Routines

 

Routines are pieces of code or programs that you can call to perform operations.

• Stored procedures
  A procedure (often called a stored procedure) is a program that can be called to perform operations. A procedure can include both host language statements and SQL statements. Procedures in SQL provide the same benefits as procedures in a host language.

• Using user-defined functions
  In writing SQL applications, you can implement some actions or operations as a user-defined function (UDF) or as a subroutine in your application. Although it might appear easier to implement new operations as subroutines, you might want to consider the advantages of using a UDF instead.

• Triggers
  A trigger is a set of actions that runs automatically when a specified change operation is performed on a specified table or view.

• Debugging an SQL routine
  By specifying SET OPTION DBGVIEW = *SOURCE in the CREATE PROCEDURE, CREATE FUNCTION, or CREATE TRIGGER statement, you can debug the generated program or module at the SQL statement level.

• Improving performance of procedures and functions
  When creating a stored procedure or a user-defined function (UDF), the SQL procedural language processor does not always generate the most efficient code. However, you can reduce the number of database engine calls and improve performance.

 

Parent topic:

SQL programming