Contents Index Asensitive cursors Cursor sensitivity and performance

ASA Programming Guide
  Using SQL in Applications
    Adaptive Server Anywhere cursors

Value-sensitive cursors


These cursors are insensitive with respect to their membership, and sensitive with respect to the order and values of the result set.

Value-sensitive cursors can be used for read-only or updatable cursor types.

Standards 

Value-sensitive cursors do not correspond to an ISO/ANSI standard definition. They correspond to ODBC keyset-driven cursors.

Programming interfaces 
Interface Cursor type
ODBC, OLE DB, and ADO Keyset-driven
Embedded SQL SCROLL
JDBC Keyset-driven
Open Client Keyset-driven
Description 

If the application fetches a row composed of a base underlying row that has changed, then the application must be presented with the updated value, and the SQL_ROW_UPDATED status must be issued to the application. If the application attempts to fetch a row that was composed of a base underlying row that was deleted, a SQL_ROW_DELETED status must be issued to the application.

Changes to primary key values remove the row from the result set (treated as a delete, followed by an insert). A special case occurs when a row in the result set is deleted (either from cursor or outside) and a new row with the same key value is inserted. This will result in the new row replacing the old row where it appeared.

There is no guarantee that rows in the result set match the query's selection or order specification. Since row membership is fixed at open time, subsequent changes that make a row not match the WHERE clause or ORDER BY do not change a row's membership nor position.

All values are sensitive to changes made through the cursor. The sensitivity of membership to changes made through the cursor is controlled by the ODBC option SQL_STATIC_SENSITIVITY. If this option is on, then inserts through the cursor add the row to the cursor. Otherwise, they are not part of the result set. Deletes through the cursor remove the row from the result set, preventing a hole returning the SQL_ROW_DELETED status.

Value-sensitive cursors use a key set table. When the cursor is opened, Adaptive Server Anywhere populates a work table with identifying information for each row contributing to the result set. When scrolling through the result set, the key set table is used to identify the membership of the result set, but values are obtained, if necessary, from the underlying tables.

The fixed membership property of value-sensitive cursors allows your application to remember row positions within a cursor and be assured that these positions will not change. For more information, see Cursor sensitivity example: a deleted row.

Rows cannot be prefetched for value-sensitive cursors. This requirement may impact performance in some cases.

Inserting multiple rows 

When inserting multiple rows through a value-sensitive cursor, the new rows appear at the end of the result set. For more information, see Modifying rows through a cursor.


Contents Index Asensitive cursors Cursor sensitivity and performance