CREATE PROCEDURE and CREATE FUNCTION Syntax

CREATE
    [DEFINER = { user | CURRENT_USER }]
    PROCEDURE sp_name ([proc_parameter[,...]])
    [characteristic ...] routine_body

CREATE
    [DEFINER = { user | CURRENT_USER }]
    FUNCTION sp_name ([func_parameter[,...]])
    RETURNS type
    [characteristic ...] routine_body

proc_parameter:
    [ IN | OUT | INOUT ] param_name type

func_parameter:
    param_name type

type:
    Any valid MySQL data type

characteristic:
    COMMENT 'string'
  | LANGUAGE SQL
  | [NOT] DETERMINISTIC
  | { CONTAINS SQL | NO SQL | READS SQL DATA | MODIFIES SQL DATA }
  | SQL SECURITY { DEFINER | INVOKER }

routine_body:
    Valid SQL routine statement

These statements create stored routines. By default, a routine is associated with the default database. To associate the routine explicitly with a given database, specify the name asdb_name.sp_name when you create it.

The CREATE FUNCTION statement is also used in MySQL to support UDFs (user-defined functions). SeeSection 22.3, “Adding New Functions to MySQL”. A UDF can be regarded as an external stored function. Stored functions share their namespace with UDFs. SeeSection 9.2.4, “Function Name Parsing and Resolution”, for the rules describing how the server interprets references to different kinds of functions.

To invoke a stored procedure, use the CALL statement (see Section 13.2.1, “CALL Syntax”). To invoke a stored function, refer to it in an expression. The function returns a value during expression evaluation.

CREATE PROCEDURE andCREATE FUNCTION require the CREATE ROUTINE privilege. They might also require theSUPER privilege, depending on the DEFINER value, as described later in this section. If binary logging is enabled,CREATE FUNCTION might require the SUPER privilege, as described in Section 18.7, “Binary Logging of Stored Programs”.

By default, MySQL automatically grants the ALTER ROUTINE and EXECUTE privileges to the routine creator. This behavior can be changed by disabling theautomatic_sp_privileges system variable. See Section 18.2.2, “Stored Routines and MySQL Privileges”.

The DEFINER and SQL SECURITY clauses specify the security context to be used when checking access privileges at routine execution time, as described later in this section.

If the routine name is the same as the name of a built-in SQL function, a syntax error occurs unless you use a space between the name and the following parenthesis when defining the routine or invoking it later. For this reason, avoid using the names of existing SQL functions for your own stored routines.

The IGNORE_SPACE SQL mode applies to built-in functions, not to stored routines. It is always permissible to have spaces after a stored routine name, regardless of whetherIGNORE_SPACE is enabled.

The parameter list enclosed within parentheses must always be present. If there are no parameters, an empty parameter list of() should be used. Parameter names are not case sensitive.

Each parameter is an IN parameter by default. To specify otherwise for a parameter, use the keywordOUT or INOUT before the parameter name.

Note

Specifying a parameter as IN, OUT, or INOUT is valid only for a PROCEDURE. For a FUNCTION, parameters are always regarded asIN parameters.

An IN parameter passes a value into a procedure. The procedure might modify the value, but the modification is not visible to the caller when the procedure returns. AnOUT parameter passes a value from the procedure back to the caller. Its initial value isNULL within the procedure, and its value is visible to the caller when the procedure returns. AnINOUT parameter is initialized by the caller, can be modified by the procedure, and any change made by the procedure is visible to the caller when the procedure returns.

For each OUT or INOUT parameter, pass a user-defined variable in theCALL statement that invokes the procedure so that you can obtain its value when the procedure returns. If you are calling the procedure from within another stored procedure or function, you can also pass a routine parameter or local routine variable as an IN or INOUT parameter.

Routine parameters cannot be referenced in statements prepared within the routine; seeSection D.1, “Restrictions on Stored Programs”.

The following example shows a simple stored procedure that uses an OUT parameter:

mysql> delimiter //

mysql> CREATE PROCEDURE simpleproc (OUT param1 INT)
    -> BEGIN
    ->   SELECT COUNT(*) INTO param1 FROM t;
    -> END//
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> delimiter ;

mysql> CALL simpleproc(@a);
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT @a;
+------+
| @a   |
+------+
| 3    |
+------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

The example uses the mysql client delimiter command to change the statement delimiter from ; to // while the procedure is being defined. This enables the; delimiter used in the procedure body to be passed through to the server rather than being interpreted bymysql itself. See Section 18.1, “Defining Stored Programs”.

