"CREATE PROCEDURE SPNAME AS" vs. "CREATE PROCEDURE SPNAME AS BEGIN/END"

Question

When creating a stored procedure, does the BEGIN/END block serve and purpose?

eg,

CREATE PROCEDURE SPNAME
AS
  SELECT * FROM TABLE

vs.

CREATE PROCEDURE SPNAME
AS
BEGIN
  SELECT * FROM TABLE
END

Answer 1

As indicated in the CREATE PROCEDURE documentation, the BEGIN/END is optional:

{ [ BEGIN ] sql_statement [;] [ ...n ] [ END ] }

One or more Transact-SQL statements comprising the body of the procedure. You can use the optional BEGIN and END keywords to enclose the statements. For information, see the Best Practices, General Remarks, and Limitations and Restrictions sections that follow.

As a matter of personal preference, I always include them.