Types of routines
There are many different types of routines. Routines can be grouped in different ways, but are primarily grouped by their system or user definitions, by their functionality, and by their implementation.
The supported routine definitions are:
The supported functional types of routines are:
- Routines: Procedures (also called stored procedures)
- Routines: Functions
- Routines: Methods
The supported routine implementations are:
The following diagram illustrates the classification hierarchy
of routines. All routines can be either built-in or user-defined.
The functional types of routines are in dark grey/blue boxes and
the supported routine implementations are in light grey/orange boxes.
Built-in routine implementations are emphasized, because this type
of implementation is unique.
The various types of routines provide extensive support for extending SQL language functionality and for developing more modular database applications.