Why is it called Stored Procedure instead of Stored Sets?

[NickName]

Since RDMBS and its language SQL is set-based would it make more sense
to call a given stored process "Stored Sets" instead of current
theorically misleading Stored Procedure, as a measure to prod
programmers to think along the line of sets instead of procedure?

[Mark D Powell]

You are not storing a set; you are storing a procedure which hopefully
works on a set. A stored procedure is a chunk of logic, not of data.
I vote that the name is right. Not that your or mine opinion matters
on this. MS and other vendors made their naming decision years ago and
I cannot see any of the major RDBMS vendors chaning their terminology.

IMHO -- Mark D Powell --

[David Portas]

A stored procedure contains procedural code, not declarative set-based
code. Although the individual statements in the proc may or may not be
set-based ones.

--
David Portas
SQL Server MVP
--

[NickName]

"A stored procedure is a chunk of logic, not of data. "
TUS (Totally Unnecessary Statement).

What's inside that chunk of code could be procedural or could be
set-based. I was thinking loud or talking loud for that matter, not
intended to call for a change of its naming convention.

[--CELKO--]

They are procedural; a stored set is a table.