The advantage of using the proc-text-buffer is that you do not have to worry about what kind of data the procedure returns. The buffer accepts any type of data, in any order, and converts it to the character equivalent. Another benefit of the proc-text-buffer is that it can be used to hold the results from all of the SQL statements included in a stored procedure. However, a buffer that you create can hold the results of only one results set record form one result set at a time.

However, a disadvantage in using the proc-text-buffer technique is that it is much more difficult to manipulate the data after you receive it as it requires parsing the data. To act on anything but CHARACTER data, you must extract the data from the buffer and convert it to its original data type before you can use it.