Bind by position? I got totally confused

Question

is it default that the parameters in the .net codes are binded to that in the pl/sql codes by position? i get totally confused.
very simple codes in the pl/sql are like this:
===========================
FUNCTION create_saint(saint_name IN VARCHAR2,saint_ct IN VARCHAR2)
RETURN VARCHAR2
===========================
and "oracom" is a OracleCommand calling the function, when i add the parameters like this:
===================================
oracom.Parameters.Add("saint_name",OracleDbType.Varchar2,"aaa");
oracom.Parameters.Add("saint_ct",OracleDbType.Varchar2,"bbb");
===================================
i woule like the parameter "saint_name" is "aaa" and "saint_ct" is "bbb" if they are binded by position. but error occurs and when i traced the execution of the pl/sql code, i found that the parameter "saint_name" was "bbb" and "saint_ct" was null.
shouldn't they be binded by position? and when i used the
"oracom.BindByName = true;"
the two parameters were just binded correctly.
so i just wonder when and how the parameters are binded by position.

Answer 1

Hello,
Yes, parameters are bound by position by default when using ODP.NET - this is controlled by the BindByName property which defaults to false. If you want to use bind by name, just set this property to true as you've shown.
Since you are using a FUNCTION I would guess that you did not bind the function return value first, which is required. ODP.NET will generate code similar to this:
begin
  :1 := function_name(:2, :3, :4);
end;Hope that helps,
Mark