I have a SQL Server database and I want to know what columns and types it has. I'd prefer to do this through a query rather than using a GUI like Enterprise Manager. Is there a way to do this?
This question is related to
sql
sql-server
The answer is
There are a few methods to get metadata about a table:
EXEC sp_help tablename
Will return several result sets, describing the table, it's columns and constraints.
The INFORMATION_SCHEMA views will give you the information you want, though unfortunately you have to query the views and join them manually.
If you are using FirstResponderKit from Brent Ozar team, you can run this query also:
exec sp_blitzindex @tablename='MyTable'
It will return all information about table:
- indexes with their usage statistics(reads, writes, locks, etc), space used and other
- missing indexes
- columns
- foreign keys
- statistics contents
Of course it's not a system and not so universal stp like sp_help or sp_columns, but it returns all possible information about your table and I think it's worth creating it at your environment and mentioning it here.
There are a few methods to get metadata about a table:
EXEC sp_help tablename
Will return several result sets, describing the table, it's columns and constraints.
The INFORMATION_SCHEMA views will give you the information you want, though unfortunately you have to query the views and join them manually.
The SQL Server equivalent to Oracle's describe command is the stored proc sp_help
The describe command gives you the information about the column names, types, length, etc.
In SQL Server, let's say you want to describe a table 'mytable' in schema 'myschema' in the database 'mydb', you can do following:
USE mydb;
exec sp_help 'myschema.mytable';
I wrote an sql*plus DESC(RIBE) like select (displays the column comments, too) in t-sql:
USE YourDB
GO
DECLARE @objectName NVARCHAR(128) = 'YourTable';
SELECT
a.[NAME]
,a.[TYPE]
,a.[CHARSET]
,a.[COLLATION]
,a.[NULLABLE]
,a.[DEFAULT]
,b.[COMMENTS]
-- ,a.[ORDINAL_POSITION]
FROM
(
SELECT
COLUMN_NAME AS [NAME]
,CASE DATA_TYPE
WHEN 'char' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + ')'
WHEN 'numeric' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(NUMERIC_PRECISION AS VARCHAR) + ', ' + CAST(NUMERIC_SCALE AS VARCHAR) + ')'
WHEN 'nvarchar' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + ')'
WHEN 'varbinary' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + ')'
WHEN 'varchar' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + ')'
ELSE DATA_TYPE
END AS [TYPE]
,CHARACTER_SET_NAME AS [CHARSET]
,COLLATION_NAME AS [COLLATION]
,IS_NULLABLE AS [NULLABLE]
,COLUMN_DEFAULT AS [DEFAULT]
,ORDINAL_POSITION
FROM
INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE
TABLE_NAME = @objectName
) a
FULL JOIN
(
SELECT
CAST(value AS NVARCHAR) AS [COMMENTS]
,CAST(objname AS NVARCHAR) AS [NAME]
FROM
::fn_listextendedproperty ('MS_Description', 'user', 'dbo', 'table', @objectName, 'column', default)
) b
ON a.NAME COLLATE YourCollation = b.NAME COLLATE YourCollation
ORDER BY
a.[ORDINAL_POSITION];
The above mentioned select can be used in a system marked stored procedure and it can be called from any database of your instance on a simple way:
USE master;
GO
IF OBJECT_ID('sp_desc', 'P') IS NOT NULL
DROP PROCEDURE sp_desc
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE sp_desc (
@tableName nvarchar(128)
) AS
BEGIN
DECLARE @dbName sysname;
DECLARE @schemaName sysname;
DECLARE @objectName sysname;
DECLARE @objectID int;
DECLARE @tmpTableName varchar(100);
DECLARE @sqlCmd nvarchar(4000);
SELECT @dbName = PARSENAME(@tableName, 3);
