Apress SQL server 2000 stored procedures handbook sep 2008 ISBN 1590592875

SQLServer2000StoredProcedures
Handbook
ISBN:1590592875
byTonyBain,LouisDavidson,
RobinDewsonandChuck
Hawkins
Apress©2003(288pages)
Thishandbookshowshowtowritefasterand
morerobuststoredproceduresandfunctions,
learneffective,real-worldsolutionstoproblems
facedbydatabasedevelopers,designers,and
administrators,andmastertopicssuchas
optimizinganddebugging.
TableofContents
SQLServer2000StoredProceduresHandbook
Introduction
Chapter1 - StoredProceduresOverview
Chapter2 - OptimizingandDebugging
Chapter3 - Concurrency,Cursors,andTransactions
CommonPracticeswithStored
Chapter4 Procedures
Chapter5 - SystemStoredProcedures
Chapter6 - UserDefinedFunctions
Chapter7 - Triggers
Chapter8 - Security
Support,Errata,and
AppendixA
Index


ListofFigures

ListofExamples


BackCover
StoredproceduresarecompiledT-SQLstatementsthat
resideonthedatabase.Theyarethecornerstonesof
successfuldatamanipulation,anddata-handling
operationsofeverycomplexitymakeuseofthem.This
bookisanin-depthguidetoakeyareaofdatabase
development.
Thisbooktacklesreal-worldproblemsfacedby
developerswhenworkingwithstoredprocedures,
showingyouhowtosolvetheseproblems,avoidthe
commonpitfalls,andproducefaster,morerobust
storedprocedures.Putsimply:ifyouwanttowrite
betterstoredprocedures,thenthisisthebookforyou.
AbouttheAuthors
TonyBainisthefounderofTonyBain&Associates.He
hasworkedwithSQLServerforthelast6years,and
heispassionateaboutalldatabasetechnologies,
especiallywhentheyrelatetoenterpriseavailability
andscalability.TonycurrentlyholdstheMicrosoft
CertifiedSystemEngineer,MicrosoftCertifiedSolution
Developer,andMicrosoftCertifiedDatabase
Administratorcertifications.
LouisDavidsonhasbeenintheITindustryfor10years
asacorporatedatabasedeveloperandarchitect.Heis
currentlyadatabaseadministratorforCompass
TechnologyManagement,supportingtheChristian
BroadcastingNetworkandNorthStarStudiosin

Nashville,Tennessee.


RobinDewsonhasbeenhookedonprogrammingever
sinceheboughthisfirstcomputerin1980,aSinclair
ZX80.HisfirstmainapplicationofhisownwasaVisual
FoxProapplicationthatcouldbeusedtorunaFantasy
Leaguesystem.Itwasatthispointhemetupwitha
greathelpinhisPCdevelopmentlife,JonSilverat
StepOneTechnologies,whereinreturnfortraining,he
helpedJonwithsomeotherVisualFoxProapplications.
Fromthere,realizingthatthemarketplaceforVisual
FoxProwaslimited,hedecidedtolearnVisualBasic
andSQLServer.
ChuckHawkinsisaseniorconsultantanddatabase
administratorinVirginiaBeach,Virginia.Heworksfor
CompassTechnologyManagement,wherehemanages
thedailyupsanddownsofmultipleserversforseveral
largeministries.HehasextensiveexperienceinT-SQL
programming,replication,performancetuning,
developermanagement,androutineserver
management.ChuckhasspokenattheProfessional
AssociationforSQLServerconferencesintheUnited
StatesandtheUK.Hehascontributedcolumnsto
severalmagazinesandwasacontributingauthorto
ProfessionalSQLServer2000DatabaseDesign.


SQLServer2000StoredProceduresHandbook
TonyBain

LouisDavidson
RobinDewson
ChuckHawkins
Apress™
Copyright©2003TonyBain,LouisDavidson,RobinDewson,andChuck
Hawkins
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AbouttheAuthors
TonyBain
TonyBainisthefounderofTonyBain&Associatesandhehasworked
withSQLServerforthelast6lastyears.Tonyispassionateaboutall
databasetechnologiesespeciallywhentheyrelatetoenterprise
availabilityandscalability.
Tonyspendsalotofhistimewritingandpresentingdatabasetopicsand

