The Routine Signature

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The Routine Signature

The routine signature uniquely identifies the routine. The query parser uses the routine signature when you invoke a UDR. The routine signature includes the following information:

The type of routine: procedure or function
The routine name
The number of parameters
The data types of the parameters
The order of the parameters
The owner name

Important:

The signature of a routine does not include return types. Consequently, you cannot create two user-defined functions that have the same signature but different return types.

Using ANSI and Non-ANSI Routine Signatures

In a database that is not ANSI compliant, the routine signature must be unique within the entire database, irrespective of the owner. If you explicitly qualify the routine name with an owner name, the signature includes the owner name as part of the routine name.

American National Standards Institute

In an ANSI-compliant database, the routine signature must be unique within the name space of the user. The routine name always begins with the owner, in the following format:

owner.routine_name

End of American National Standards Institute

When you register the routine signature in a database with the CREATE FUNCTION or CREATE PROCEDURE statement, the database server stores the routine signature in the sysprocedures system catalog table. For more information, see Registering a User-Defined Routine.

Using the Routine Signature to Perform DBA Tasks

The database server uses the routine signature when you use SQL statements to perform DBA tasks (DROP, GRANT, REVOKE, and UPDATE STATISTICS) on routines. The signature identifies the routine on which to perform the DBA task. For example, the DROP statement that Figure 1 shows uses a routine signature.

Figure 1. Example of Routine Signature

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