CREATE PROCEDURE

Syntax

CREATE
    [OR REPLACE]
    [DEFINER = { user | CURRENT_USER | role | CURRENT_ROLE }]
    PROCEDURE [IF NOT EXISTS] sp_name ([proc_parameter[,...]])
    [characteristic ...] routine_body

proc_parameter:
    [ IN | OUT | INOUT ] param_name type

type:
    Any valid MariaDB data type

characteristic:
    LANGUAGE SQL
  | [NOT] DETERMINISTIC
  | { CONTAINS SQL | NO SQL | READS SQL DATA | MODIFIES SQL DATA }
  | SQL SECURITY { DEFINER | INVOKER }
  | COMMENT 'string'

routine_body:
    Valid SQL procedure statement

Description

Creates a stored procedure. By default, a routine is associated with the default database. To associate the routine explicitly with a given database, specify the name as db_name.sp_name when you create it.

When the routine is invoked, an implicit USE db_name is performed (and undone when the routine terminates). The causes the routine to have the given default database while it executes. USE statements within stored routines are disallowed.

When a stored procedure has been created, you invoke it by using the CALL statement (see CALL).

To execute the CREATE PROCEDURE statement, it is necessary to have the CREATE ROUTINE privilege. By default, MariaDB automatically grants the ALTER ROUTINE and EXECUTE privileges to the routine creator. See also Stored Routine Privileges.

The DEFINER and SQL SECURITY clauses specify the security context to be used when checking access privileges at routine execution time, as described here. Requires the SUPER privilege, or, from MariaDB 10.5.2, the SET USER privilege.

If the routine name is the same as the name of a built-in SQL function, you must use a space between the name and the following parenthesis when defining the routine, or a syntax error occurs. This is also true when you invoke the routine later. For this reason, we suggest that it is better to avoid re-using the names of existing SQL functions for your own stored routines.

The IGNORE_SPACE SQL mode applies to built-in functions, not to stored routines. It is always allowable to have spaces after a routine name, regardless of whether IGNORE_SPACE is enabled.

The parameter list enclosed within parentheses must always be present. If there are no parameters, an empty parameter list of () should be used. Parameter names are not case sensitive.

Each parameter can be declared to use any valid data type, except that the COLLATE attribute cannot be used.

For valid identifiers to use as procedure names, see Identifier Names.

Things to be Aware of With CREATE OR REPLACE

• One can't use OR REPLACE together with IF EXISTS.

CREATE PROCEDURE IF NOT EXISTS

If the IF NOT EXISTS clause is used, then the procedure will only be created if a procedure with the same name does not already exist. If the procedure already exists, then a warning will be triggered by default.

IN/OUT/INOUT

Each parameter is an IN parameter by default. To specify otherwise for a parameter, use the keyword OUT or INOUT before the parameter name.

An IN parameter passes a value into a procedure. The procedure might modify the value, but the modification is not visible to the caller when the procedure returns. An OUT parameter passes a value from the procedure back to the caller. Its initial value is NULL within the procedure, and its value is visible to the caller when the procedure returns. An INOUT parameter is initialized by the caller, can be modified by the procedure, and any change made by the procedure is visible to the caller when the procedure returns.

For each OUT or INOUT parameter, pass a user-defined variable in the CALL statement that invokes the procedure so that you can obtain its value when the procedure returns. If you are calling the procedure from within another stored procedure or function, you can also pass a routine parameter or local routine variable as an IN or INOUT parameter.

DETERMINISTIC/NOT DETERMINISTIC

DETERMINISTIC and NOT DETERMINISTIC apply only to functions. Specifying DETERMINISTC or NON-DETERMINISTIC in procedures has no effect. The default value is NOT DETERMINISTIC. Functions are DETERMINISTIC when they always return the same value for the same input. For example, a truncate or substring function. Any function involving data, therefore, is always NOT DETERMINISTIC.

