Stored procedures

A stored procedure is a reusable database item that performs some operation on the database. A stored procedure contains SQL code that can, among other things, insert, update, or delete records. Stored procedures can also alter the structure of the database itself. For example, you can use a stored procedure to add a table column or even delete a table.

A stored procedure can also call another stored procedure, as well as accept input parameters and return multiple values to the calling procedure in the form of output parameters.

A stored procedure is reusable in the sense that you can reuse a single compiled version of the procedure to execute a database operation a number of times. If you know a database task will be executed more than a few times--or the same task will be executed by different applications--using a stored procedure to execute that task can make database operations more efficient.

Related topics

• Using stored procedures to modify databases (ColdFusion)
• Using stored procedures to modify databases (ASP.NET)
• Using stored procedures to modify databases (ASP and JSP)