Transact-SQL compatibility views

Adaptive Server Enterprise and Sybase IQ have different system catalogs, reflecting the different uses for the two products.

In Adaptive Server Enterprise, there is a single master database containing a set of system tables holding information that applies to all databases on the server. Many databases may exist within the master database, and each has additional system tables associated with it.

In Sybase IQ, each database exists independently, and contains its own system tables. There is no master database that contains system information on a collection of databases. Each server may run several databases at a time, dynamically loading and unloading each database as needed.

The Adaptive Server Enterprise and Sybase IQ system catalogs are different. The Adaptive Server Enterprise system tables and views are owned by the special user dbo, and exist partly in the master database, partly in the sybsecurity database, and partly in each individual database; the Sybase IQ system tables and views are owned by the special user SYS and exist separately in each database.

To assist in preparing compatible applications, Sybase IQ provides a set of views owned by the special user dbo, which correspond to the Adaptive Server Enterprise system tables and views. Where architectural differences make the contents of a particular Adaptive Server Enterprise table or view meaningless in a Sybase IQ context, the view is empty, containing only the column names and data types.

Table 8-1, Table 8-2, and Table 8-3 list the Adaptive Server Enterprise system tables and their implementation in the Sybase IQ system catalog. The owner of all tables is dbo in each DBMS.

Tables in each Adaptive Server Enterprise database

**Table 8-1: Tables in each ASE database**
Table name	Description	Data?	Supported by IQ?
sysalternates	One row for each user mapped to a database user	No	No
syscolumns	One row for each column in a table or view, and for each parameter in a procedure. In Sybase IQ, use the owner name dbo when querying, i.e. dbo.syscolumns.	Yes	Yes
syscomments	One or more rows for each view, rule, default, and procedure, giving SQL definition statement.	Yes	Yes
sysconstraints	One row for each referential and check constraint associated with a table or column.	No	No
sysdepends	One row for each procedure, view, or table that is referenced by a procedure, view.	No	No
sysindexes	One row for each clustered or nonclustered index, and one row for each table with no indexes, and an additional row for each table containing text or image data. In Sybase IQ, use the owner name dbo when querying, i.e. dbo.sysindexes.	Yes	Yes
sysiqobjects	One row for each system table, user table, view, procedure, trigger, event, join index, constraint, domain (sysdomain), domain (sysusertype), column, and index.	Yes	Yes
sysiqvindex	One row for each non-fp iq index.	Yes	Yes
syskeys	One row for each primary, foreign, or common key; set by user (not maintained by Adaptive Server Enterprise).	No	No
syslogs	Transaction log.	No	No
sysobjects	One row for each table, view, procedure, rule, default, log, and (in tempdb only) temporary object.	Contains compatible data only	Yes
sysprocedures	One row for each view, rule, default, and procedure, giving internal definition.	No	No
sysprotects	User permissions information.	No	No
sysreferences	One row for each referential integrity constraint declared on a table or column.	No	No
sysroles	Maps server-wide roles to local database groups.	No	No
syssegments	One row for each segment (named collection of disk pieces).	No	No
systhresholds	One row for each threshold defined for the database.	No	No
systypes	One row for each system-supplied and user-defined data type.	Yes	Yes
sysusers	One row for each user allowed in the database.	Yes	Yes

Tables in the Adaptive Server Enterprise master database

**Table 8-2: ASE master database tables**
Table name	Description	Data?	Supported by IQ?
syscharsets	One row for each character set or sort order	No	No
sysconfigures	One row for each configuration parameter that can be set by a user	No	No
syscurconfigs	Information about configuration parameters currently being used by the server	No	No
sysdatabases	One row for each database on the server	No	No
sysdevices	One row for each tape dump device, disk dump device, disk for databases, and disk partition for databases	No	No
sysengines	One row for each server currently online	No	No
syslanguages	One row for each language (except U.S. English) known to the server	No	No
syslocks	Information about active locks	No	No
sysloginroles	One row for each server login that possesses a system-defined role	No	No
syslogins	One row for each valid user account	Yes	Yes
sysmessages	One row for each system error or warning	No	No
sysprocesses	Information about server processes	No	No
sysremotelogins	One row for each remote user	No	No
syssrvroles	One row for each server-wide role	No	No
sysservers	One row for each remote server	No	No
sysusages	One row for each disk piece allocated to a database	No	No

Tables in the Adaptive Server Enterprise sybsecurity database

**Table 8-3: ASE sybsecurity database tables**
Table name	Description	Data?	Supported by IQ?
sysaudits	One row for each audit record	No	No
sysauditoptions	One row for each global audit option	No	No