Patrice,
ROWID access to data is the fastest way to get from here to there since it,
the rowid, tells Oracle right where the data is. The biggest problem that I see
with rowid's is that 1) they changed from Oracle 7 to 8 & most likely will
change again in the future, 2) when you re-org the table they change, and 3)
people sometimes like to manipulate the rowid's which can have some very strange
results. My favorite use or rowid's is to simulate a "for update of" cursor
when I need to do a commit and/or rollback in the middle of the cursor. I've
also used them when I want to delete a specific row of data and don't have any
other unique way to id it. I do not, and very strongly do not, recommend
manipulating rowid's for any reason, period. Extract them from the database and
use them as provided.
Dick Goulet
____________________Reply Separator____________________
Author: "Boivin; Patrice J" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: 2/21/2002 10:18 AM
Can someone explain to me why some developers like to create ROWID datatype
columns in their tables?
I am wondering why they sometimes do that instead of using primary keys.
I searched for info on this on the Web, but nothing.
ROWID access is probably faster than index access, I guess.
I vaguely remember my Oracle instructor saying about four years ago that
using ROWIDs was bad practice in most cases, but I can't remember exactly
why he said that.
ROWIDs are not reliable, when exports/imports take place and between COMMITS
if many users access the same table, if the row could be dropped and
re-created.
Are there other reasons why someone might not want to use ROWID columns?
I am just fishing for opinions.
Thanks.
Regards,
Patrice Boivin
Systems Analyst (Oracle Certified DBA)
--
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
--
Author: Boivin, Patrice J
INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
--
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
--
Author:
INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