The RETURNS clause may be specified only for a FUNCTION, for which it is mandatory. It indicates the return type of the function, and the function body must contain aRETURN value statement. If theRETURN statement returns a value of a different type, the value is coerced to the proper type. For example, if a function specifies anENUM or SET value in the RETURNS clause, but theRETURN statement returns an integer, the value returned from the function is the string for the correspondingENUM member of set of SET members.

The following example function takes a parameter, performs an operation using an SQL function, and returns the result. In this case, it is unnecessary to usedelimiter because the function definition contains no internal; statement delimiters:

mysql> CREATE FUNCTION hello (s CHAR(20))
mysql> RETURNS CHAR(50) DETERMINISTIC
    -> RETURN CONCAT('Hello, ',s,'!');
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> SELECT hello('world');
+----------------+
| hello('world') |
+----------------+
| Hello, world!  |
+----------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

Parameter types and function return types can be declared to use any valid data type. TheCOLLATE attribute can be used if preceded by the CHARACTER SET attribute.

The routine_body consists of a valid SQL routine statement. This can be a simple statement such asSELECT or INSERT, or a compound statement written using BEGIN and END. Compound statements can contain declarations, loops, and other control structure statements. The syntax for these statements is described inSection 13.6, “MySQL Compound-Statement Syntax”.

MySQL permits routines to contain DDL statements, such as CREATE and DROP. MySQL also permits stored procedures (but not stored functions) to contain SQL transaction statements such asCOMMIT. Stored functions may not contain statements that perform explicit or implicit commit or rollback. Support for these statements is not required by the SQL standard, which states that each DBMS vendor may decide whether to permit them.

Statements that return a result set can be used within a stored procedure but not within a stored function. This prohibition includesSELECT statements that do not have an INTO var_list clause and other statements such asSHOW, EXPLAIN, and CHECK TABLE. For statements that can be determined at function definition time to return a result set, aNot allowed to return a result set from a function error occurs (ER_SP_NO_RETSET). For statements that can be determined only at runtime to return a result set, a PROCEDURE %s can't return a result set in the given context error occurs (ER_SP_BADSELECT).

USE statements within stored routines are not permitted. When a routine is invoked, an implicitUSE db_name is performed (and undone when the routine terminates). The causes the routine to have the given default database while it executes. References to objects in databases other than the routine default database should be qualified with the appropriate database name.

For additional information about statements that are not permitted in stored routines, seeSection D.1, “Restrictions on Stored Programs”.

For information about invoking stored procedures from within programs written in a language that has a MySQL interface, seeSection 13.2.1, “CALL Syntax”.

MySQL stores the sql_mode system variable setting in effect when a routine is created or altered, and always executes the routine with this setting in force,regardless of the current server SQL mode when the routine begins executing.

The switch from the SQL mode of the invoker to that of the routine occurs after evaluation of arguments and assignment of the resulting values to routine parameters. If you define a routine in strict SQL mode but invoke it in nonstrict mode, assignment of arguments to routine parameters does not take place in strict mode. If you require that expressions passed to a routine be assigned in strict SQL mode, you should invoke the routine with strict mode in effect.

The COMMENT characteristic is a MySQL extension, and may be used to describe the stored routine. This information is displayed by theSHOW CREATE PROCEDURE and SHOW CREATE FUNCTION statements.

The LANGUAGE characteristic indicates the language in which the routine is written. The server ignores this characteristic; only SQL routines are supported.

A routine is considered “deterministic” if it always produces the same result for the same input parameters, and“not deterministic” otherwise. If neitherDETERMINISTIC nor NOT DETERMINISTIC is given in the routine definition, the default isNOT DETERMINISTIC. To declare that a function is deterministic, you must specifyDETERMINISTIC explicitly.

Assessment of the nature of a routine is based on the “honesty” of the creator: MySQL does not check that a routine declaredDETERMINISTIC is free of statements that produce nondeterministic results. However, misdeclaring a routine might affect results or affect performance. Declaring a nondeterministic routine asDETERMINISTIC might lead to unexpected results by causing the optimizer to make incorrect execution plan choices. Declaring a deterministic routine asNONDETERMINISTIC might diminish performance by causing available optimizations not to be used.

If binary logging is enabled, the DETERMINISTIC characteristic affects which routine definitions MySQL accepts. SeeSection 18.7, “Binary Logging of Stored Programs”.

