Are optimizer hint instructions case sensitive?

[Leng]

od...@tak.fi wrote:
>
> Are Oracle optimizer hint instructions used inside comments in SQL
> statements case sensitive or not. For example, can I use either SELECT
> /*+ INDEX(colname) */ ... or SELECT /*+ index(colname) */ ... Must I
> write the word index in capital letters, or does it matter? I would
> think that the commands within Oracle are not case sensitive, but does
> this general rule apply also to the optimizer instructions that are used
> inside comments? I happened to run into an error message from a SELECT
> statement saying that the word "index" used as a hint instr. inside
> comment must be written using capitalized letters. I could not find a
> definitive answer by browsing Oracle's manuals.

No, hints are not case sensitive as far as I know. I've used both forms
effectively. Further, I've never seen Oracle complaining about hints. If
your hints are written badly, ie, they are not valid, Oracle will just
ignore them!

HTH,
Leng.