I know it's possible, but I don't know how.
I need to search an SQL Server database for all mentions of a specific string.
For example: I would like to search all tables, views, functions, stored procedures, ... for string "tblEmployes" (not data within the tables).
One of the reasons I need this is I would like to remove some extra data tables that are created, but I am afraid that they are maybe used somewhere in procedures or functions.
This will search every column of every table in a specific database. Create the stored procedure on the database that you want to search in.
The Ten Most Asked SQL Server Questions And Their Answers:
CREATE PROCEDURE FindMyData_String
#DataToFind NVARCHAR(4000),
#ExactMatch BIT = 0
AS
SET NOCOUNT ON
DECLARE #Temp TABLE(RowId INT IDENTITY(1,1), SchemaName sysname, TableName sysname, ColumnName SysName, DataType VARCHAR(100), DataFound BIT)
INSERT INTO #Temp(TableName,SchemaName, ColumnName, DataType)
SELECT C.Table_Name,C.TABLE_SCHEMA, C.Column_Name, C.Data_Type
FROM Information_Schema.Columns AS C
INNER Join Information_Schema.Tables AS T
ON C.Table_Name = T.Table_Name
AND C.TABLE_SCHEMA = T.TABLE_SCHEMA
WHERE Table_Type = 'Base Table'
And Data_Type In ('ntext','text','nvarchar','nchar','varchar','char')
DECLARE #i INT
DECLARE #MAX INT
DECLARE #TableName sysname
DECLARE #ColumnName sysname
DECLARE #SchemaName sysname
DECLARE #SQL NVARCHAR(4000)
DECLARE #PARAMETERS NVARCHAR(4000)
DECLARE #DataExists BIT
DECLARE #SQLTemplate NVARCHAR(4000)
SELECT #SQLTemplate = CASE WHEN #ExactMatch = 1
THEN 'If Exists(Select *
From ReplaceTableName
Where Convert(nVarChar(4000), [ReplaceColumnName])
= ''' + #DataToFind + '''
)
Set #DataExists = 1
Else
Set #DataExists = 0'
ELSE 'If Exists(Select *
From ReplaceTableName
Where Convert(nVarChar(4000), [ReplaceColumnName])
Like ''%' + #DataToFind + '%''
)
Set #DataExists = 1
Else
Set #DataExists = 0'
END,
#PARAMETERS = '#DataExists Bit OUTPUT',
#i = 1
SELECT #i = 1, #MAX = MAX(RowId)
FROM #Temp
WHILE #i <= #MAX
BEGIN
SELECT #SQL = REPLACE(REPLACE(#SQLTemplate, 'ReplaceTableName', QUOTENAME(SchemaName) + '.' + QUOTENAME(TableName)), 'ReplaceColumnName', ColumnName)
FROM #Temp
WHERE RowId = #i
PRINT #SQL
EXEC SP_EXECUTESQL #SQL, #PARAMETERS, #DataExists = #DataExists OUTPUT
IF #DataExists =1
UPDATE #Temp SET DataFound = 1 WHERE RowId = #i
SET #i = #i + 1
END
SELECT SchemaName,TableName, ColumnName
FROM #Temp
WHERE DataFound = 1
GO
To run it, just do this:
exec FindMyData_string 'google', 0
It works amazingly well!!!
If you need to find database objects (e.g. tables, columns, and triggers) by name - have a look at the free Redgate Software tool called SQL Search which does this - it searches your entire database for any kind of string(s).
It's a great must-have tool for any DBA or database developer - did I already mention it's absolutely free to use for any kind of use??
You can also try ApexSQL Search – it’s a free SSMS add-in similar to SQL Search.
If you really want to use only SQL you might want to try this script:
select
S.name as [Schema],
o.name as [Object],
o.type_desc as [Object_Type],
C.text as [Object_Definition]
from sys.all_objects O inner join sys.schemas S on O.schema_id = S.schema_id
inner join sys.syscomments C on O.object_id = C.id
where S.schema_id not in (3,4) -- avoid searching in sys and INFORMATION_SCHEMA schemas
and C.text like '%ICE_%'
order by [Schema]
You can export your database (if small) to your hard drive / desktop, and then just do a string search via a text search program or text editor.
For getting a table by name in SQL Server:
SELECT *
FROM sys.Tables
WHERE name LIKE '%Employees%'
For finding a stored procedure by name:
SELECT name
FROM sys.objects
WHERE name = 'spName'
To get all stored procedures related to a table:
----Option 1
SELECT DISTINCT so.name
FROM syscomments sc
INNER JOIN sysobjects so ON sc.id=so.id
WHERE sc.TEXT LIKE '%tablename%'
----Option 2
SELECT DISTINCT o.name, o.xtype
FROM syscomments c
INNER JOIN sysobjects o ON c.id=o.id
WHERE c.TEXT LIKE '%tablename%'
This code searching procedure and function but not search in table :)
SELECT name
FROM sys.all_objects
WHERE Object_definition(object_id)
LIKE '%text%'
ORDER BY name
You could;
Script the database to a single file and search the file for tblEmployees using a text editor. In SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), right click over the database and choose Generate Scripts.