IF @dbName IS NULL SELECT @dbName = DB_NAME();
SELECT @schemaName = PARSENAME(@tableName, 2);
IF @schemaName IS NULL SELECT @schemaName = SCHEMA_NAME();
SELECT @objectName = PARSENAME(@tableName, 1);
IF @objectName IS NULL
BEGIN
PRINT 'Object is missing from your function call!';
RETURN;
END;
SELECT @objectID = OBJECT_ID(@dbName + '.' + @schemaName + '.' + @objectName);
IF @objectID IS NULL
BEGIN
PRINT 'Object [' + @dbName + '].[' + @schemaName + '].[' + @objectName + '] does not exist!';
RETURN;
END;
SELECT @tmpTableName = '#tmp_DESC_' + CAST(@@SPID AS VARCHAR) + REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(CAST(CONVERT(CHAR, GETDATE(), 121) AS VARCHAR), '-', ''), ' ', ''), ':', ''), '.', '');
--PRINT @tmpTableName;
SET @sqlCmd = '
USE ' + @dbName + '
CREATE TABLE ' + @tmpTableName + ' (
[NAME] nvarchar(128) NOT NULL
,[TYPE] varchar(50)
,[CHARSET] varchar(50)
,[COLLATION] varchar(50)
,[NULLABLE] varchar(3)
,[DEFAULT] nvarchar(4000)
,[COMMENTS] nvarchar(3750));
INSERT INTO ' + @tmpTableName + '
SELECT
a.[NAME]
,a.[TYPE]
,a.[CHARSET]
,a.[COLLATION]
,a.[NULLABLE]
,a.[DEFAULT]
,b.[COMMENTS]
FROM
(
SELECT
COLUMN_NAME AS [NAME]
,CASE DATA_TYPE
WHEN ''char'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + '')''
WHEN ''numeric'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(NUMERIC_PRECISION AS VARCHAR) + '', '' + CAST(NUMERIC_SCALE AS VARCHAR) + '')''
WHEN ''nvarchar'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + '')''
WHEN ''varbinary'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + '')''
WHEN ''varchar'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + '')''
ELSE DATA_TYPE
END AS [TYPE]
,CHARACTER_SET_NAME AS [CHARSET]
,COLLATION_NAME AS [COLLATION]
,IS_NULLABLE AS [NULLABLE]
,COLUMN_DEFAULT AS [DEFAULT]
,ORDINAL_POSITION
FROM
INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE
TABLE_NAME = ''' + @objectName + '''
) a
FULL JOIN
(
SELECT
CAST(value AS NVARCHAR) AS [COMMENTS]
,CAST(objname AS NVARCHAR) AS [NAME]
FROM
::fn_listextendedproperty (''MS_Description'', ''user'', ''' + @schemaName + ''', ''table'', ''' + @objectName + ''', ''column'', default)
) b
ON a.NAME COLLATE Hungarian_CI_AS = b.NAME COLLATE Hungarian_CI_AS
ORDER BY
a.[ORDINAL_POSITION];
SELECT * FROM ' + @tmpTableName + ';'
--PRINT @sqlCmd;
EXEC sp_executesql @sqlCmd;
RETURN;
END;
GO
EXEC sys.sp_MS_marksystemobject sp_desc
GO
To execute the procedure type:
EXEC sp_desc 'YourDB.YourSchema.YourTable';
If you want to get a description an object of the current database (and schema) simple type:
EXEC sp_desc 'YourTable';
As sp_desc is a system marked procedure, you can even leave the exec command, too (not recommended anyway):
sp_desc 'YourTable';
The problem with those answers is that you're missing the key info. While this is a bit messy this is a quick version I came up with to make sure it contains the same info the MySQL Describe displays.
Select SC.name AS 'Field', ISC.DATA_TYPE AS 'Type', ISC.CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS 'Length', SC.IS_NULLABLE AS 'Null', I.is_primary_key AS 'Key', SC.is_identity AS 'Identity'
From sys.columns AS SC
LEFT JOIN sys.index_columns AS IC
ON IC.object_id = OBJECT_ID('dbo.Expenses') AND
IC.column_id = SC.column_id
LEFT JOIN sys.indexes AS I
ON I.object_id = OBJECT_ID('dbo.Expenses') AND
IC.index_id = I.index_id
LEFT JOIN information_schema.columns ISC
ON ISC.TABLE_NAME = 'Expenses'
AND ISC.COLUMN_NAME = SC.name
WHERE SC.object_id = OBJECT_ID('dbo.Expenses')
You can use following: sp_help tablename
Example: sp_help Customer
OR Use Shortcut Keys
Selectthe desired table and press ALT+F1.
Example: Customer Press ALT+F1.
