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sys.objects (Transact-SQL)

Contains a row for each user-defined, schema-scoped object that is created within a database.

Note

sys.objects does not show DDL triggers, because they are not schema-scoped. All triggers, both DML and DDL, are found in sys.triggers. sys.triggers supports a mixture of name-scoping rules for the various kinds of triggers.

Column name

Data type

Description

name

sysname

Object name.

object_id

int

Object identification number. Is unique within a database.

principal_id

int

ID of the individual owner, if different from the schema owner. By default, schema-contained objects are owned by the schema owner. However, an alternate owner can be specified by using the ALTER AUTHORIZATION statement to change ownership.

Is NULL if there is no alternate individual owner.

Is NULL if the object type is one of the following:

C = CHECK constraint

D = DEFAULT (constraint or stand-alone)

F = FOREIGN KEY constraint

PK = PRIMARY KEY constraint

R = Rule (old-style, stand-alone)

TA = Assembly (CLR-integration) trigger

TR = SQL trigger

UQ = UNIQUE constraint

schema_id

int

ID of the schema that the object is contained in.

Schema-scoped system objects are always contained in the sys or INFORMATION_SCHEMA schemas.

parent_object_id

int

ID of the object to which this object belongs.

0 = Not a child object.

type

char(2)

Object type:

AF = Aggregate function (CLR)

C = CHECK constraint

D = DEFAULT (constraint or stand-alone)

F = FOREIGN KEY constraint

FN = SQL scalar function

FS = Assembly (CLR) scalar-function

FT = Assembly (CLR) table-valued function

IF = SQL inline table-valued function

IT = Internal table

P = SQL Stored Procedure

PC = Assembly (CLR) stored-procedure

PG = Plan guide

PK = PRIMARY KEY constraint

R = Rule (old-style, stand-alone)

RF = Replication-filter-procedure

S = System base table

SN = Synonym

SO = Sequence object

SQ = Service queue

TA = Assembly (CLR) DML trigger

TF = SQL table-valued-function

TR = SQL DML trigger

TT = Table type

U = Table (user-defined)

UQ = UNIQUE constraint

V = View

X = Extended stored procedure

type_desc

nvarchar(60)

Description of the object type:

AGGREGATE_FUNCTION

CHECK_CONSTRAINT

CLR_SCALAR_FUNCTION

CLR_STORED_PROCEDURE

CLR_TABLE_VALUED_FUNCTION

CLR_TRIGGER

DEFAULT_CONSTRAINT

EXTENDED_STORED_PROCEDURE

FOREIGN_KEY_CONSTRAINT

INTERNAL_TABLE

PLAN_GUIDE

PRIMARY_KEY_CONSTRAINT

REPLICATION_FILTER_PROCEDURE

RULE

SEQUENCE_OBJECT

SERVICE_QUEUE

SQL_INLINE_TABLE_VALUED_FUNCTION

SQL_SCALAR_FUNCTION

SQL_STORED_PROCEDURE

SQL_TABLE_VALUED_FUNCTION

SQL_TRIGGER

SYNONYM

SYSTEM_TABLE

TABLE_TYPE

UNIQUE_CONSTRAINT

USER_TABLE

VIEW

create_date

datetime

Date the object was created.

modify_date

datetime

Date the object was last modified by using an ALTER statement. If the object is a table or a view, modify_date also changes when an index on the table or view is created or altered.

is_ms_shipped

bit

Object is created by an internal SQL Server component.

is_published

bit

Object is published.

is_schema_published

bit

Only the schema of the object is published.

Remarks

You can apply the OBJECT_ID, OBJECT_NAME, and OBJECTPROPERTY() built-in functions to the objects shown in sys.objects.

There is a version of this view with the same schema, called sys.system_objects, that shows system objects. There is another view called sys.all_objects that shows both system and user objects. All three catalog views have the same structure.

In this version of SQL Server, an extended index, such as an XML index or spatial index, is considered an internal table in sys.objects (type = IT and type_desc = INTERNAL_TABLE). For an extended index:

  • name is the internal name of the index table.

  • parent_object_id is the object_id of the base table.

  • is_ms_shipped, is_published and is_schema_published columns are set to 0.

Permissions

The visibility of the metadata in catalog views is limited to securables that a user either owns or on which the user has been granted some permission. For more information, see Metadata Visibility Configuration.

Examples

A. Returning all the objects that have been modified in the last N days

Before you run the following query, replace <database_name> and <n_days> with valid values.

USE <database_name>;
GO
SELECT name AS object_name 
  ,SCHEMA_NAME(schema_id) AS schema_name
  ,type_desc
  ,create_date
  ,modify_date
FROM sys.objects
WHERE modify_date > GETDATE() - <n_days>
ORDER BY modify_date;
GO

B. Returning the parameters for a specified stored procedure or function

Before you run the following query, replace <database_name> and <schema_name.object_name> with valid names.

USE <database_name>;
GO
SELECT SCHEMA_NAME(schema_id) AS schema_name
    ,o.name AS object_name
    ,o.type_desc
    ,p.parameter_id
    ,p.name AS parameter_name
    ,TYPE_NAME(p.user_type_id) AS parameter_type
    ,p.max_length
    ,p.precision
    ,p.scale
    ,p.is_output
FROM sys.objects AS o
INNER JOIN sys.parameters AS p ON o.object_id = p.object_id
WHERE o.object_id = OBJECT_ID('<schema_name.object_name>')
ORDER BY schema_name, o.object_name, p.parameter_id;
GO

C. Returning all the user-defined functions in a database

Before you run the following query, replace <database_name> with a valid database name.

USE <database_name>;
GO
SELECT name AS function_name 
  ,SCHEMA_NAME(schema_id) AS schema_name
  ,type_desc
  ,create_date
  ,modify_date
FROM sys.objects
WHERE type_desc LIKE '%FUNCTION%';
GO

D. Returning the owner of each object in a schema.

Before you run the following query, replace all occurrences of <database_name> and <schema_name> with valid names.

USE <database_name>;
GO
SELECT 'OBJECT' AS entity_type
    ,USER_NAME(OBJECTPROPERTY(object_id, 'OwnerId')) AS owner_name
    ,name 
FROM sys.objects WHERE SCHEMA_NAME(schema_id) = '<schema_name>'
UNION 
SELECT 'TYPE' AS entity_type
    ,USER_NAME(TYPEPROPERTY(SCHEMA_NAME(schema_id) + '.' + name, 'OwnerId')) AS owner_name
    ,name 
FROM sys.types WHERE SCHEMA_NAME(schema_id) = '<schema_name>' 
UNION
SELECT 'XML SCHEMA COLLECTION' AS entity_type 
    ,COALESCE(USER_NAME(xsc.principal_id),USER_NAME(s.principal_id)) AS owner_name
    ,xsc.name 
FROM sys.xml_schema_collections AS xsc JOIN sys.schemas AS s
    ON s.schema_id = xsc.schema_id
WHERE s.name = '<schema_name>';
GO

See Also

Reference

Catalog Views (Transact-SQL)

sys.all_objects (Transact-SQL)

sys.system_objects (Transact-SQL)

sys.triggers (Transact-SQL)

Object Catalog Views (Transact-SQL)

sys.internal_tables (Transact-SQL)

Concepts

Querying the SQL Server System Catalog FAQ