hecurrentlyhasMicrosoftCertifiedSystemEngineer,MicrosoftCertified


SolutionDeveloper,andMicrosoftCertifiedDatabaseAdministrator
certification.
ThankstoLinda,Laura,Stephanie,andWilliamfortheircontinued
supportandthanksalsotoCraigWalkerwhoisa.NETlegend!
LouisDavidson
LouisDavidsonhasbeeninthetechnologyindustryfortenyears,asa
corporatedatabasedeveloperandarchitect.Currently,heisservingasa
DatabaseAdministratorforCompassTechnologyManagementintheir
NashvilleDataCentersupportingtheChristianBroadcastingNetwork
andNorthStarStudiosinNashville,TN.
Davidsonhasabachelor'sdegreefromtheUniversityofTennesseeat
Chattanoogaincomputersciencewithaminorinmathematics(though
theminorinmathematicsismoreofanindicationtohowmuchmathUTC
requiredtogettheCSdegree,ratherthananygreatloveorskillinthe
subject).
Themajorityofhisexperience,withslightdeviationsintoVisualBasic,
hasbeenspentwithMicrosoftSQLServerfromversion1.0tothelatest
versionthatisinBeta.Louis'primaryareasofexpertiseareindatabase
architectureandcodinginTransact-SQL,andhehaswrittennumerous
storedproceduresandtriggersthroughouttheyears,thoughheseldom
hastheneedanymorewiththecodegenerationtoolshehasdeveloped
togenerateobjects,withonlyafewproceduresandtriggerstocodefrom
thegroundup.
Louishaspublished"ProfessionalSQLServer2000DatabaseDesign,"
alsobyApress.Thebookfollowsthecompletearcofdevelopinga
databasethroughrequirements,architecture,anddesign.Hehasalso
beenanactivevolunteerwithSQLPASSasapresenteranda

chairpersonintheirspecialinterestgroups.Ithasbeensaidthatinhis
ridiculouslysmallamountofsparetime,hetendstoplayalotofNintendo
(gottosavethatdarnPrincess,shewentoffandwascapturedbythe
sillydragon,again!)andwatchagreatdealoftelevision.Mostnotably,
hisfavoritesareoldEnglishprograms(theAvengers,TheSaint,Monty
Python,andBlackaddertonameafew).Quiteoften,thissparetimeis


alsospentwithhisnotebookcomputerwritingsomethingpertainingto
SQL.
RobinDewson
RobinhascomealongwaysincetheearlyheadydaysoftheSinclair
ZX80/81andSpectrum.Hewasfirstintroducedtocomputersatan
exhibitioninGlasgowwherehesawaCommodorePetmanipulatea
robotandheknewinstantlythatcomputerswastherouteforhim.
UnfortunatelythatrouteinitiallytookhimintoIBMmainframes.
However,hefeelsthatthisisacrucialkeystoneinhisoverallapproachto
computingandwithoutthishewouldnotbewhereheistoday.Well,that,
ScottishCollegeofTextiles,hisfamilyandofcoursemany,manybottles
ofIrnBru(whoneedscaffeine?).RobinmovedtoworkingwithPCs
nearly10yearsagowithFoxBASEandhasmovedfromtherethrough
VisualFoxPro,VisualBasic,Sybase,andofcourseSQLServer..Robin
canbecontactedat
TherearemanypeopleonceagainthatIwouldliketothankfor
differentreasons.AllthoseatWroxthroughouttheyearsbut
especiallyCilmara,Douglas,Cath,Helen,James,andChrisfor
differentreasons,butthanks!AndyatPinballManiaforkeepingmy
pinballmachinesworking,CharlieandDebbieatSeaPallingin
Norfolkforbeingtwogreatfriendsandbrilliantwithmychildrenin
theirarcade,PhillJupitus,Phil(2112rules!)Wilding,GideonCoe,Liz

Kershaw,andAndrewCollinsattheBBC's6Music,
(fortheexcellentmusicandhumorto
keepmegoingatwork,allmytradersatLehmansbutespecially
Anthony"Jock"Jawadforhisstaunchsupport,andmygoodfriend
JackMason.Ofcoursespecialthanksthoughtomymumanddad
forsortingoutthisgreatlifeforme,mysisterCarolandherfamily,
Eleanor,Erin,andLucasoutinAustraliabutmostofallmywifeJulie
whogoesthroughhellwitheachbookIwrite.Iamafraidthiswas
"notanotherone".ButyoucannowgoandenjoytheDonny
Osmondconcert.Alsomy3longsufferingkids,Scott,Cameron,and
Ellen.Let'sgoandseeamovie.


