SQL Server Functions
With version 7.0, Microsoft added more than 30 functions to an already large number of functions. More were added in SQL Server 2000 as well to support new features or capabilities, or to provide additional functionality.
Some of the SQL Server functions provide shortcuts to obtain information that could be retrieved in other ways. For instance, one function will obtain an object ID (OBJECT_ID()) if you know the object's name, but looking it up in the sysobjects table could also work.
Other functions, such as some of the mathematical functions, are more essential. (Okay, it could be argued that you can calculate the square root, for instance, using T-SQL code, but it is not efficient.)
Most functions have the following structure: ...
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