My understanding is that v$SQLAREA shows only one row per statement whereas v$SQL contains multiple copies of the statement

Example:

Two users have a table called sample_table, both issue an identical select:

select col1 from sample_table

V$SQL stores 1 row per query, hence if you have two users each issuing the same statement but from different tables but with the same name V$SQL will store 2 rows.

V$SQLAREA shows distinct sql statements so only one row is returned.


Regards

[Edited by jovery on 07-03-2002 at 10:03 AM]