[sql] SQL server query to get the list of columns in a table along with Data types, NOT NULL, and PRIMARY KEY constraints

I need to write a query on SQL server to get the list of columns in a particular table, its associated data types (with length) and if they are not null. And I have managed to do this much.

But now i also need to get, in the same table, against a column - TRUE if that column is a primary key.

How do i do this?

My expected output is:

Column name | Data type | Length | isnull | Pk

Find combine result for Datatype and Length and is nullable in form of "NULL" and "Not null" Use below query.

SELECT c.name AS 'Column Name',
       t.name + '(' + cast(c.max_length as varchar(50)) + ')' As 'DataType',
       case 
         WHEN  c.is_nullable = 0 then 'null' else 'not null'
         END AS 'Constraint'
  FROM sys.columns c
  JOIN sys.types t
    ON c.user_type_id = t.user_type_id
 WHERE c.object_id    = Object_id('TableName')

you will find result as shown below.

Thank you.

marc_s's answer is good but it has a flaw if the primary key column(s) appear in other indexes in that those columns will appear more than once. e.g.

Demo:

create table dbo.DummyTable
(
    id int not null identity(0,1) primary key,
    Msg varchar(80) null
);

create index NC_DummyTable_id ON DummyTable(id);

Here's my stored procedure to solve problem:

create or alter procedure dbo.GetTableColumns
(
    @schemaname nvarchar(128),
    @tablename nvarchar(128)
)
AS
BEGIN
    SET NOCOUNT ON;

    with ctePKCols as
    (
        select 
            i.object_id,
            ic.column_id
        from 
            sys.indexes i
            join sys.index_columns ic ON i.object_id = ic.object_id AND i.index_id = ic.index_id
        where 
            i.is_primary_key = 1
    )
    SELECT
        c.name AS column_name,
        t.name AS typename,
        c.max_length AS MaxLength,
        c.precision,
        c.scale,
        c.is_nullable,
        is_primary_key = CASE WHEN ct.column_id IS NOT NULL THEN 1 ELSE 0 END
    FROM 
        sys.columns c
        JOIN sys.types t ON t.user_type_id = c.user_type_id
        LEFT JOIN ctePKCols ct ON ct.column_id = c.column_id AND ct.object_id = c.object_id
    WHERE 
        c.object_ID = OBJECT_ID(quotename(@schemaname) + '.' + quotename(@tablename))
    
END 
GO

exec dbo.GetTableColumns 'dbo', 'DummyTable'

Throwing another answer into the ring, this will give you those columns and more:

SELECT col.TABLE_CATALOG AS [Database]
     , col.TABLE_SCHEMA AS Owner
     , col.TABLE_NAME AS TableName
     , col.COLUMN_NAME AS ColumnName
     , col.ORDINAL_POSITION AS OrdinalPosition
     , col.COLUMN_DEFAULT AS DefaultSetting
     , col.DATA_TYPE AS DataType
     , col.CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS MaxLength
     , col.DATETIME_PRECISION AS DatePrecision
     , CAST(CASE col.IS_NULLABLE
                WHEN 'NO' THEN 0
                ELSE 1
            END AS bit)AS IsNullable
     , COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID('[' + col.TABLE_SCHEMA + '].[' + col.TABLE_NAME + ']'), col.COLUMN_NAME, 'IsIdentity')AS IsIdentity
     , COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID('[' + col.TABLE_SCHEMA + '].[' + col.TABLE_NAME + ']'), col.COLUMN_NAME, 'IsComputed')AS IsComputed
     , CAST(ISNULL(pk.is_primary_key, 0)AS bit)AS IsPrimaryKey
  FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS AS col
       LEFT JOIN(SELECT SCHEMA_NAME(o.schema_id)AS TABLE_SCHEMA
                      , o.name AS TABLE_NAME
                      , c.name AS COLUMN_NAME
                      , i.is_primary_key
                   FROM sys.indexes AS i JOIN sys.index_columns AS ic ON i.object_id = ic.object_id
                                                                     AND i.index_id = ic.index_id
                                         JOIN sys.objects AS o ON i.object_id = o.object_id
                                         LEFT JOIN sys.columns AS c ON ic.object_id = c.object_id
                                                                   AND c.column_id = ic.column_id
                  WHERE i.is_primary_key = 1)AS pk ON col.TABLE_NAME = pk.TABLE_NAME
                                                  AND col.TABLE_SCHEMA = pk.TABLE_SCHEMA
                                                  AND col.COLUMN_NAME = pk.COLUMN_NAME
 WHERE col.TABLE_NAME = 'YourTableName'
   AND col.TABLE_SCHEMA = 'dbo'
 ORDER BY col.TABLE_NAME, col.ORDINAL_POSITION;

SELECT COLUMN_NAME, IS_NULLABLE, DATA_TYPE, CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH FROM information_schema.columns WHERE table_name = '<name_of_table_or_view>'

Run SELECT * in the above statement to see what information_schema.columns returns.

