I'm writing a stored procedure that will perform a SELECT, loop through it with a cursor, do some mildly complicated processing, and then return some of the rows in a modified form.
One way to do this is to create a temporary table, insert the results of the processing there, and then finish the procedure with a select * from temp_table;
I'm wondering if I can skip that part and just stream the computed rows directly to the client, without involving the overhead of temporary storage.
Every unbounded SELECT within a stored procedure writes a separate result-set to the wire. The only way to combine them into a single result-set is to use a temporary table, and then SELECT from it when you're done.
Otherwise, the multiple result sets must be iterated by the client by calling more_results, which tells you whether more results are available. It returns false when your procedure finishes.
The mechanism MySQL uses to actually write these multiple result sets is very lightweight, so it depends on whether this works for what you're trying to do, whether this is useful in your application.
I have a stored procedure that concatenates sql to make insert/update etc.
The stored procedure works.
However, I dont like the way its called (its OT but Im using node.js and calling a stored procedure is quite hard to accomplish and there doesnt seem to be much support/documentation for this).
So I decide to create a "simple" mysql stored function that will basically call the stored procedure (the function is called with a few IN parameters, the procedure (from the function) is called with the same IN parameters PLUS the OUT parameter ).
However, i get an error:
Dynamic SQL is not allowed in stored function or trigger
yes, I have read about functions and dynamic sql isnt allowed. BUT: Im doing dynamic sql from the procedure, not from the function. But still mysql doesnt like it. Is there a solution to this? I dont think something is wrong with my code...
CREATE FUNCTION my_func(a varchar(50), b varchar(50), c varchar(50), d integer, e integer)
RETURNS INT(10)
DETERMINISTIC
BEGIN
set #theid = 0;
call my_proc(a, b, c, d, e, #theid);
RETURN (#theid);
Q: But still MySQL doesnt like it. Is there a solution to this?
No.
The "Dynamic SQL is not allowed in a function" restriction also extends to any stored procedures called by the function.
There is no solution. There is no workaround.
This simply can't be done: you can't use Dynamic SQL in the context of a function or trigger.
I can't confirm this right now in the code, but I would assume that there are some data structures associated with prepared queries that can exist only one at a time in a given MySQL thread. Since a stored function or trigger is invoked from a query (which may be dynamic SQL itself), the function or trigger can't initiate a new dynamic SQL query.
So it doesn't matter that the dynamic SQL is in a procedure. You can't make a stored function that prepares and executes dynamic SQL, whether directory or indirectly.
You might be trying to find a workaround for a solved problem. See Is there a driver for mysql on nodejs that supports stored procedures?
When should I use a function rather than a stored procedure in SQL, and vice versa? What is the purpose of each?
Functions are computed values and cannot perform permanent environmental changes to SQL Server (i.e., no INSERT or UPDATE statements allowed).
A function can be used inline in SQL statements if it returns a scalar value or can be joined upon if it returns a result set.
A point worth noting from comments, which summarize the answer. Thanks to #Sean K Anderson:
Functions follow the computer-science definition in that they MUST return a value and cannot alter the data they receive as parameters
(the arguments). Functions are not allowed to change anything, must
have at least one parameter, and they must return a value. Stored
procs do not have to have a parameter, can change database objects,
and do not have to return a value.
Here's a table summarizing the differences:
Stored Procedure
Function
Returns
Zero or more values
A single value (which may be a scalar or a table)
Can use transaction?
Yes
No
Can output to parameters?
Yes
No
Can call each other?
Can call a function
Cannot call a stored procedure
Usable in SELECT, WHERE and HAVING statements?
No
Yes
Supports exception handling (via try/catch)?
Yes
No
Functions and stored procedures serve separate purposes. Although it's not the best analogy, functions can be viewed literally as any other function you'd use in any programming language, but stored procs are more like individual programs or a batch script.
