find all tables not referenced in stored procedures - sql

Question

I have sql server database with numerous tables, some no longer used so I want to remove them. All database interactivity is via stored procedure to these tables.
Is there a database sql script that I can use that will list all tables not referenced in any of the stored procedures in the database?

Answer 1

If SQL Server 2008 then the dependencies information is now reliable.
SELECT SCHEMA_NAME(t.schema_id),
t.name
FROM sys.tables t
WHERE is_ms_shipped = 0
AND NOT EXISTS (SELECT *
FROM sys.sql_expression_dependencies d
WHERE d.referenced_entity_name = t.name
AND (( is_ambiguous = 1 or is_caller_dependent=1)
OR
d.referenced_id = t.object_id) )

Answer 2

You can't do this if you use any dynamic T-SQL. Dynamic T-SQL won't show up in any investigation of object dependencies.
Instead, you can use the DMV sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats to find what objects haven't been referenced by any queries. Here's a query I did on SQLServerPedia for that:
http://sqlserverpedia.com/wiki/Find_Indexes_Not_In_Use
The query is designed for performance tuning indexes, so you'll need to tweak a few lines. Here's the modified query:
SELECT
o.name
, indexname=i.name
, i.index_id
, reads=user_seeks + user_scans + user_lookups
, writes = user_updates
, rows = (SELECT SUM(p.rows) FROM sys.partitions p WHERE p.index_id = s.index_id AND s.object_id = p.object_id)
, CASE
WHEN s.user_updates < 1 THEN 100
ELSE 1.00 * (s.user_seeks + s.user_scans + s.user_lookups) / s.user_updates
END AS reads_per_write
, 'DROP INDEX ' + QUOTENAME(i.name)
+ ' ON ' + QUOTENAME(c.name) + '.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME(s.object_id)) as 'drop statement'
FROM sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats s
INNER JOIN sys.indexes i ON i.index_id = s.index_id AND s.object_id = i.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.objects o on s.object_id = o.object_id
INNER JOIN sys.schemas c on o.schema_id = c.schema_id
WHERE OBJECTPROPERTY(s.object_id,'IsUserTable') = 1
AND s.database_id = DB_ID()
ORDER BY reads
Keep in mind that this catches all indexes, and you'll need to sift through - some of your objects may be heaps, some may have clustered indexes, etc. I'll leave this as a wiki so someone more ambitious than me can edit it to build a deduped list. :-D

Answer 3

Check this discussion tsql script to find tables not being used by stored procedures, views, functions, etc?
And this article(listed from above discussion) http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1294 discusses about SQL object dependencies.

Answer 4

Perhaps something along these lines:
select t.table_name
from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES t
where not exists (
select 1 from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ROUTINES r
where object_definition(object_id(r.ROUTINE_NAME)) like '%'+t.TABLE_NAME+'%'
) order by t.TABLE_NAME

Answer 5

The first query lists table with the stored proc name that uses it.
The second query lists table with the number of stored procs using it.
-- list all tables / sprocs
select t.name [Table], p.name [StoredProc]
from sys.tables t
left join sys.procedures p on (OBJECT_DEFINITION(p.object_id)) like '%' + t.name + '%'
where t.type = 'U'
order by t.name, p.name
-- count stored procs using table
select t.name [Table], count(p.name) [Count]
from sys.tables t
left join sys.procedures p on (OBJECT_DEFINITION(p.object_id)) like '%' + t.name + '%'
where t.type = 'U'
group by t.name
order by t.name

Answer 6

Here's one you might try:
select
name
from
sys.tables t
left join
sys.sql_dependencies d
on
t.object_id =
d.referenced_major_id
where
d.referenced_major_id is null
Otherwise, here's a reference I've used in the past:
http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1294

Answer 7

If performace isnt to much of a problem you could try the following.
Select Distinct Object_Name(ID)
From syscomments
Where ID Not In (Select ID From syscomments Where Text Like '%<TableName>%')
This will check each view, rule, default, trigger, CHECK constraint, DEFAULT constraint, and stored procedure within your database

Answer 8

Most of this code doesn't work if there are schemas other than "dbo", or if the user's default schema is not "dbo". Here's an update to one of the scripts to fix that:
select t.Table_Schema + '.' + t.table_name
from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES t
where not exists (
select 1 from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ROUTINES r
where object_definition(object_id(r.routine_schema + '.' + r.ROUTINE_NAME)) like '%'+t.TABLE_NAME+'%'
) order by t.TABLE_NAME