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Creating user-defined functions

You use the CREATE FUNCTION statement to create user-defined functions. You must have RESOURCE authority to execute this statement.

The following simple example creates a function that concatenates two strings, together with a space, to form a full name from a first name and a last name.

CREATE FUNCTION FullName( FirstName CHAR(30),
   LastName CHAR(30) )
RETURNS CHAR(61)
BEGIN
   DECLARE name CHAR(61);
   SET name = FirstName || ' ' || LastName;
   RETURN ( name );
END;

For more information, see CREATE FUNCTION statement.

The CREATE FUNCTION syntax differs slightly from that of the CREATE PROCEDURE statement. The following are distinctive differences:

• No IN, OUT, or INOUT keywords are required, as all parameters are IN parameters.

• The RETURNS clause is required to specify the data type being returned.

• The RETURN statement is required to specify the value being returned.