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## 24.5 Enabling SQL Tracing and Using TKPROF

Enable SQL tracing and then analyze the temporary file Oracle APEX creates using the TKPROF utility.

Tracing your session can be a very effective way to debug an application. From a database perspective, each page request is a single database session. If you enable SQL tracing, then Oracle APEX creates a temporary file you can then analyze using the TKPROF utility.

You enable SQL tracing in APEX by using `f?p` syntax to set the argument `p_trace=YES`. For example, to trace the display of page 1 in application 100, you would use the syntax:

    http:/.../f?p=100:1&p_trace=YES

To use the TKPROF utility:

1. Log in to SQLcl as a privileged user.
2. Execute the following statement:

       show parameter USER_DUMP_DEST

3. Navigate to the directory in which the trace file is created.
4. Run the TKPROF utility from the operating system prompt using the following syntax:

       tkprof filename1 filename2 [waits=yes|no] [sort=option] [print=n]
           [aggregate=yes|no] [insert=filename3] [sys=yes|no] [table=schema.table]
           [explain=user/password] [record=filename4] [width=n]

   The input and output files are the only required arguments.

5. To view online Help, invoke TKPROF without arguments.

See Also:

Tools for End-to-End Application Tracing in Oracle AI Database SQL Tuning Guide for information about using the TKPROF program

Parent topic: Debugging an Application