Forgot to mention... I changed the name of the table to TestTable to keep anyone from accidently wiping out a production table... just in case...

You'd probably get a faster response (a better one, too), if you posted the offending code, the table(s) schema, and give us a hint on the table size.

I absolutely agree with Richard and Tim... if you have dupes in a table, something is usually wrong.  However, it might not be your fault because of data you receive...

It really depends on the sproc you build... if it returns a scalar value, as does a function, then there's no advantage to a sproc and it's easier to use...

BigInt should do just about anything you need. BigInt holds a huge number ((2^63) -1) and much less behind the scenes processing is done by SQL Server on the Int and...

SOMETIMES the performance is similar... SOMETIMES a table variable will absolutely kill performance... read the following to find out why... pay particular attention to "Q3" and "Q4"...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;305977&Product=sql2k

I'd recommend that, whatever you do, you do NOT use "Set Transaction Isolation Level" in updatable views... don't know when it will happen but you will eventually run across an...

I'm pretty sure that you cannot pass an array... guess that leaves a CSV parameter...

If you don't have very many parameters in the "list", why not pass them as individual...

Unless it is a homework problem, I see no practical reason to index the view... the underlying indexes of the tables will inherently be used during normal view resolution. 

Strangely enough, you'll usually find a direct correlation between poor performance code and deadlocks and, with the exception of not allocating enough memory, hardware is not usually the problem nor...

It's apparent, now, the interviewer was asking the interviewee to think outside the box.  The original poster didn't explain it was an interview question until after I asked "why".  For...

I have an SQL Server based IVR at work (actually, 400 miles away from the main DB)... it uses a linked server connection with multiple pass through views as you...

Got it!  Thanks for the feedback, Susan.

You bet, Kevin.  Thank you and Niles for the feedback...

Kevin, could you tell us the actions you took?  Bet, lot's of folks would like to hear what the lickiest guy...

Thanks for looking, John.  If I find anything from Microsoft, I'll be sure to post it.