I'm doing a little research into database metadata for various
products like DB2, Oracle, SQL Server, and MySQL. I want
to learn about where information on tables and views are stored.

What is the difference between the system catalog and
metadata? Is one a superset of the other?

Which one of them contains logical and physical information
on the tables and views (e.g. how they are partitioned,
the schemas, etc.)?

Is there a SQL / ANSI standard on what information should
be stored in the catalog / metadata?

"Digital Puer" <digital_puer (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Metadata is simply data whose subject matter is data. The system catalog is
metadata, but metadata could exist in other forms as well.

DB2, Oracle, and SQL server all came into being before there was a standard
form for the metadata that describes database objects. Shortly after the
SQL standard
was set up for system tables, all these products included views on their
system tables that allow a user to see this data in standard form. I do not
know if the various products have actually changed their base system tables
to conform to the standard.

Digital Puer wrote:

Sounds like homework to me.

On Jul 21, 5:22*pm, Digital Puer <digital_p... (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote:
Re:

The SQL-92 standard specified the INFORMATION_SCHEMA schema. AFAIK,
among only SQL Server implemented it (to what degree I can't say). You
can find more here: http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~s...ql/sql1992.txt

--Jeff

On Jul 21, 5:22*pm, Digital Puer <digital_p... (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote:
Re:

The SQL-92 standard specified the INFORMATION_SCHEMA schema. AFAIK,
only SQL Server implements it (to what degree I can't say). You
can find more here: http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~s...ql/sql1992.txt

--Jeff