PRB: Oracle Cursors Remain Open After Calling VB rdoQuery (183639)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft ODBC for Oracle version 2.0 Build 2.73.7283.03
  • Microsoft ODBC for Oracle version 2.5 Build 2.573.2927
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows 4.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows 5.0
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Enterprise Edition for Windows 6.0

This article was previously published under Q183639

SYMPTOMS

Calling the rdoQuery object in Visual Basic 5.0 or later or a Remote Data Object (RDO) PreparedStatement in Visual Basic 4.0 opens three Oracle cursors; two remain open after closing the rdoQuery or PreparedStatement object.

These cursors should not be confused with cursors that return data. Oracle opens cursors internally, and they are defined as follows:

A cursor is a synonym for context area - a work area in memory where Oracle stores the current SQL statement. For a query, the area in memory also includes column headings and one row retrieved by the Select Statement.

CAUSE

Oracle provides an API to get the stored procedure information. This API is called, in the case of a stored procedure execution, to get the parameter information. The API generates two additional cursors, which are not released until the logoff request happens. These cursors do not increase when you attempt multiple executions.

RESOLUTION

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

Oracle opens a single cursor for an RDO Resultset and closes the cursor when the Resultset object is closed. However, the rdoQuery or rdoPreparedStatement leaves two cursors open as illustrated below.

To test in Visual Basic 4.0, substitute the Visual Basic 4.0 PreparedStatement object for the rdoQuery object.

It is assumed the reader knows how to check for open cursors via Oracle Administrator utilities.

This application calls a stored procedure that accepts a numeric input parameter and returns the value divided in half as an output parameter. Calling any stored procedure should produce similar results. The script for the stored procedure called by this project is as follows:
   Create Or Replace Procedure NoTable
   (inNum IN NUMBER, outNUM OUT NUMBER)
   IS
   BEGIN
      outNUM := inNUM/2;
   END;
   / 
				

Steps to Reproduce Behavior

After the stored procedure is created, follow these steps:
  1. Open a new project in Visual Basic. Form1 is created by default.
  2. Place a command button on the new Form.
  3. On the Project menu, click References, and select Microsoft Remote Data Object 2.0.
  4. Place the following code in the General Declarations section of Form1. You will need to alter the database connection information in the strCon String:
          '
             Dim strSql As String
             Dim strError As String
             Dim En As rdoEnvironment
             Dim Qr As rdoQuery
             Dim Cn As rdoConnection
             Dim Rs As rdoResultset
             Dim strCon, UserID As String
    
             Private Sub Command1_Click()
    
                strCon = "DSN=MyOracle;UID=MyUID;PWD=MyPassword;"
                strSql = "{call NoTable(?,?)}"
    
                Set En = rdoEnvironments(0)
                En.CursorDriver = rdUseClientBatch
                Set Cn = En.OpenConnection("", rdDriverNoPrompt, _
                False, strCon)
    
             'Pause the program to check on number of open cursors.
             'Should be 0 (zero) at this point
                MsgBox "Check Open Cursors"
    
                Set Qr = Cn.CreateQuery("", strSql)
    
                Qr.rdoParameters(0).Value = 10
                Qr.Execute
    
             'Pause the program to check on number of open cursors.
             'Should be three at this point.
                MsgBox "Check Open Cursors"
    
                Debug.Print "The Output is " & Qr(1)
                Qr.Close
    
                'Should be two open cursors at this point.
                MsgBox "DONE"
    
             End Sub
    
    					
NOTE: Comments in the above code show at what point in the code you should examine the number of open Oracle cursors.

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:6/29/2004
Keywords:kb3rdparty kbAPI kbOracle kbprb KB183639