>Hey Michael -- on this same subject, can't you index a view? I thought that was one of the benefits of using it over a function...
>
Yes, you can index a view. By placing a clustered index on a view, you persist it to disk - similar to a table except that SQL Server takes care of updating the data as the base tables are modifed. There are some serious restrictions on using Index Views that make them rarely usable but when they are, it can be a very powerful optimization tool.

The BOL covers the topic pretty well. Look up Index Views.

-Mike