SQL and External Environment User-Defined Functions

There are two mechanisms for creating user-defined functions in SAP Sybase IQ. You can use the SQL language to write the function, or you can use the ESQL, ODBC, Java, Perl, or PHP external environments.

Do not confuse SQL UDFs with external C and C++ UDFs. External UDFs require a special license. For information on external UDFs, see the User-Defined Functions manual.

• User-Defined Functions in SQL
  You can implement your own functions in SQL using the CREATE FUNCTION statement. The RETURN statement inside the CREATE FUNCTION statement determines the data type of the function.
• User-Defined Functions in Java
  Although SQL functions are useful, Java classes provide a more powerful and flexible way of implementing user-defined functions, with the additional advantage that you can move them from the database server to a client application if desired.