setForwardOnly

setForwardOnly is a method available in some programming environments, particularly those dealing with database access, that modifies the behavior of a result set. When setForwardOnly is invoked on a result set object, it typically indicates that the result set can only be iterated through in a forward direction. This means that once a cursor has moved past a particular row, it cannot be moved back to a previous row.

The primary purpose of setting a result set to forward-only is for performance optimization. By restricting movement to a single direction, the underlying database driver and the database itself can employ more efficient retrieval strategies. For instance, it may avoid loading the entire result set into memory at once, instead fetching data in batches as needed. This can be particularly beneficial when dealing with very large datasets, as it reduces memory consumption and can speed up the initial retrieval of data.

The default behavior of result sets can vary depending on the specific database driver and API being used. Some drivers might default to allowing bidirectional scrolling, while others might default to forward-only. It is important to consult the documentation for the specific API you are using to understand the default behavior and the implications of using setForwardOnly. When forward-only is enabled, methods like previous(), absolute(), and relative() that require backward movement or absolute positioning will generally not be supported or will throw an exception.