Understanding Views
A view is a virtual table whose contents are defined by a query. Like a real table, a view consists of a set of named columns and rows of data. Unless indexed, a view does not exist as a stored set of data values in a database. The rows and columns of data come from tables referenced in the query defining the view and are produced dynamically when the view is referenced.
A view acts as a filter on the underlying tables referenced in the view. The query that defines the view can be from one or more tables or from other views in the current or other databases. Distributed queries can also be used to define views that use data from multiple heterogeneous sources. This is useful, for example, if you want to combine similarly structured data from different servers, each of which stores data for a different region of your organization.
There are no restrictions on querying through views and few restrictions on modifying data through them.
This illustration shows a view based on two tables.
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See Also
Concepts
Types of Views
Scenarios for Using Views
View Resolution