Question

I would be calling procedure or function from java using JDBC.

In terms of best practice and performance, it is better to use a function which returns a SYS_REFCURSOR or use a procedure which returns a SYS_REFCURSOR.

Eg.

Procedure

create or replace procedure my_proc(p_deptno IN number,p_emp_no IN varchar2
    , p_cursor OUT SYS_REFCURSOR)
    is
    begin
    open p_cursor FOR
    select *
    from emp
    where deptno = p_deptno and emp_number=p_emp_no;
    end proc;
    /


Function

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION my_func (p_deptno IN number,p_emp_no IN varchar2)
   RETURN SYS_REFCURSOR
AS
   p_cursor   SYS_REFCURSOR;
BEGIN
   OPEN p_cursor FOR
      select *
        from emp
        where deptno = p_deptno and emp_number=p_emp_no;
   RETURN p_cursor;
END;
/

Which one of the above is a better option? Could someone provide some insight into this?
Any help is highly appreciable.

Thanks

Answer 1

From a performance standpoint, it doesn’t matter.

In general, if the intent of a PL/SQL block is to return something to the caller, it should be in a function. If the intent of a PL/SQL block is to do something (deletes, inserts, updates, etc.), it should be in a procedure. Since the intent of this code is to return something to the caller, it would be appropriate for it to be a function.