Using ORADEBUG Utility

ORADEBUG utility is a debugging tool that sends debug commands through SQL*Plus to an Oracle process. It is primarily for use by developers and Oracle Support Services personnel. Use this utility only when instructed to do so by Oracle Support Services. You must have database administrator privileges to use ORADEBUG utility.

To start ORADEBUG utility:

1. Start SQL*Plus from the command prompt:
   
   

   C:\> sqlplus / NOLOG  

2. Connect to Oracle9i database as SYSDBA:
   
   

   SQL> CONNECT / AS SYSDBA  

3. Enter the following at the SQL*Plus prompt:
   
   

   SQL> ORADEBUG  

   ORADEBUG utility runs and prompts you for parameters. To obtain a list of these parameters, enter the following at the SQL*Plus prompt:

   SQL> ORADEBUG HELP  

   Output from most debug commands is written to a trace file. Trace files are created in the directory specified by initialization parameters BACKGROUND_DUMP_DEST and USER_DUMP_DEST. By default, these parameters are set to ORACLE_BASE\ADMIN\db_name\bdump and ORACLE_BASE\ADMIN\db_name\udump, respectively. To find the location of your trace file, enter the following at the SQL*Plus prompt:

   SQL> ORADEBUG TRACEFILE_NAME  

   If output from a debug command produces more than one line of output, then the result is sent to a trace file, and a message indicating that the command has completed is relayed to SQL*Plus. If output from a debug command produces only one line of output, then the output is relayed directly to SQL*Plus.

   Note: There is currently a limitation when using ORADEBUG utility. If you attempt to debug a thread that is blocking on I/O, ORADEBUG can cause SQL*Plus to hang until that I/O completes.