A routine that contains the NOW() function (or its synonyms) or RAND() is nondeterministic, but it might still be replication-safe. ForNOW(), the binary log includes the timestamp and replicates correctly.RAND() also replicates correctly as long as it is called only a single time during the execution of a routine. (You can consider the routine execution timestamp and random number seed as implicit inputs that are identical on the master and slave.)

Several characteristics provide information about the nature of data use by the routine. In MySQL, these characteristics are advisory only. The server does not use them to constrain what kinds of statements a routine will be permitted to execute.

• CONTAINS SQL indicates that the routine does not contain statements that read or write data. This is the default if none of these characteristics is given explicitly. Examples of such statements areSET @x = 1 or DO RELEASE_LOCK('abc'), which execute but neither read nor write data.

• NO SQL indicates that the routine contains no SQL statements.

• READS SQL DATA indicates that the routine contains statements that read data (for example,SELECT), but not statements that write data.

• MODIFIES SQL DATA indicates that the routine contains statements that may write data (for example,INSERT or DELETE).

The SQL SECURITY characteristic can be DEFINER or INVOKER to specify the security context; that is, whether the routine executes using the privileges of the account named in the routineDEFINER clause or the user who invokes it. This account must have permission to access the database with which the routine is associated. The default value isDEFINER. The user who invokes the routine must have theEXECUTE privilege for it, as must the DEFINER account if the routine executes in definer security context.

The DEFINER clause specifies the MySQL account to be used when checking access privileges at routine execution time for routines that have theSQL SECURITY DEFINER characteristic.

If a user value is given for the DEFINER clause, it should be a MySQL account specified as 'user_name'@'host_name' (the same format used in theGRANT statement), CURRENT_USER, or CURRENT_USER(). The default DEFINER value is the user who executes the CREATE PROCEDURE or CREATE FUNCTION or statement. This is the same as specifyingDEFINER = CURRENT_USER explicitly.

If you specify the DEFINER clause, these rules determine the validDEFINER user values:

• If you do not have the SUPER privilege, the only permitted user value is your own account, either specified literally or by usingCURRENT_USER. You cannot set the definer to some other account.

• If you have the SUPER privilege, you can specify any syntactically valid account name. If the account does not actually exist, a warning is generated.

• Although it is possible to create a routine with a nonexistent DEFINER account, an error occurs at routine execution time if the SQL SECURITY value is DEFINER but the definer account does not exist.

For more information about stored routine security, see Section 18.6, “Access Control for Stored Programs and Views”.

Within a stored routine that is defined with the SQL SECURITY DEFINER characteristic,CURRENT_USER returns the routine's DEFINER value. For information about user auditing within stored routines, seeSection 6.3.12, “SQL-Based MySQL Account Activity Auditing”.

Consider the following procedure, which displays a count of the number of MySQL accounts listed in themysql.user table:

CREATE DEFINER = 'admin'@'localhost' PROCEDURE account_count()
BEGIN
  SELECT 'Number of accounts:', COUNT(*) FROM mysql.user;
END;

The procedure is assigned a DEFINER account of 'admin'@'localhost' no matter which user defines it. It executes with the privileges of that account no matter which user invokes it (because the default security characteristic isDEFINER). The procedure succeeds or fails depending on whether invoker has theEXECUTE privilege for it and 'admin'@'localhost' has the SELECT privilege for the mysql.user table.

Now suppose that the procedure is defined with the SQL SECURITY INVOKER characteristic:

CREATE DEFINER = 'admin'@'localhost' PROCEDURE account_count()
SQL SECURITY INVOKER
BEGIN
  SELECT 'Number of accounts:', COUNT(*) FROM mysql.user;
END;

The procedure still has a DEFINER of 'admin'@'localhost', but in this case, it executes with the privileges of the invoking user. Thus, the procedure succeeds or fails depending on whether the invoker has theEXECUTE privilege for it and the SELECT privilege for the mysql.user table.

The server handles the data type of a routine parameter, local routine variable created withDECLARE, or function return value as follows:

• Assignments are checked for data type mismatches and overflow. Conversion and overflow problems result in warnings, or errors in strict SQL mode.

• Only scalar values can be assigned. For example, a statement such as SET x = (SELECT 1, 2) is invalid.

• For character data types, if there is a CHARACTER SET attribute in the declaration, the specified character set and its default collation is used. If theCOLLATE attribute is also present, that collation is used rather than the default collation. If there is noCHARACTER SET attribute, the database character set and collation in effect at routine creation time are used. (The database character set and collation are given by the value of thecharacter_set_database and collation_database system variables.)

  If you change the database default character set or collation, stored routines that use the database defaults must be dropped and recreated so that they use the new defaults.