PLSQL - Creating a cursor for a table that does not exist

Question

I am writing my first PLSQL program, and I have run into a problem creating a cursor.
I have a cursor that accesses a table on another database via a database link. The database link does not yet exist, so the first thing that my PLSQL does is create the database link. The problem is that I have to define my cursor before I have executed the code for the database link, and the compiler gives me an error for referring to a table that does not yet exist. How can I get around this?
Here is the basic structure of my program
DECLARE
--cursor defined here
BEGIN
--code creates database link if it does not yet exist
--code executes cursor
END

Answer 1

I'm still not sure I understand why the database link can't be created in advance... Once you run your code once, the database link is going to exist permanently. Why not just create it at compile time like every other object in your application?
It's sort of like trying to create a table at runtime-- if you do that, you can't refer to that table in static SQL later on. You can do everything with dynamic SQL, but that's going to substantially increase the complexity of your code.
Additionally, you have to have the CREATE DATABASE LINK privilege granted directly to the user running your code, not through a role, which seems like a huge security hole.
Justin