2.2.2.6 Return Parameters

The response format for execution of a stored procedure is identical regardless of whether the request was sent as SQL Batch (section 2.2.1.4) or RPC Batch. It is always a tabular result-type message.

If the procedure explicitly sends any data, then the message starts with a single token stream of rows, informational messages, and error messages. This data is sent in the usual way.

When the RPC is invoked, some or all of its parameters are designated as output parameters. All output parameters have values returned from the server. For each output parameter, there is a corresponding return value, sent via the RETURNVALUE token. The RETURNVALUE token data stream is also used for sending back the value returned by a user-defined function (UDF), if it is called as an RPC. For more details about the RETURNVALUE token, see section 2.2.7.19.