13.6.6.2 Cursor DECLARE Statement
DECLARE cursor_name CURSOR FOR select_statement
This statement declares a cursor and associates it with a SELECT
statement that retrieves the rows to be traversed by the cursor. To fetch the rows later, use a FETCH
statement. The number of columns retrieved by the SELECT
statement must match the number of output variables specified in the FETCH
statement.
The SELECT
statement cannot have an INTO
clause.
Cursor declarations must appear before handler declarations and after variable and condition declarations.
A stored program may contain multiple cursor declarations, but each cursor declared in a given block must have a unique name. For an example, see Section 13.6.6, “Cursors”.
For information available through SHOW
statements, it is possible in many cases to obtain equivalent information by using a cursor with an INFORMATION_SCHEMA
table.