database and is stored in the directory specified with the background_dump_dest initialization parameter. The alert file of a database is a chronological log of messages and errors, including the following:
• Any nondefault initialization parameters used at startup
• All internal errors (ORA-600), block corruption errors (ORA-1578), and deadlock
errors (ORA-60) that occurred
• Administrative operations, such as the SQL statements CREATE, ALTER, DROP DATABASE, and TABLESPACE, and the Enterprise Manager or SQL*Plus
statements STARTUP, SHUTDOWN, ARCHIVE LOG, and RECOVER
• Several messages and errors relating to the functions of shared server and dispatcher processes
• Errors during the automatic refresh of a materialized view
Enterprise Manager monitors the alert log file and notifies you of critical errors. You can also view the log to see noncritical error and informative messages. The file can grow to an unmanageable size. You can occasionally back up the alert file and delete the current alert file. When the database attempts to write to the alert file again, it re-creates a new one.