Building and Working with User-Defined Functions
SQL 2000 introduced user-defined functions. User-defined functions add power and flexibility that was previously unavailable with views and stored procedures. Three types of user-defined functions exist: scalar, inline table-valued, and multistatement table-valued. The sections that follow cover each of these types of user-defined functions in detail.
Scalar Functions
Scalar functions return a single value of the type defined in the RETURNS clause. The body of the function is between a BEGIN and an END block. Scalar functions can return any data type except text, ntext, image, cursor, or timestamp. Here's an example of a scalar function:
CREATE FUNCTION dbo.FullName (@FirstName nVarChar(10), @LastName ...
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