SELECT C.COLUMN_NAME, C.IS_NULLABLE, C.DATA_TYPE, TC.CONSTRAINT_TYPE, C.COLUMN_DEFAULT
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS AS C
FULL JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.CONSTRAINT_COLUMN_USAGE AS CC ON C.COLUMN_NAME = CC.COLUMN_NAME
FULL JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS AS TC ON CC.CONSTRAINT_NAME = TC.CONSTRAINT_NAME
WHERE C.TABLE_NAME = '<Table Name>';
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[describe]
(
@SearchStr nvarchar(max)
)
AS
BEGIN
SELECT
CONCAT([COLUMN_NAME],' ',[DATA_TYPE],' ',[CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH],' ',
(SELECT CASE [IS_NULLABLE] WHEN 'NO' THEN 'NOT NULL' ELSE 'NULL' END),
(SELECT CASE WHEN [COLUMN_DEFAULT] IS NULL THEN '' ELSE CONCAT(' DEFAULT ',[COLUMN_DEFAULT]) END)
) AS DESCRIPTION
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_NAME LIKE @SearchStr
END
This is the code I use within the EntityFramework Reverse POCO Generator (available here)
Table SQL:
SELECT c.TABLE_SCHEMA AS SchemaName,
c.TABLE_NAME AS TableName,
t.TABLE_TYPE AS TableType,
c.ORDINAL_POSITION AS Ordinal,
c.COLUMN_NAME AS ColumnName,
CAST(CASE WHEN IS_NULLABLE = 'YES' THEN 1
ELSE 0
END AS BIT) AS IsNullable,
DATA_TYPE AS TypeName,
ISNULL(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH, 0) AS [MaxLength],
CAST(ISNULL(NUMERIC_PRECISION, 0) AS INT) AS [Precision],
ISNULL(COLUMN_DEFAULT, '') AS [Default],
CAST(ISNULL(DATETIME_PRECISION, 0) AS INT) AS DateTimePrecision,
ISNULL(NUMERIC_SCALE, 0) AS Scale,
CAST(COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_SCHEMA) + '.' + QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_NAME)), c.COLUMN_NAME, 'IsIdentity') AS BIT) AS IsIdentity,
CAST(CASE WHEN COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_SCHEMA) + '.' + QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_NAME)), c.COLUMN_NAME, 'IsIdentity') = 1 THEN 1
WHEN COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_SCHEMA) + '.' + QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_NAME)), c.COLUMN_NAME, 'IsComputed') = 1 THEN 1
WHEN DATA_TYPE = 'TIMESTAMP' THEN 1
ELSE 0
END AS BIT) AS IsStoreGenerated,
CAST(CASE WHEN pk.ORDINAL_POSITION IS NULL THEN 0
ELSE 1
END AS BIT) AS PrimaryKey,
ISNULL(pk.ORDINAL_POSITION, 0) PrimaryKeyOrdinal,
CAST(CASE WHEN fk.COLUMN_NAME IS NULL THEN 0
ELSE 1
END AS BIT) AS IsForeignKey
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS c
LEFT OUTER JOIN (SELECT u.TABLE_SCHEMA,
u.TABLE_NAME,
u.COLUMN_NAME,
u.ORDINAL_POSITION
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE u
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS tc
ON u.TABLE_SCHEMA = tc.CONSTRAINT_SCHEMA
AND u.TABLE_NAME = tc.TABLE_NAME
AND u.CONSTRAINT_NAME = tc.CONSTRAINT_NAME
WHERE CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY') pk
ON c.TABLE_SCHEMA = pk.TABLE_SCHEMA
AND c.TABLE_NAME = pk.TABLE_NAME
AND c.COLUMN_NAME = pk.COLUMN_NAME
LEFT OUTER JOIN (SELECT DISTINCT
u.TABLE_SCHEMA,
u.TABLE_NAME,
u.COLUMN_NAME
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE u
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS tc
ON u.TABLE_SCHEMA = tc.CONSTRAINT_SCHEMA
AND u.TABLE_NAME = tc.TABLE_NAME
AND u.CONSTRAINT_NAME = tc.CONSTRAINT_NAME
WHERE CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'FOREIGN KEY') fk
ON c.TABLE_SCHEMA = fk.TABLE_SCHEMA
AND c.TABLE_NAME = fk.TABLE_NAME
AND c.COLUMN_NAME = fk.COLUMN_NAME
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES t
ON c.TABLE_SCHEMA = t.TABLE_SCHEMA
AND c.TABLE_NAME = t.TABLE_NAME
WHERE c.TABLE_NAME NOT IN ('EdmMetadata', '__MigrationHistory')
Foreign Key SQL:
SELECT FK.name AS FK_Table,
FkCol.name AS FK_Column,
PK.name AS PK_Table,
PkCol.name AS PK_Column,
OBJECT_NAME(f.object_id) AS Constraint_Name,
SCHEMA_NAME(FK.schema_id) AS fkSchema,
SCHEMA_NAME(PK.schema_id) AS pkSchema,
PkCol.name AS primarykey,
k.constraint_column_id AS ORDINAL_POSITION
FROM sys.objects AS PK
INNER JOIN sys.foreign_keys AS f
INNER JOIN sys.foreign_key_columns AS k
ON k.constraint_object_id = f.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.indexes AS i
ON f.referenced_object_id = i.object_id
AND f.key_index_id = i.index_id
ON PK.object_id = f.referenced_object_id
INNER JOIN sys.objects AS FK
ON f.parent_object_id = FK.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.columns AS PkCol
ON f.referenced_object_id = PkCol.object_id
AND k.referenced_column_id = PkCol.column_id
INNER JOIN sys.columns AS FkCol
ON f.parent_object_id = FkCol.object_id
AND k.parent_column_id = FkCol.column_id
ORDER BY FK_Table, FK_Column
Extended Properties:
SELECT s.name AS [schema],
t.name AS [table],
c.name AS [column],
value AS [property]
FROM sys.extended_properties AS ep
INNER JOIN sys.tables AS t
ON ep.major_id = t.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.schemas AS s
ON s.schema_id = t.schema_id
INNER JOIN sys.columns AS c
ON ep.major_id = c.object_id
AND ep.minor_id = c.column_id
WHERE class = 1
ORDER BY t.name
In addition to the ways shown in other answers, you can use
SELECT TOP 0 * FROM table_name
This will give you the name of each column with no results in them, and completes almost instantly with minimal overhead.
