Defining and Using Table Procedures › When to Use a Table Procedure

When to Use a Table Procedure

You can use a table procedure to process non-SQL-defined data in a relational way even though the data does not conform to the rules established for such access.

Table procedures allow you to perform the following tasks:

• Make processing of complex structures, such as bills-of-materials, easier for an end user. Since the details of access to the underlying records or tables are encapsulated within the procedure, less knowledge is required on behalf of the user to process the data.
• Access non-SQL-defined data which does not conform to the rules associated with SQL. For example, a procedure can enable access to the variable portion of a record or support INSERT on a record without embedded foreign keys.
• Access all segments of a segmented database within a single SQL transaction. Since a table procedure can open more than one run unit or SQL session simultaneously, it can access the appropriate segment based on the value of an input parameter. If no appropriate segment key is available, it can access each segment serially.
• Access remote data. This enables a single SQL transaction to access data distributed across different nodes within an IDMS network while hiding the knowledge of the location of the data within the procedure itself.