Rules Governing Initialization Parameter Files

The following rules govern the specification of parameters in initialization parameter files:

• An initialization parameter file should contain only parameters and comments. A pound sign (#) starts a comment line. The rest of the line is ignored.

• You can specify parameters in any order.

• Case (upper or lower) in filenames is significant only if case is significant on the host operating system.

• To enter several parameters on one line, use spaces between parameter names and values, as in the following example:

  PROCESSES = 100 CPU_COUNT = 1 OPEN_CURSORS = 10
  

• Some parameters, such as ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS, accept multiple values. Any of the following represent valid syntax.

  • Enter multiple values enclosed in parentheses and separated by commas. For example:

    ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = (SEG1, SEG2, SEG3, SEG4, SEG5)
    

  • Enter multiple values without parentheses and commas. For example:

    ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = SEG1 SEG2 SEG3 SEG4 SEG5
    

  • Enter multiple values, one per line. For example:

    ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = SEG1
    ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = SEG2
    ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = SEG3
    ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = SEG4
    ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = SEG5
    

  If you enter values for one parameter on multiple lines, then the entries must be on consecutive lines. If they are not, then the first entry will not be processed properly. For example, in the following entry the setting for SEG3 and SEG4 will override the setting for SEG1 and SEG2:

  ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = SEG1 SEG2
  OPEN_CURSORS = 10
  ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = SEG3 SEG4
  

• A backslash (\), also known as an escape character, indicates continuation of the parameter specification. If a backslash continues a line, then the continued line must have no leading spaces. For example:

  ROLLBACK_SEGMENTS = (SEG1, SEG2, \
  SEG3, SEG4, SEG5)
  

• You can use the IFILE initialization parameter to embed the contents of another initialization parameter file into the current initialization parameter file.

• Enclose in quotation marks any parameter values that contain spaces or tabs. You can use either single or double quotation marks unless otherwise indicated. For example:

  NLS_TERRITORY = 'CZECH REPUBLIC'
  

  Note:

  Listing parameters in alphabetical order in the initialization parameter file can help you to find them and can help ensure that each parameter is specified only once.

• Enclose in quotation marks any parameter value that contains a special character.