The system procedures use several system procedure tables in the master and sybsystemdb databases to convert internal system values (for example, status bits) into human-readable format. One of these tables, spt_values, is used by a variety of system procedures, including:
sp_configure
sp_dboption
sp_depends
sp_help
sp_helpdb
sp_helpdevice
sp_helpindex
sp_helpkey
sp_helprotect
sp_lock
The spt_values table can be updated only by an upgrade; you cannot modify it. To see how it is used, execute sp_helptext and look at the text for one of the system procedures that references it.
The other system procedure tables are spt_monitor, spt_committab, and tables needed by the catalog stored procedures. (The spt_committab table is located in the sybsystemdb database.)
In addition, several system procedures create, and then drop, temporary tables. For example, sp_helpdb creates #spdbdesc, sp_helpdevice creates #spdevtab, and sp_helpindex creates #spindtab.
