20 Connor McDonald =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D email: connor_mcdonald@xxxxxxxxx web: http://www.oracledba.co.uk "Semper in excremento, sole profundum qui variat" -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l