Sql-server – Multiple-View Query Optimisation

I'm not sure if I'm understanding your question properly. I created a user with the ability to create views for his own schema.

SQL> create user view_user identified by password default tablespace users quota unlimited on users;

User created.

SQL> grant create session, create table, create view to view_user;

Grant succeeded.

SQL> connect view_user
Enter password: 
Connected.
SQL> CREATE TABLE Members (ID number(10), Name varchar2(100), Street_No varchar2(100), ZIP number(5), City varchar2(100));

Table created.

SQL> CREATE VIEW MembersNamesOnly AS SELECT ID, Name FROM Members;

View created.

SQL> 

I'm wondering if these views could be re-written using CTEs, to somehow 'pre-fetch' the modified/pre-fixed schemas using the functions, and then query the tables with SELECT INTO to populate data into the view.

No, this isn't possible with a view. You could do something broadly along these lines with a multi-statement function (MSUDF), but:

1. This would still require a static schema definition for the table variable; and
2. Careful design would be required to avoid terrible performance; and
3. All potential base query predicates must be supplied as optional parameters

A multi-statement function would potentially materialize the entire 'view' result set in a table variable, before any predicates in the base query were applied. If the result is large, this overhead will likely be prohibitive.

You could push predicates into the MSUDF using parameters, but then the function body becomes a mess of conditional predicates of the form column = @value OR @value IS NULL, which would require OPTION (RECOMPILE) in the MSUDF to optimize well.

Note that even with the best possible outcome, the users of the view will have to change their queries from view references to MSUDF references (with all parameters specified, DEFAULT or NULL passed for those that are not needed). This may not be workable.

All that said, you need to be certain what is causing the performance problem in the first place. The question does not supply an example of a problematic query plan, so some of what follows is educated guesswork:

There are two features of the current scheme that leap out at me:

1. The use of ISNULL and calculated columns prevents the optimizer from pushing base-query predicates down into the underlying in-line functions and base tables. You might get better results for the ISNULL part by rewriting the LEFT JOIN as a UNION ALL of an inner join and an anti-semi-join of the two tables. Properly written, this would expose only base column names, allowing the optimizer to push predicates successfully.

2. The in-line functions use an MSUDF to split the supplied CSV into row values. This is a pattern that often causes optimization problems, because the size and distribution of the result is unknown. A query plan that is optimal for a CSV of '1,2,3' is likely not optimal for a NULL CSV. Again OPTION (RECOMPILE) could help with this. It will simplify the compiled logic for the NULL case, avoid parameter-sniffing issues, as well as providing cardinality information for the MSUDF result. Distribution statistics will still not be available though.