
DECLARE — define a cursor

## Synopsis

DECLARE _`cursor_name`_ \[ BINARY \] \[ ASENSITIVE | INSENSITIVE \] \[ \[ NO \] SCROLL \] CURSOR \[ { WITH | WITHOUT } HOLD \] FOR _`prepared_name`_
DECLARE _`cursor_name`_ \[ BINARY \] \[ ASENSITIVE | INSENSITIVE \] \[ \[ NO \] SCROLL \] CURSOR \[ { WITH | WITHOUT } HOLD \] FOR _`query`_

## Description

`DECLARE` declares a cursor for iterating over the result set of a prepared statement. This command has slightly different semantics from the direct SQL command `DECLARE`: Whereas the latter executes a query and prepares the result set for retrieval, this embedded SQL command merely declares a name as a “loop variable” for iterating over the result set of a query; the actual execution happens when the cursor is opened with the `OPEN` command.

## Parameters

_`cursor_name`_ [#](#ECPG-SQL-DECLARE-CURSOR-NAME)

A cursor name, case sensitive. This can be an SQL identifier or a host variable.

_`prepared_name`_ [#](#ECPG-SQL-DECLARE-PREPARED-NAME)

The name of a prepared query, either as an SQL identifier or a host variable.

_`query`_ [#](#ECPG-SQL-DECLARE-QUERY)

A [SELECT](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-select.html "SELECT") or [VALUES](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-values.html "VALUES") command which will provide the rows to be returned by the cursor.

For the meaning of the cursor options, see [DECLARE](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/sql-declare.html "DECLARE").

## Examples

Examples declaring a cursor for a query:

EXEC SQL DECLARE C CURSOR FOR SELECT \* FROM My\_Table;
EXEC SQL DECLARE C CURSOR FOR SELECT Item1 FROM T;
EXEC SQL DECLARE cur1 CURSOR FOR SELECT version();

An example declaring a cursor for a prepared statement:

EXEC SQL PREPARE stmt1 AS SELECT version();
EXEC SQL DECLARE cur1 CURSOR FOR stmt1;

## Compatibility

`DECLARE` is specified in the SQL standard.
