Have you ever been in a situation where the entire database's collation needs to be changed? You may or may not know this, but the collation can be found at three different levels. At the server itself you can find a Default Server Collation. In a specific database itself, any new columns will inherit the Database Collation (unless explicitly set to something different), and finally each individual column has it's own (potentially different) collation, which can be viewed in sys.columns
Changing the database colaltion does not affect columns that already exist; they maintain their previous collation until you explicitly change it.
Here's a quick query to familiarize you with some details:
SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('Collation') As ServerCollation; SELECT DATABASEPROPERTYEX(db_name(),'Collation') AS DatabaseCollation; SELECT OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(object_id) As SchemaName, OBJECT_NAME(object_id) ObjectName, name As ColumnName, column_id, collation_name from sys.columns WHERE collation_name is not null order by SchemaName,ObjectName,column_id;
The Problem
Now suppose you inherited a database with a case sensitive collation, or a different collation, and that business requirements decide it needs to use something different instead. You've decided the database has the wrong collation, and since it's been around a while, you cannot just drop the database and create a new one. You need the data inside the database as well!
The Ramifications
Tackling that can be a huge problem, because the collations affect everything that touches the columns in the database that are using the CHAR,VARCHAR,NCHAR, and NVARCHAR data types. The columns can potentially be referenced by indexes, default values, check constraints, unque constraints, even primary keys can be directly affected, and can require a huge amount of work to modify them.
Just tackling colllation to modify one table can be daunting, but the prototype script here can help you tackle the problem with a straightforward,systematic script to build the commands you need to run. The script here only generates the commands you need, but there's an optional cursor commented out in the code as well, if you are really confident in the code it generates.
I would at least recommend running the results line by line in your test database a few times, before really committing to a cursor.
The Methodology
The idea I built here is build the scripts , in the "proper" order, to find and change the collation of any affected objects. I'm finding the tables and columns that are affected, and then digging into all the objects i could think of that use or reference the affected columns.
Additionally, the idea here is an "all or nothing" collation approach, where you intend to change the collation of all objects, and not a select number of tables to the new collation.
The Details
I decided to perform the changes in the following order:
- STEP_000 find the columns that are not the same as the new, target collation.
- STEP_001 find check constriants to be changed.
- STEP_002 find default constraints to be changed.
- STEP_003 find calculated column definitions to be changed.
- STEP_004 find foreign key constraints to be changed
Next handle complex constraints and indexes (unique/pk/regular/includes/filtered indexes)
- STEP_005 find primary keys to be changed.
- STEP_006 find unique indexes to be changed.
- STEP_007 find regular indexes(also featuring includes or filtered indexes) to be changed.
Now move to the columns themselves
- STEP_008 actual Column Collation definitions.
Now we handle views that reference any of the object tables
- STEP_009 refresh dependent views, procs and functions.
DECLARE @NewCollation VARCHAR(50) SET @NewCollation = 'SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS' -- change this to the collation that you need --WAS 'SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS' --toggling 'Latin1_General_CI_AS' SELECT objz.object_id, SCHEMA_NAME(objz.schema_id) AS SchemaName, objz.name AS TableName, colz.name AS ColumnName, colz.collation_name, colz.column_id FROM sys.columns colz INNER JOIN sys.tables objz ON colz.object_id = objz.object_id WHERE colz.collation_name IS NOT NULL AND objz.is_ms_shipped = 0 AND colz.is_computed = 0 AND colz.collation_name <> @NewCollation
For each item that needs to be changed, we can generate both the drop and create, or simply the alter command, depending on the object. In my code, I inserted the above results into a temp table named #MyAffectedTables. That table is used to join against sys.check_constraints, sys.default_constraints, and a host of other sys views in order to generate the commands needed to toggle collation from one type to another.
Here’s the whole script in detail, but it is attached to the end as an attachment as well.
