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User-Defined Functions

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 lets you create user-defined functions. Like any function, a user-defined function is a routine that returns a value. Based on what kind of value it returns, each user-defined function falls into one of three categories: ones that return an updatable table, ones that return a non-updatable table, and ones that return a scalar value.

If a user-defined function contains a single SELECT statement and that statement is updateable, then the tabular result returned by the function is also updateable.

If a user-defined function contains more than one SELECT statement, or contains a SELECT statement that is not updateable, then the tabular result returned by that function is not updateable.

If a function returns a table, you can use that function in the FROM clause of a query. For more information, see How to: Create Queries using Something Besides a Table. If a function returns a scalar value, you can use it in a query anywhere you would use a column name. For more information, see Expressions in Queries.

See Also

Reference

Function Properties

Other Resources

Working with Stored Procedures and User-Defined Functions