An opaque datatype in Oracle is an abstract data type - see the SQLJ Dev guide and reference. It states that XMLType is an example of an opaque type. So, (guessing here) maybe an opaque_transform would change this datatype into something else? Do you have an example of a query that demonstrates the hint in it's plan or a 10053 trace? _____ From: oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:oracle-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Daniel Fink Sent: Monday, April 17, 2006 8:50 AM To: oracle-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: opaque_transform hint I (and a colleague) have come across this undocumented hint several times recently and have no idea what it actually does. RTFM, Google, metalink, otn have nothing. Any ideas? Regards, Dan Fink