--################################################################################################# --Collation Changer Version 1 by Lowell --because of a reference to 'sys.sql_expression_dependencies', this is valid only --For SQL2008 and above. --Brainstorm: first map out a list of all the objects to change; --simple constraints --STEP_001 check constraints --STEP_002 default constraints --STEP_003 calculated column definitions --STEP_004 foreign key constraints --complex constraints and indexes (unique/pk/regular/includes/filtered indexes) --STEP_005 primary keys --STEP_006 unique indexes --STEP_007 regular indexes(also featuring includes or filtered indexes) --columns themselves --STEP_008 Column Collation definitions --views that reference any of the object tables --STEP_009 refresh dependent views, procs and functions --################################################################################################# --################################################################################################# --Declare and assign our lone variable --################################################################################################# DECLARE @NewCollation VARCHAR(128) = 'SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS' -- change this to the collation that you need --WAS 'SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS' --toggling 'Latin1_General_CI_AS' --create table on the fly, add the DROP CONSTRAINTS SELECT IDENTITY(INT, 1, 1) AS ID, 0 AS ExecutionOrder, '--Suite of commands to change collation of all columns that are not currently ' + QUOTENAME(@NewCollation) AS Command INTO #Results --################################################################################################# --Start a transaction? might cause huge bloating of the transaction log, but too bad. --################################################################################################# ----INSERT INTO #Results ---- (ExecutionOrder,Command) ----SELECT 1,'SET XACT_ABORT ON' UNION ALL ----SELECT 2,'BEGIN TRAN' UNION ALL ----SELECT 1000, 'COMMIT TRAN' SELECT objz.object_id, SCHEMA_NAME(objz.schema_id) AS SchemaName, objz.name AS TableName, colz.name AS ColumnName, colz.collation_name, colz.column_id INTO #MyAffectedTables FROM sys.columns colz INNER JOIN sys.tables objz ON colz.object_id = objz.object_id WHERE colz.collation_name IS NOT NULL AND objz.is_ms_shipped = 0 AND colz.is_computed = 0 AND colz.collation_name <> @NewCollation --AND colz.collation_name <> @NewCollation --################################################################################################# --STEP_001 check constriants --################################################################################################# INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT 10 AS ExecutionOrder, CONVERT(VARCHAR(8000), 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(tabz.SchemaName) + '.' + QUOTENAME(tabz.TableName) + ' DROP CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(conz.name) + ';') AS Command FROM sys.check_constraints conz INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON conz.parent_object_id = tabz.object_id AND conz.parent_column_id = tabz.column_id --add the recreation of the constraints. INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT 100 AS ExecutionOrder, CONVERT(VARCHAR(8000), 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(tabz.SchemaName) + '.' + QUOTENAME(tabz.TableName) + ' ADD CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(conz.name) + ' CHECK ' + conz.definition + ';') AS Command FROM sys.check_constraints conz INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON conz.parent_object_id = tabz.object_id AND conz.parent_column_id = tabz.column_id --################################################################################################# --STEP_002 default constriants --################################################################################################# /*--visualize the data SELECT * FROM sys.default_constraints conz INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON conz.parent_object_id = tabz.object_id AND conz.parent_column_id = tabz.column_id */INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT 20 AS ExecutionOrder, CONVERT(VARCHAR(8000), 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(tabz.SchemaName) + '.' + QUOTENAME(tabz.TableName) + ' DROP CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(conz.name) + ';') AS Command FROM sys.default_constraints conz INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON conz.parent_object_id = tabz.object_id AND conz.parent_column_id = tabz.column_id INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT 200 AS ExecutionOrder, CONVERT(VARCHAR(8000), 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(tabz.SchemaName) + '.' + QUOTENAME(tabz.TableName) + ' ADD CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(conz.name) + ' DEFAULT ' + conz.definition + ' FOR ' + quotename(tabz.ColumnName) + ';') AS Command FROM sys.default_constraints conz INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON conz.parent_object_id = tabz.object_id AND conz.parent_column_id = tabz.column_id --################################################################################################# --STEP_003 calculated columns : refering internal columns to the table --################################################################################################# -- need distinct in case of a calculated columns appending two or more columns together: -- we need the definition only once. INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 30 AS ExecutionOrder, 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME(objz.schema_id)) + '.' + QUOTENAME(objz.name) + ' DROP COLUMN ' + QUOTENAME(colz.name) + ';' AS Command FROM sys.columns colz LEFT OUTER JOIN sys.tables objz ON colz.[object_id] = objz.[object_id] LEFT OUTER JOIN sys.computed_columns CALC ON colz.[object_id] = CALC.[object_id] AND colz.[column_id] = CALC.[column_id] --only calculations referencing columns LEFT OUTER JOIN sys.sql_expression_dependencies depz ON colz.object_id = depz.referenced_id AND colz.column_id = depz.referencing_minor_id INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON depz.referenced_id = tabz.object_id AND depz.referenced_minor_id = tabz.column_id WHERE colz.is_computed = 1 INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 300 AS ExecutionOrder, 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME(objz.schema_id)) + '.' + QUOTENAME(objz.name) + ' ADD ' + QUOTENAME(colz.name) + 'AS ' + ISNULL(CALC.definition, '') + CASE WHEN CALC.is_persisted = 1 THEN ' PERSISTED' ELSE '' END + ';' AS Command FROM sys.columns colz LEFT OUTER JOIN sys.tables objz ON colz.[object_id] = objz.[object_id] LEFT OUTER JOIN sys.computed_columns CALC ON colz.[object_id] = CALC.[object_id] AND colz.[column_id] = CALC.[column_id] --only calculations referencing columns LEFT OUTER JOIN sys.sql_expression_dependencies depz ON colz.object_id = depz.referenced_id AND colz.column_id = depz.referencing_minor_id INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON depz.referenced_id = tabz.object_id AND depz.referenced_minor_id = tabz.column_id WHERE colz.is_computed = 1 --################################################################################################# --STEP_004 foreign key constriants :child references --################################################################################################# /*--visualize the data --at least in my case, it is very rare to have a char column as the value for a FK; my FK's are all int/bigint --I had to create a fake pair of tables to test this. */INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 40 AS ExecutionOrder, CONVERT(VARCHAR(8000), 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(tabz.SchemaName) + '.' + QUOTENAME(tabz.TableName) + ' DROP CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(conz.name) + ';') AS Command FROM sys.foreign_keys conz INNER JOIN sys.foreign_key_columns colz ON conz.object_id = colz.constraint_object_id INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON conz.parent_object_id = tabz.object_id WHERE tabz.object_id = colz.parent_object_id AND tabz.column_id = colz.parent_column_id --foreign keys, potentially, can span multiple keys; --'scriptlet to do all FK's for reference. INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT --FK must be added AFTER the PK/unique constraints are added back. 850 AS ExecutionOrder, 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(schema_name(conz.schema_id) ) + '.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME(conz.parent_object_id)) + ' ADD CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(conz.name) + ' FOREIGN KEY (' + ChildCollection.ChildColumns + ') REFERENCES ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME(conz.schema_id)) + '.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME(conz.referenced_object_id)) + ' (' + ParentCollection.ParentColumns + ') ' + ';' AS Command FROM sys.foreign_keys conz INNER JOIN sys.foreign_key_columns colz ON conz.object_id = colz.constraint_object_id INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON conz.parent_object_id = tabz.object_id AND tabz.column_id = colz.parent_column_id INNER JOIN (--gets my child tables column names SELECT name, ChildColumns = STUFF((SELECT ',' + REFZ.name FROM sys.foreign_key_columns fkcolz INNER JOIN sys.columns REFZ ON fkcolz.parent_object_id = REFZ.object_id AND fkcolz.parent_column_id = REFZ.column_id WHERE fkcolz.parent_object_id = conz.parent_object_id AND fkcolz.constraint_object_id = conz.object_id ORDER BY fkcolz.constraint_column_id FOR XML PATH('')), 1, 1, '') FROM sys.foreign_keys conz INNER JOIN sys.foreign_key_columns colz ON conz.object_id = colz.constraint_object_id