Use SSMS 'View Dependencies' by right clicking over tblEmployees to see which other objects are dependent on it
Use a free third-party tool such as Redgate Software's SQL Search to search all database objects by name and content by keyword.
My version...
I named it "Needle in the haystack" for obvious reasons.
It searches for a specific value in each row and each column, not for column names, etc.
Execute search (replace values for the first two variables of course):
DECLARE #SEARCH_DB VARCHAR(100)='REPLACE_WITH_YOUR_DB_NAME'
DECLARE #SEARCH_VALUE_LIKE NVARCHAR(100)=N'%REPLACE_WITH_SEARCH_STRING%'
SET NOCOUNT ON;
DECLARE col_cur CURSOR FOR
SELECT TABLE_CATALOG, TABLE_SCHEMA, TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME, DATA_TYPE
FROM information_schema.columns WHERE TABLE_CATALOG=#SEARCH_DB AND DATA_TYPE NOT IN ('timestamp', 'datetime');
DECLARE #TOTAL int = (SELECT COUNT(*)
FROM information_schema.columns WHERE TABLE_CATALOG=#SEARCH_DB AND DATA_TYPE NOT IN ('timestamp', 'datetime'));
DECLARE #TABLE_CATALOG nvarchar(500), #TABLE_SCHEMA nvarchar(500), #TABLE_NAME nvarchar(500), #COLUMN_NAME nvarchar(500), #DATA_TYPE nvarchar(500);
DECLARE #SQL nvarchar(4000)='';
PRINT '-------- BEGIN SEARCH --------';
OPEN col_cur;
FETCH NEXT FROM col_cur INTO #TABLE_CATALOG, #TABLE_SCHEMA, #TABLE_NAME, #COLUMN_NAME, #DATA_TYPE;
BEGIN TRY DROP TABLE ##RESULTS; END TRY BEGIN CATCH END CATCH
CREATE TABLE ##RESULTS( TABLE_CATALOG nvarchar(500), TABLE_SCHEMA nvarchar(500), TABLE_NAME nvarchar(500), COLUMN_NAME nvarchar(500), DATA_TYPE nvarchar(500), RECORDS int)
DECLARE #SHOULD_CAST bit=0
DECLARE #i int =0
DECLARE #progress_sum bigint=0
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
-- PRINT '' + CAST(#i as varchar(100)) +' of ' + CAST(#TOTAL as varchar(100)) + ' ' + #TABLE_CATALOG+'.'+#TABLE_SCHEMA+'.'+#TABLE_NAME+': '+#COLUMN_NAME+' ('+#DATA_TYPE+')';
SET #SHOULD_CAST = (SELECT CASE #DATA_TYPE
WHEN 'varchar' THEN 0
WHEN 'nvarchar' THEN 0
WHEN 'char' THEN 0
ELSE 1 END)
SET #SQL='SELECT '''+#TABLE_CATALOG+''' catalog_name, '''+#TABLE_SCHEMA+''' schema_name, '''+#TABLE_NAME+''' table_name, '''+#COLUMN_NAME+''' column_name, '''+#DATA_TYPE+''' data_type, ' +
+' COUNT(['+#COLUMN_NAME+']) records '+
+' FROM '+#TABLE_CATALOG+'.'+#TABLE_SCHEMA+'.'+#TABLE_NAME +
+' WHERE ' + CASE WHEN #SHOULD_CAST=1 THEN 'CAST(['+#COLUMN_NAME + '] as NVARCHAR(max)) ' ELSE ' ['+#COLUMN_NAME + '] ' END
+' LIKE '''+ #SEARCH_VALUE_LIKE + ''' '
-- PRINT #SQL;
IF #i % 100 = 0
BEGIN
SET #progress_sum = (SELECT SUM(RECORDS) FROM ##RESULTS)
PRINT CAST (#i as varchar(100)) +' of ' + CAST(#TOTAL as varchar(100)) +': '+ CAST (#progress_sum as varchar(100))
END
INSERT INTO ##RESULTS (TABLE_CATALOG, TABLE_SCHEMA, TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME, DATA_TYPE, RECORDS)
EXEC(#SQL)
FETCH NEXT FROM col_cur INTO #TABLE_CATALOG, #TABLE_SCHEMA, #TABLE_NAME, #COLUMN_NAME, #DATA_TYPE;
SET #i=#i+1
-- IF #i > 1000
-- BREAK
END
CLOSE col_cur;
DEALLOCATE col_cur;
SELECT * FROM ##RESULTS WHERE RECORDS>0;
Then to view results, even while executing, from another window, execute:
DECLARE #SEARCH_VALUE_LIKE NVARCHAR(100)=N'%#FLEX#%'
SELECT * FROM ##RESULTS WHERE RECORDS>0;
SET NOCOUNT ON;
DECLARE col_cur CURSOR FOR
SELECT TABLE_CATALOG, TABLE_SCHEMA, TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME, DATA_TYPE
FROM ##RESULTS WHERE RECORDS>0;
DECLARE #TABLE_CATALOG nvarchar(500), #TABLE_SCHEMA nvarchar(500), #TABLE_NAME nvarchar(500), #COLUMN_NAME nvarchar(500), #DATA_TYPE nvarchar(500);
