You may want to review Udf vs. sp Thread #1057271 though I don't know how up to date the information is.

>Thanks for your input Cetin. We have been using UDFs, but they are too slow. The code is a little complicated, and we are trying several methods to speed it up. One is to move to procedures, where they can be compiled and optimized.
>
>Thanks again,
>
>Rollin
>
>>>Can an output parameter in a procedure be defined as a table?? I thought it could, but it does not seem to work, and I have not been able to find any statements on it one way or the other in BOL.
>>>
>>>Your input is appreciated.
>>
>>No but you can use a function instead. Functions can return a table.
>>Cetin