Overview
The INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES view allows you to get information about all tables and views within a database. By default, it will show you this information for every single table and view that is in the database.
Explanation
This view can be called from any of the databases in an instance of SQL Server and will return the results for the data within that particular database.
The columns that this view returns are as follows:
| Column name | Data type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| TABLE_CATALOG | nvarchar(128) | Table qualifier. |
| TABLE_SCHEMA | nvarchar(128) | Name of schema that contains the table. |
| TABLE_NAME | sysname | Table name. |
| TABLE_TYPE | varchar(10) | Type of table. Can be VIEW or BASE TABLE. |
Here is an example of data that was pulled from the AdventureWorks database. This data was pulled using this query:
SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
To only show a list of tables, use this query:
SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
WHERE TABLE_TYPE = 'BASE TABLE'To only show a list of only the view, use this query:
SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
WHERE TABLE_TYPE = 'VIEW'
Greg Robidoux has been working with databases for 35+ years with extensive hands on SQL Server experience from version 6.5 to 2025. He has authored over 250 technical articles and delivered several presentations online and at various conventions. Greg is also the President and founder of Edgewood Solutions, a technology services company delivering services and solutions for Microsoft SQL Server.
