What is the ref cursor in Oracle?

REF_CURSOR allows returning a recordset/cursor from a Stored procedure. It is of 2 types: Strong REF_CURSOR: Returning columns with datatype and length need to be known at compile time. Weak REF_CURSOR: Structured does not need to be known at compile time. Syntax till Oracle 9i create or replace package REFCURSOR_PKG as TYPE WEAK8i_REF_CURSOR IS REF CURSOR; TYPE STRONG REF_CURSOR IS REF CURSOR RETURN EMP%ROWTYPE; end REFCURSOR_PKG; Procedure returning the REF_CURSOR: create or replace procedure test( p_deptno IN number , p_cursor OUT REFCURSOR_PKG.WEAK8i_REF_CURSOR) is begin open p_cursor FOR select * from emp where deptno = p_deptno; end test; Since Oracle 9i we can use SYS_REFCURSOR create or replace procedure test( p_deptno IN number,p_cursor OUT SYS_REFCURSOR) is begin open p_cursor FOR select * from emp where deptno = p_deptno; end test; For Strong create or replace procedure test( p_deptno IN number,p_cursor OUT REFCURSOR_PKG.STRONG REF_CURSOR) is begin open p_cursor FOR select * from emp where deptno = p_deptno; end test; Oracle - What is the ref cursor in Oracle? - April 10, 2009 at 11:00 AM

What is the ref cursor in Oracle?

Cursor is a reference type in oracle. We can allocate different storage locations to the cursor when the program runs. Syntax Type <type_name> is REF CURSOR RETURN <return type> Return_type Name of new reference type. Return Type This represents select list type that will be returned by the query. Also read

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