Functions normally have an output and optionally inputs. The output can then be used as the input to another function (a SQL Server built-in such as DATEDIFF, LEN, etc) or as a predicate to a SQL Query - e.g., SELECT a, b, dbo.MyFunction(c) FROM table or SELECT a, b, c FROM table WHERE a = dbo.MyFunc(c).
Stored procs are used to bind SQL queries together in a transaction, and interface with the outside world. Frameworks such as ADO.NET, etc. can't call a function directly, but they can call a stored proc directly.
Functions do have a hidden danger though: they can be misused and cause rather nasty performance issues: consider this query:
SELECT * FROM dbo.MyTable WHERE col1 = dbo.MyFunction(col2)
Where MyFunction is declared as:
CREATE FUNCTION MyFunction (#someValue INTEGER) RETURNS INTEGER
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #retval INTEGER
SELECT localValue
FROM dbo.localToNationalMapTable
WHERE nationalValue = #someValue
RETURN #retval
END
What happens here is that the function MyFunction is called for every row in the table MyTable. If MyTable has 1000 rows, then that's another 1000 ad-hoc queries against the database. Similarly, if the function is called when specified in the column spec, then the function will be called for each row returned by the SELECT.
So you do need to be careful writing functions. If you do SELECT from a table in a function, you need to ask yourself whether it can be better performed with a JOIN in the parent stored proc or some other SQL construct (such as CASE ... WHEN ... ELSE ... END).
Differences between stored procedures and user-defined functions:
Stored procedures cannot be used in Select statements.
Stored procedures support Deferred Name Resolution.
Stored procedures are generally used for performing business logic.
Stored procedures can return any datatype.
Stored procedures can accept greater numbers of input parameter than user defined functions. Stored procedures can have up to 21,000 input parameters.
Stored procedures can execute Dynamic SQL.
Stored procedures support error handling.
Non-deterministic functions can be used in stored procedures.
User-defined functions can be used in Select statements.
User-defined functions do not support Deferred Name Resolution.
User-defined functions are generally used for computations.
User-defined functions should return a value.
User-defined functions cannot return Images.
User-defined functions accept smaller numbers of input parameters than stored procedures. UDFs can have up to 1,023 input parameters.
Temporary tables cannot be used in user-defined functions.
User-defined functions cannot execute Dynamic SQL.
User-defined functions do not support error handling. RAISEERROR OR ##ERROR are not allowed in UDFs.
Non-deterministic functions cannot be used in UDFs. For example, GETDATE() cannot be used in UDFs.
STORE PROCEDURE
FUNCTION (USER DEFINED FUNCTION)
Procedure can return 0, single or multiple values
Function can return only single value
Procedure can have input, output parameters
Function can have only input parameters
Procedure cannot be called from a function
Functions can be called from procedure
Procedure allows select as well as DML statement in it
Function allows only select statement in it
Exception can be handled by try-catch block in a procedure
Try-catch block cannot be used in a function
We can go for transaction management in procedure
We can not go for transaction management in function
Procedure cannot be utilized in a select statement
Function can be embedded in a select statement
Procedure can affect the state of database means it can perform CRUD operation on database
Function can not affect the state of database means it can not perform CRUD operation on database
Procedure can use temporary tables
Function can not use temporary tables
Procedure can alter the server environment parameters
Function can not alter the environment parameters
Procedure can use when we want instead is to group a possibly- complex set of SQL statements
Function can use when we want to compute and return a value for use in other SQL statements
Write a user-defined function when you want to compute and return a value for use in other SQL statements; write a stored procedure when you want instead is to group a possibly-complex set of SQL statements. These are two pretty different use cases, after all!
Basic Difference
Function must return a value but in Stored Procedure it is optional( Procedure can return zero or n values).
Functions can have only input parameters for it whereas Procedures can have input/output parameters .
Function takes one input parameter it is mandatory but Stored Procedure may take o to n input parameters..
Functions can be called from Procedure whereas Procedures cannot be called from Function.
Advance Difference
Procedure allows SELECT as well as DML(INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE) statement in it whereas Function allows only SELECT statement in it.