This question has been previously answered - https://stackoverflow.com/a/11268456/6169225

In SQL 2012 you can use:

EXEC sp_describe_first_result_set N'SELECT * FROM [TableName]'

This will give you the column names along with their properties.

You could use the query:

select COLUMN_NAME, DATA_TYPE, CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH, 
       NUMERIC_PRECISION, DATETIME_PRECISION, 
       IS_NULLABLE 
from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
where TABLE_NAME='TableName'

to get all the metadata you require except for the Pk information.

SELECT  
   T.NAME AS [TABLE NAME]
   ,C.NAME AS [COLUMN NAME]
   ,P.NAME AS [DATA TYPE]
   ,P.MAX_LENGTH AS [Max_SIZE]
   ,C.[max_length] AS [ActualSizeUsed]
   ,CAST(P.PRECISION AS VARCHAR) +'/'+ CAST(P.SCALE AS VARCHAR) AS [PRECISION/SCALE]
FROM SYS.OBJECTS AS T
JOIN SYS.COLUMNS AS C
    ON T.OBJECT_ID = C.OBJECT_ID
JOIN SYS.TYPES AS P
    ON C.SYSTEM_TYPE_ID = P.SYSTEM_TYPE_ID
    AND C.[user_type_id] = P.[user_type_id]
WHERE T.TYPE_DESC='USER_TABLE'
  AND T.name = 'InventoryStatus'
ORDER BY 2

wite the table name in the query editor select the name and press Alt+F1 and it will bring all the information of the table.

Expanding on Alex's answer, you can do this to get the PK constraint

Select C.COLUMN_NAME, C.DATA_TYPE, C.CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH, C.NUMERIC_PRECISION, C.IS_NULLABLE, TC.CONSTRAINT_NAME
From INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS As C
    Left Join INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS As TC
      On TC.TABLE_SCHEMA = C.TABLE_SCHEMA
          And TC.TABLE_NAME = C.TABLE_NAME
          And TC.CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY'
Where C.TABLE_NAME = 'Table'

I must have missed that you want a flag to determine if the given column was part of the PK instead of the name of the PK constraint. For that you would use:

Select C.COLUMN_NAME, C.DATA_TYPE, C.CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH
    , C.NUMERIC_PRECISION, C.NUMERIC_SCALE
    , C.IS_NULLABLE
    , Case When Z.CONSTRAINT_NAME Is Null Then 0 Else 1 End As IsPartOfPrimaryKey
From INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS As C
    Outer Apply (
                Select CCU.CONSTRAINT_NAME
                From INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS As TC
                    Join INFORMATION_SCHEMA.CONSTRAINT_COLUMN_USAGE As CCU
                        On CCU.CONSTRAINT_NAME = TC.CONSTRAINT_NAME
                Where TC.TABLE_SCHEMA = C.TABLE_SCHEMA
                    And TC.TABLE_NAME = C.TABLE_NAME
                    And TC.CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY'
                    And CCU.COLUMN_NAME = C.COLUMN_NAME
                ) As Z
Where C.TABLE_NAME = 'Table'

IF EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES 
     WHERE TABLE_TYPE = 'BASE TABLE' AND TABLE_NAME = 'Table')
      BEGIN
        SELECT COLS.COLUMN_NAME, COLS.DATA_TYPE, COLS.CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH, 
              (SELECT 'Yes' FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS TC JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE KCU
                              ON COLS.TABLE_NAME = TC.TABLE_NAME 
                             AND TC.CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY'
                             AND KCU.TABLE_NAME = TC.TABLE_NAME
                             AND KCU.CONSTRAINT_NAME = TC.CONSTRAINT_NAME
                             AND KCU.COLUMN_NAME = COLS.COLUMN_NAME) AS KeyX
        FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS COLS WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'Table' ORDER BY KeyX DESC, COLUMN_NAME
      END

The stored procedure sp_columns returns detailed table information.

exec sp_columns MyTable

There is no primary key here, but this can help other users who would just like to have a table name with field name and basic field properties