You can use the sp_columns stored procedure:
exec sp_columns MyTable
Use this Query
Select * From INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS Where TABLE_NAME = 'TABLENAME'
The SQL Server equivalent to Oracle's describe command is the stored proc sp_help
The describe command gives you the information about the column names, types, length, etc.
In SQL Server, let's say you want to describe a table 'mytable' in schema 'myschema' in the database 'mydb', you can do following:
USE mydb;
exec sp_help 'myschema.mytable';
In addition to above questions, if we have table in DB like db_name.dbo.table_name, we may use following steps
Connect with DB
USE db_name;Use
EXEC sp_helpand don't forget to put table name as'dbo.tablename'if you havedboas schema.exec sp_help 'dbo.table_name'
This should work!
You can use the sp_help 'TableName'
Just in case you don't want to use stored proc, here's a simple query version
select *
from information_schema.columns
where table_name = 'aspnet_Membership'
order by ordinal_position
select * from sysobjects where name='TABLENAME'
If you are using FirstResponderKit from Brent Ozar team, you can run this query also:
exec sp_blitzindex @tablename='MyTable'
It will return all information about table:
- indexes with their usage statistics(reads, writes, locks, etc), space used and other
- missing indexes
- columns
- foreign keys
- statistics contents
Of course it's not a system and not so universal stp like sp_help or sp_columns, but it returns all possible information about your table and I think it's worth creating it at your environment and mentioning it here.
In addition to above questions, if we have table in DB like db_name.dbo.table_name, we may use following steps
Connect with DB
USE db_name;Use
EXEC sp_helpand don't forget to put table name as'dbo.tablename'if you havedboas schema.exec sp_help 'dbo.table_name'
This should work!
CREATE PROCEDURE [dbo].[describe]
(
@SearchStr nvarchar(max)
)
AS
BEGIN
SELECT
CONCAT([COLUMN_NAME],' ',[DATA_TYPE],' ',[CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH],' ',
(SELECT CASE [IS_NULLABLE] WHEN 'NO' THEN 'NOT NULL' ELSE 'NULL' END),
(SELECT CASE WHEN [COLUMN_DEFAULT] IS NULL THEN '' ELSE CONCAT(' DEFAULT ',[COLUMN_DEFAULT]) END)
) AS DESCRIPTION
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_NAME LIKE @SearchStr
END
This is the code I use within the EntityFramework Reverse POCO Generator (available here)
Table SQL:
SELECT c.TABLE_SCHEMA AS SchemaName,
c.TABLE_NAME AS TableName,
t.TABLE_TYPE AS TableType,
c.ORDINAL_POSITION AS Ordinal,
c.COLUMN_NAME AS ColumnName,
CAST(CASE WHEN IS_NULLABLE = 'YES' THEN 1
ELSE 0
END AS BIT) AS IsNullable,
DATA_TYPE AS TypeName,
ISNULL(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH, 0) AS [MaxLength],
CAST(ISNULL(NUMERIC_PRECISION, 0) AS INT) AS [Precision],
ISNULL(COLUMN_DEFAULT, '') AS [Default],
CAST(ISNULL(DATETIME_PRECISION, 0) AS INT) AS DateTimePrecision,
ISNULL(NUMERIC_SCALE, 0) AS Scale,
CAST(COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_SCHEMA) + '.' + QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_NAME)), c.COLUMN_NAME, 'IsIdentity') AS BIT) AS IsIdentity,
CAST(CASE WHEN COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_SCHEMA) + '.' + QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_NAME)), c.COLUMN_NAME, 'IsIdentity') = 1 THEN 1
WHEN COLUMNPROPERTY(OBJECT_ID(QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_SCHEMA) + '.' + QUOTENAME(c.TABLE_NAME)), c.COLUMN_NAME, 'IsComputed') = 1 THEN 1
WHEN DATA_TYPE = 'TIMESTAMP' THEN 1
ELSE 0
END AS BIT) AS IsStoreGenerated,
CAST(CASE WHEN pk.ORDINAL_POSITION IS NULL THEN 0
ELSE 1
END AS BIT) AS PrimaryKey,
ISNULL(pk.ORDINAL_POSITION, 0) PrimaryKeyOrdinal,
