Explaining the difference between a cursor and a cursor variable in PL/SQL

One of the key differences between a cursor and a cursor variable in PL/SQL is how they are declared and used.

Cursor: A cursor in PL/SQL is a named control structure that allows you to process a set of rows returned by a SELECT statement. It is declared with a specific query and attributes such as %ROWTYPE that defines the structure of the result set it will be working with.

Cursor variable: On the other hand, a cursor variable is a reference pointer to a cursor that can be dynamically assigned to different queries at runtime. It does not have a specific query defined at declaration and can be more flexible in terms of the result sets it can work with.

In summary, a cursor is more static and tied to a specific query result set, while a cursor variable is more dynamic and can be used with different queries during program execution.