What is the COMPATIBLE parameter?

What is the COMPATIBLE parameter?

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COMPATIBLE is an initialization parameter found in the init.ora file. The parameter specifies the release with which the Oracle Server must maintain compatibility. It is very important to set the COMPATIBLE parameter appropriately because it determines the functionality of the Oracle Server. The current settings for the parameter can be found in the following two ways:

• By issuing the following statement at the Server Manager prompt (SVRMGR>):
  
  SELECT name, value, description FROM V WHERE name = "compatible";



• By checking the initsid.ora file.

The COMPATIBLE parameter controls the compatibility of a database. When the parameter is not set, it defaults to 8.0.0. However, the disadvantages of the default setting are that all new features can make the database incompatible with release 8.0.0 and many features of the new release are not available, unless the COMPATIBLE parameter is set to a higher value.

Along with the disadvantages, the following are some advantages of the default setting of the COMPATIBLE parameter:

• It is easier to downgrade, as the compatibility is maintained with previous releases.
• In a multiple database environment, the upgraded database remains compatible with an un-upgraded database.

In order to take advantage of all the new features and improvements of the recent releases of the database, the COMPATIBLE parameter must be set to 10.0.0 or higher.

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