UptheBlues.()
ChuckHawkins
ChuckisaseniorconsultantanddatabaseadministratorinVirginia
Beach,Virginia.WorkingforCompassTechnologyManagement,he
currentlymanagesthedailyupsanddownsofmultipleserversfor
severallargeministries.HehasextensiveexperienceinT-SQL
programming,replication,performancetuning,developermanagement,
androutineservermanagement.
ChuckhasspokenatProfessionalAssociationforSQLServer
conferencesinChicago,London,Denver,andSeattle.Hehas
contributedcolumnstoseveralmagazinesandwasacontributingauthor
forLouisDavidson's"ProfessionalSQLServer2000DatabaseDesign,"
nowpublishedbyApress.Priortohislifeasacomputingprofessional,
ChucktaughtEnglishinJapanforfiveyears.
ChuckishappilymarriedtoKathyandadoptedKristinafromRussiafive
yearsagoonChristmasDay.Whennotworkingwithdatabases,helikes
toplaywithKristina,runlongdistances,andread"FirstThings"journal.

YoucangetintouchwithChuckat


Introduction
Aswellasbeingusedforfundamentaldatabaseadministration,stored
proceduresarethecornerstoneofanykindofdatabasesolution.Mastery
ofstoredproceduresisimperativetoaccessandmodifyyourdatainthe
mosteffectiveway,aswellastokeepyourdatabasesecureand
performingwell.Thisbookisamustonyourroadtothatmastery.
Thisbookisdedicatedtostoredproceduresandthesurroundingaspects
ofSQLServer2000thataffecttheiroperation.Inhereyouwillfindmany
usefultips,facts,andtechniquesthatwillhelpyoutogetthemostfrom
yourstoredprocedures.Whetheryouareaccessingdatafromaclient
application,performingdatabaseadministrationwithsystemstored
procedures,orevenusingextendedstoredprocedurestoworkwithother
partsoftheoperatingsystem,youwillhopefullyfindinformationthatwill
makeyoureviewyourowndealingswithstoredprocedures,andensure
thecontinuousimprovementofyourdatabasesolutions.


WhoIsThisBookFor?
SQLServer2000administratorsanddesignerswillbenefitfromthis
book,aswillexperiencedSQLServer2000developerswhoarealready
familiarwiththebasicconceptsofstoredprocedures.


BookOutline
Belowisadetailedoutlineofwhatthisbookcovers,chapterbychapter.

Chapter1–StoredProcedureOverview

Webeginbyexaminingwhatconstitutesastoredprocedureanddiscuss
differenttypesofstoredprocedures.Thenwewilllookatthedifference
betweensystemstoredproceduresanduserstoredprocedures,creating
anddesigningstoredprocedures,usingparametersandbestpractices,
flowcontrolstatements,recursion,andreturnvalues.

Chapter2–OptimizingandDebugging
Inthischapter,wewilldiscussoptimizingSQLServer'sstored
procedures.Here,ourfocuswillnotbeonoptimizingtheSQLstatements
themselves,butinstead,howSQLstatementscanbeoptimizedwithin
thecontextofastoredprocedure.Wewillalsodiscusserrorhandling,
signalingerrorconditions,anddebuggingstoredprocedures.

Chapter3–Cursors,Transactions,andConcurrency
Initially,thesearethreetopicsthatmightseemunrelated;however,upon
deeperdiscussion,wewilldiscoverthattheyarerelated.Cursorsare
mechanismstocodenon-set-basedoperationsintoT-SQLstatements.In
general,theiruseisconsideredbadpractice,butcanbeusefulwhen
buildingstoredproceduresifusedproperly.Inthischapterwewilllookat
accessingthemfromcodeandtheirtypicaluses.Transactionsareused
togrouptogethersimilaroperationsintooneatomiclogicaloperation,
andwewilllookatlookatsimple,nested,anddistributedtransactions,
andtheirusefromstoredprocedures.Concurrencyisrelatedtomultitaskingofoperations.Indatabases,weareconcernedwiththenumberof
queriesthatcanbeexecutedatthesametime,especiallymakinguseof
thesameresourcesanddata.Wewilllookatlocks,whicharethe
markersusedbySQLServertodecidewhetherthecommandscanbe
executedconcurrentlyornot,andalsodiscussmethodstomaximize
concurrencybyusingprogrammingschemestolimitSQLlocking

betweenread-onlyandread-writesessions.