Procedures can not be utilized in a SELECT statement whereas Function can be embedded in a SELECT statement.
Stored Procedures cannot be used in the SQL statements anywhere in the WHERE/HAVING/SELECT section whereas Function can be.
Functions that return tables can be treated as another rowset. This can be used in JOINs with other tables.
Inline Function can be though of as views that take parameters and can be used in JOINs and other Rowset operations.
Exception can be handled by try-catch block in a Procedure whereas try-catch block cannot be used in a Function.
We can go for Transaction Management in Procedure whereas we can't go in Function.
source
a User Defined Function is an important tool available to a sql server programmer. You can use it inline in a SQL statement like so
SELECT a, lookupValue(b), c FROM customers
where lookupValue will be an UDF. This kind of functionality is not possible when using a stored procedure. At the same time you cannot do certain things inside a UDF. The basic thing to remember here is that UDF's:
cannot create permanent changes
cannot change data
a stored procedure can do those things.
For me the inline usage of a UDF is the most important usage of a UDF.
Stored Procedures are used as scripts. They run a series of commands for you and you can schedule them to run at certain times. Usually runs multiples DML statements like INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, etc. or even SELECT.
Functions are used as methods. You pass it something and it returns a result. Should be small and fast - does it on the fly. Usually used in a SELECT statement.
SQL Server functions, like cursors, are meant to be used as your last weapon! They do have performance issues and therefore using a table-valued function should be avoided as much as possible. Talking about performance is talking about a table with more than 1,000,000 records hosted on a server on a middle-class hardware; otherwise you don't need to worry about the performance hit caused by the functions.
Never use a function to return a result-set to an external code (like ADO.Net)
Use views/stored procs combination as much as possible. you can recover from future grow-performance issues using the suggestions DTA (Database Tuning Adviser) would give you (like indexed views and statistics) --sometimes!
for further reference see: http://databases.aspfaq.com/database/should-i-use-a-view-a-stored-procedure-or-a-user-defined-function.html
Stored procedure:
Is like a miniature program in SQL Server.
Can be as simple as a select statement, or as complex as a long
script that adds, deletes, updates, and/or reads data from multiple
tables in a database.
(Can implement loops and cursors, which both allow you to work with
smaller results or row by row operations on data.)
Should be called using EXEC or EXECUTE statement.
Returns table variables, but we can't use OUT parameter.
Supports transactions.
Function:
Can not be used to update, delete, or add records to the database.
Simply returns a single value or a table value.
Can only be used to select records. However, it can be called
very easily from within standard SQL, such as:
SELECT dbo.functionname('Parameter1')
or
SELECT Name, dbo.Functionname('Parameter1') FROM sysObjects
For simple reusable select operations, functions can simplify code.
Just be wary of using JOIN clauses in your functions. If your
function has a JOIN clause and you call it from another select
statement that returns multiple results, that function call will JOIN
those tables together for each line returned in the result set. So
though they can be helpful in simplifying some logic, they can also be a
performance bottleneck if they're not used properly.
Returns the values using OUT parameter.
Does not support transactions.
To decide on when to use what the following points might help-
Stored procedures can't return a table variable where as function can do that.
You can use stored procedures to alter the server environment parameters where as using functions you can't.
cheers
Start with functions that return a single value. The nice thing is you can put frequently used code into a function and return them as a column in a result set.
Then, you might use a function for a parameterized list of cities. dbo.GetCitiesIn("NY") That returns a table that can be used as a join.
It's a way of organizing code. Knowing when something is reusable and when it is a waste of time is something only gained through trial and error and experience.
Also, functions are a good idea in SQL Server. They are faster and can be quite powerful. Inline and direct selects. Careful not to overuse.
Here's a practical reason to prefer functions over stored procedures. If you have a stored procedure that needs the results of another stored procedure, you have to use an insert-exec statement. This means that you have to create a temp table and use an exec statement to insert the results of the stored procedure into the temp table. It's messy. One problem with this is that insert-execs cannot be nested.
