Explain the concept of cursors in PL/SQL and their types.
In PL/SQL (Procedural Language/Structured Query Language), a cursor is a database object used to retrieve and manipulate data from result sets returned by SQL statements. Cursors provide a mechanism for sequential processing of query results within a PL/SQL block. Cursors can be classified into two types: implicit cursors and explicit cursors. Let's delve into each type of cursor in-depth: 1. Implicit Cursors: * Implicit cursors are automatically created by the PL/SQL engine for SQL statements that are not associated with explicit cursor declarations. * Implicit cursors are used when executing SQL statements that return a single row or a single value, such as SELECT INTO statements or SQL statements within a FOR loop. * The attributes of an implicit cursor, such as %FOUND, %NOTFOUND, %ROWCOUNT, and %ISOPEN, can be used to check the status of the cursor and perform conditional processing based on the query result. * Implicit cursors are managed internally by the PL/SQL engine and do not require explicit declaration, opening, or closing. 2. Explicit Cursors: * Explicit cursors are explicitly declared and used when executing SQL statements that return multi....
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