ORA-01000: maximum open cursors exceeded (#23)

ORA-01000: maximum open cursors exceeded (#23)

You get this error when a user of a host program attempts to open more cursors than they are allowed. The number of cursors allowed is dictated by the OPEN_CURSORS initialization parameter, and this quota can be eaten up by both implicit and explicit cursors. If you run into this error, there is a possibility that there is a bug in your application. Perhaps you’ve got an open cursor statement within a loop and you do not have a matching close cursor, and as a result your code is bleeding cursors all over the place.

However, it is possible that the OPEN_CURSORS number is just too low for the needs of your application and has to be upped. The default value is 50; however, the only factor limiting how high this number can go – 300, 1000, 2000 even – is what the operating system can take. However, it may be unwise to choose to change the OPEN_CURSORS parameter too steeply, rather than examine your code for leaks. That’ll be like thinking you can save yourself from drowning by drinking the sea.