If you're stuck with stored procedures that call other stored procedures, you may run into this. If the nested stored procedure simply returns a dataset, it can be replaced with a table-valued function and you'll no longer get this error.
(this is yet another reason we should keep business logic out of the database)
I realize this is a very old question, but I don't see one crucial aspect mentioned in any of the answers: inlining into query plan.
Functions can be...
Scalar:
CREATE FUNCTION ... RETURNS scalar_type AS BEGIN ... END
Multi-statement table-valued:
CREATE FUNCTION ... RETURNS #r TABLE(...) AS BEGIN ... END
Inline table-valued:
CREATE FUNCTION ... RETURNS TABLE AS RETURN SELECT ...
The third kind (inline table-valued) are treated by the query optimizer essentially as (parametrized) views, which means that referencing the function from your query is similar to copy-pasting the function's SQL body (without actually copy-pasting), leading to the following benefits:
The query planner can optimize the inline function's execution just as it would any other sub-query (e.g. eliminate unused columns, push predicates down, pick different JOIN strategies etc.).
Combining several inline function doesn't require materializing the result from the first one before feeding it to the next.
The above can lead to potentially significant performance savings, especially when combining multiple levels of functions.
NOTE: Looks like SQL Server 2019 will introduce some form of scalar function inlining as well.
It is mandatory for Function to return a value while it is not for stored procedure.
Select statements only accepted in UDF while DML statements not required.
Stored procedure accepts any statements as well as DML statements.
UDF only allows inputs and not outputs.
Stored procedure allows for both inputs and outputs.
Catch blocks cannot be used in UDF but can be used in stored procedure.
No transactions allowed in functions in UDF but in stored procedure they are allowed.
Only table variables can be used in UDF and not temporary tables.
Stored procedure allows for both table variables and temporary tables.
UDF does not allow stored procedures to be called from functions while stored procedures allow calling of functions.
UDF is used in join clause while stored procedures cannot be used in join clause.
Stored procedure will always allow for return to zero. UDF, on the contrary, has values that must come - back to a predetermined point.
Functions can be used in a select statement where as procedures cannot.
Stored procedure takes both input and output parameters but Functions takes only input parameters.
Functions cannot return values of type text, ntext, image & timestamps where as procedures can.
Functions can be used as user defined datatypes in create table but procedures cannot.
***Eg:-create table <tablename>(name varchar(10),salary getsal(name))
Here getsal is a user defined function which returns a salary type, when table is created no storage is allotted for salary type, and getsal function is also not executed, But when we are fetching some values from this table, getsal function get’s executed and the return
Type is returned as the result set.
Generally using stored procedures is better for perfomances.
For example in previous versions of SQL Server if you put the function in JOIN condition the cardinality estimate is 1 (before SQL 2012) and 100 (after SQL 2012 and before of SQL 2017) and the engine can generate a bad execution plan.
Also if you put it in WHERE clause the SQL Engine can generate a bad execution plan.
With SQL 2017 Microsoft introduced the feature called interleaved execution in order to produce a more accurate estimate but the stored procedure remains the best solution.
For more details look the following article of Joe Sack
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/sql-server/introducing-interleaved-execution-for-multi-statement-table/ba-p/385417
In SQL Server, functions and stored procedure are two different types of entities.
Function: In SQL Server database, the functions are used to perform some actions and the action returns a result immediately.
Functions are two types:
System defined
User defined
Stored Procedures: In SQL Server, the stored procedures are stored in server and it can be return zero, single and multiple values.
Stored Procedures are two types:
System Stored Procedures
User Defined Procedures
I have a complicated SELECT query that filters on a time range, and I want this time range (start and end dates) to be specifiable using user-supplied parameters. So I can use a stored procedure to do this, and the return is a multiple-row result set. The problem I'm having is how to deal with this result set afterwards. I can't do something like:
SELECT * FROM (CALL stored_procedure(start_time, end_time))
even though the stored procedure is just a SELECT that takes parameters. Server-side prepared statement also don't work (and they're not persistent either).
