SQL Server: Find out default value of a column with a query

Question

How can I find out the default value of a column in a table using a SQL query?

By using this stored procedure:

sp_columns @tablename 

I get some information on the columns of a particular table but the default value of the columns is missing, How can I get it?

Answer 1

You can find the stored definition with the below (remember to adjust the column and table name to find to be ones relevant to your environment!)

SELECT object_definition(default_object_id) AS definition
FROM   sys.columns
WHERE  name      ='colname'
AND    object_id = object_id('dbo.tablename')

Answer 2

Use:

   SELECT so.name AS table_name, 
          sc.name AS column_name, 
          sm.text AS default_value
     FROM sys.sysobjects so
     JOIN sys.syscolumns sc ON sc.id = so.id
LEFT JOIN sys.syscomments sm ON sm.id = sc.cdefault
    WHERE so.xtype = 'U' 
      AND so.name = @yourtable
 ORDER BY so.[name], sc.colid

Answer 3

I use INFORMATION_SCHEMA table like this:

SELECT 
    TABLE_SCHEMA, TABLE_NAME, COLUMN_NAME, COLUMN_DEFAULT
FROM
    INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
WHERE
  TABLE_SCHEMA = @SchemaName 
  AND TABLE_NAME = @TableName
  AND COLUMN_NAME = @ColumnName;