DECLARE #SQL nvarchar(4000)='';
OPEN col_cur;
FETCH NEXT FROM col_cur INTO #TABLE_CATALOG, #TABLE_SCHEMA, #TABLE_NAME, #COLUMN_NAME, #DATA_TYPE;
DECLARE #i int =0
DECLARE #SHOULD_CAST bit=0
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
SET #SHOULD_CAST = (SELECT CASE #DATA_TYPE
WHEN 'varchar' THEN 0
WHEN 'nvarchar' THEN 0
WHEN 'char' THEN 0
ELSE 1 END)
SET #SQL='SELECT '''+#TABLE_CATALOG+''' catalog_name, '''+#TABLE_SCHEMA+''' schema_name, '''+#TABLE_NAME+''' table_name, '''+#COLUMN_NAME+''' column_name, '''+#DATA_TYPE+''' data_type, ' +
+' ['+#COLUMN_NAME+']'+
+', * '
+' FROM '+#TABLE_CATALOG+'.'+#TABLE_SCHEMA+'.'+#TABLE_NAME +
+' WHERE ' + CASE WHEN #SHOULD_CAST=1 THEN 'CAST(['+#COLUMN_NAME + '] as NVARCHAR(max)) ' ELSE ' ['+#COLUMN_NAME + '] ' END
+' LIKE '''+ #SEARCH_VALUE_LIKE + ''' '
PRINT #SQL;
EXEC(#SQL)
FETCH NEXT FROM col_cur INTO #TABLE_CATALOG, #TABLE_SCHEMA, #TABLE_NAME, #COLUMN_NAME, #DATA_TYPE;
SET #i=#i+1
-- IF #i > 10
-- BREAK
END
CLOSE col_cur;
DEALLOCATE col_cur;
Few mentions about it:
it uses cursors instead of a blocking while loop
it can print progress (uncomment if needed)
it can exit after a few attempts (uncomment the IF at the end)
it displays all records
you can fine tune it as needed
DISCLAIMERS:
DO NOT run it in production environments!
It is slow. If the DB is accessed by other services/users, please add " WITH (NOLOCK) " after every table name in all the selects, especially the dynamic select ones.
It does not validate/protect against all sorts of SQL injection options.
If your DB is huge, prepare yourself for some sleep, make sure the query will not be killed after a few minutes.
It casts some values to string, including ints/bigints/smallints/tinyints. If you don't need those, put them at the same exclusion lists with the timestamps at the top of the script.
The content of all stored procedures, views and functions are stored in field text of table sysComments. The name of all objects are stored in table sysObjects and the columns are in sysColumns.
Having this information, you can use this code to search in content of views, stored procedures, and functions for the specified word:
Select b.name from syscomments a
inner join sysobjects b on a.id = b.id
where text like '%tblEmployes%'
This query will give you the objects which contains the word "tblEmployes" .
To search by the name of Objects you can use this code:
Select name from sysobjects
where name like '%tblEmployes%'
And finally to find the objects having at least one column containing the word "tblEmployes", you can use this code:
Select b.name from syscolumns a inner join sysobjects b on a.id = b.id
where a.name like '%tblEmployes%'
You can combine these three queries with union:
Select distinct b.name from syscomments a
inner join sysobjects b on a.id = b.id
where text like '%tblEmployes%'
union
Select distinct name from sysobjects
where name like '%tblEmployes%'
union
Select distinct b.name from syscolumns a inner join sysobjects b on a.id = b.id
where a.name like '%tblEmployes%'
With this query you have all objects containing the word "tblEmployes" in content or name or as a column.
I was given access to a database, but not the table where my query was being stored in.
Inspired by #marc_s answer, I had a look at HeidiSQL which is a Windows program that can deal with MySQL, SQL Server, and PostgreSQL.
I found that it can also search a database for a string.
It will search each table and give you how many times it found the string per table!