CAST(CASE WHEN fk.COLUMN_NAME IS NULL THEN 0
ELSE 1
END AS BIT) AS IsForeignKey
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS c
LEFT OUTER JOIN (SELECT u.TABLE_SCHEMA,
u.TABLE_NAME,
u.COLUMN_NAME,
u.ORDINAL_POSITION
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE u
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS tc
ON u.TABLE_SCHEMA = tc.CONSTRAINT_SCHEMA
AND u.TABLE_NAME = tc.TABLE_NAME
AND u.CONSTRAINT_NAME = tc.CONSTRAINT_NAME
WHERE CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY') pk
ON c.TABLE_SCHEMA = pk.TABLE_SCHEMA
AND c.TABLE_NAME = pk.TABLE_NAME
AND c.COLUMN_NAME = pk.COLUMN_NAME
LEFT OUTER JOIN (SELECT DISTINCT
u.TABLE_SCHEMA,
u.TABLE_NAME,
u.COLUMN_NAME
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE u
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS tc
ON u.TABLE_SCHEMA = tc.CONSTRAINT_SCHEMA
AND u.TABLE_NAME = tc.TABLE_NAME
AND u.CONSTRAINT_NAME = tc.CONSTRAINT_NAME
WHERE CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'FOREIGN KEY') fk
ON c.TABLE_SCHEMA = fk.TABLE_SCHEMA
AND c.TABLE_NAME = fk.TABLE_NAME
AND c.COLUMN_NAME = fk.COLUMN_NAME
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES t
ON c.TABLE_SCHEMA = t.TABLE_SCHEMA
AND c.TABLE_NAME = t.TABLE_NAME
WHERE c.TABLE_NAME NOT IN ('EdmMetadata', '__MigrationHistory')
Foreign Key SQL:
SELECT FK.name AS FK_Table,
FkCol.name AS FK_Column,
PK.name AS PK_Table,
PkCol.name AS PK_Column,
OBJECT_NAME(f.object_id) AS Constraint_Name,
SCHEMA_NAME(FK.schema_id) AS fkSchema,
SCHEMA_NAME(PK.schema_id) AS pkSchema,
PkCol.name AS primarykey,
k.constraint_column_id AS ORDINAL_POSITION
FROM sys.objects AS PK
INNER JOIN sys.foreign_keys AS f
INNER JOIN sys.foreign_key_columns AS k
ON k.constraint_object_id = f.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.indexes AS i
ON f.referenced_object_id = i.object_id
AND f.key_index_id = i.index_id
ON PK.object_id = f.referenced_object_id
INNER JOIN sys.objects AS FK
ON f.parent_object_id = FK.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.columns AS PkCol
ON f.referenced_object_id = PkCol.object_id
AND k.referenced_column_id = PkCol.column_id
INNER JOIN sys.columns AS FkCol
ON f.parent_object_id = FkCol.object_id
AND k.parent_column_id = FkCol.column_id
ORDER BY FK_Table, FK_Column
Extended Properties:
SELECT s.name AS [schema],
t.name AS [table],
c.name AS [column],
value AS [property]
FROM sys.extended_properties AS ep
INNER JOIN sys.tables AS t
ON ep.major_id = t.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.schemas AS s
ON s.schema_id = t.schema_id
INNER JOIN sys.columns AS c
ON ep.major_id = c.object_id
AND ep.minor_id = c.column_id
WHERE class = 1
ORDER BY t.name
You can use the sp_columns stored procedure:
exec sp_columns MyTable
Please use the following sql query; this worked for my case.
select * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.Columns where table_name = 'tablename';
Just double click on the table name and press Alt+F1
SELECT C.COLUMN_NAME, C.IS_NULLABLE, C.DATA_TYPE, TC.CONSTRAINT_TYPE, C.COLUMN_DEFAULT
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS AS C
FULL JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.CONSTRAINT_COLUMN_USAGE AS CC ON C.COLUMN_NAME = CC.COLUMN_NAME
FULL JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS AS TC ON CC.CONSTRAINT_NAME = TC.CONSTRAINT_NAME
WHERE C.TABLE_NAME = '<Table Name>';
Use this Query
Select * From INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS Where TABLE_NAME = 'TABLENAME'
Just double click on the table name and press Alt+F1
In addition to the ways shown in other answers, you can use
SELECT TOP 0 * FROM table_name
This will give you the name of each column with no results in them, and completes almost instantly with minimal overhead.
