Question

Consider the following sequence of events:

1. A view v_Foo is defined
2. A user-defined function GetFoo() is defined that includes all columns from v_Foo (using ‘Select * …’)
3. The definition of v_Foo changes and now includes more columns
4. I now want GetFoo() to include the new columns in v_Foo, but it still references the old definition

I can just re-run the script that created GetFoo in the first place and all will be well; but that’s problematic for reasons I won’t go into. Is there any other way to refresh the definition of a user-defined function so that it’s in sync with its dependent objects?

Answer 1

Short, easy answer is No.

You have to redefine the RETURN TABLE statement in Tabular UDF, GetFoo()
whenever the definition of v_Foo changes.

But there is a way to get around it (translated as not practical).

1. Create a DDL trigger on ALTER_VIEW event.
2. Then use a dynamic SQL to create the GetFoo().