This will search for a string over every database:
declare #search_term varchar(max)
set #search_term = 'something'
select #search_term = 'use ? SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
select
''[''+db_name()+''].[''+c.name+''].[''+b.name+'']'' as [object],
b.type_desc as [type],
d.obj_def.value(''.'',''varchar(max)'') as [definition]
from (
select distinct
a.id
from sys.syscomments a
where a.[text] like ''%'+#search_term+'%''
) a
inner join sys.all_objects b
on b.[object_id] = a.id
inner join sys.schemas c
on c.[schema_id] = b.[schema_id]
cross apply (
select
[text()] = a1.[text]
from sys.syscomments a1
where a1.id = a.id
order by a1.colid
for xml path(''''), type
) d(obj_def)
where c.schema_id not in (3,4) -- avoid searching in sys and INFORMATION_SCHEMA schemas
and db_id() not in (1,2,3,4) -- avoid sys databases'
if object_id('tempdb..#textsearch') is not null drop table #textsearch
create table #textsearch
(
[object] varchar(300),
[type] varchar(300),
[definition] varchar(max)
)
insert #textsearch
exec sp_MSforeachdb #search_term
select *
from #textsearch
order by [object]
If I want to find where anything I want to search is, I use this:
DECLARE #search_string varchar(200)
SET #search_string = '%myString%'
SELECT DISTINCT
o.name AS Object_Name,
o.type_desc,
m.definition
FROM sys.sql_modules m
INNER JOIN
sys.objects o
ON m.object_id = o.object_id
WHERE m.definition Like #search_string;
It's easy to search a string in your database with phpmyadmin. There you can chose from many search options and you can see where your search phrase is mentioned.
Here is the same script as submitted by user l--''''''---------'''''''''''', but corrected to work on a case-sensitive SQL instance, and with some other minor improvements.
DROP PROCEDURE IF EXISTS dbo.spFind_Text_In_Database
GO
CREATE PROCEDURE dbo.spFind_Text_In_Database
#strText_To_Find NVARCHAR(4000),
#bitExact_Match BIT = 0
AS
SET NOCOUNT ON
DECLARE #Temp TABLE(RowId INT IDENTITY(1,1), SchemaName sysname, TableName sysname, ColumnName SysName, DataType VARCHAR(100), DataFound BIT)
INSERT INTO #Temp(TableName,SchemaName, ColumnName, DataType)
SELECT C.TABLE_NAME, C.TABLE_SCHEMA, C.COLUMN_NAME, C.DATA_TYPE
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS AS C
INNER Join INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES AS T
ON C.TABLE_NAME = T.TABLE_NAME
AND C.TABLE_SCHEMA = T.TABLE_SCHEMA
WHERE TABLE_TYPE = 'BASE TABLE'
And DATA_TYPE In ('ntext','text','nvarchar','nchar','varchar','char')
DECLARE #i INT
DECLARE #MAX INT
DECLARE #TableName sysname
DECLARE #ColumnName sysname
DECLARE #SchemaName sysname
DECLARE #SQL NVARCHAR(4000)
DECLARE #PARAMETERS NVARCHAR(4000)
DECLARE #DataExists BIT
DECLARE #SQLTemplate NVARCHAR(4000)
SELECT #SQLTemplate = CASE WHEN #bitExact_Match = 1
THEN 'If Exists(Select *
From ReplaceTableName
Where Convert(nVarChar(4000), [ReplaceColumnName])
= ''' + #strText_To_Find + '''
)
Set #DataExists = 1
Else
Set #DataExists = 0'
ELSE 'If Exists(Select *
From ReplaceTableName
Where Convert(nVarChar(4000), [ReplaceColumnName])
Like ''%' + #strText_To_Find + '%''
)
Set #DataExists = 1
Else
Set #DataExists = 0'
END,
#PARAMETERS = '#DataExists Bit OUTPUT',
#i = 1
SELECT #i = 1, #MAX = MAX(RowId)
FROM #Temp
WHILE #i <= #MAX
BEGIN
SELECT #SQL = REPLACE(REPLACE(#SQLTemplate, 'ReplaceTableName', QUOTENAME(SchemaName) + '.' + QUOTENAME(TableName)), 'ReplaceColumnName', ColumnName)
FROM #Temp
WHERE RowId = #i
PRINT #SQL
EXEC sp_executesql #SQL, #PARAMETERS, #DataExists = #DataExists OUTPUT
IF #DataExists =1
UPDATE #Temp SET DataFound = 1 WHERE RowId = #i
SET #i = #i + 1
END
SELECT SchemaName,TableName, ColumnName
FROM #Temp
WHERE DataFound = 1
GO
Searching SQL Database objects is possible with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) with the following methods, with SSMS Object Search: object explorer details or T-SQL scripts as explained in following:
Different ways to search for SQL Server database objects
SQL Server Find Anything in Object Explorer in SSMS
Search text with wildcards
Here is how you can search the database in Swift using the FMDB library.
