How to Retrieve Column Type in SQL
In the realm of database management, it is imperative to have information about the structure of tables, including the data types of their columns. This knowledge aids in data comprehension, manipulation, and query optimization. Thankfully, SQL provides a mechanism to retrieve the data type of a specific column.
Utilizing the INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS View
The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS view provides a comprehensive catalog of table metadata, including column types. This view offers a wealth of information, including the column's data type, nullability, and other attributes. To retrieve the data type of a particular column, use the following query:
SELECT DATA_TYPE FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS WHERE TABLE_SCHEMA = '[yourSchemaName]' AND TABLE_NAME = '[yourTableName]' AND COLUMN_NAME = '[yourColumnName]';
Reconstructing Types with Parameters
While the DATA_TYPE column provides essential information, it may not always include the full specification of parameterized types. For example, a column typed as nvarchar(max) will only show as nvarchar. To address this, consider the following approach:
WITH q AS ( SELECT c.TABLE_SCHEMA, c.TABLE_NAME, c.ORDINAL_POSITION, c.COLUMN_NAME, c.DATA_TYPE, CASE WHEN c.DATA_TYPE IN ( N'binary', N'varbinary' ) THEN ( CASE c.CHARACTER_OCTET_LENGTH WHEN -1 THEN N'(max)' ELSE CONCAT( N'(', c.CHARACTER_OCTET_LENGTH , N')' ) END ) WHEN c.DATA_TYPE IN ( N'char', N'varchar', N'nchar', N'nvarchar' ) THEN ( CASE c.CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH WHEN -1 THEN N'(max)' ELSE CONCAT( N'(', c.CHARACTER_MAXIMUM_LENGTH, N')' ) END ) WHEN c.DATA_TYPE IN ( N'datetime2', N'datetimeoffset' ) THEN CONCAT( N'(', c.DATETIME_PRECISION, N')' ) WHEN c.DATA_TYPE IN ( N'decimal', N'numeric' ) THEN CONCAT( N'(', c.NUMERIC_PRECISION , N',', c.NUMERIC_SCALE, N')' ) END AS DATA_TYPE_PARAMETER, CASE c.IS_NULLABLE WHEN N'NO' THEN N' NOT NULL' WHEN N'YES' THEN N' NULL' END AS IS_NULLABLE2 FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS AS c ) SELECT CONCAT( q.DATA_TYPE, ISNULL( q.DATA_TYPE_PARAMETER, N'' ), q.IS_NULLABLE2 ) AS FULL_DATA_TYPE FROM q WHERE q.TABLE_SCHEMA = '[yourSchemaName]' AND q.TABLE_NAME = '[yourTableName]' AND q.COLUMN_NAME = '[yourColumnName]';
This query reconstructs the full data type specification, including parameters for parameterized types, and adds a descriptive nullability indicator.
Utilizing these techniques, you can successfully retrieve and understand the data types of columns in your SQL tables.
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