GROUP BY conz.name, conz.parent_object_id,--- without GROUP BY multiple rows are returned conz.object_id ) ChildCollection ON conz.name = ChildCollection.name INNER JOIN (--gets the parent tables column names for the FK reference SELECT name, ParentColumns = STUFF((SELECT ',' + REFZ.name FROM sys.foreign_key_columns fkcolz INNER JOIN sys.columns REFZ ON fkcolz.referenced_object_id = REFZ.object_id AND fkcolz.referenced_column_id = REFZ.column_id WHERE fkcolz.referenced_object_id = conz.referenced_object_id AND fkcolz.constraint_object_id = conz.object_id ORDER BY fkcolz.constraint_column_id FOR XML PATH('')), 1, 1, '') FROM sys.foreign_keys conz INNER JOIN sys.foreign_key_columns colz ON conz.object_id = colz.constraint_object_id -- AND colz.parent_column_id GROUP BY conz.name, conz.referenced_object_id,--- without GROUP BY multiple rows are returned conz.object_id ) ParentCollection ON conz.name = ParentCollection.name --################################################################################################# --STEP_005, 006 and 007 primary keys,unique indexes,regular indexes --################################################################################################# /*pre-quel sequel to gather the data:*/SELECT CASE WHEN is_primary_key = 1 THEN 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME) + '.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME) + ' DROP CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(index_name) + ';' WHEN is_unique_constraint = 1 THEN 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME) + '.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME) + ' DROP CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(index_name) + ';' ELSE 'DROP INDEX ' + +QUOTENAME(index_name) + ' ON ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME) + '.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME) + ';' END COLLATE database_default AS c1, CASE WHEN is_primary_key = 1 THEN 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME) + '.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME) + ' ADD CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(index_name) + ' PRIMARY KEY ' + CASE WHEN type_desc = 'CLUSTERED' THEN type_desc ELSE '' END + ' (' + index_columns_key + ')' + ';' WHEN is_unique_constraint = 1 THEN 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME) + '.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME) + ' ADD CONSTRAINT ' + QUOTENAME(index_name) + 'UNIQUE (' + index_columns_key + ')' + ';' --ELSE 'DROP INDEX IX_ProductVendor_BusinessEntityID ON Purchasing.ProductVendor WITH (ONLINE = ON, MAXDOP = 2)' ELSE 'CREATE INDEX ' + +QUOTENAME(index_name) + ' ON ' + +QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME) + '.' + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME) + ' (' + index_columns_key + ')' + CASE WHEN index_columns_include = '---' THEN '' ELSE ' INCLUDE (' + index_columns_include + ')' END + CASE WHEN has_filter = 0 THEN '' ELSE ' WHERE ' + filter_definition + ' ' END + ';' END COLLATE database_default AS c2, * INTO #INDEXES FROM (SELECT SCH.schema_id, SCH.[name] COLLATE database_default AS SCHEMA_NAME, OBJS.[object_id], OBJS.[name] COLLATE database_default AS OBJECT_NAME, IDX.index_id, ISNULL(IDX.[name], '---') COLLATE database_default AS index_name, partitions.Rows, partitions.SizeMB, INDEXPROPERTY(OBJS.[object_id], IDX.[name], 'IndexDepth') AS IndexDepth, IDX.type, IDX.type_desc COLLATE database_default AS type_desc, IDX.fill_factor, IDX.is_unique, IDX.is_primary_key, IDX.is_unique_constraint, IDX.has_filter, IDX.filter_definition, ISNULL(Index_Columns.index_columns_key, '---') COLLATE database_default AS index_columns_key, ISNULL(Index_Columns.index_columns_include, '---') COLLATE database_default AS index_columns_include FROM sys.objects OBJS INNER JOIN sys.schemas SCH ON OBJS.schema_id = SCH.schema_id INNER JOIN sys.indexes IDX ON OBJS.[object_id] = IDX.[object_id] INNER JOIN (SELECT [OBJECT_ID], index_id, SUM(row_count) AS ROWS, CONVERT(NUMERIC(19, 3), CONVERT(NUMERIC(19, 3), SUM(in_row_reserved_page_count+lob_reserved_page_count+row_overflow_reserved_page_count))/CONVERT(NUMERIC(19, 3), 128)) AS SizeMB FROM sys.dm_db_partition_stats STATS GROUP BY [OBJECT_ID], index_id) AS partitions ON IDX.[object_id] = partitions.[object_id] AND IDX.index_id = partitions.index_id CROSS APPLY (SELECT LEFT(index_columns_key, LEN(index_columns_key) - 1) COLLATE database_default AS index_columns_key, LEFT(index_columns_include, LEN(index_columns_include) - 1) COLLATE database_default AS index_columns_include FROM (SELECT (SELECT colz.[name] + ',' + ' ' COLLATE database_default FROM sys.index_columns IXCOLS INNER JOIN sys.columns colz ON IXCOLS.column_id = colz.column_id AND IXCOLS.[object_id] = colz.[object_id] WHERE IXCOLS.is_included_column = 0 AND IDX.[object_id] = IXCOLS.[object_id] AND IDX.index_id = IXCOLS.index_id ORDER BY key_ordinal FOR XML PATH('')) AS index_columns_key, (SELECT colz.