First, go to this link and add this to your project: FMDB. When you have done that, then here is how you do it. For example, you have a table called Person, and you have firstName and secondName and you want to find data by first name, here is a code for that:
func loadDataByfirstName(firstName : String, completion: #escaping CompletionHandler){
if isDatabaseOpened {
let query = "select * from Person where firstName like '\(firstName)'"
do {
let results = try database.executeQuery(query, values: [firstName])
while results.next() {
let firstName = results.string(forColumn: "firstName") ?? ""
let lastName = results.string(forColumn: "lastName") ?? ""
let newPerson = Person(firstName: firstName, lastName: lastName)
self.persons.append(newPerson)
}
completion(true)
}catch let err {
completion(false)
print(err.localizedDescription)
}
database.close()
}
}
Then in your ViewController you will write this to find the person detail you are looking for:
override func viewWillAppear(_ animated: Bool) {
super.viewWillAppear(animated)
SQLManager.instance.openDatabase { (success) in
if success {
SQLManager.instance.loadDataByfirstName(firstName: "Hardi") { (success) in
if success {
// You have your data Here
}
}
}
}
}
Output I'm trying to get to;
(Database name = ATT)
Table Name
Column name
MAX loaded date = MAX(loaded_date) for this column only
loaded_date is a column in around 50 tables in a database with the same name and datatype (Datetime)
select * FROM sys.tables
select * FROM syscolumns
I've been exploring the system tables without much luck, looking at some posts it may be done dynamic SQL which I've never done.
You can write an sql that writes an sql..
SELECT REPLACE(
'select ''{tn}'' as table_name, max(loaded_date) as ld from {tn} union all'
,'{tn}',table_name)
FROM
information_schema.columns
WHERE
column_name = 'loaded_date'
Run that, then copy all but the final UNION ALL out of the results window and into the query window, and run again
If you wanted to get all this into a single string for dynamic exec, i guess it'd look like (untested) a procedure that contained:
DECLARE #x NVARCHAR(MAX);
SELECT #x =
STRING_AGG(
REPLACE(
'select ''{tn}'' as table_name, max(loaded_date) as ld from {tn}'
,'{tn}',table_name)
,' union all ')
FROM
information_schema.columns
WHERE
column_name = 'loaded_date';
EXECUTE sp_executesql #x;
If your SQLS is old and doesnt have string_agg it's a bit more awkward - but there are many examples of "turn rows into CSV" in sql server that look like STUFF..FOR XML PATH - https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=rows+to+CSV+SQLS&ia=web
I wrote up a more permanent type of script that does this. It returns a result set of the list of tables in the current database with a column named loaded_date along with the MAX(loaded_date) result from each table. This script individually queries each table by looping through and running the query on each table individually and keeping track of the max value for each table in a table variable. It also has a #Debug variable that allows you to see the text of the queries that would be run instead of actually running them and implements custom error message to troubleshoot any issues.
/*disable row count messages*/
SET NOCOUNT ON;
/*set to 1 to debug (aka just print queries instead of running)*/
DECLARE #Debug bit = 0;
/*get list of tables to query and assign a unique index to row to assist in looping*/
DECLARE #TableList TABLE(
SchemaAndTableName nvarchar(257) NOT NULL
,OrderToQuery bigint NOT NULL
,MaxLoadedDate datetime NULL
,PRIMARY KEY (OrderToQuery)
);
INSERT INTO #TableList (SchemaAndTableName,OrderToQuery)
SELECT
CONCAT(QUOTENAME(s.name),N'.', QUOTENAME(t.name)) AS SchemaAndTableName
,ROW_NUMBER() OVER(ORDER BY s.name, t.name) AS OrderToQuery
FROM
sys.columns AS c
INNER JOIN sys.tables AS t ON c.object_id = t.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.schemas AS s ON t.schema_id = s.schema_id
WHERE
c.name = N'loaded_date';
/*declare and set some variables for loop*/
DECLARE #NumTables int = (SELECT TOP (1) OrderToQuery FROM #TableList ORDER BY OrderToQuery DESC);
DECLARE #I int = 1;
DECLARE #CurMaxDate datetime;
DECLARE #CurTable nvarchar(257);
DECLARE #CurQuery nvarchar(max);
/*start loop*/
WHILE #I <= #NumTables
BEGIN
/*build text of current query*/
SET #CurTable = (SELECT SchemaAndTableName FROM #TableList WHERE OrderToQuery = #I);
SET #CurQuery = CONCAT(N'SELECT #MaxDateOut = MAX(loaded_date) FROM ', #CurTable, N';');
/*check debugging status*/
IF #Debug = 0
BEGIN
BEGIN TRY
EXEC sys.sp_executesql #stmt = #CurQuery
,#params = N'#MaxDateOut datetime OUTPUT'
,#MaxDateOut = #CurMaxDate OUTPUT;
END TRY
BEGIN CATCH
DECLARE #ErrorMessage nvarchar(max) = CONCAT(
N'Error querying table ', #CurTable, N'.', NCHAR(13), NCHAR(10)
,N'Errored query: ', NCHAR(13), NCHAR(10), #CurQuery, NCHAR(13), NCHAR(10)
,N'Error message: ', ERROR_MESSAGE()
);
RAISERROR(#ErrorMessage,16,1) WITH NOWAIT;
/*on error end loop so error can be investigated*/
SET #I = #NumTables + 1;
END CATCH;
END;
ELSE /*currently debugging*/
BEGIN
PRINT(CONCAT(N'Debug output: ', #CurQuery));
END;
/*update value in our table variable*/
UPDATE #TableList
SET MaxLoadedDate = #CurMaxDate
WHERE
OrderToQuery = #I;
/*increment loop*/
SET #I = #I + 1;
END;
SELECT
SchemaAndTableName AS TableName
,MaxLoadedDate AS Max_Loaded_date
FROM
#TableList;
I like this solution better as querying each table one at a time would be much less system impact than attempting one large UNION ALL query. Querying a large set of a tables all at once could cause some serious resource semaphore or locking contention (depending on usage of your db).
