Sparse Columns Support (ODBC)
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Azure Synapse Analytics
Analytics Platform System (PDW)
Important
SQL Server Native Client (SNAC) isn't shipped with:
- SQL Server 2022 (16.x) and later versions
- SQL Server Management Studio 19 and later versions
The SQL Server Native Client (SQLNCLI or SQLNCLI11) and the legacy Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server (SQLOLEDB) aren't recommended for new application development.
For new projects, use one of the following drivers:
For SQLNCLI that ships as a component of SQL Server Database Engine (versions 2012 through 2019), see this Support Lifecycle exception.
This topic describes SQL Server Native Client ODBC support for sparse columns. For a sample demonstrating ODBC support for sparse columns, see Call SQLColumns on a Table with Sparse Columns. For more information about sparse columns, see Sparse Columns Support in SQL Server Native Client.
Statement Metadata
The application parameter descriptor (APD) descriptor field and SQL_SOPT_SS_NAME_SCOPE statement attribute accepts the additional values SQL_SS_NAME_SCOPE_EXTENDED and SQL_SS_NAME_SCOPE_SPARSE_COLUMN_SET. These values specify which columns are included in the result set returned by SQLColumns. For more information about SQL_SOPT_SS_NAME_SCOPE, see SQLSetStmtAttr.
A new implementation row descriptor (IRD), a read-only SQLSMALLINT field called SQL_CA_SS_IS_COLUMN_SET, can be used to determine if a column is an XML column_set value. SQL_CA_SS_IS_COLUMN_SET takes the values SQL_TRUE and SQL_FALSE.
Catalog Metadata
Two SQL Server specific columns (SS_IS_SPARSE and SS_IS_COLUMN_SET) have been added to the result set for SQLColumns.
ODBC Function Support for Sparse Columns
The following ODBC functions have been updated to support sparse columns in SQL Server Native Client: