Two Ways to Open a BFILE

Figure 12-12 Use Case Diagram: Two Ways to Open a BFILE

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See Also: "Use Case Model: External LOBs (BFILEs)" for all basic operations of External LOBs (BFILES).

Recommendation: Use OPEN to Open BFILE

As you can see by comparing the code, these alternative methods are very similar. However, while you can continue to use the older FILEOPEN form, we strongly recommend that you switch to using OPEN because this facilitates future extensibility.

1. "Opening a BFILE with FILEOPEN"

2. "Opening a BFILE with OPEN"

Specify the Maximum Number of Open BFILEs: SESSION_MAX_OPEN_FILES

A limited number of BFILEs can be open simultaneously per session. The maximum number is specified by using the initialization parameter SESSION_MAX_OPEN_FILES.

SESSION_MAX_OPEN_FILES defines an upper limit on the number of simultaneously open files in a session. The default value for this parameter is 10. That is, a maximum of 10 files can be opened simultaneously per session if the default value is utilized. The database administrator can change the value of this parameter in the init.ora file. For example:

SESSION_MAX_OPEN_FILES=20

If the number of unclosed files exceeds the SESSION_MAX_OPEN_FILES value then you will not be able to open any more files in the session.

To close all open files, use the FILECLOSEALL call.

Close Files After Use!

It is good practice to close files after use to keep the SESSION_MAX_OPEN_FILES value small. Choosing a larger value would entail a higher memory usage.