Microsoft Exam 70-761 Topic 7 Question 2 Discussion

The OUTPUT Clause returns information from, or expressions based on, each row affected by an INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or MERGE statement. These results can be returned to the processing application for use in such things as confirmation messages, archiving, and other such application requirements. The results can also be inserted into a table or table variable. Additionally, you can capture the results of an OUTPUT clause in a nested INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, or MERGE statement, and insert those results into a target table or view.

Note: If the column modified by the .RITE clause is referenced in an OUTPUT clause, the complete value of the column, either the before image in deleted.column_name or the after image in inserted.column_name, is returned to the specified column in the table variable.