USE [**YourDB**]
GO
SELECT tbl.name, fld.[Column Name],fld.[Constraint],fld.DataType 
FROM sys.all_objects as tbl left join 
(SELECT c.OBJECT_ID,  c.name AS 'Column Name',
       t.name + '(' + cast(c.max_length as varchar(50)) + ')' As 'DataType',
       case 
         WHEN  c.is_nullable = 0 then 'null' else 'not null'
         END AS 'Constraint'
  FROM sys.columns c
  JOIN sys.types t
    ON c.user_type_id = t.user_type_id
) as fld on tbl.OBJECT_ID = fld.OBJECT_ID
WHERE ( tbl.[type]='U' and tbl.[is_ms_shipped] = 0)
ORDER BY tbl.[name],fld.[Column Name]
GO

Try this:

select COLUMN_NAME, DATA_TYPE, CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH, IS_NULLABLE 
from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS IC
where TABLE_NAME = 'tablename' and COLUMN_NAME = 'columnname'

Query : EXEC SP_DESCRIBE_FIRST_RESULT_SET N'SELECT ANNUAL_INCOME FROM [DB_NAME].[DBO].[EMPLOYEE]'

NOTE: IN SOME IDE BEFORE SELECT N IS WORKING OR, IN SOME IDE WITHOUT N IS WORKING

To ensure you obtain the right length you would need to consider unicode types as a special case. See code below.

For further information see: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms176106.aspx

SELECT 
   c.name 'Column Name',
   t.name,
   t.name +
   CASE WHEN t.name IN ('char', 'varchar','nchar','nvarchar') THEN '('+

             CASE WHEN c.max_length=-1 THEN 'MAX'

                  ELSE CONVERT(VARCHAR(4),

                               CASE WHEN t.name IN ('nchar','nvarchar')

                               THEN  c.max_length/2 ELSE c.max_length END )

                  END +')'

          WHEN t.name IN ('decimal','numeric')

                  THEN '('+ CONVERT(VARCHAR(4),c.precision)+','

                          + CONVERT(VARCHAR(4),c.Scale)+')'

                  ELSE '' END

   as "DDL name",
   c.max_length 'Max Length in Bytes',
   c.precision ,
   c.scale ,
   c.is_nullable,
   ISNULL(i.is_primary_key, 0) 'Primary Key'
FROM    
   sys.columns c
INNER JOIN 
   sys.types t ON c.user_type_id = t.user_type_id
LEFT OUTER JOIN 
   sys.index_columns ic ON ic.object_id = c.object_id AND ic.column_id = c.column_id
LEFT OUTER JOIN 
   sys.indexes i ON ic.object_id = i.object_id AND ic.index_id = i.index_id
WHERE
   c.object_id = OBJECT_ID('YourTableName')

I just made marc_s "presentation ready":

SELECT 
    c.name 'Column Name',
    t.name 'Data type',
    IIF(t.name = 'nvarchar', c.max_length / 2, c.max_length) 'Max Length',
    c.precision 'Precision',
    c.scale 'Scale',
    IIF(c.is_nullable = 0, 'No', 'Yes') 'Nullable',
    IIF(ISNULL(i.is_primary_key, 0) = 0, 'No', 'Yes') 'Primary Key'
FROM    
    sys.columns c
INNER JOIN 
    sys.types t ON c.user_type_id = t.user_type_id
LEFT OUTER JOIN 
    sys.index_columns ic ON ic.object_id = c.object_id AND ic.column_id = c.column_id
LEFT OUTER JOIN 
    sys.indexes i ON ic.object_id = i.object_id AND ic.index_id = i.index_id
WHERE
    c.object_id = OBJECT_ID('YourTableName')

I am a little bit surprised nobody mentioned

sp_help 'mytable'

select
      c.name as [column name], 
      t.name as [type name],
      tbl.name as [table name]
from sys.columns c
         inner join sys.types t 
      on c.system_type_id = t.system_type_id 
         inner join sys.tables tbl
      on c.object_id = tbl.object_id
where
      c.object_id = OBJECT_ID('YourTableName1') 
          and 
      t.name like '%YourSearchDataType%'
union
(select
      c.name as [column name], 
      t.name as [type name],
      tbl.name as [table name]
from sys.columns c
         inner join sys.types t 
      on c.system_type_id = t.system_type_id 
         inner join sys.tables tbl
      on c.object_id = tbl.object_id
where
      c.object_id = OBJECT_ID('YourTableName2') 
          and 
      t.name like '%YourSearchDataType%')
union
(select
      c.name as [column name], 
      t.name as [type name],
      tbl.name as [table name]
from sys.columns c
         inner join sys.types t 
      on c.system_type_id = t.system_type_id 
         inner join sys.tables tbl
      on c.object_id = tbl.object_id
where
      c.object_id = OBJECT_ID('YourTableName3') 
          and 
      t.name like '%YourSearchDataType%')
order by tbl.name

To search which column is in which table based on your search data type for three different table in one database. This query is expandable to 'n' tables.