47 Questions
What does a cursor serve as in the context of an Oracle database?
A pointer to a memory area known as the context area
What kind of information does the context area, pointed to by a cursor, hold?
Vital information about the processing of SQL or DML statements
Where is the context area, to which a cursor points, located?
Inside the Process Global Area (PGA)
What type of information does the context area within the PGA hold?
Rows returned by a query
What does the context area assist the Oracle server in processing?
SQL statements
What type of information does the context area within the PGA hold?
Rows returned by a query
What does the context area assist the Oracle server in processing?
SQL statements
What does a pointer within the context area in the PGA refer to?
The parsed query in the shared pool
What type of cursors are automatically created by the Oracle server when an SQL DML statement is executed?
Implicit Cursors
Where are implicit cursors created in the Oracle database?
Automatically by the Oracle server
For which type of statements must users create explicit cursors in Oracle database?
Statements that return more than one row of data
What is the first step in creating an explicit cursor in PL/SQL?
Declare the cursor in the declaration section
Where is the explicit cursor associated with a SELECT statement initialized?
Declaration section
What does declaring an explicit cursor involve in PL/SQL?
Initializing a cursor into memory and associating it with a SELECT statement
How is a cursor declared in PL/SQL?
CURSOR cursor_name IS select_statement;
What does declaring a cursor involve in PL/SQL?
Specifying the SQL SELECT statement that the cursor will hold
How is data retrieved from a cursor in PL/SQL?
FETCH cursor_name INTO PL/SQL variable;
What happens once a cursor is declared and opened in PL/SQL?
Data can be retrieved into a PL/SQL variable or a PL/SQL record
What is the purpose of the FETCH statement in PL/SQL?
To retrieve data from a cursor into a PL/SQL variable
What does opening a cursor in PL/SQL involve?
Allocating memory for the cursor
What is the next step after opening a cursor in PL/SQL?
Fetching data
What is the purpose of the closing statement for a cursor in PL/SQL?
Relinquishes all associated resources
What action should be taken after finishing work with a cursor in PL/SQL?
Close the cursor
What does the 'CLOSE' command do in PL/SQL when used with a cursor?
Relinquishes all associated resources
What are the four steps for creating an explicit cursor in PL/SQL?
Declare the cursor, Open the cursor, Fetch data from the cursor, Close the cursor
What is the purpose of the FETCH statement in PL/SQL?
To retrieve data from the active set of a cursor
What does the OPEN statement do in the context of an explicit cursor in PL/SQL?
It makes the cursor's result set available for fetching
What is the purpose of the FETCH statement in PL/SQL when used with a cursor?
To retrieve data from the active set one row at a time
What does the 'CLOSE' command do in PL/SQL when used with a cursor?
It closes the cursor and releases associated resources
What is the first step in creating an explicit cursor in PL/SQL?
Declare the cursor
What is the purpose of the SET SERVEROUTPUT ON statement in the declaration section of a PL/SQL block?
To enable viewing the cursor's results on the default display screen
What is the purpose of declaring a variable in the declaration section of a PL/SQL block?
To store the data retrieved by the cursor
What does the LOOP structure in the code comprise of?
cursor opening, loop structure, fetch statement, DMS outpout statement, exit statement, closing cursor
What happens when the DBMS OUTPUT statement is used in PL/SQL?
The fetched data is displayed on the default output screen
When does the loop exit in PL/SQL using the %NOTFOUND attribute?
When no more data is found
What is the purpose of closing the cursor in PL/SQL?
To release associated resources
What is the data type of %FOUND attribute in PL/SQL?
Boolean
What does %NOTFOUND indicate in PL/SQL when the most recent fetch operation did not return a row?
No rows were fetched
What does %ROWCOUNT return in PL/SQL?
The number of rows that have been fetched
What does the %FOUND attribute indicate in PL/SQL?
Returns TRUE if the most recent fetch operation returned a row
What does the %NOTFOUND attribute indicate in PL/SQL?
Returns TRUE if the most recent fetch operation did not return a row
What happens when a cursor is closed in PL/SQL?
The cursor is deallocated and associated resources are released
What does the FETCH statement in PL/SQL do when used with a cursor?
Retrieves the next row from the result set
What type of cursors are automatically created by the Oracle server when an SQL DML statement is executed?
Implicit cursors
What is the syntax for a basic cursor loop in PL/SQL?
open cursor, LOOP fetch v_name into cursurname, exit, executable, end loop, close cursor
What is the syntax for a cursor for loop in PL/SQL?
FOR record_name IN cursor_name LOOP
What is the purpose of the FETCH statement in PL/SQL when used with a cursor?
To retrieve the next row from the result set into the record
Test your knowledge of Oracle database with this quiz on the basics of cursors. Sharpen your understanding of how cursors work as pointers to the context area and store crucial information related to SQL and DML statements.
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