sp_columns (Transact-SQL)
Returns column information for the specified objects that can be queried in the current environment.
.gif "Topic link icon")
Syntax
sp_columns [ @table_name= ] object [ , [ @table_owner= ] owner ]
[ , [ @table_qualifier= ] qualifier ]
[ , [ @column_name= ] column ]
[ , [ @ODBCVer= ] ODBCVer ]
Arguments
[ @table_name=] object
Is the name of the object that is used to return catalog information. object can be a table, view, or other object that has columns such as table-valued functions. object is nvarchar(384), with no default. Wildcard pattern matching is supported.[ @table_owner=] owner
Is the object owner of the object that is used to return catalog information. owner is nvarchar(384), with a default of NULL. Wildcard pattern matching is supported. If owner is not specified, the default object visibility rules of the underlying DBMS apply.If the current user owns an object with the specified name, the columns of that object are returned. If owner is not specified and the current user does not own an object with the specified object, sp_columns looks for an object with the specified object owned by the database owner. If one exists, that object's columns are returned.
[ @table_qualifier=] qualifier
Is the name of the object qualifier. qualifier is sysname, with a default of NULL. Various DBMS products support three-part naming for objects. (qualifier**.owner.**name). In SQL Server, this column represents the database name. In some products, it represents the server name of the object's database environment.[ @column_name=] column
Is a single column and is used when only one column of catalog information is wanted. column is nvarchar(384), with a default of NULL. If column is not specified, all columns are returned. In SQL Server, column represents the column name as listed in the syscolumns table. Wildcard pattern matching is supported. For maximum interoperability, the gateway client should assume only SQL-92 standard pattern matching (the % and _ wildcard characters).[ @ODBCVer=] ODBCVer
Is the version of ODBC that is being used. ODBCVer is int, with a default of 2. This indicates ODBC Version 2. Valid values are 2 or 3. For the behavior differences between versions 2 and 3, see the ODBC SQLColumns specification.
Return Code Values
None
Result Sets
The sp_columns catalog stored procedure is equivalent to SQLColumns in ODBC. The results returned are ordered by TABLE_QUALIFIER, TABLE_OWNER, and TABLE_NAME.
Column name |
Data type |
Description |
|---|---|---|
TABLE_QUALIFIER |
sysname |
Object qualifier name. This field can be NULL. |
TABLE_OWNER |
sysname |
Object owner name. This field always returns a value. |
TABLE_NAME |
sysname |
Object name. This field always returns a value. |
COLUMN_NAME |
sysname |
Column name, for each column of the TABLE_NAME returned. This field always returns a value. |
DATA_TYPE |
smallint |
Integer code for ODBC data type. If this is a data type that cannot be mapped to an ODBC type, it is NULL. The native data type name is returned in the TYPE_NAME column. |
TYPE_NAME |
sysname |
String representing a data type. The underlying DBMS presents this data type name. |
PRECISION |
int |
Number of significant digits. The return value for the PRECISION column is in base 10. |
LENGTH |
int |
Transfer size of the data.1 |
SCALE |
smallint |
Number of digits to the right of the decimal point. |
RADIX |
smallint |
Base for numeric data types. |
NULLABLE |
smallint |
Specifies nullability. 1 = NULL is possible. 0 = NOT NULL. |
REMARKS |
varchar(254) |
This field always returns NULL. |
COLUMN_DEF |
nvarchar(4000) |
Default value of the column. SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2005 differ from SQL Server 2000 in the way they decode and stores SQL expressions in the catalog metadata. The semantics of the decoded expression are equivalent to the original text; however, there are no syntactic guarantees. For example, white spaces are removed from the decoded expression. For more information, see, Behavior Changes to Database Engine Features in SQL Server 2008 R2. |
SQL_DATA_TYPE |
smallint |
Value of the SQL data type as it appears in the TYPE field of the descriptor. This column is the same as the DATA_TYPE column, except for the datetime and SQL-92 interval data types. This column always returns a value. |
SQL_DATETIME_SUB |
smallint |
Subtype code for datetime and SQL-92 interval data types. For other data types, this column returns NULL. |
CHAR_OCTET_LENGTH |
int |
Maximum length in bytes of a character or integer data type column. For all other data types, this column returns NULL. |
ORDINAL_POSITION |
int |
Ordinal position of the column in the object. The first column in the object is 1. This column always returns a value. |
IS_NULLABLE |
varchar(254) |
Nullability of the column in the object. ISO rules are followed to determine nullability. An ISO SQL-compliant DBMS cannot return an empty string. YES = Column can include NULLS. NO = Column cannot include NULLS. This column returns a zero-length string if nullability is unknown. The value returned for this column is different from the value returned for the NULLABLE column. |
SS_DATA_TYPE |
tinyint |
SQL Server data type used by extended stored procedures. For more information, see Data Types (Transact-SQL). |
1 For more information, see the Microsoft ODBC documentation.
Permissions
Requires SELECT permission on the schema.
Remarks
sp_columns follows the requirements for delimited identifiers. For more information, see Delimited Identifiers (Database Engine).
Examples
The following example returns column information for a specified table.
USE AdventureWorks2008R2;
GO
EXEC sp_columns @table_name = N'Department',
@table_owner = N'HumanResources';