Chapter4–TypicalUsesofStoredProcedures
Inthischapter,wewillfocusonthepurposesofstoredprocedureswithin
ourapplications,suchasencapsulatinglogic,improvingapplication
performance,easingadministration,abstractingtheunderlyingbase
tablesawayfromdevelopers,simplifyingcodeupdates,andimproving
databasesecurityanddatavalidation.

Chapter5–SystemStoredProcedures
Inthischapterwewilllookatsystemstoredprocedures,andtheir
implementationbyMicrosoft.Wewillalsolookatsomeofthe
undocumentedfunctionalitiesprovidedwithSQLServer,whichMicrosoft
usestomakecertainsystemstoredprocedureswork.Alongtheway,
we'llbegivingyoutipsandtricksonwhentouse(andonavoiding)their
quiteuseful,butobviously‘unsupported’,undocumentedfunctionalities.
IfyoumanageaSQLServerasapartofyourday-to-daytasks,youwill
findthischapterhelpful.There'sasectiononminingsystemstored
proceduresthatwillbeespeciallyusefultothoseinvolvedinT-SQL
coding.

Chapter6–UserDefinedFunctions
Userdefinedfunctions,knownmorecommonlyasUDFs,areroutines
calledfromT-SQLcodetoreturneitherasinglevalueorarowset,
providingthedeveloperwiththeabilitytocreatetheirowncustomized
functions,whichcanthenbeusedfromotherpartsoftheirT-SQLcode.
UDFshavesomefeaturesthatarecommontostoredproceduresbut
thereareanumberofrestrictions,aswell.Inthischapter,wewillbegin
bylookingatwhataUDFactuallyis,andthenmoveontolookatthe
differenttypesofUDFs,buildingandcallingfunctionsthatreturndifferent

typesofdata,usingschemabindingwithUDFs,andhowUDFsdiffer
fromstoredprocedures.


Chapter7–Triggers
Triggersarebestusedforenforcingbusinessrulesaswellasperforming
validationordatamodifications,whenothermethodsarenotsufficient.
Triggersaretypicallyusedintwoareas:creatingauditrecordsand
reflectingchangestocrucialbusinesstables,andvalidatingchanges
againstasetofbusinessrulescodedinT-SQL.Inthischapterwewill
lookatperformanceconsiderationswhenworkingwithtriggers,the
differenttypesoftriggers,transactionsandtriggers,andrecursive
triggers.

Chapter8–Security
Inthischapterwewillfirstanalyzesecuritythreatsandthecoresecurity
requirementofSQLServer–allowingdataaccessonlytoexplicitly
authorizedusers.Then,wewilllookattheproperimplementationof
storedproceduresforadequatelycounteringthesethreats.Finally,we
willexaminesomegeneralmethodsforsecuringourSQLServer
implementation,givingspecialemphasisonSQLServerstored
proceduresandthesystemstoredproceduresthatMicrosoftshipswith
SQLServer.


Chapter1:StoredProceduresOverview


Overview
WelcometotheSQLServer2000StoredProcedureshandbook.Here,

wewillcoverthedifferenttypesofstoredproceduresusedinSQLServer
2000andtheirusage.Wewillalsoexaminetheworkingofstored
procedures,thepotentiallytrickyareas,andhowtoavoidthem.
Accessingandmanipulatingdatawithinadatabaseisafairly
straightforwardoperation.Wecanbuildacompleteworkingapplication
withfoursimplecommands–SELECT,INSERT,DELETE,andUPDATE,
andperformalltherequiredtasks.Theskillinworkingwithdatabases
liesinbeingabletonotjustworkwiththesecommands,butalso
completeeachunitofworkefficiently.
Toachieveefficiency,adevelopermustconsideranumberoffactors
duringdevelopment.However,wewillconcentrateonrunningT-SQL
fromwithinstoredprocedures,inthisbook.Storedprocedurescantake
differentformsofdesignandimplementation,butthebasicsofthecode
aresimilar.Inthischapter,wewillexaminewhatconstitutesastored
procedureanddiscussdifferenttypes.Wewillcover:
Thedifferencebetweensystemstoredproceduresanduser
storedprocedures
Creatinganddesigningstoredprocedures
Usingparametersandbestpractices
Flowcontrolstatements
Recursion
Returnvalues


