SQL syntax for a function - sql

Question

I have the following code, syntax somewhere is not correct,
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[Greeting](#Name [varchar])
RETURNS [int] AS
BEGIN
Declare #Gender varchar
Declare #Greeting varchar
select #Gender = Gender from [NameData].[dbo].[Names] where Name = #Name
select #Greeting = (case when #Gender = 'Female' then 'Ms.' else 'Mr.');
RETURN #Greeting
END
GO
The error I'm getting is:
Incorrect syntax near ')'.
Anyone can help?
Thanks

Answer 1

You are missing the end to your case statement. Probably more importantly, you are not using length specifications for varchar. In SQL Server always use length specifications. The default value depends on the context -- and in this context, the value is 1, which will produce incorrect results.
You should also end your statements with semicolons. And, fix the return value, because you do not seem to be returning an integer. So:
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[Greeting](
#Name varchar(255)
)
RETURNS varchar(255) AS
BEGIN
Declare #Gender varchar(255);
Declare #Greeting varchar(255);
select #Gender = Gender from [NameData].[dbo].[Names] where Name = #Name ;
select #Greeting = (case when #Gender = 'Female' then 'Ms.' else 'Mr.' end);
RETURN #Greeting;
END;
You do realize that all unrecognized names will be given a "greeting" of "Mr.". I assume that is intentional. Also, the function can be simplified, but I'm following your original logic as much as possible.

Answer 2

You have
RETURNS [int]
but are trying to return #Greeting which is declared a varchar
And also missing end for case statement.

Answer 3

You missed END in your case statement:
CREATE FUNCTION [dbo].[Greeting] (#Name [varchar(255)])
RETURNS [int] --also this will need to be changed to varchar()
AS
BEGIN
DECLARE #Gender VARCHAR(255) --added varchar length
DECLARE #Greeting VARCHAR(255) --added varchar length
SELECT #Gender = Gender
FROM [NameData].[dbo].[Names]
WHERE NAME = #Name
SELECT #Greeting = (
CASE
WHEN #Gender = 'Female'
THEN 'Ms.'
ELSE 'Mr.'
END --added this
);
RETURN #Greeting
END
GO