CURSOR_SHARING

Property	Description
Parameter type	String
Syntax	`CURSOR_SHARING = { SIMILAR \| EXACT \| FORCE }`
Default value	`EXACT`
Modifiable	`ALTER SESSION`, `ALTER SYSTEM`
Basic	No

CURSOR_SHARING determines what kind of SQL statements can share the same cursors.

Values:

FORCE

Allows the creation of a new cursor if sharing an existing cursor, or if the cursor plan is not optimal.
SIMILAR

Causes statements that may differ in some literals, but are otherwise identical, to share a cursor, unless the literals affect either the meaning of the statement or the degree to which the plan is optimized.
EXACT

Only allows statements with identical text to share the same cursor.
Notes:
- If you set CURSOR_SHARING, then Oracle recommends the FORCE setting unless you are in a DSS environment. FORCE limits the growth of child cursors that can occur when the setting is SIMILAR.
- The value of the CURSOR_SHARING parameter has performance implications. Refer to Oracle Database Performance Tuning Guide before setting this parameter.