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EXECUTE

Translation reference to convert SQL Server Execute statement to Snowflake

Some parts in the output code are omitted for clarity reasons.

Description

Transact-SQL EXECUTE statement allows the execution of a command string or character string within a Transact-SQL batch, a scalar-valued user-defined function, or a stored procedure. For more information regarding SQL Server EXECUTE, check here.

-- Execute a character string  
{ EXEC | EXECUTE }   
    ( { @string_variable | [ N ]'tsql_string' } [ + ...n ] )  
    [ AS { LOGIN | USER } = ' name ' ]  
[;]  

-- Execute a stored procedure or function  
[ { EXEC | EXECUTE } ]  
    {   
      [ @return_status = ]  
      { module_name [ ;number ] | @module_name_var }   
        [ [ @parameter = ] { value   
                           | @variable [ OUTPUT ]   
                           | [ DEFAULT ]   
                           }  
        ]  
      [ ,...n ]  
      [ WITH <execute_option> [ ,...n ] ]  
    }  
[;]

Sample Source Patterns

Execution of character string

EXECUTE can be used to perform SQL operations passed directly as literals. In the following example it is used within a stored procedure that will insert a new privacy department into the AdventureWorks2019 database.

SQL Server

IN -> SqlServer_01.sql
CREATE OR ALTER PROCEDURE AddPrivacyDepartment
AS 
EXECUTE ('INSERT INTO HumanResources.Department VALUES (''Privacy'', ''Executive General and Administration'', default)');

Snowflake Scripting

OUT -> SqlServer_01.sql
CREATE OR REPLACE PROCEDURE AddPrivacyDepartment ()
RETURNS VARCHAR
LANGUAGE SQL
COMMENT = '{"origin":"sf_sc","name":"snowconvert","version":{"major":1, "minor":0},"attributes":{"component":"transact"}}'
EXECUTE AS CALLER
AS
$$
BEGIN
!!!RESOLVE EWI!!! /*** SSC-EWI-0030 - THE STATEMENT BELOW HAS USAGES OF DYNAMIC SQL. ***/!!!
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'INSERT INTO HumanResources.Department VALUES ('Privacy', 'Executive General and Administration', default);';
END;
$$;

Execution of stored procedure

EXECUTE can also be used to call an existing stored procedure. The following example will call the AddPrivacyDepartment procedure that was created above. It will then run a SELECT to verify that the new department was successfully included.

SQL Server

IN -> SqlServer_02.sql
EXECUTE AddPrivacyDepartment;
SELECT DepartmentID, Name, GroupName FROM HumanResources.Department;

Snowflake Scripting

OUT -> SqlServer_02.sql
CALL AddPrivacyDepartment();

SELECT
DepartmentID,
Name,
GroupName
FROM
HumanResources.Department;

Execution of local variable and use of parameters

A common use case for the EXECUTE statement is when dynamic SQL statements are needed. In this cases instead of executing a string literal, the statement could be constructed dynamically and assigned to a local variable, which will then be executed. A set of arguments can be sent to the called stored procedure to construct the dynamic SQL command.

In the following example a simple SetNewPrice stored procedure is constructed, which uses the EXECUTE statement to set a new product price based on the arguments sent by the caller. Lastly a SELECT is performed to confirm the new product price.

SQL Server

IN -> SqlServer_03.sql