The CURRENT_SCHEMA Setting

The ALTER SESSION command provides another convenient way to save you the effort of prefixing object names with their schema name, but without using synonyms. This is another “convenience” feature, just like synonyms.

Suppose the demo schema SCOTT (with the EMP and DEPT tables) is present in your database, and suppose you are currently connected as database user BOOK. In that situation, you can use the ALTER SESSION command as shown in Listing 7-17.
Listing 7-17. The CURRENT_SCHEMA Setting
SQL> alter session set current_schema=scott;
Session altered.
SQL> show user
USER is "BOOK"
SQL> select * from dept;
DEPTNO DNAME LOC
-------- -------------- -------------
10 ACCOUNTING NEW YORK
20 RESEARCH DALLAS
30 SALES CHICAGO
40 OPERATIONS BOSTON
SQL> alter session set current_schema=book;
Session altered.
SQL>
You can compare the CURRENT_SCHEMA setting in the database with the change directory (cd) command at the operating system level. In a similar way, it allows you to address all objects locally.
Again, this does not change anything with regard to security and privileges. If you really want to assume the identity of a schema owner, you must use the SQL*Plus CONNECT command, and provide the username/schema name and the corresponding password.