When are computed columns appropriate?

Question

I\'m considering designing a table with a computed column in Microsoft SQL Server 2008. It would be a simple calculation like (ISNULL(colA,(0)) + ISNULL(colB,(0))) - like a tot

Answer 1

In my experience, they're most useful/appropriate when they can be used in other places like an index or a check constraint, which sometimes requires that the column be persisted (physically stored in the table). For further details, see Computed Columns and Creating Indexes on Computed Columns.