A stored procedure is actually a subroutine available to any application accessing a relational database system. Stored procedures (sometimes also referred to as a proc, sproc, StoPro, or SP) are actually stored in the database data dictionary.

Typical uses for stored procedures include data validation (integrated into the database) or access control mechanisms. Furthermore, stored procedures are used to consolidate and centralize logic that was originally implemented in applications. Large or complex processing that might require the execution of several SQL statements is moved into stored procedures, and all applications call the procedures only.

.