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Using Stored Procedures

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A stored procedure is an executable object stored in a database. Calling a stored procedure is similar to invoking a SQL command. Using stored procedures on the data source (instead of executing or preparing a statement in the client application) can provide several advantages, including higher performance, reduced network overhead, and improved consistency and accuracy.

A stored procedure can have any number of (including zero) input or output parameters and can pass a return value. You can either hard code parameter values as specific data values or use a parameter marker (a question mark '?').

Note

CLR SQL Server stored procedures created using Visual C++ must be compiled with the /clr:safe compiler option.

The OLE DB provider for SQL Server (SQLOLEDB) supports the following mechanisms that stored procedures use to return data:

  • Every SELECT statement in the procedure generates a result set.

  • The procedure can return data through output parameters.

  • The procedure can have an integer return code.

Note

You cannot use stored procedures with the OLE DB provider for Jet because that provider does not support stored procedures; only constants are allowed in query strings.

See also

Working with OLE DB Consumer Templates