Cursors are a fundamental part of every driver's API, yet they may have differing behavior between drivers because their behavior is largely unspecified. This is surprising and confusing for users who expect that the core behavior and API of drivers are similar across languages.

Additionally, in async environments, drivers gain the ability to cheaply run tasks in the background, and this may allow for new cursor behavior and capabilities that are currently unexplored. The usage patterns of cursors and expectations of their API are notably different in async than they are in sync environments, and those expectations and usage patterns should be codified in the specifications. Exhaust cursors are incoming and also affect the capabilities, usage patterns, and API expectations of cursors, all of which should be specified as well.