System Tables (Level 2)
| SQL Server 6.x | SQL Server 2000 |
|---|---|
| System tables were used internally by SQL Server for a wide range of uses. | Some system tables have had minor changes, while others have been replaced by Information Schema Views that provide the same information.
Expect different results as compared to earlier versions of SQL Server. Use the provided Information Schema Views or ODBC catalog system stored procedures to obtain system catalog information. |
| The logptr column of sysdatabases was a pointer to the transaction log. | The logptr column has been renamed to status2. Remove all references of the logptr column of sysdatabases and replace with references to the status2 column. |
| The dumptrdate column of sysdatabases was the date of the last DUMP TRANSACTION. | This column is now Reserved.
Expect different results as compared to earlier versions of SQL Server. Remove all references to the dumptrdate column of sysdatabases. |
| The langid column of sysmessages contained the SQL Server message group ID. | The langid column has been renamed to msglangid.
Expect different results as compared to earlier versions of SQL Server. Remove all references of the langid column of sysmessages and replace with references to the msglangid column. |
| A NULL value for the language column of the syslogins table was equivalent to specifying us_english. | A NULL value for the language column is no longer equivalent to us_english.
Expect different results as compared to earlier versions of SQL Server. Remove all NULL values for the language column of syslogins and replace with the name of the language to be used. |
| System tables obtained their column values by insertion of a specific value (SQL Server 2000 uses computed columns in many system and user-defined tables.) | System tables (and user-defined tables) can now use computed columns.
Expect different results as compared to earlier versions of SQL Server. SQL Server version 6.5 queries involving table hints and system tables may still produce the same result set, but may behave differently in SQL Server 2000. For example, the query may still wait for some locks even if the NOLOCK table hint has been specified in the query's FROM clause. |