It is fairly well commented, but let me know if something is not clear.
Also, just a note, dynamic SQL should be used as a last resort. I provided this script to answer your question, but you should explore better options than something like this.
You can go for undocumented stored procedure sp_MSforeachtable. But, don't use in production code, as this stored procedure might not be available in future versions.
Read more on sp_MSforeachtable
EXEC sp_MSforeachtable 'SELECT ''?'' as tablename, max(loaded_Date) FROM ?'
I've been busy with coding a stored procedure which contains two temporary tables and a cursor. It's been two days since I've received this assignment and it's giving me a hard time, for it's the first time I'm busy with coding an SP of such complexity.
The cursor is supposed to derive data from DATABASE_X, and lets that data being fetched for making comparisons with DATABASE_Y.
The TableInfo table in DATABASE_Y is to contain all, or most of the schemas and tables that are in DATABASE_X. The similar thing goes for the ColumnInfo table as well, with the only difference from the TableInfo table being able to contain the column data as well.
The temporary tables, which respectively contain the data of the non-existing tables in DATABASE_Y.TableInfo and the non-existing columns in DATABASE_Y.ColumnInfo are meant to be filled after the comparisons. (non-existing means that the table A exists in DBX but not in the rows of DBY.TableInfo, and vice versa for the case of columns)
The NotInUse column that exists in DATABASE_Y.TableInfo is a determinant for whether a table in DBX should be considered to be examined.
CREATE TABLE #NONEXISTENT_TABLES(
SCHEMA_NAME VARCHAR(100),
TABLE_NAME VARCHAR(100)
)
CREATE TABLE #NONEXISTENT_COLUMNS(
SCHEMA_NAME VARCHAR(100),
TABLE_NAME VARCHAR(100),
COLUMN_NAME VARCHAR(100)
)
DECLARE #SchemaName VARCHAR(100)
DECLARE #TableName VARCHAR(100)
DECLARE #ColumnName VARCHAR(100)
USE DATABASE_X;
DECLARE CRS_GET_NONEXISTENT_STUFF CURSOR FOR
select s.name as 'sname', t.name as 'tname', c.name as 'cname'
from sys.schemas (nolock) s
join sys.tables (nolock) t
on s.schema_id = t.schema_id
join sys.columns (nolock) c
on c.object_id = t.object_id
order by 1,2,3
OPEN CRS_GET_NONEXISTENT_STUFF
FETCH NEXT FROM CRS_GET_NONEXISTENT_STUFF INTO #SchemaName,
#TableName,
#ColumnName
WHILE ##FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
select #SchemaName, #TableName
from DATABASE_Y..TableInfo (nolock) ti
print #SchemaName + '-' + #TableName
IF ##ROWCOUNT = 1
BEGIN
declare #NotInUse varchar(100)
select #NotInUse = ti.[NotInUse]
from DATABASE_Y..TableInfo (nolock) ti
where ti.[Schema] = #SchemaName
and ti.[Name] = #TableName
print #SchemaName + '-' + #TableName
IF #NotInUse = '0'
DECLARE #colname varchar(100)
BEGIN
select #colname = ci.[Name]
from DATABASE_Y..ColumnInfo (nolock) ci
where ci.[TableSchema] = #SchemaName
and ci.[TableName] = #TableName
and ci.[Name] = #ColumnName
print #SchemaName + '-' + #TableName + '-' + #ColumnName
IF #colname IS NULL
BEGIN
INSERT INTO #NONEXISTENT_COLUMNS(SEMA_ADI, TABLO_ADI, KOLON_ADI)
VALUES(#SchemaName, #TableName, #colname)
END
END
END
ELSE
INSERT INTO #NONEXISTENT_TABLES(SCHEMA_NAME, TABLE_NAME)
VALUES (#SchemaName, #TableName)
FETCH NEXT FROM CRS_GET_NONEXISTENT_STUFF INTO #SchemaName,
#TableName,
#ColumnName
END
CLOSE CRS_GET_NONEXISTENT_STUFF
DEALLOCATE CRS_GET_NONEXISTENT_STUFF
SELECT * FROM #NONEXISTENT_COLUMNS
SELECT * FROM #NONEXISTENT_TABLES
DROP TABLE #NONEXISTENT_COLUMNS
DROP TABLE #NONEXISTENT_TABLES
Assuming that:
*The first schema on DBX is AAA and the first table on DBX of AAA is BBBBB
*The second table of AAA is CCCCC;
I receive a countless amount of tables as the result of a hardly-looks-like-it-would-end-quickly query, having only AAA-BBBBB displayed in 5-6 tables with around 5000 rows, then moving onto AAA-CCCCC doing what happened above, and it goes on and on.