Some suggest using temporary tables; the reason that's not an ideal solution is that 1) I don't want to specify the table schema and it seems that you have to, and 2) the lifetime of the temporary table would only be limited to a invocation of the query, it doesn't need to persist beyond that.
So to recap, I want something like a persistent prepared statement server-side, whose return is a result set that MySQL can manipulate as if it was a subquery. Any ideas? Thanks.
By the way, I'm using MySQL 5.0. I know it's a pretty old version, but this feature doesn't seem to exist in any more recent version. I'm not sure whether SELECT-ing from a stored procedure is possible in other SQL engines; switching is not an option at the moment, but I'd like to know whether it's possible anyway, in case we decide to switch in the future.
Selecting from functions is possible in other engines. For instance, Oracle allows you to write a function that returns a table of user defined type. You can define result sets in the function, fill them by using queries or even using a combination of selects and code. Eventually, the result set can be returned from the function, and you can continue to query on that by using:
select * from table(FunctionToBeCalls(parameters));
The only disadvantage, is that this result set is not indexed, so it might be slow if the function is used within a complex query.
In MySQL nothing like this is possible. There is no way to use a result set from a procedure directly in a select query. You can return single values from a function and you can use OUT or INOUT parameters to you procedure to return values from.
But entire result sets is not possible. Filling a temporary table within you procedure is the closest you will get.
In MySQL database context, what is the difference among these 3 terms:
stored procedure
stored function
stored routine
Also the build-in functions like those date time functions (e.g. WEEKDAY() etc) are considered as what?
Google is your friend. The first match for "mysql routine function procedure" is this: http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/stored-routines-syntax.html
A quick summary:
A stored routine is either a procedure or a function.
A procedure is invoked using a CALL statement and can only pass back values using output variables.
A function can be called from inside a statement just like any other function and can return a scalar value.
Here I have tried to summarize the differences between functions and procedures:
A FUNCTION always returns a value using the return statement. PROCEDURE may return one or more values through parameters or may not return any at all.
Functions are normally used for computations where as procedures are normally used for executing business logic.
A Function returns 1 value only. Procedure can return multiple values (max 1024).
Stored procedure always returns an integer value of zero by default. Whereas function return types could be scalar or table or table values.
Stored procedures have a precompiled execution plan, where as functions are not.
A function can be called directly by SQL statement like SELECT func_name FROM DUAL while procedures cannot.
Stored procedure has the security and reduces the network traffic and also we can call stored procedure in any number of applications at a time.
A Function can be used in the SQL queries while a procedure cannot be used in SQL queries. That causes a major difference between function and procedures.
Difference between MySQL function and mysql procedure
MYSQL Function
It must return value. IN, OUT and INOUT cannot be used in function.But
return datatype must be declare when create a function. function can
be called from a SQL statement. Function return one values.
MYSQL Procedure
Return Values is not mandatory but may be uses the OUT parameter to
procedure returns. Can use the IN | OUT | INOUT parameters. Procedure
cannot be called from the SQL Statement. procedure return multiple
values by using OUT or INOUT parameters.
PROCEDURES VS FUNCTIONS
1. PROCEDURES may or may not return a value but FUNCTION must return a value
2. PROCEDURES can have input/output parameter but FUNCTION only has input parameter.
3. We can call FUNCTION from PROCEDURES but cannot call PROCEDURES from a function.
4. We cannot use PROCEDURES in SQL statement like SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, MERGE etc. but we can use them with FUNCTION.
5. We can use try-catch exception handling in PROCEDURES but we cannot do that in FUNCTION.
6. We can use transaction in PROCEDURES but it is not possible in FUNCTION.
Function must return a value but in Stored Procedure it is optional( Procedure can return zero or n values).
Functions can have only input parameters for it whereas Procedures can have input/output parameters .
Functions can be called from Procedure whereas Procedures cannot be called from Function.