What Is a Cursor?

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A cursor is a data structure that stores the results of your query. In ADO, you can think of the Recordset object as a COM object that simplifies accessing data in a cursor. The cursor type determines the functionality available to a specific Recordset object: different types of cursors support different levels of functionality. Some cursors allow you to view changes that other users have made to the records that make up the results of your query. Some cursors only let you move forward through the results of your query, while other cursors allow you to move forward and backward.

This chapter describes the different types of cursors and explains the functionality available to the Recordset objects defined by each type. Will you see changes made by other users? Will you be able to determine the number of records returned by your query? Will you be able to bookmark a particular record and move back to it later? What happens when the cursor type you requested isn't available?