<P> Views can provide advantages over tables: </P> <Ul> <Li> Views can represent a subset of the data contained in a table . Consequently, a view can limit the degree of exposure of the underlying tables to the outer world: a given user may have permission to query the view, while denied access to the rest of the base table . </Li> <Li> Views can join and simplify multiple tables into a single virtual table . </Li> <Li> Views can act as aggregated tables, where the database engine aggregates data (sum, average, etc .) and presents the calculated results as part of the data . </Li> <Li> Views can hide the complexity of data . For example, a view could appear as Sales2000 or Sales2001, transparently partitioning the actual underlying table . </Li> <Li> Views take very little space to store; the database contains only the definition of a view, not a copy of all the data that it presents . </Li> <Li> Depending on the SQL engine used, views can provide extra security . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Views can represent a subset of the data contained in a table . Consequently, a view can limit the degree of exposure of the underlying tables to the outer world: a given user may have permission to query the view, while denied access to the rest of the base table . </Li> <Li> Views can join and simplify multiple tables into a single virtual table . </Li>

Sql server has how many types of views