Views in SQL

In SQL Server, a view is a pre-written query that is stored on the database. A view consists of a SELECT statement, and when you run the view, you see the results of it like you would when opening a table. Some people like to think of a view as a virtual table. This is because a view can pull together data from multiple tables, as well as aggregate data, and present it as though it is a single table.

Benefits of Views
A view can be useful when there are multiple users with different levels of access, who all need to see portions of the data in the database (but not necessarily all of the data). Views can do the following:

Restrict access to specific rows in a table
Restrict access to specific columns in a table
Join columns from multiple tables and present them as though they are part of a single table
Present aggregate information (such as the results of the COUNT function)