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Cursor in PL/SQL vs. Select Statement

In PL/SQL, a cursor is a mechanism used to retrieve and process multiple rows returned by a query. It acts as a pointer to the context area where the query results are stored.

Key Differences:

• Control: A cursor provides more control over processing individual rows compared to a select statement, allowing for operations like fetching rows one at a time or iterating through the result set.
• Data Retrieval: While a select statement retrieves all rows matching the query criteria at once, a cursor fetches rows incrementally, which can be useful for handling large result sets efficiently.
• Data Manipulation: Cursors are often used to perform complex data manipulation and processing tasks, such as updating, deleting, or inserting records based on specific conditions.

By understanding the nuances between a cursor and a select statement in PL/SQL, you can optimize your database queries and enhance the performance of your applications.

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