The initialization parameter file can be either a read-only text file, a PFILE, or a read/write binary file.

The binary file is called a server parameter file. A server parameter file enables you to change
initialization parameters with ALTER SYSTEM commands and to persist the changes across a shutdown
and startup. It also provides a basis for self-tuning by Oracle Database. For these reasons, it is
recommended that you use a server parameter file. You can create one manually from your edited text
initialization file, or automatically by using Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) to create your
database. Before you manually create a server parameter file, you can start an instance with a text
initialization parameter file. Upon startup, the Oracle instance first searches for a server parameter file
in a default location, and if it does not find one, searches for a text initialization parameter file. You can
also override an existing server parameter file by naming a text initialization parameter file as an
argument of the STARTUP command. Default file names and locations for the text initialization
parameter file are shown in the following table: