how to insert into nested table collection using cursor plsql

Question

I'm writing a function that needs to manipulate multiple rows at the same time and they need to be indexed. After several hours of reading about Oracle pl/sql I figured I could create a nested table kind of collection. Since I couldn't find a definitive answer and trial/error method takes way to long. Here is question part: QUESTION: What is the best practice to populate a nested table collection? Oracle PL/SQL

       type partsTable is table of Parts_north_wing%rowtype;
       pt PartsTable;    
       index number;         
       cursor pCursor is select * from Parts_north_wing;
begin
        index := 1;
        open pCursor;
        loop
                fetch pCursor into tempRow;
                pt(index) := tempRow;
                index := index + 1;
                exit when pCursor%notfound;
        end loop;
        close pCursor;

Answer 1

A cursor FOR LOOP is almost always the best way to process rows in PL/SQL. It's simpler than the OPEN/FETCH/CLOSE method - no need to declare variables and manipulate cursors. It's also faster since it automatically bulk collects the results.

begin
    for pt in
    (
        select parts_north_wing.*, rownum row_index
        from parts_north_wing
    ) loop
        --Do something here
        null;
    end loop;
end;
/