A view, in
general, is a stored SQL query that exposes itself like a table. It can
restrict some users seeing some columns in the base tables. You can join
multiple tables with the SQL query of a view to make the results appear like a
single table.
Information
about views is found in places such as INFORMATION_SCHEMA.VIEWS. You can also
look at SYS.VIEWS in SQL Server. It will show you all views that have been
created. To generate a view you issue a CREATE VIEW command and specify the SQL
behind the view. To remove the view, you do a DROP VIEW.
The SQL source behind a view can be extracted by
querying SYS.COMMENTS. You can also use Object Explorer to spy on the SQL. You
can also employ the OBJECT_DEFINITION() function and pass in the object ID of
the view. The source code can be hidden if you choose the WITH ENCRYPTION option
when creating the view.