WhatisaStoredProcedure?
IfarepetitiveT-SQLtaskhastobeexecutedwithinanapplication,then
thebestrepositoryforitisaprogramcalledastoredprocedure,stored
inSQLServer.StoringthecodeinsidetheSQLServerobjectgivesus
manyadvantages,like:
Securityduetoencryption

Performancegainsduetocompilation
Beingabletoholdthecodeinacentralrepository:
AlteringthecodeinSQLServerwithoutreplicatingin
severaldifferentprograms
Beingabletokeepstatisticsonthecodetokeepit
optimized
Reductionintheamountofdatapassedoveranetworkby
keepingthecodeontheserver
Hidingtherawdatabyallowingonlystoredprocedurestogain
accesstothedata
Youmayhaveexecutedsomead-hocqueriesfortaskslikeinserting
data,queryinginformationinothersystems,orcreatingnewdatabase
objectssuchastables.Allthesetaskscanbeplacedwithinastored
procedure,sothatanydevelopercanrunthesamecodewithouthaving
torecreatetheT-SQLcommands.Also,generalisingthecodeforall
valuesmakesitgenericandreusable.
Storedproceduresaremorethanjusttoolsforperformingrepetitive
tasks.Theycanensuretheintegrityofdata(throughstandalonestored
proceduresortriggers),behaveassubroutinesforperformingpartofa
taskthatcanbecalledfromseveralroutines(knownasuser-defined
functions),orevenactasSQLServerroutinesforeveryonetouse.
Therearetwomaintypesofstoredprocedure–systemstored


proceduresanduser-definedstoredprocedures.Wewillseehowthese
differ,inthenextsection.Wealsohaveextendedstoredproceduresthat
canresideaseithersystemoruser-definedtypes.Extendedstored
proceduresgivefunctionalitythatisnotnecessarilycontainedwithinSQL
Server,likeallowingDOScommandstorunandworkingwithe-mail.Itis
alsopossibletocreateyourownextendedstoredprocedures.Thisbook

doesn'tcoverbuildingextendedstoredprocedures,asthesearewritten
usingC++libraries.

SystemStoredProcedures
AlthoughthereisanenginethatrunsmuchofSQLServer,anumberof
storedproceduressurroundthis.Thesearecalledwhileworkingwith
EnterpriseManager,orthroughaquerytool,suchasQueryAnalyzer.
TheseproceduresareinstalledwithSQLServer,andhence,wedon't
havetocreatethem.
Everytimeweaddormodifyatable,makeabackupplan,orperformany
otheradministrativefunctionfromwithinEnterpriseManager,weactually
callastoredprocedurespecificallywrittentocompletethedesiredaction.
Thesestoredproceduresareknownassystemstoredprocedures,which
arefunctionsthatenhancethebasicfunctionalityofSQLServeritself,
eitherbyextendingthefunctionalityofanexistingsystemstored
procedureorbycreatingnewfunctionalitythatenhancesthebasicsof
whatisalreadythere.
Forexample,thesp_whosystemstoredprocedurewilllistconnections
toSQLServer,includingallthesystemrunningprocesses,butifyoudo
notwanttoseethosesystemprocesses,youcanwriteanew
sp_whousersystemstoredprocedurebasedonsp_whobytaking
sp_whoasabasis,andcreatethenewprocedurefromthat.
Systemstoredproceduresareprefixedbysp_,soitisnotadvisableto
usesp_foranyofthestoredproceduresthatwecreate,unlessthey
formapartofourSQLServerinstallation.Creatingastoredprocedure
prefixedwithsp_andplacingitinthemasterdatabasewillmakeit
availabletoanydatabasewithouttheneedtoprefixthestoredprocedure


withthenameofthedatabase.

