I am wondering whether the CBO "COST" estimates are in seconds, or in some unrecognizable unit that only the CBO understands. In Metalink I found a note stating that we can't even compare these values between execution plans, they are only valid within each plan. Patrice. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe send email to: oracle-l-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. -- Archives are at //www.freelists.org/archives/oracle-l/ FAQ is at //www.freelists.org/help/fom-serve/cache/1.html -----------------------------------------------------------------