I believe that my mistake was to put the SELECT commands under that WHILE loop, but I also believe that it wasn't my only mistake...
I'd appreciate having the advices of all of you about this issue.
I apologize for the mere wall of text.
First thing I would suggest is to read this article - Bad habits : Putting NOLOCK everywhere.
The next thing is that for each loop you run this:
select #SchemaName, #TableName
from DATABASE_Y..TableInfo (nolock) ti;
print #SchemaName + '-' + #TableName;
IF ##ROWCOUNT = 1
....
I have added line breaks and statement terminators for clarity, but the first select is why you are getting loads of results sets. This does nothing and will run for every column in your database. Also where you have IF ##ROWCOUNT = 1 it will always return 0 because it follows a print command, which returns no rows. So you will never enter the "true" section of this IF/ELSE block.
I am quite certain that you don't need a cursor at all, and as a general rule unless you absolutely have to use a cursor you should not use one. So I think you can simply replace all your loops with two set based inserts:
CREATE TABLE #NONEXISTENT_TABLES(
SCHEMA_NAME VARCHAR(100),
TABLE_NAME VARCHAR(100),
object_id INT NOT NULL
);
CREATE TABLE #NONEXISTENT_COLUMNS(
SCHEMA_NAME VARCHAR(100),
TABLE_NAME VARCHAR(100),
COLUMN_NAME VARCHAR(100)
);
INSERT #NONEXISTENT_TABLES (SCHEMA_NAME, TABLE_NAME, objecobject_idt_ID)
SELECT s.name, t.Name, object_id
FROM sys.tables AS t
INNER JOIN sys.schemas AS s
ON s.schema_id = t.schema_id
WHERE NOT EXISTS
( SELECT 1
FROM DATABASE_Y..TableInfo AS ti
WHERE ti.TableSchema = s.Name
AND ti.name = t.name
--AND ti.NotInUse = 0
);
INSERT #NONEXISTENT_COLUMNS (SCHEMA_NAME, TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME)
SELECT nt.SCHEMA_NAME, nt.TABLE_NAME, c.name
FROM sys.columns AS c
INNER JOIN #NONEXISTENT_TABLES AS nt
ON nt.object_id = c.object_id);
I'm working on cleaning up an ERP and I need to get rid of references to unused users and user groups. There are many foreign key constraints and therefor I want to be sure to really get rid of all traces!
I found this tidy tidbit of code to find all tables in my db with a certain column name, in this case let's look at the user groups:
select table_name from information_schema.columns
where column_name = 'GROUP_ID'
With the results I can search through the 40+ tables for my unused ID... but this is tedius. So I'd like to automate this and create a query that loops through all these tables and deletes the rows where it finds Unused_Group in the GROUP_ID column.
Before deleting anything I'd like to visualize the existing data, so I started to build something like this using string concatenation:
declare #group varchar(50) = 'Unused_Group'
declare #table1 varchar(50) = 'TABLE1'
declare #table2 varchar(50) = 'TABLE2'
declare #tableX varchar(50) = 'TABLEX'
select #query1 = 'SELECT ''' + rtrim(#table1) + ''' as ''Table'', '''
+ rtrim(#group) + ''' = CASE WHEN EXISTS (SELECT GROUP_ID FROM ' + rtrim(#table1)
+ ' WHERE GROUP_ID = ''' + rtrim(#group) + ''') then ''MATCH'' else ''-'' end FROM '
+ rtrim(#table1)
select #query2 = [REPEAT FOR #table2 to #tableX]...
EXEC(#query1 + ' UNION ' + #query2 + ' UNION ' + #queryX)
This gives me the results:
TABLE1 | Match
TABLE2 | -
TABLEX | Match
This works for my purposes and I can run it for any user group without changing any other code, and is of course easily adaptable to DELETE from these same tables, but is unmanageable for the 75 or so tables that I have to deal with between users and groups.
I ran into this link on dynamic SQL which was intense and dense enough to scare me away for the moment... but I think the solution might be in there somewhere.
