Syntax options: SQLOPTIONS= (INITIALIZE_HANDLES) SQLOPTIONS= (NOINITIALIZE_HANDLES) Specifies whether or not alias definitions are coerced into alias references. The NOINITIALIZE_HANDLES qualifier causes all alias declarations to be treated as alias references. An alias definition is an alias declared with the GLOBAL keyword (the default) in the DECLARE ALIAS statement. An alias reference is an alias declared with the EXTERNAL keyword in the DECLARE ALIAS statement. The NOINITIALIZE_HANDLES qualifier may be useful for existing source code on OpenVMS in coercing alias definitions into alias references. Because there is usually no distinction between a definition and a reference on OpenVMS, your application might declare an alias definition where an alias reference is needed. If you reorganize your application into multiple images that share aliases, you must distinguish the alias definition from the alias reference. In this case, use the NOINITIALIZE_HANDLES qualifier to coerce a definition into a reference without changing your source code. If your application correctly declares alias references with the EXTERNAL keyword, use the NOEXTERNAL_GLOBALS qualifier, instead of [NO]INITIALIZE_HANDLES to override the default on OpenVMS and cause SQL to treat alias references properly as references. The default is the SQLOPTIONS=INITIALIZE_HANDLES qualifier. This qualifier overrides the [NO]EXTERNAL_GLOBALS qualifier. The SQLOPTIONS=[NO]INITIALIZE_HANDLES qualifier is maintained for compatibility with previous versions of Oracle Rdb. For V7.0 and higher, use the [NO]EXTERNAL_GLOBALS qualifier, which provides more precise control over alias definition. For information on using aliases and shareable images, see the Oracle Rdb Guide to SQL Programming.