Yes it is a good practice when required.
Raj
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Rajendra dot Jamadagni at nospamespn dot com
All Views expressed in this email are strictly personal.
QOTD: Any clod can have facts, having an opinion is an art !
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve McClure [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2003 5:45 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
Subject: RE: is this a good practice...pl/sql question
> Keeping aside all considerations about the loop, I see no problem
>here. The cursor variable is just short-hand notation for defining a
>table%ROWTYPE - you are not modifying some hidden Oracle internal state
>if this is what you are fearing. No 'mutating cursor', if I guess you
>correctly.
I guess I am really wondering if it is a good practice to modify the
attributes of a record previously selected via a cursor. It is not just a
typical variable that is defined and used in a manner that suits the
algorithm. I am just wondering if it would be a better idea to treat this
type of a record as a constant. To elevate it conceptually. The reason
being that it does(should?)represent what was actually selected from the
database. If another developer, or myself for that matter, were to come
along at a later date, and use that attribute in another section of code not
knowing, or forgetting, it had been altered above. I have actually used
this technique extensively in a couple of routines more complex than the one
I have described above. It was just as I made this little code change, I
felt a pang of conscience, and wanted to ask this philosophical question.
I am not worried about mucking up the database, or any such thing. I am
aware that variable is just like any other attribute in any record I might
have explicitly created myself. It is just that since the database
instantiated this record to represent the results of my query, I am
wondering if it should grant it an elevated postition.
Sorry for rambling on and on etc.
Steve
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Author: Steve McClure
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