Hi Jose >Could anybody tell me under which circunstances different inputs to >dbms_utility.get_hash_value can lead to the same output. No idea. But it happens quite often... even if the hashsize is quite big = compared to the number of distinct keys. >The reason is that I work with a 8.1.7.4 database and need to use >PLSQL tables with the key based on string values. > >So, as the table in indexed by binary integer, I convert the strings >to integers through dbms_utility.get_hash_value. > >I am so afraid of duplicating keys for different strings that I always >writing comparison snippets to verify that the key is not being used >by a different string. > >Is this an exagerated measure? When I used it to access PL/SQL tables with string values as a key I = added some code as well... Chris=20 -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l