the plot thickens....

the packages that she runs to create this error read (and remove) data from a table.

if the table is empty, or the package doesn't read records (like the dummy/test packages) then the error doesn't occur.

however, with this new bit of information i've received, i can conclude that this error CAN and will occur on any machine, using any interface. so it's NOT her sqlplus installation.

so that narrows it down a little bit more.

Maybe I missed it, but did youWhat was the result?

the query hung the first time i tried it, but i just ran it again and it produced a result in another package. one that is NOT called directly from the ones we've been testing with.

so, i'm guessing that the package w/ the problem line is called several layers down into the others that she is using.

i won't know for sure until she reloads the table and tests it again, but it looks fairly promising!