Oracle SQL hints

Oracle SQL Hints

/*+ hint */
/*+ hint(argument) */
/*+ hint(argument-1 argument-2) */

All hints except

/*+ rule */

cause the CBO to be used. Therefore, it is good practise to analyze the underlying tables if hints are used (or the query is fully hinted.
There should be no schema names in hints. Hints must use aliases if alias names are used for table names. So the following is wrong:

select /*+ index(scott.emp ix_emp) */ from scott.emp emp_alias

better:

select /*+ index(emp_alias ix_emp) */ ... from scott.emp emp_alias

Why using hints

It is a perfect valid question to ask why hints should be used. Oracle comes with an optimizer that promises to optimize a query's execution plan. When this optimizer is really doing a good job, no hints should be required at all.
Sometimes, however, the characteristics of the data in the database are changing rapidly, so that the optimizer (or more accuratly, its statistics) are out of date. In this case, a hint could help.
It must also be noted, that Oracle allows to lock the statistics when they look ideal which should make the hints meaningless again.

Hint categories

Hints can be categorized as follows:

Hints for Optimization Approaches and Goals,

Hints for Access Paths, Hints for Query Transformations,

Hints for Join Orders,

Hints for Join Operations,

Hints for Parallel Execution,

Additional Hints

Documented Hints

Hints for Optimization Approaches and Goals

ALL_ROWS

One of the hints that 'invokes' the Cost based optimizer

ALL_ROWS is usually used for batch processing or data warehousing systems.

FIRST_ROWS

One of the hints that 'invokes' the Cost based optimizer

FIRST_ROWS is usually used for OLTP systems.

CHOOSE

One of the hints that 'invokes' the Cost based optimizer

This hint lets the server choose (between ALL_ROWS and FIRST_ROWS, based on statistics gathered.

RULE

The RULE hint should be considered deprecated as it is dropped from Oracle9i2.

See also the following initialization parameters:
optimizer_mode,
optimizer_max_permutations,
optimizer_index_cost_adj,
optimizer_index_caching and

Hints for Access Paths

CLUSTER

Performs a nested loop by the cluster index of one of the tables.

FULL

Performs full table scan.

HASH

Hashes one table (full scan) and creates a hash index for that
table. Then hashes other table and uses hash index to find corresponding
records.
Therefore not suitable for < or > join conditions.

ROWID

Retrieves the row by rowid

INDEX

Specifying that index index_name should be used on table tab_name:

/*+ index (tab_name index_name) */

Specifying that the index should be used the the CBO thinks
is most suitable. (Not always a good choice).

Starting with Oracle 10g, the index hint can be described:

/*+ index(my_tab my_tab(col_1, col_2)) */

. Using the index on my_tab that starts with the columns col_1 and col_2.

INDEX_ASC

INDEX_COMBINE

INDEX_DESC

INDEX_FFS

INDEX_JOIN

NO_INDEX

AND_EQUAL

The AND_EQUAL hint explicitly chooses an execution plan
that uses an access path
that merges the scans on several single-column indexes

Hints for Query Transformations

FACT

The FACT hint is used in the context of the star transformation to indicate to
the transformation that the hinted table should be considered as a fact table.

MERGE

NO_EXPAND

NO_EXPAND_GSET_TO_UNION

NO_FACT

NO_MERGE

NOREWRITE

REWRITE

STAR_TRANSFORMATION

USE_CONCAT

Hints for Join Operations

DRIVING_SITE

HASH_AJ

HASH_SJ

LEADING

MERGE_AJ

MERGE_SJ

NL_AJ

NL_SJ

USE_HASH

USE_MERGE

USE_NL

Hints for Parallel Execution

NOPARALLEL

PARALLEL

NOPARALLEL_INDEX

PARALLEL_INDEX

PQ_DISTRIBUTE

Additional Hints

ANTIJOIN

APPEND

If a table or an index is specified with nologging, this hint applied with an insert
statement produces a direct path insert which reduces generation of redo.

BITMAP

BUFFER

CACHE

CARDINALITY

CPU_COSTING

DYNAMIC_SAMPLING

INLINE

MATERIALIZE

NO_ACCESS

NO_BUFFER

NO_MONITORING

NO_PUSH_PRED

NO_PUSH_SUBQ

NO_QKN_BUFF

NO_SEMIJOIN

NOAPPEND

NOCACHE

OR_EXPAND

ORDERED

ORDERED_PREDICATES

PUSH_PRED

PUSH_SUBQ

QB_NAME

RESULT_CACHE (Oracle 11g)

SELECTIVITY

SEMIJOIN

SEMIJOIN_DRIVER

STAR

The STAR hint forces a star query plan to be used, if
possible. A star plan has the largest table in the query last in
the join order and joins it with a nested loops join on a concatenated
index. The STAR hint applies when there are at least three
tables, the large table's concatenated index has at least three
columns, and there are no conflicting access or join method
hints. The optimizer also considers different permutations of
the small tables.

SWAP_JOIN_INPUTS

USE_ANTI

USE_SEMI

Undocumented hints:

BYPASS_RECURSIVE_CHECK

Workaraound for bug 1816154

BYPASS_UJVC

CACHE_CB

CACHE_TEMP_TABLE

CIV_GB

COLLECTIONS_GET_REFS

CUBE_GB

CURSOR_SHARING_EXACT

DEREF_NO_REWRITE

DML_UPDATE

DOMAIN_INDEX_NO_SORT

DOMAIN_INDEX_SORT

DYNAMIC_SAMPLING

DYNAMIC_SAMPLING_EST_CDN

EXPAND_GSET_TO_UNION

FORCE_SAMPLE_BLOCK

GBY_CONC_ROLLUP

GLOBAL_TABLE_HINTS

HWM_BROKERED

IGNORE_ON_CLAUSE

IGNORE_WHERE_CLAUSE

INDEX_RRS

INDEX_SS

INDEX_SS_ASC

INDEX_SS_DESC

LIKE_EXPAND

LOCAL_INDEXES

MV_MERGE

NESTED_TABLE_GET_REFS

NESTED_TABLE_SET_REFS

NESTED_TABLE_SET_SETID

NO_FILTERING

NO_ORDER_ROLLUPS

NO_PRUNE_GSETS

NO_STATS_GSETS

NO_UNNEST

NOCPU_COSTING

OVERFLOW_NOMOVE

PIV_GB

PIV_SSF

PQ_MAP

PQ_NOMAP

REMOTE_MAPPED

RESTORE_AS_INTERVALS

SAVE_AS_INTERVALS

SCN_ASCENDING

SKIP_EXT_OPTIMIZER

SQLLDR

SYS_DL_CURSOR

SYS_PARALLEL_TXN

SYS_RID_ORDER

TIV_GB

TIV_SSF

UNNEST

USE_TTT_FOR_GSETS