Just in case you don't want to use stored proc, here's a simple query version
select *
from information_schema.columns
where table_name = 'aspnet_Membership'
order by ordinal_position
Just select table and press Alt+F1,
it will show all the information about table like Column name, datatype, keys etc.
You can use the sp_columns stored procedure:
exec sp_columns MyTable
I wrote an sql*plus DESC(RIBE) like select (displays the column comments, too) in t-sql:
USE YourDB
GO
DECLARE @objectName NVARCHAR(128) = 'YourTable';
SELECT
a.[NAME]
,a.[TYPE]
,a.[CHARSET]
,a.[COLLATION]
,a.[NULLABLE]
,a.[DEFAULT]
,b.[COMMENTS]
-- ,a.[ORDINAL_POSITION]
FROM
(
SELECT
COLUMN_NAME AS [NAME]
,CASE DATA_TYPE
WHEN 'char' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + ')'
WHEN 'numeric' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(NUMERIC_PRECISION AS VARCHAR) + ', ' + CAST(NUMERIC_SCALE AS VARCHAR) + ')'
WHEN 'nvarchar' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + ')'
WHEN 'varbinary' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + ')'
WHEN 'varchar' THEN DATA_TYPE + '(' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + ')'
ELSE DATA_TYPE
END AS [TYPE]
,CHARACTER_SET_NAME AS [CHARSET]
,COLLATION_NAME AS [COLLATION]
,IS_NULLABLE AS [NULLABLE]
,COLUMN_DEFAULT AS [DEFAULT]
,ORDINAL_POSITION
FROM
INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE
TABLE_NAME = @objectName
) a
FULL JOIN
(
SELECT
CAST(value AS NVARCHAR) AS [COMMENTS]
,CAST(objname AS NVARCHAR) AS [NAME]
FROM
::fn_listextendedproperty ('MS_Description', 'user', 'dbo', 'table', @objectName, 'column', default)
) b
ON a.NAME COLLATE YourCollation = b.NAME COLLATE YourCollation
ORDER BY
a.[ORDINAL_POSITION];
The above mentioned select can be used in a system marked stored procedure and it can be called from any database of your instance on a simple way:
USE master;
GO
IF OBJECT_ID('sp_desc', 'P') IS NOT NULL
DROP PROCEDURE sp_desc
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE sp_desc (
@tableName nvarchar(128)
) AS
BEGIN
DECLARE @dbName sysname;
DECLARE @schemaName sysname;
DECLARE @objectName sysname;
DECLARE @objectID int;
DECLARE @tmpTableName varchar(100);
DECLARE @sqlCmd nvarchar(4000);
SELECT @dbName = PARSENAME(@tableName, 3);
IF @dbName IS NULL SELECT @dbName = DB_NAME();
SELECT @schemaName = PARSENAME(@tableName, 2);
IF @schemaName IS NULL SELECT @schemaName = SCHEMA_NAME();
SELECT @objectName = PARSENAME(@tableName, 1);
IF @objectName IS NULL
BEGIN
PRINT 'Object is missing from your function call!';
RETURN;
END;
SELECT @objectID = OBJECT_ID(@dbName + '.' + @schemaName + '.' + @objectName);
IF @objectID IS NULL
BEGIN
PRINT 'Object [' + @dbName + '].[' + @schemaName + '].[' + @objectName + '] does not exist!';
RETURN;
END;
SELECT @tmpTableName = '#tmp_DESC_' + CAST(@@SPID AS VARCHAR) + REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(REPLACE(CAST(CONVERT(CHAR, GETDATE(), 121) AS VARCHAR), '-', ''), ' ', ''), ':', ''), '.', '');
--PRINT @tmpTableName;
SET @sqlCmd = '
USE ' + @dbName + '
CREATE TABLE ' + @tmpTableName + ' (
[NAME] nvarchar(128) NOT NULL
,[TYPE] varchar(50)
,[CHARSET] varchar(50)
,[COLLATION] varchar(50)
,[NULLABLE] varchar(3)
,[DEFAULT] nvarchar(4000)
,[COMMENTS] nvarchar(3750));
INSERT INTO ' + @tmpTableName + '
SELECT
a.[NAME]
,a.[TYPE]
,a.[CHARSET]
,a.[COLLATION]
,a.[NULLABLE]
,a.[DEFAULT]
,b.[COMMENTS]
FROM
(
SELECT
COLUMN_NAME AS [NAME]
,CASE DATA_TYPE
WHEN ''char'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + '')''
WHEN ''numeric'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(NUMERIC_PRECISION AS VARCHAR) + '', '' + CAST(NUMERIC_SCALE AS VARCHAR) + '')''
WHEN ''nvarchar'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + '')''
WHEN ''varbinary'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + '')''
WHEN ''varchar'' THEN DATA_TYPE + ''('' + CAST(CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS VARCHAR) + '')''
