What is Cursor programming?

Cursor programming refers to a programming paradigm where a 'cursor' is used to traverse and manipulate data structures, particularly databases. Cursors allow sequential access to individual records within a result set, enabling row-by-row processing that is not possible with standard SQL operations. While offering fine-grained control, cursor-based operations are often slower and more resource-intensive than set-based operations, and are generally avoided unless absolutely necessary. They are commonly used in database systems where complex logic or record-level manipulations are required.