在数据库中搜索字段

Question

What's the quickest way to find what table a field is in? I just started at a new company and I'm not yet familiar with their DB's schema. I frequently have a metric or dimension that I need to search for and it seems very time consuming as they have a very large DB.

I know this is a vague question and there is no best answer, but I'm looking for best practices, tips, and tricks that people have learned over the years which I might be able to leverage in this case.

Answer 1

You can use sys.columns for that:

SELECT 
    OBJECT_NAME(c.object_id)
FROM sys.columns c
WHERE c.name = <column_name>

Answer 2

I normally use the following query when I'm searching for a field.

SELECT * FROM information_schema.COLUMNS c WHERE c.COLUMN_NAME LIKE 'search_field%'

Make sure you have the DB you're interested in selected.

Then, once you find the table you're looking for you can create a DB diagram and 'show related fields' to see how to join that table on what you already have.