Stored Procedure
Stored Procedures are pre-compile objects which are compiled for first time and saved, which executes (compiled code) whenever it is called. Stored procedure does not necessarily return data, but it can return more than one result set. It can be used to affect data (update/insert/delete), can have transactions, can have error handling, do not have restrictions about non-deterministic functions, and can call other stored procedures.
User Defined Function
User defined function is compiled and executed every time when it is called. Function attempts to return something, always, and has several restrictions - for example, you can't use DML statements, call stored procedures, call NEWID(), etc. You also cannot have error handling, transactions, or non-deterministic functions (e.g. GETDATE() in SQL Server 2000).
Differences :
- Stored procedures compiled first time and reuse the execution plan when next time called while function compiled every time when called.
- Stored procedure can have input parameter as well as output parameter while user defined function can have only input parameters.
