How to search a string in databases of SQL Server

Question

This Query can search any string value (table name, table data etc) from all the tables/views of any SQL Server database, when you will place any string at \"your te

Answer 1

This is also a helpful query to find something like proc etc from msDB means this will find table/function/proc ref in SQL Server Agent's Jobs.

USE [msdb] 
GO 
SELECT j.job_id, s.srvname, j.name, js.step_id, js.command, j.enabled 
FROM dbo.sysjobs j 
JOIN dbo.sysjobsteps js ON js.job_id = j.job_id  
JOIN master.dbo.sysservers s     ON s.srvid = j.originating_server_id 
WHERE js.command LIKE N'%YOUR TEXT HERE%' 

Where query above in accepted answer

SELECT OBJECT_NAME(object_id), definition
FROM sys.sql_modules
WHERE definition LIKE '%'+@SearchStr+'%'

only work to find the given text in procedures/functions/triggers from selected DB.

Below query works to check the job status of SQL Server Agent Jobs:

SELECT sj.name
   , sja.*
FROM msdb.dbo.sysjobactivity AS sja
INNER JOIN msdb.dbo.sysjobs AS sj ON sja.job_id = sj.job_id

SELECT TOP 10 * FROM msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory 

Query to find the constraints details of a table in DB.

SELECT
    FK_Table = FK.TABLE_NAME,
    FK_Column = CU.COLUMN_NAME,
    PK_Table = PK.TABLE_NAME,
    PK_Column = PT.COLUMN_NAME,
    Constraint_Name = C.CONSTRAINT_NAME
FROM
    INFORMATION_SCHEMA.REFERENTIAL_CONSTRAINTS C
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS FK
    ON C.CONSTRAINT_NAME = FK.CONSTRAINT_NAME
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS PK
    ON C.UNIQUE_CONSTRAINT_NAME = PK.CONSTRAINT_NAME
INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE CU
    ON C.CONSTRAINT_NAME = CU.CONSTRAINT_NAME
INNER JOIN (
            SELECT
                i1.TABLE_NAME,
                i2.COLUMN_NAME
            FROM
                INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS i1
            INNER JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.KEY_COLUMN_USAGE i2
                ON i1.CONSTRAINT_NAME = i2.CONSTRAINT_NAME
            WHERE
                i1.CONSTRAINT_TYPE = 'PRIMARY KEY'
           ) PT
    ON PT.TABLE_NAME = PK.TABLE_NAME
    WHERE PT.table_name = 'Table Name'

To check the SQL Job Agent running job status:

use msdb                          
go                         
SELECT  j.name JobName            
, STUFF(STUFF(h.run_date,5,0,'-'),8,0,'-') as Date
, CAST(STR(h.run_date, 8, 0) AS DATETIME) + CAST(STUFF(STUFF(RIGHT('000000' + CAST (h.run_time AS VARCHAR(6)), 6),5, 0, ':'), 3, 0, ':') AS DATETIME) AS StartDate
, STUFF(STUFF(RIGHT(REPLICATE('0', 6) + CAST(h.run_duration as varchar(6)), 6), 3, 0, ':'), 6, 0, ':') AS DURATION
, CASE h.run_status               
          WHEN 0 THEN 'failed'           
          WHEN 1 THEN 'Succeded'         
          WHEN 2 THEN 'Retry'            
          WHEN 3 THEN 'Cancelled'        
          WHEN 4 THEN 'In Progress'      
        END AS ExecutionStatus           

FROM    sysjobhistory h           
        INNER JOIN sysjobs j             
            ON j.job_id = h.job_id       
                     WHERE STEP_ID = 0
                     AND CAST(STR(h.run_date, 8, 0) AS DATETIME) + CAST(STUFF(STUFF(RIGHT('000000' + CAST (h.run_time AS VARCHAR(6)), 6),5, 0, ':'), 3, 0, ':') AS DATETIME)>=getdate()-90
                     AND (j.name Like 'DW%' 
                     )
ORDER BY j.name, STUFF(STUFF(h.run_date,5,0,'-'),8,0,'-')

So this can be helpful for someone searching some text in DB.

Here is the query to find definition of SP/view/trigger etc in sql server.

SELECT definition   
FROM sys.sql_modules  
WHERE object_id = OBJECT_ID(N'Object Name Here'); 

To view Table schema we can use F1 and for full details, we can use the following query as well

SELECT DISTINCT C.COLUMN_NAME, C.IS_NULLABLE, C.DATA_TYPE, TC.CONSTRAINT_TYPE, C.COLUMN_DEFAULT
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS AS C
FULL JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.CONSTRAINT_COLUMN_USAGE AS CC ON C.COLUMN_NAME = CC.COLUMN_NAME 
FULL JOIN INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_CONSTRAINTS AS TC ON CC.CONSTRAINT_NAME = TC.CONSTRAINT_NAME WHERE C.TABLE_NAME = 'Table Name Here';

Answer 2

search given string in the procedures/functions/triggers

This is actually far easier.

SELECT OBJECT_NAME(object_id), definition
  FROM sys.sql_modules
 WHERE definition LIKE '%'+@SearchStr+'%'

One way to use it is to add it to the end of your TSQL code, i.e modify the last SELECT:

SELECT ColumnName, ColumnValue
  FROM @Results
 UNION ALL
SELECT OBJECT_NAME(object_id), definition
  FROM sys.sql_modules
 WHERE definition LIKE '%'+@SearchStr+'%'

Personally, I'd just run them separately one after the other as separate statements.

Answer 3

Check out the view sys.sql_modules.

Or, in pre-2005 versions of SQL Server, syscomments