ELSE DATA_TYPE
END AS [TYPE]
,CHARACTER_SET_NAME AS [CHARSET]
,COLLATION_NAME AS [COLLATION]
,IS_NULLABLE AS [NULLABLE]
,COLUMN_DEFAULT AS [DEFAULT]
,ORDINAL_POSITION
FROM
INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE
TABLE_NAME = ''' + @objectName + '''
) a
FULL JOIN
(
SELECT
CAST(value AS NVARCHAR) AS [COMMENTS]
,CAST(objname AS NVARCHAR) AS [NAME]
FROM
::fn_listextendedproperty (''MS_Description'', ''user'', ''' + @schemaName + ''', ''table'', ''' + @objectName + ''', ''column'', default)
) b
ON a.NAME COLLATE Hungarian_CI_AS = b.NAME COLLATE Hungarian_CI_AS
ORDER BY
a.[ORDINAL_POSITION];
SELECT * FROM ' + @tmpTableName + ';'
--PRINT @sqlCmd;
EXEC sp_executesql @sqlCmd;
RETURN;
END;
GO
EXEC sys.sp_MS_marksystemobject sp_desc
GO
To execute the procedure type:
EXEC sp_desc 'YourDB.YourSchema.YourTable';
If you want to get a description an object of the current database (and schema) simple type:
EXEC sp_desc 'YourTable';
As sp_desc is a system marked procedure, you can even leave the exec command, too (not recommended anyway):
sp_desc 'YourTable';
You can use following: sp_help tablename
Example: sp_help Customer
OR Use Shortcut Keys
Selectthe desired table and press ALT+F1.
Example: Customer Press ALT+F1.
The query below will provide similar output as the info() function in python, Pandas library.
USE [Database_Name]
IF OBJECT_ID('tempdo.dob.#primary_key', 'U') IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #primary_key
SELECT
CONS_T.TABLE_CATALOG,
CONS_T.TABLE_SCHEMA,
CONS_T.TABLE_NAME,
CONS_C.COLUMN_NAME,
CONS_T.CONSTRAINT_TYPE,
CONS_T.CONSTRAINT_NAME
INTO #primary_key
FROM
INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS AS CONS_T
JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.CONSTRAINT_COLUMN_USAGE AS CONS_C ON CONS_C.CONSTRAINT_NAME= CONS_T.CONSTRAINT_NAME
SELECT
SMA.name AS [Schema Name],
ST.name AS [Table Name],
SC.column_id AS [Column Order],
SC.name AS [Column Name],
PKT.CONSTRAINT_TYPE,
PKT.CONSTRAINT_NAME,
SC.system_type_id,
STP.name AS [Data Type],
SC.max_length,
SC.precision,
SC.scale,
SC.is_nullable,
SC.is_masked
FROM sys.tables AS ST
JOIN sys.schemas AS SMA ON SMA.schema_id = ST.schema_id
JOIN sys.columns AS SC ON SC.object_id = ST.object_id
JOIN sys.types AS STP ON STP.system_type_id = SC.system_type_id
LEFT JOIN #primary_key AS PKT ON PKT.TABLE_SCHEMA = SMA.name
AND PKT.TABLE_NAME = ST.name
AND PKT.COLUMN_NAME = SC.name
ORDER BY ST.name ASC, SMA.name ASC
Just in case you don't want to use stored proc, here's a simple query version
select *
from information_schema.columns
where table_name = 'aspnet_Membership'
order by ordinal_position
select * from sysobjects where name='TABLENAME'
There are a few methods to get metadata about a table:
EXEC sp_help tablename
Will return several result sets, describing the table, it's columns and constraints.
The INFORMATION_SCHEMA views will give you the information you want, though unfortunately you have to query the views and join them manually.
Just in case you don't want to use stored proc, here's a simple query version
select *
from information_schema.columns
where table_name = 'aspnet_Membership'
order by ordinal_position
try it:
EXEC [ServerName].[DatabaseName].dbo.sp_columns 'TableName'
and you can get some table structure information, such as:
TABLE_QUALIFIER, TABLE_OWNER, TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME, DATA_TYPE, TYPE_NAME...
You can use the sp_columns stored procedure:
exec sp_columns MyTable
There are a few methods to get metadata about a table:
EXEC sp_help tablename
Will return several result sets, describing the table, it's columns and constraints.
The INFORMATION_SCHEMA views will give you the information you want, though unfortunately you have to query the views and join them manually.
use
SELECT COL_LENGTH('tablename', 'colname')
None of other solution worked for me.
