Oracle Exam 1Z0-184-25 Topic 2 Question 1 Discussion

The VECTOR_DIMENSION_COUNT() function in Oracle 23ai returns the number of dimensions in a VECTOR-type value (e.g., 512 for VECTOR(512, FLOAT32)). It's a metadata utility, not a validator of content or structure beyond type compatibility. Option B---using a vector with an unsupported data type---causes an error because the function expects a VECTOR argument; passing, say, a VARCHAR2 or NUMBER instead (e.g., '1,2,3' or 42) triggers an ORA-error (e.g., ORA-00932: inconsistent datatypes). Oracle enforces strict typing for vector functions.

Option A (exceeding specified dimensions) is a red herring; the function reports the actual dimension count of the vector, not the column's defined limit---e.g., VECTOR_DIMENSION_COUNT(TO_VECTOR('[1,2,3]')) returns 3, even if the column is VECTOR(2), as the error occurs at insertion, not here. Option C (duplicate values, like [1,1,2]) is valid; the function counts dimensions (3), ignoring content. Option D (using TO_VECTOR()) is explicitly supported; VECTOR_DIMENSION_COUNT(TO_VECTOR('[1.2, 3.4]')) returns 2 without issue. Misinterpreting this could lead developers to over-constrain data prematurely---B's type mismatch is the clear error case, rooted in Oracle's vector type system.