Chapter 12: Views: Limiting Access to Data

A view is a named select statement that is stored in a database as an object. A view allows you to display a subset of rows or columns in one or more tables. Use a view by invoking its name in Transact-SQL statements. You can use views to focus, simplify, and customize each user’s perception of the tables in a particular database. Views also provide a security mechanism by allowing users access only to the data they require.