Listing 1: Definition of fn_nums Function, Version 1

SET NOCOUNT ON;
USE tempdb;
GO
IF OBJECT_ID('dbo.fn_nums', 'IF') IS NOT NULL
  DROP FUNCTION dbo.fn_nums;
GO

CREATE FUNCTION dbo.fn_nums(@max AS INT)
   RETURNS TABLE AS RETURN

WITH Nums AS
(
  SELECT 1 AS n
  UNION ALL
  SELECT n + 1 FROM Nums WHERE n < @max
)
SELECT n FROM Nums;
GO