SQL> SQL> SQL> set timing on SQL> SQL> declare 2 some_string varchar2(255); 3 begin 4 for idx in 1 .. 100000 loop 5 some_string := rpad('*',254,'*'); 6 end loop; 7 end; 8 / PL/SQL procedure successfully completed. Elapsed: 00:00:00.05 SQL> SQL> set timing off SQL> SQL>