SQL Server Team-based Development - Red Gate Software

Chapter 8: Exploring your Database Schema
- – you can save a lot of code by using the catalog views
- – along with the OBJECTPROPERTY() function
SELECT DB_NAME() + '.' + object_schema_name(t.object_ID) + '.' + t.name
AS [tables without primary keys]
FROM sys.tables t
WHERE OBJECTPROPERTY(object_id, 'TableHasPrimaryKey') = 0
AND OBJECTPROPERTY(object_id, 'IsUserTable') = 1
ORDER BY [tables without primary keys]
Listing 8-4: Finding tables with no primary key using a Catalog view.
Tables with no referential constraints
You can, of course, use almost the same query to explore many other characteristics of
the tables. You'd certainly want to investigate any tables that seem to have no referential
constraints, either as a key or a foreign reference, as shown in Listing 8-5.
--Which of my table are waifs? (No referential constraints)
SELECT
DB_NAME() + '.' + object_schema_name(t.object_ID)
+ '.' + t.name AS [Waif Tables]
FROM sys.tables t
WHERE OBJECTPROPERTY(object_id, 'TableHasForeignKey') = 0
AND OBJECTPROPERTY(object_id, 'TableHasForeignRef') = 0
AND OBJECTPROPERTY(object_id, 'IsUserTable') = 1
ORDER BY [Waif tables]
Listing 8-5: Finding waif tables.
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