I'm very familiar with FOR() loops in JS and other languages, where this would be a piece of cake with a well structured array, but apparently it's not so simple in SQL (I'm still learning, but found alot of negative talk about the FOR and GOTO solutions available...). Ideally a I'd have a script that queries to find tables with a certain column name, query each table as above, and spit me a list of matches, and then execute a second similar script to delete the rows.
Can anyone help point me in the right direction?
Ok, try this, there are three variables; column, colValue and preview. Column should be the column you're checking equality on (Group_ID), colValue the value you're looking for (Unused_Group) and preview should be 1 to view what you'll delete and 0 to delete it.
Declare #column Nvarchar(256),
#colValue Nvarchar(256),
#preview Bit
Set #column = 'Group_ID'
Set #colValue = 'Unused_Group'
Set #preview = 1 -- 1 = preview; 0 = delete
If Object_ID('tempdb..#tables') Is Not Null Drop Table #tables
Create Table #tables (tID Int, SchemaName Nvarchar(256), TableName Nvarchar(256))
-- Get all the tables with a column named [GROUP_ID]
Insert #tables
Select Row_Number() Over (Order By s.name, so.name), s.name, so.name
From sysobjects so
Join sys.schemas s
On so.uid = s.schema_id
Join syscolumns sc
On so.id = sc.id
Where so.xtype = 'u'
And sc.name = #column
Select *
From #tables
Declare #SQL Nvarchar(Max),
#schema Nvarchar(256),
#table Nvarchar(256),
#iter Int = 1
-- As long as there are tables to look at keep looping
While Exists (Select 1
From #tables)
Begin
-- Get the next table record to look at
Select #schema = SchemaName,
#table = TableName
From #tables
Where tID = #iter
-- If the table we're going to look at has dependencies on tables we have not
-- yet looked at move it to the end of the line and look at it after we look
-- at it's dependent tables (Handle foreign keys)
If Exists (Select 1
From sysobjects o
Join sys.schemas s1
On o.uid = s1.schema_id
Join sysforeignkeys fk
On o.id = fk.rkeyid
Join sysobjects o2
On fk.fkeyid = o2.id
Join sys.schemas s2
On o2.uid = s2.schema_id
Join #tables t
On o2.name = t.TableName Collate Database_Default
And s2.name = t.SchemaName Collate Database_Default
Where o.name = #table
And s1.name = #schema)
Begin
-- Move the table to the end of the list to retry later
Update t
Set tID = (Select Max(tID) From #tables) + 1
From #tables t
Where tableName = #table
And schemaName = #schema
-- Move on to the next table to look at
Set #iter = #iter + 1
End
Else
Begin
-- Delete the records we don't want anymore
Set #Sql = Case
When #preview = 1
Then 'Select * ' -- If preview is 1 select from table
Else 'Delete t ' -- If preview is not 1 the delete from table
End +
'From [' + #schema + '].[' + #table + '] t
Where ' + #column + ' = ''' + #colValue + ''''
Exec sp_executeSQL #SQL;
-- After we've done the work remove the table from our list
Delete t
From #tables t
Where tableName = #table
And schemaName = #schema
-- Move on to the next table to look at
Set #iter = #iter + 1
End
End
Turning this into a stored procedure would simply involve changing the variables declaration at the top to a sproc creation so you would get rid of...
Declare #column Nvarchar(256),
#colValue Nvarchar(256),
#preview Bit
Set #column = 'Group_ID'
Set #colValue = 'Unused_Group'
Set #preview = 1 -- 1 = preview; 0 = delete
...
And replace it with...
Create Proc DeleteStuffFromManyTables (#column Nvarchar(256), #colValue Nvarchar(256), #preview Bit = 1)
As
...
And you'd call it with...
Exec DeleteStuffFromManyTable 'Group_ID', 'Unused_Group', 1
I commented the hell out of the code to help you understand what it's doing; good luck!
You're on the right track with INFORMATION_SCHEMA objects. Execute the below in a query editor, it produces SELECT and DELETE statements for tables that contain GROUP_ID column with 'Unused_Group' value.
-- build select DML to manually review data that will be deleted
SELECT 'SELECT * FROM [' + TABLE_SCHEMA + '].[' + TABLE_NAME + '] WHERE [GROUP_ID] = ''Unused_Group'';'
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE COLUMN_NAME = 'GROUP_ID';
-- build delete DML to remove data
SELECT 'DELETE FROM [' + TABLE_SCHEMA + '].[' + TABLE_NAME + '] WHERE [GROUP_ID] = ''Unused_Group'';'
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE COLUMN_NAME = 'GROUP_ID';
Since this seems to be a one-time cleanup effort, and especially since you need to review data before it is deleted, I don't see the value in making this more complicated.
Consider adding referential integrity and enforcing cascade delete, if you can. It won't help with visualizing the data before you delete it, but will help controlling orphaned rows.