I will have to refresh my memory but I am certain that one remains in the state it was when the database was created and the other changes based on init.ora settings ________________________________ From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of edwin devadanam Sent: 09 August 2007 13:04 To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: nls_length_semantics showing different Values! Hi, O/S is HP-UX 1)select * from nls_database_parameters; NLS_LENGTH_SEMANTICS CHAR 2)select * from V$nls_parameters; NLS_LENGTH_SEMANTICS BYTE 3)In init.ora it is nls_length_semantics = BYTE ours is 10.2.0.2 why is this difference? Regards, Edwin.K ________________________________ Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48220/*http://tv.yahoo.com/> on Yahoo! TV.