CONTAINS SQL/NO SQL/READS SQL DATA/MODIFIES SQL DATA

CONTAINS SQL, NO SQL, READS SQL DATA, and MODIFIES SQL DATA are informative clauses that tell the server what the function does. MariaDB does not check in any way whether the specified clause is correct. If none of these clauses are specified, CONTAINS SQL is used by default.

MODIFIES SQL DATA means that the function contains statements that may modify data stored in databases. This happens if the function contains statements like DELETE, UPDATE, INSERT, REPLACE or DDL.

READS SQL DATA means that the function reads data stored in databases, but does not modify any data. This happens if SELECT statements are used, but there no write operations are executed.

CONTAINS SQL means that the function contains at least one SQL statement, but it does not read or write any data stored in a database. Examples include SET or DO.

NO SQL means nothing, because MariaDB does not currently support any language other than SQL.

The routine_body consists of a valid SQL procedure statement. This can be a simple statement such as SELECT or INSERT, or it can be a compound statement written using BEGIN and END. Compound statements can contain declarations, loops, and other control structure statements. See Programmatic and Compound Statements for syntax details.

MariaDB allows routines to contain DDL statements, such as CREATE and DROP. MariaDB also allows stored procedures (but not stored functions) to contain SQL transaction statements such as COMMIT.

For additional information about statements that are not allowed in stored routines, see Stored Routine Limitations.

Invoking stored procedure from within programs

For information about invoking stored procedures from within programs written in a language that has a MariaDB/MySQL interface, see CALL.

OR REPLACE

If the optional OR REPLACE clause is used, it acts as a shortcut for:

DROP PROCEDURE IF EXISTS name;
CREATE PROCEDURE name ...;

with the exception that any existing privileges for the procedure are not dropped.

sql_mode

MariaDB stores the sql_mode system variable setting that is in effect at the time a routine is created, and always executes the routine with this setting in force, regardless of the server SQL mode in effect when the routine is invoked.

Character Sets and Collations

Procedure parameters can be declared with any character set/collation. If the character set and collation are not specifically set, the database defaults at the time of creation will be used. If the database defaults change at a later stage, the stored procedure character set/collation will not be changed at the same time; the stored procedure needs to be dropped and recreated to ensure the same character set/collation as the database is used.

Oracle Mode

Examples

The following example shows a simple stored procedure that uses an OUT parameter. It uses the DELIMITER command to set a new delimiter for the duration of the process — see Delimiters in the mysql client.

DELIMITER //

CREATE PROCEDURE simpleproc (OUT param1 INT)
 BEGIN
  SELECT COUNT(*) INTO param1 FROM t;
 END;
//

DELIMITER ;

CALL simpleproc(@a);

SELECT @a;
+------+
| @a   |
+------+
|    1 |
+------+

Character set and collation:

DELIMITER //

CREATE PROCEDURE simpleproc2 (
  OUT param1 CHAR(10) CHARACTER SET 'utf8' COLLATE 'utf8_bin'
)
 BEGIN
  SELECT CONCAT('a'),f1 INTO param1 FROM t;
 END;
//

DELIMITER ;

CREATE OR REPLACE:

DELIMITER //

CREATE PROCEDURE simpleproc2 (
  OUT param1 CHAR(10) CHARACTER SET 'utf8' COLLATE 'utf8_bin'
)
 BEGIN
  SELECT CONCAT('a'),f1 INTO param1 FROM t;
 END;
//
ERROR 1304 (42000): PROCEDURE simpleproc2 already exists

DELIMITER ;

DELIMITER //

CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE simpleproc2 (
  OUT param1 CHAR(10) CHARACTER SET 'utf8' COLLATE 'utf8_bin'
)
 BEGIN
  SELECT CONCAT('a'),f1 INTO param1 FROM t;
 END;
//
ERROR 1304 (42000): PROCEDURE simpleproc2 already exists

DELIMITER ;
Query OK, 0 rows affected (0.03 sec)

See Also

• Identifier Names
• Stored Procedure Overview
• ALTER PROCEDURE
• DROP PROCEDURE
• SHOW CREATE PROCEDURE
• SHOW PROCEDURE STATUS
• Stored Routine Privileges
• Information Schema ROUTINES Table