This is the first part in the "MySQL 5.0 New Features" series. Using detailed examples, source code, and hands-on exercises, Peter Gulutzan shows you how to write stored procedures and shares the implementation details of Stored Procedures in MySQL 5.0. Check back for white papers on Triggers, Views, and Information Schema. (2005-03-16)

Perl stored procedures provide greater flexibility than the standard SQL stored procedures. For many users, they can provide performance and connectivity which is not available from the built in SQL implementation, where many users have to resort to writing UDFs.

A tour of External Language Stored Procedures for MySQL and how they overcome the challenges involved when using MySQL's UDFs and SQL stored procedures.