Which of the following describes external functions in Snowflake?

The correct answer is A. They are a type of User-defined Function (UDF). External functions in Snowflake are classified as a type of User-Defined Function (UDF). The key distinction is that unlike regular UDFs or UDTFs, external functions call code that lives OUTSIDE of Snowflake - typically via an API integration pointing to a cloud service such as…

Snowflake Cloud Data Platform Features and Architecture

Question

Options

AThey are a type of User-defined Function (UDF).
BThey contain their own SQL code.
CThey call code that is stored inside of Snowflake.
DThey can return multiple rows for each row received

How the community answered

(28 responses)

A
89% (25)
B
4% (1)
C
7% (2)

Explanation

External functions in Snowflake are classified as a type of User-Defined Function (UDF). The key distinction is that unlike regular UDFs or UDTFs, external functions call code that lives OUTSIDE of Snowflake - typically via an API integration pointing to a cloud service such as AWS API Gateway/Lambda or Azure API Management. They do not contain SQL code themselves; instead, they send row data to an external REST endpoint and receive a result back. They are scalar functions, returning exactly one row (one value) per input row, not multiple rows. Answer A is correct because the external function construct is part of the UDF family within Snowflake's extensibility framework.

Topics

#External Functions#User-defined Functions#UDFs#Functions

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