How Can I Retrieve a List of Database Tables and Their Fields in SQL Server?

Accessing Database Tables and Fields

In an effort to build a rudimentary Object-Relational Mapper (ORM), one may encounter the challenge of retrieving a list of database tables along with their respective fields. This article provides solutions for this task and recommends reputable online resources for further exploration in SQL Server.

Retrieving Tables and Fields

Utilizing system stored procedures in SQL Server, you can obtain the desired data. Here are two methods:

• Object Catalog Views:

SELECT T.name AS Table_Name,
       C.name AS Column_Name,
       P.name AS Data_Type,
       C.max_length AS Size,
       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
WHERE T.type_desc = 'USER_TABLE';

• Information Schema Views:

SELECT TABLE_SCHEMA,
       TABLE_NAME,
       COLUMN_NAME,
       ORDINAL_POSITION,
       COLUMN_DEFAULT,
       DATA_TYPE,
       CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH,
       NUMERIC_PRECISION,
       NUMERIC_PRECISION_RADIX,
       NUMERIC_SCALE,
       DATETIME_PRECISION
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS;

Once the data is retrieved, you can traverse the results and use reflection (in C#) to create classes representing each table and its fields.

Recommended SQL Server Blogs

To further delve into SQL Server functionality, consider the following blogs:

• dbalink: http://dbalink.wordpress.com/

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