Sorry Pando, I dont agree with u. Go thru this note in Metalink:



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Doc ID: Note:111316.1
Subject: How to 'DROP' a Datafile from a Tablespace
Type: BULLETIN
Status: PUBLISHED
Content Type: TEXT/PLAIN
Creation Date: 31-MAY-2000
Last Revision Date: 27-APR-2001


PURPOSE
This note explains how a datafile can be removed from a database.

Since there can be confusion as to how a datafile can be dropped because of
the ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE OFFLINE DROP command, this note explains the
steps needed to delete a datafile and in contrast, and when the OFFLINE DROP
command is used.


SCOPE & APPLICATION
There are two situations where people may want to 'remove' a datafile from a
tablespace:

1. You have just mistakenly added a file to a tablespace, or perhaps you
made the file much larger than intended and now want to remove it.

2. You are involved in a recovery scenario and the database won't start
because a datafile is missing.

This article is meant to discuss circumstance 1 above. There are other
articles that discuss recovery scenarios where a database cannot be brought
online due to missing datafiles. Please see the 'Related Documents' section
at the bottom of this article.


How to 'DROP' a Datafile from a Tablespace:
===========================================

Before we start with detailed explanations of the process involved, please note
that Oracle does not provide an interface for dropping datafiles in the same
way that you could drop a schema object such as a table, a view, a user, etc.
Once you make a datafile part of a tablespace, the datafile CANNOT be removed,
although we can use some workarounds.

Before performing certain operations such as taking tablespaces/datafiles
offline, and trying to drop them, ensure you have a full backup.

If the datafile you wish to remove is the only datafile in that tablespace,
simply drop the entire tablespace using:

DROP TABLESPACE INCLUDING CONTENTS;

You can confirm how many datafiles make up a tablespace by running the
following query:

select file_name, tablespace_name
from dba_data_files
where tablespace_name ='';

The DROP TABLESPACE command removes the tablespace, the datafile, and the
tablespace's contents from the data dictionary. Oracle will no longer have
access to ANY object that was contained in this tablespace. The physical
datafile must then be removed using an operating system command (Oracle NEVER
physically removes any datafiles). Depending on which platform you try this
on, you may not be able to physically delete the datafile until Oracle is
completely shut down. (For example, on Windows NT, you may have to shutdown
Oracle AND stop the associated service before the operating system will allow
you to delete the file - in some cases, file locks are still held by Oracle.)

If you have more than one datafile in the tablespace, and you do NOT need the
information contained in that tablespace, or if you can easily recreate the
information in this tablespace, then use the same command as above:

DROP TABLESPACE INCLUDING CONTENTS;

Again, this will remove the tablespace, the datafiles, and the tablespace's
contents from the data dictionary. Oracle will no longer have access to ANY
object that was contained in this tablespace. You can then use CREATE
TABLESPACE and re-import the appropriate objects back into the tablespace.

If you have more than one datafile in the tablespace and you wish to keep the
objects that reside in the other datafile(s) which are part of this tablespace,
then you must export all the objects inside the affected tablespace. Gather
information on the current datafiles within the tablespace by running this
query:

select file_name, tablespace_name
from dba_data_files
where tablespace_name ='';

Make sure you specify the tablespace name in capital letters.

In order to allow you to identify which objects are inside the affected
tablespace for the purposes of running your export, use the following query:

select owner,segment_name,segment_type
from dba_segments
where tablespace_name=''

Now, export all the objects that you wish to keep.

Once the export is done, issue the DROP TABLESPACE tablespace INCLUDING
CONTENTS.

Note that this PERMANENTLY removes all objects in this tablespace. Delete the
datafiles belonging to this tablespace using the operating system. (See the
comment above about possible problems in doing this.) Recreate the tablespace
with the datafile(s) desired, then import the objects into that tablespace.
(This may have to be done at the table level, depending on how the tablespace
was organized.)

NOTE:
The ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE OFFLINE DROP command, is not meant
to allow you to remove a datafile. What the command really means is that you
are offlining the datafile with the intention of dropping the tablespace.

If you are running in archivelog mode, you can also use:

ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE OFFLINE;

instead of OFFLINE DROP. Once the datafile is offline, Oracle no longer
attempts to access it, but it is still considered part of that tablespace. This
datafile is marked only as offline in the controlfile and there is no SCN
comparison done between the controlfile and the datafile during startup (This
also allows you to startup a database with a non-critical datafile missing).
The entry for that datafile is not deleted from the controlfile to give us the
opportunity to recover that datafile.


If you do not wish to follow any of these procedures, there are other things
that can be done besides dropping the tablespace.

- If the reason you wanted to drop the file is because you mistakenly created
the file of the wrong size, then consider using the RESIZE command.
See 'Related Documents' below.

- If you really added the datafile by mistake, and Oracle has not yet allocated
any space within this datafile, then you can use ALTER DATABASE DATAFILE
RESIZE; command to make the file smaller than 5 Oracle blocks. If
the datafile is resized to smaller than 5 oracle blocks, then it will never
be considered for extent allocation. At some later date, the tablespace can
be rebuilt to exclude the incorrect datafile.


RELATED DOCUMENTS
-----------------

[NOTE:30910.1] Recreating database objects
[NOTE:1013173.6] Recovering from a lost datafile in a USER tablespace
[NOTE:1013115.6] Recovering from a lost datafile in an INDEX tablespace
[NOTE:1013221.6] Recovering from a lost datafile in a ROLLBACK tablespace
[NOTE:1029252.6] How to resize a datafile



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