Data in the system tables is only viewable by querying the system views; you cannot query a system table directly. With a few exceptions, each system table has a corresponding view.

The system views are named similar to the system tables, but without an I at the beginning. For example, to view the data in the ISYSTAB system table, you query the SYSTAB system view.

For a list of views provided in SQL Anywhere and a description of the type of information they contain, see System views.

You can either use Sybase Central or Interactive SQL to browse system view data.

 To view data for a system table via a system view (Sybase Central)

 To view data for a system table via a system view (SQL)

 Example

SELECT * FROM SYS.SYSTAB;

SELECT viewtext
FROM SYS.SYSVIEWS
WHERE viewname = 'SYSTAB';
OUTPUT TO viewtext.sql
FORMAT TEXT
ESCAPES OFF
QUOTE '';