Please use the following sql query; this worked for my case.
select * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.Columns where table_name = 'tablename';
try it:
EXEC [ServerName].[DatabaseName].dbo.sp_columns 'TableName'
and you can get some table structure information, such as:
TABLE_QUALIFIER, TABLE_OWNER, TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME, DATA_TYPE, TYPE_NAME...
The problem with those answers is that you're missing the key info. While this is a bit messy this is a quick version I came up with to make sure it contains the same info the MySQL Describe displays.
Select SC.name AS 'Field', ISC.DATA_TYPE AS 'Type', ISC.CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH AS 'Length', SC.IS_NULLABLE AS 'Null', I.is_primary_key AS 'Key', SC.is_identity AS 'Identity'
From sys.columns AS SC
LEFT JOIN sys.index_columns AS IC
ON IC.object_id = OBJECT_ID('dbo.Expenses') AND
IC.column_id = SC.column_id
LEFT JOIN sys.indexes AS I
ON I.object_id = OBJECT_ID('dbo.Expenses') AND
IC.index_id = I.index_id
LEFT JOIN information_schema.columns ISC
ON ISC.TABLE_NAME = 'Expenses'
AND ISC.COLUMN_NAME = SC.name
WHERE SC.object_id = OBJECT_ID('dbo.Expenses')
Just select table and press Alt+F1,
it will show all the information about table like Column name, datatype, keys etc.
I tried this and it's working for me
exec sp_help TABLE_NAME
I like this format:
name DataType Collation Constraints PK FK Comment
id int NOT NULL IDENTITY PK Order Line Id
pid int NOT NULL tbl_orders Order Id
itemCode varchar(10) Latin1_General_CI_AS NOT NULL Product Code
So I have used this:
DECLARE @tname varchar(100) = 'yourTableName';
SELECT col.name,
CASE typ.name
WHEN 'nvarchar' THEN 'nvarchar('+CAST((col.max_length / 2) as varchar)+')'
WHEN 'varchar' THEN 'varchar('+CAST(col.max_length as varchar)+')'
WHEN 'char' THEN 'char('+CAST(col.max_length as varchar)+')'
WHEN 'nchar' THEN 'nchar('+CAST((col.max_length / 2) as varchar)+')'
WHEN 'binary' THEN 'binary('+CAST(col.max_length as varchar)+')'
WHEN 'varbinary' THEN 'varbinary('+CAST(col.max_length as varchar)+')'
WHEN 'numeric' THEN 'numeric('+CAST(col.precision as varchar)+(CASE WHEN col.scale = 0 THEN '' ELSE ','+CAST(col.scale as varchar) END) +')'
WHEN 'decimal' THEN 'decimal('+CAST(col.precision as varchar)+(CASE WHEN col.scale = 0 THEN '' ELSE ','+CAST(col.scale as varchar) END) +')'
ELSE typ.name
END DataType,
ISNULL(col.collation_name,'') Collation,
CASE WHEN col.is_nullable = 0 THEN 'NOT NULL ' ELSE '' END + CASE WHEN col.is_identity = 1 THEN 'IDENTITY' ELSE '' END Constraints,
ISNULL((SELECT 'PK'
FROM sys.key_constraints kc INNER JOIN
sys.tables tb ON tb.object_id = kc.parent_object_id INNER JOIN
sys.indexes si ON si.name = kc.name INNER JOIN
sys.index_columns sic ON sic.index_id = si.index_id AND sic.object_id = si.object_id
WHERE kc.type = 'PK'
AND tb.name = @tname
AND sic.column_id = col.column_id),'') PK,
ISNULL((SELECT (SELECT name FROM sys.tables st WHERE st.object_id = fkc.referenced_object_id)
FROM sys.foreign_key_columns fkc INNER JOIN
sys.columns c ON c.column_id = fkc.parent_column_id AND fkc.parent_object_id = c.object_id INNER JOIN
sys.tables t ON t.object_id = c.object_id
WHERE t.name = tab.name
AND c.name = col.name),'') FK,
ISNULL((SELECT value
FROM sys.extended_properties
WHERE major_id = tab.object_id
AND minor_id = col.column_id),'') Comment
FROM sys.columns col INNER JOIN
sys.tables tab ON tab.object_id = col.object_id INNER JOIN
sys.types typ ON typ.system_type_id = col.system_type_id
WHERE tab.name = @tname
AND typ.name != 'sysname'
ORDER BY col.column_id;
I tried this and it's working for me
exec sp_help TABLE_NAME
You can use the sp_help 'TableName'
use
SELECT COL_LENGTH('tablename', 'colname')
None of other solution worked for me.
Source: Stackoverflow.com