Letsclarifythiswithanexample.Ifwetakethesp_whostored
procedure,callitsp_mywho,storeitinthemasterdatabase,andmove
toanotherdatabasesuchasnorthwind,wecanstillexecute
sp_mywho,ratherthanhavingtospecifytheprocedureinthefully
qualifiedmannerasmaster.dbo.sp_mywho.
AlthoughSQLServercomeswithmanyusefulandrelevantsystem
storedproceduresbuiltin,thereisalwaysroomforimprovement.Wewill
discusshowwecanharnessthefullcapablitiesofSQLServerby
inspectingtheseandimprovetheusabilityofSQLServerbycreatingour
own,inChapter5.
Important Ifyouwanttoextendthefunctionalityofanexisting
systemstoredprocedure,donotaltertheexisting
procedure–createyourownversioninstead.
Ifwecreateourownsystemstoredprocedurethenwewillneedtoplace
themwithinallinstallationsofSQLServer(aninstanceofSQLServeris
aseparateinstallation,andhenceaseparateentity)inourorganization,
toensureconsistency.Thereareseveralreasonsfordoingthis.For
example,itispossibletocreatedevelopment,testing,andproduction
installationsascompletelyseparateentities.Wemayfindthe
developmentandtestinstanceononemachine,andtheproduction
instanceonadifferentone.
Wecanseethattherearethreeinstancesdefinedinthefollowing
screenshot–aDevelopmentinstance,aLiveinstance,andaLocal
instance.TheDevelopmentandLocalinstancesresideonthesame
computer,whiletheLiveinstanceisonaremotecomputer.Therefore,
eachinstancewouldhaveitsownstoredprocedurestoperformthe
administrativetasks:


Systemstoredproceduresresideinthemasterdatabaseorthemodel

databaseforeachinstanceinstalled.Everystoredprocedureresidingin
themodeldatabasewillbeplacedintoanydatabasethatwecreate
withinourSQLServerinstance,bydefault.
Important EachinstanceofSQLServer,evenifthereareseveral
instancesonthesamemachine,wouldhaveitsownset
ofstoredprocedures.
Whenwecreateanewdatabase,itisbasedonthemodeldatabase.
Therefore,anynewsystemoruserstoredproceduresaddedtothe
modeldatabasewillalsobeplacedintoeachnewdatabasethatwe
create.
Itisraretocreatesystemproceduresthatarespecifictoonedatabase.
Generally,theyareimplementedasuserstoredprocedures.Now,let's
takealookatthemandseehowthesedifferfromsystemstored
procedures.

UserStoredProcedures


Auserstoredprocedureisanyprogramthatisstoredandcompiled
withinSQLServer(butnotinthemasterdatabase)andprefixedwith
sp_.Userstoredprocedurescanbecategorizedintothreedistincttypes
–userstoredprocedures,triggers,anduserdefinedfunctions.Eachof
thesetypeshasitsfeatures,uses,limitations,anddifferences.
1. Userdefinedstoredproceduresprovideaninterfacetoasetof
processingwithouttheneedfortheendusertoknowthe
structureofthetables,thebusinesslogicoftheorganization,or
themathematicsinvolved,toproducetheendresult.Theyalso
provideasecuremethod,whichalongwithothersecurity
measures,canresultinadatabasewheredataisprotected
frommaliciousoraccidentalmodifications.

2. Atriggerisastoredprocedurewhichfireswhenaspecified
tableactiontakesplace.Youarealsolimitedtocertaincode
thatyoucanplaceinatrigger,asyoushouldnotreturnany
datafromatrigger.WewillseemoreofthisinChapter7.
3. Auserdefinedfunctionisastoredprocedurewhichcantake
parameters,butonlyreturnoneitemofinformation,eithera
scalarvalueoratableofdata.


CreatingStoredProcedures
Thecreationprocessdependsonwhatwewantittodo–wecaneither
buildthewholeprocedureimmediately,orbuildtheT-SQLfirst(formore
complexsolutions),checkitsperformance,andfinally,placeitinastored
procedure.BothwaysrequireustowraptheT-SQLcodewiththesame
CREATEPROCEDUREcommand.
Nowlet'stakealookatthesyntaxforcreatingastoredprocedure:

CREATEPROCEDUREprocedurename[parameter1datatype[length
parameter2...]
AS
BEGIN
...
END

Anexampleofasimplestoredprocedurefollows,wheretwonumbers
arepassedinandthemidpointofthetwonumbersislisted:
CREATEPROCEDUREut_MidPoint@LowerNumberint,@HigherNumbe
AS
BEGIN

DECLARE@Midint
IF@LowerNumber>@HigherNumber
RAISERROR('Youhaveenteredyournumbersthewrongway

