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MSCCP0010

The statement below has usages of nested cursors

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Severity

Low

Description

This warning is used to indicate that the statement has usages of nested cursors. A cursor is a database object that allows traversing and manipulating result sets in a database. When nested cursors are used, it means that one cursor is nested inside the loop of another cursor.

The use of nested cursors can have a significant impact on performance, especially with large result sets. Each cursor operation requires a round trip to the database server, which can increase overhead and slow down execution.

Code examples

SQL Server

CREATE OR ALTER PROCEDURE procedureSample
AS
BEGIN
  DECLARE
    @outer_category_id INT,
    @outer_category_name NVARCHAR(50),
    @inner_product_name NVARCHAR(50);

  -- Define the outer cursor
  DECLARE outer_cursor CURSOR FOR 
    SELECT category_id, category_name FROM categories;

  -- Open the outer cursor
  OPEN @outer_cursor;

  -- Fetch the first row from the outer cursor
  FETCH NEXT FROM outer_cursor INTO @outer_category_id, @outer_category_name;

  -- Start the outer loop
  WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
  BEGIN

    PRINT 'Category: ' + @outer_category_name;
	
    -- Define the inner cursor
    DECLARE inner_cursor CURSOR FOR
      SELECT product_name FROM products WHERE category_id = @outer_category_id;
    
    -- Open the inner cursor
    OPEN inner_cursor;
	FETCH NEXT FROM inner_cursor INTO @inner_product_name;

    WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
    BEGIN
      PRINT 'Product: ' + @inner_product_name + ' Category: ' + CAST(@outer_category_id AS NVARCHAR(10));

      -- Fetch the next row from the inner cursor
      FETCH NEXT FROM inner_cursor INTO @inner_product_name;
    END;

    -- Close the inner cursor
    CLOSE inner_cursor;
    DEALLOCATE inner_cursor;

    -- Fetch the next row from the outer cursor
    FETCH NEXT FROM outer_cursor INTO @outer_category_id, @outer_category_name;
  END;

  -- Close the outer cursor
  CLOSE outer_cursor;
  DEALLOCATE outer_cursor;
  
END;

Oracle

Explicit cursor

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE procedureSample AS
BEGIN
DECLARE
  CURSOR outer_cursor IS
    SELECT category_id, category_name FROM categories;

  CURSOR inner_cursor (p_category_id NUMBER) IS
    SELECT product_name FROM products WHERE category_id = p_category_id;

  outer_category_id categories.category_id%TYPE;
  outer_category_name categories.category_name%TYPE;
  inner_product_name products.product_name%TYPE;
BEGIN

  OPEN outer_cursor;
  FETCH outer_cursor INTO outer_category_id, outer_category_name;

  LOOP
    EXIT WHEN outer_cursor%NOTFOUND;
    DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Category: ' || outer_category_name);

    OPEN inner_cursor(outer_category_id);
    LOOP
        FETCH inner_cursor INTO inner_product_name;
        EXIT WHEN inner_cursor%NOTFOUND;
        DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE('Product: ' || inner_product_name || ' Category: ' || outer_category_id);
    END LOOP;
    CLOSE inner_cursor;

    FETCH outer_cursor INTO outer_category_id, outer_category_name;
  END LOOP;

  CLOSE outer_cursor;
END;
END;

Implicit Cursor

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE procedureSample AS
BEGIN
DECLARE
   inner_category_id categories.category_name%TYPE;
   inner_product_name products.product_name%TYPE;
   inner_cursor SYS_REFCURSOR;
BEGIN
   FOR outer_cursor IN (SELECT category_id, category_name FROM categories)
   LOOP
      OPEN inner_cursor
       FOR SELECT product_name, category_id FROM products WHERE category_id = outer_cursor.category_id;
      LOOP
         FETCH inner_cursor INTO inner_product_name, inner_category_id;
         EXIT WHEN inner_cursor%NOTFOUND;
         dbms_output.put_line( 'Category id: '|| outer_cursor.category_id);
         dbms_output.put_line('Product name: ' || inner_product_name);
      END LOOP;
      CLOSE inner_cursor;
   END LOOP;
END;
END;

Recommendations

  • Avoid them whenever possible due to their potential impact on performance and code complexity.

  • Remove the use of nested cursors, instead, you can use SQL functions, joins, subqueries, window functions, common table expressions (CTEs), recursive queries, and other features to process bulk data and avoid the need for nested cursors.

  • If you need more support, you can email us at [email protected]

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