Database procedures can also contain SELECT statements. The procedure is declared using a RESULT clause to specify the number, name, and types of the columns in the result set. Result set columns are different from output parameters. For procedures with result sets, the CALL statement can be used in place of a SELECT statement in the cursor declaration:

EXEC SQL BEGIN DECLARE SECTION;
 char hv_name[100];
EXEC SQL END DECLARE SECTION;

EXEC SQL CREATE PROCEDURE female_employees()
  RESULT( name char(50) )
BEGIN
  SELECT GivenName || Surname FROM Employees
  WHERE Sex = 'f';
END;

EXEC SQL PREPARE S1 FROM 'CALL female_employees()';

EXEC SQL DECLARE C1 CURSOR FOR S1;
EXEC SQL OPEN C1;
for(;;) 
{
  EXEC SQL FETCH C1 INTO :hv_name;
  if( SQLCODE != SQLE_NOERROR ) break;
  printf( "%s\\n", hv_name );
}
EXEC SQL CLOSE C1;

In this example, the procedure has been invoked with an OPEN statement rather than an EXECUTE statement. The OPEN statement causes the procedure to execute until it reaches a SELECT statement. At this point, C1 is a cursor for the SELECT statement within the database procedure. You can use all forms of the FETCH statement (backward and forward scrolling) until you are finished with it. The CLOSE statement stops execution of the procedure.

If there had been another statement following the SELECT in the procedure, it would not have been executed. To execute statements following a SELECT, use the RESUME cursor-name statement. The RESUME statement either returns the warning SQLE_PROCEDURE_COMPLETE or it returns SQLE_NOERROR indicating that there is another cursor. The example illustrates a two-select procedure:

EXEC SQL CREATE PROCEDURE people()
  RESULT( name char(50) )
BEGIN
 SELECT GivenName || Surname
 FROM Employees;

 SELECT GivenName || Surname
 FROM Customers;
END;

EXEC SQL PREPARE S1 FROM 'CALL people()';
EXEC SQL DECLARE C1 CURSOR FOR S1;
EXEC SQL OPEN C1;
while( SQLCODE == SQLE_NOERROR ) 
{
  for(;;) 
  {
    EXEC SQL FETCH C1 INTO :hv_name;
    if( SQLCODE != SQLE_NOERROR ) break;
    printf( "%s\\n", hv_name );
  }
  EXEC SQL RESUME C1;
}
EXEC SQL CLOSE C1;

Dynamic cursors for CALL statements

These examples have used static cursors. Full dynamic cursors can also be used for the CALL statement.

For a description of dynamic cursors, see Dynamic SELECT statement.

The DESCRIBE statement works fully for procedure calls. A DESCRIBE OUTPUT produces a SQLDA that has a description for each of the result set columns.

If the procedure does not have a result set, the SQLDA has a description for each INOUT or OUT parameter for the procedure. A DESCRIBE INPUT statement produces a SQLDA having a description for each IN or INOUT parameter for the procedure.

DESCRIBE ALL

DESCRIBE ALL describes IN, INOUT, OUT, and RESULT set parameters. DESCRIBE ALL uses the indicator variables in the SQLDA to provide additional information.

The DT_PROCEDURE_IN and DT_PROCEDURE_OUT bits are set in the indicator variable when a CALL statement is described. DT_PROCEDURE_IN indicates an IN or INOUT parameter and DT_PROCEDURE_OUT indicates an INOUT or OUT parameter. Procedure RESULT columns have both bits clear.

After a describe OUTPUT, these bits can be used to distinguish between statements that have result sets (need to use OPEN, FETCH, RESUME, CLOSE) and statements that do not (need to use EXECUTE).

For a complete description, see DESCRIBE statement [ESQL].

Multiple result sets

If you have a procedure that returns multiple result sets, you must re-describe after each RESUME statement if the result sets change shapes.

You need to describe the cursor, not the statement, to re-describe the current position of the cursor.