Cursor variables are like pointers to result sets. You use them when you want to perform a query in one subprogram and process the results in a different subprogram (possibly one written in a different language). A cursor variable has datatype REF CURSOR and you might see them referred to informally as REF CURSORs.

Static cursor (general) is associated with only one SELECT statement.It can't be with many.That too we can't use at dynamic time.

Ref Cursors also known as Dynamic cursors cane be associated with as many SELECT statements you want at different times.You can associate with different SELECT stataments at dynamic time.

Cursor variables are like C or Pascal pointers which hold the memory location (address) of some item instead of the item itself. Thus declaring a cursor variable creates a pointer not an item. In PL/SQL a pointer has the datatype REF X where REF is short for REFERENCE and X stands for a class of objects. A cursor variable has datatype REF CURSOR. Like a cursor a cursor variable points to the current row in the result set of a multirow query. However cursors differ from cursor variables the way constants differ from variables. A cursor is static but a cursor variable is dynamic because it is not tied to a specific query.