Procedure

A procedure is a series of activities, tasks, steps, decisions, calculations and other processes, that when undertaken in the sequence laid down produces the described result, product or outcome. Following a procedure should produce repeatable results for the same input conditions. Formal written procedures are usually used in manufacturing and process industry operations to ensure safety and consistency.

Recorded procedures are usually called instructions or recipes. High-level procedures are sometimes known as methods.

For example, the procedure for baking a cake from a packet mix may consist of the following steps:

1. Pre-heating the oven.
2. Opening the mix box.
3. Mixing the batter.
4. Putting the cake in.
5. Removing it when it's done.

In mathematics and science, a procedure, or algorithm, is a sequence of tasks or calculations that accomplish some goal.

In computer science, procedure is a subprogram, generally one which returns or is intended to return no direct result to its caller.

In law, procedure is the body of law and rules used in the administration of justice in the court system, see: civil procedure and criminal procedure.

What Is a Stored Procedure?

A Transact-SQL stored procedure is a set of T-SQL code that is stored in a SQL Server database and compiled when used. You create this set of code using the CREATE PROCEDURE command. You can use most Transact-SQL commands in a stored procedure; however, some commands (such as CREATE PROCEDURE, CREATE VIEW, SET SHOWPLAN_TEXT, SET SHOWPLAN_ALL, and so forth) must be the first (or only) statement in a command batch, and therefore aren't allowed in stored procedures. Most Transact-SQL commands behave the same in a stored procedure as they do in a command batch, but some have special capabilities or exhibit different behavior when executed within the context of a stored procedure. Listing 1–1 shows a simple stored procedure (only the code from the CREATE PROCEDURE line down to the ensuing GO actually constitutes the stored procedure)

See also

• HowTo
• Recipe
• Function closure