Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!apple!well!gatynen
From: gatynen@well.sf.ca.us (Gerard Tynen)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Oracle CURSORS useless ?
Message-ID: <25731@well.sf.ca.us>
Date: 27 Jun 91 16:01:44 GMT
References: <1991Jun26.033043.22948@sunaus.oz>
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 21

Having last year built an embedded SQL precompiler for cobol and
SQL Server, we came across this "commit closes all cursors" issue.

We couldn't think of any reason to force a close on all cursors just
because you do a commit.  I think that what happened is that early 
versions of DB2 did this for some reason related to DB2 and MVS and so
everybody else who did a precompiler did it also.

Now this kind of behaviour has become standard.  The NIST verification
suites test for it, and I think also it is being assumed by the SAG 
commitee as well.

We ended up leaving our cursors open after a commit which is nice, 
because you don't lose your place in the result set and can commit as
often as you feel you need to.  However, I just got a call from the
customer I did the precompiler for and they want to change it back to
having commits close all open cursors.  I assume they want this in order
to remain "standard" since there is no real reason I can think of to
force this.

--GT