SQLDeveloper and a very expensive query

The magic of the FA Cup. It’s one of those cliches that you are brought up to believe as an article of faith if you’re English.
It is supposed to refer to the glorious unpredictability in a knockout cup competition where there is no seeding.
In recent years, it’s become a lazy journalist’s phrase. An attempt to sensationalise a result that, usually, isn’t that surprising.
In this year’s fourth round, however, Non-league Luton Town went to Premier League Norwich and won, 1-0.
The first time in 24 years that a top-flight club has been knocked out by one outside of the Football League has taken it’s toll.
Simon, life-long Luton fan, now has some very achy face muscles as a result of walking around with a huge grin on his face for the last week.
At this point, I could try to relate this sporting miracle back to the Star Wars theme that’s been running through this series of posts on Oracle Licensing, but it’s a bit difficult.
Luton, plucky underdog rebels. Norwich City the Evil Empire…I just can’t really see it.
Delia Smith as Palpatine with Chris Hughton as Darth Vader ? Somehow it just doesn’t seem to work.
Anyway, back to the license stuff. So far, we’ve looked at :

• Oracle Licensing for the various Database Editions
• How Oracle audits features used on the database
• The components that comprise the Diagnostic and Tuning Pack APIs

This time, we’re going to turn our attention to SQLDeveloper and of the ways in which it attempts to allow users to avoid using the Diagnostic and Tuning Packs.

DBMS_FEATURE_USAGE_REPORT and The Phantom AFTER SELECT Trigger

Splat !
Darth Debbie has just launched a surprise attack using her current favourite weapon. Never get into a snowball fight with that woman.
Milton Keynes, like much of the UK at the moment, looks less like it’s leafy, quiet self and more like the Arctic Tundra at present.
Being in a part of the country where normally, you can tell the changing of the seasons by the changing temperature of the rain, a little bit of snow always causes chaos.
On the plus side, the national weather forecasters – The Met Office – issue colour-coded weather warnings which, at times like this include the always hilarious Yellow Snow Warning.

Anyway, the reason for the Star Wars references in this post is that I was planning to cover the whole question of license monitoring with particular reference to the Diagnostic and Tuning packs. However, it was getting to be more of a novel than a blog post so I’ve decided to split it down into more manageable chunks…or Episodes.
So, in the style of the Epic Space Opera, please imagine the following paragraph scrolling through space with John Williams and his Orchestra blaring out of your speakers…

Episode 1 – The Phantom AFTER SELECT Trigger

It is a time of license audits.
The sinister Oracle Corporation have besieged the peaceful Database with some arcane licensing restrictions.
The Geeki, keepers of peace and tranquility in the Data Centre are on the case.
Using their mystical powers, they begin to investigate DBMS_FEATURE_USAGE_REPORT to discover

• Where Oracle stores information on Database Features being used
• How this information is collected
• What unnatural force powers are at work to enable the recording of SELECT statements against some tables and views

Queen Debbie ( she’s changed sides in this paragraph) is wondering just how geeky this is all going to get ….