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Software Engineering vocabulary · Databases and Persistence

Stored procedure

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/ˌstɔːrd prəˈsiːdʒər/nounCommon term

In software engineering, stored procedure means: A named block of SQL code saved inside the database that can take parameters and be run again and again with a single call.

In Turkish: saklı yordam, stored procedure, SP

How it is used

Very common in SQL Server and Oracle shops, often shortened to SP or 'proc'. You create, call or execute (EXEC) a stored procedure. Supporters like the speed and central logic; critics say business rules hidden in the database are hard to test and version.

Example sentences

  1. The month-end report is generated by a stored procedure that runs at midnight.

  2. Don't change that stored procedure; three other systems call it.

Common collocations

  • call a stored procedure
  • execute a stored procedure
  • write a stored procedure
  • stored procedure parameter
  • triggerA piece of code stored in the database that runs automatically when a certain event, such as an insert, update or delete, happens on a table.
  • viewA saved SELECT query that you can use like a table. It usually stores no data of its own and shows the current result of the query each time.
  • SQLStructured Query Language: the standard language used to create tables and to read, add, change and delete data in relational databases.
  • transactionA group of database operations that are treated as one unit: either all of them succeed together or none of them is applied.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Databases and Persistence

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