In PL/SQL, a REF CURSOR is short for reference cursor, which is a pointer to a query’s result. A REF CURSOR allows to dynamimcally opens and fetches data from a query at runtime. …

Since Oracle 7.3 the REF CURSOR type has been available to allow recordsets to be returned from stored procedures and functions. Oracle 9i introduced the predefined …

To create a cursor variable, either declare a variable of the predefined type SYS_REFCURSOR or define a REF CURSOR type and then declare a variable of that type.

Jul 23, 2025 · In PL/SQL, Cursor variables, also known as REF CURSORs, provide a dynamic and flexible means to handle query results. A cursor variable is a reference to a cursor, which …

Feb 5, 2013 · Can some one give me a small explanation about how and when should someone use sys_refcursor ?

Jun 4, 2014 · Of course, that simply returns the cursor to the calling application. It doesn't do anything to fetch the data from the cursor, to do something with that data, or to close the cursor.

Passing ref cursors to procedures sys_refcursor can be used to pass cursors from and to stored precedures. In the following example, the procedure proc_ref_cursor accepts a sys_refcursor …

Example # SYS_REFCURSOR can be used as a return type when you need to easily handle a list returned not from a table, but more specifically from a function:

SYS_REFCURSOR is a built-in weakly typed Ref Cursor in Oracle. It is especially useful for returning result sets from stored procedures and functions, as it eliminates the need for …

Specifies that the data type of the cursor variable is the built-in SYS_REFCURSOR data type. The data server supports the declaration of cursor variables of the SYS_REFCURSOR built-in data …