A view is a virtual table that is logically defined over one or more tables in a location. Its definition includes a SELECT statement that determines the columns displayed, as well as the values it contains at any point in time. Views permit you to query subsets of data or joins of multiple tables as though they are an actual table. Only the view definition is stored in the location -- not the data retrieved by a view. Some views are updatable. Update commands performed on views actually affect the underlying table(s). Views may make it easier to access data by organizing it in more meaningful ways, or by restricting the rows retrieved to those that pertain to the needs of a particular application. Views can also be used for security reasons. For example, a user might be given access to only a specified set of records or columns.