What is the best way to get the names of all of the tables in a specific database on SQL Server?
17 Answers
SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 or 2019:
SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE TABLE_TYPE='BASE TABLE'
To show only tables from a particular database
SELECT TABLE_NAME
FROM [<DATABASE_NAME>].INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
WHERE TABLE_TYPE = 'BASE TABLE'
Or,
SELECT TABLE_NAME
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
WHERE TABLE_TYPE = 'BASE TABLE'
AND TABLE_CATALOG='dbName' --(for MySql, use: TABLE_SCHEMA='dbName' )
PS: For SQL Server 2000:
SELECT * FROM sysobjects WHERE xtype='U'
SELECT sobjects.name
FROM sysobjects sobjects
WHERE sobjects.xtype = 'U'
Here is a list of other object types you can search for as well:
- AF: Aggregate function (CLR)
- C: CHECK constraint
- D: Default or DEFAULT constraint
- F: FOREIGN KEY constraint
- L: Log
- FN: Scalar function
- FS: Assembly (CLR) scalar-function
- FT: Assembly (CLR) table-valued function
- IF: In-lined table-function
- IT: Internal table
- P: Stored procedure
- PC: Assembly (CLR) stored-procedure
- PK: PRIMARY KEY constraint (type is K)
- RF: Replication filter stored procedure
- S: System table
- SN: Synonym
- SQ: Service queue
- TA: Assembly (CLR) DML trigger
- TF: Table function
- TR: SQL DML Trigger
- TT: Table type
- U: User table
- UQ: UNIQUE constraint (type is K)
- V: View
- X: Extended stored procedure
The downside of INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
is that it also includes system tables such as dtproperties
and the MSpeer_...
tables, with no way to tell them apart from your own tables.
I would recommend using sys.objects
(the new version of the deprecated sysobjects view), which does support excluding the system tables:
select *
from sys.objects
where type = 'U' -- User tables
and is_ms_shipped = 0 -- Exclude system tables
Well you can use sys.objects to get all database objects.
GO
select * from sys.objects where type_desc='USER_TABLE' order by name
GO
OR
-- For all tables
select * from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
GO
--- For user defined tables
select * from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES where TABLE_TYPE='BASE TABLE'
GO
--- For Views
select * from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES where TABLE_TYPE='VIEW'
GO
--for oracle
select tablespace_name, table_name from all_tables;
This link can provide much more information on this topic
In SSMS, to get all fully qualified table names in a specific database (E.g., "MyDatabase"):
SELECT [TABLE_CATALOG] + '.' + [TABLE_SCHEMA] + '.' + [TABLE_NAME]
FROM MyDatabase.INFORMATION_SCHEMA.Tables
WHERE [TABLE_TYPE] = 'BASE TABLE' and [TABLE_NAME] <> 'sysdiagrams'
ORDER BY [TABLE_SCHEMA], [TABLE_NAME]
Results:
- MyDatabase.dbo.MyTable1
- MyDatabase.dbo.MyTable2
- MyDatabase.MySchema.MyTable3
- MyDatabase.MySchema.MyTable4
- etc.
Thanks to Ray Vega, whose response gives all user tables in a database...
exec sp_msforeachtable 'print ''?'''
sp_helptext shows the underlying query, which summarises to...
select * from dbo.sysobjects o
join sys.all_objects syso on o.id = syso.object_id
where OBJECTPROPERTY(o.id, 'IsUserTable') = 1
and o.category & 2 = 0
SHOW TABLES
(as used in MySQL) work? – Martin Thoma