Allocating Storage for Cursor Variables:

Because a cursor variable is a reference type there is no storage allocated for it when it is declared. Before it can be used, it requires pointing to a valid area of memory. This memory could be build automatically by the PL/SQL engine.

Controlling Cursor Variables:

There are three statements which control a cursor variable: OPEN-FOR, CLOSE and FETCH. The OPEN-FOR is used for a multi-row query. The FETCH is used to retreive rows from the result set one at a time. The CLOSE closes the cursor variable and releases the memory after all the rows are processed.