SET@Mid=((@HigherNumber-@LowerNumber)/2)+@LowerN
SELECT@Mid
END
Atthetimeofcreation,SQLServertakesourcodeandparsesitforany
syntacticalerrors.Columnnamesandvariablesarecheckedfor
existenceatcompilation.Eveniftheydon'texist,anytemporarytables
createdwithinthestoredprocedurewillalsopassthecompilationstage.
Thisisknownasdeferrednameresolution.Itcanbeanassetora
drawback,aswecancreatetemporarytablesthatexistforthelifetimeof


thestoredprocedureexecutiononly,whichisdesirable,butifwedefinea
temporarytableandgetsomethingwronglateron,suchasacolumn
name,thenthecompilationwillnotpickupthiserror.
WhileexecutingtheCREATEPROCEDUREstatement,errorswillbe
reported.Onceitiscompiled,thedetailsofthestoredprocedureare
storedinthreesystemtablesintheconcerneddatabase:
sysobjects
Thistablecontainsarowforeachobjectthatiscreatedwithinthe
database.Ifyouwanttotrackanobjectinthedatabase,youcan
usethisasthemainroot.Apartfromtheobjectnameandtype,
thistablealsokeepstrackoftheobject'sownerandtimeof
creation.Thiscanbeusefulincrosscheckingthecontentsofour
sourcecontrolsystemwithourdatabase.
sysdepends
Thistablestoresdependencyinformationaboutobjects.For

example,whenastoredprocedure,view,ortriggeriscreated,
therecanbereferencestoothertables,views,orprocedures
withinit.Thesereferencesareknownasdependencies.Ifoneof
thedependentobjectsalters,wemayneedtorecompilethe
storedprocedure.Forexample,ifwealteranindexonatable,we
shouldrecompileeverydependentobject.
syscomments
ThisholdstheoriginalSQLdefinitionstatementsofthestored
procedure.Italsoholdsdetailsofviews,rules,defaults,triggers,
CHECKconstraints,andDEFAULTconstraints.
Itispossibletointerrogatethesedata.BylookingforrowswithaPinthe
sysobjectstable,wecanobtainallthestoredprocedures.Fromthat,
wecanfindoutwhenthestoredprocedurewascreated,andalsomove
tothesyscommentstablebyusingtheIDtoretrievedetailedinformation
abouttheprocedureitself,like,ifitisencryptedornot.
Thesetablesaresafeonlyforinterrogation,althoughdetailswithinthem
canalwayschangebetweenSQLServerreleases.Oneofthebest


methodstoensurethatthecodestoredinyoursourcecontrolsystem
matchesthatwithinyourdatabaseistocheckifthedatesandtimes
matchorarewithinafewsecondsofeachother.
Important Althoughwehavementionedthesetables,westrongly
advisethatyoushouldneveralteranyinformationin
thesetablesdirectly.

PerformanceConsideration
Whenastoredprocedureiscreated,itpassesthroughseveralsteps.
Firstofall,theT-SQLisparsedandresolved,savedtothedisk,and
storedinSQLServer.Thefirsttimetheprocedureisexecuted,the

procedureisretrievedandoptimized,onthebasisofanydataqueries
andvaluespassedthroughparameters.SQLServerwillinspectthecode
andtrytousethebestindexesonthetables,whicharereferencedby
checkingthestatisticsthatareheldforthosetables.
ThequeryplanisthencachedwithinSQLServer,readyforanyfurther
executions.SQLServerwillalwaysusethisplan,providingitdoesn't
retiretheplan.Thus,theperformancegainofstoredprocedurescomes
fromcompiledcachedplans.

NetworkConsideration
YoumayconsiderpassingT-SQLstatementstoinsertarowintoatable,
withveryfewcharacters.However,creatingastoredprocedureand
passingonlythenameofthestoredprocedure,parameters,andtheir
valuesreducesthecharactersneeded.Wecanseetheextraoverhead
imposedbytheT-SQLstatementsonournetworkbymultiplyingthis
differencebythenumberofcallsbeingmade.Thiscanbeasignificant
issue,especiallyifweareusingitovertheInternet.
Comparethenexttwostatementswitheachother:
INSERTINTOEmployeeTerritories(EmployeeID,TerritoryID)
VALUES(3,12345)