A cursor can be viewed as a "Pointer" into the result table of an SQL SELECT statement. Cursors are needed whenever the result contains more than one row. 3rd generation programs like COBOL and C cannot handle more than one row at a time. SQL produces a set-at-a-time. The cursor allows the set to be processed one row-at-a-time, just like a sequential file. COBOL and C are happy, SQL is happy. I'm happy.