[name] + ',' + ' ' COLLATE database_default FROM sys.index_columns IXCOLS INNER JOIN sys.columns colz ON IXCOLS.column_id = colz.column_id AND IXCOLS.[object_id] = colz.[object_id] WHERE IXCOLS.is_included_column = 1 AND IDX.[object_id] = IXCOLS.[object_id] AND IDX.index_id = IXCOLS.index_id ORDER BY index_column_id FOR XML PATH('')) AS index_columns_include) AS Index_Columns) AS Index_Columns)AllIndexes --################################################################################################# --STEP_005 primary keys --################################################################################################# INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 50 AS ExecutionOrder, IDXZ.c1 AS Command FROM #Indexes IDXZ LEFT OUTER JOIN #MyAffectedTables TBLZ ON IDXZ.object_name = TBLZ.TableName WHERE is_primary_key = 1 AND ( CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_key + ',') > 0 OR CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_include + ',') > 0 ) INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 500 AS ExecutionOrder, IDXZ.c2 AS Command FROM #Indexes IDXZ LEFT OUTER JOIN #MyAffectedTables TBLZ ON IDXZ.object_name = TBLZ.TableName WHERE is_primary_key = 1 AND ( CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_key + ',') > 0 OR CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_include + ',') > 0 ) --################################################################################################# --STEP_006 unique indexes --################################################################################################# INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 60 AS ExecutionOrder, IDXZ.c1 AS Command FROM #Indexes IDXZ LEFT OUTER JOIN #MyAffectedTables TBLZ ON IDXZ.object_name = TBLZ.TableName WHERE IDXZ.is_primary_key = 0 AND IDXZ.is_unique_constraint = 0 AND ( CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_key + ',') > 0 OR CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_include + ',') > 0 ) INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 600 AS ExecutionOrder, IDXZ.c2 AS Command FROM #Indexes IDXZ LEFT OUTER JOIN #MyAffectedTables TBLZ ON IDXZ.object_name = TBLZ.TableName WHERE IDXZ.is_primary_key = 0 AND IDXZ.is_unique_constraint = 0 AND ( CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_key + ',') > 0 OR CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_include + ',') > 0 ) --################################################################################################# --STEP_007 regular indexes(also featuring includes or filtered indexes --################################################################################################# INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 70 AS ExecutionOrder, IDXZ.c1 AS Command FROM #Indexes IDXZ LEFT OUTER JOIN #MyAffectedTables TBLZ ON IDXZ.object_name = TBLZ.TableName WHERE IDXZ.is_primary_key = 0 AND IDXZ.is_unique_constraint = 1 AND ( CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_key + ',') > 0 OR CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_include + ',') > 0 ) INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 700 AS ExecutionOrder, IDXZ.c2 AS Command FROM #Indexes IDXZ LEFT OUTER JOIN #MyAffectedTables TBLZ ON IDXZ.object_name = TBLZ.TableName WHERE IDXZ.is_primary_key = 0 AND IDXZ.is_unique_constraint = 1 AND ( CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_key + ',') > 0 OR CHARINDEX(TBLZ.ColumnName + ',', IDXZ.index_columns_include + ',') > 0 ) --################################################################################################# --STEP_008 Column Collation definitions --################################################################################################# INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT DISTINCT 80 AS ExecutionOrder, 'ALTER TABLE ' + QUOTENAME(SCHEMA_NAME(objz.schema_id)) + '.' + QUOTENAME(objz.name) + ' ALTER COLUMN ' + CASE WHEN colz.[is_computed] = 0 THEN QUOTENAME(colz.[name]) + ' ' + ( TYPE_NAME(colz.[user_type_id]) ) + CASE WHEN TYPE_NAME(colz.[user_type_id]) IN ( 'char', 'varchar' ) THEN CASE WHEN colz.[max_length] = -1 THEN '(max)' + SPACE(6 - LEN(CONVERT(VARCHAR, colz.[max_length]))) + SPACE(7) + SPACE(16 - LEN(TYPE_NAME(colz.[user_type_id]))) ----collate to comment out when not desired + CASE WHEN colz.collation_name IS NULL THEN '' ELSE ' COLLATE ' + @NewCollation -- this was the old collation: colz.collation_name END + CASE WHEN colz.[is_nullable] = 0 THEN ' NOT NULL' ELSE ' NULL' END ELSE '(' + CONVERT(VARCHAR, colz.[max_length]) + ') ' + SPACE(6 - LEN(CONVERT(VARCHAR, colz.[max_length]))) + SPACE(7) + SPACE(16 - LEN(TYPE_NAME(colz.[user_type_id]))) ----collate to comment out when not desired + CASE WHEN colz.collation_name IS NULL THEN '' ELSE ' COLLATE ' + @NewCollation END + CASE WHEN colz.[is_nullable] = 0 THEN ' NOT NULL' ELSE ' NULL' END END WHEN TYPE_NAME(colz.[user_type_id]) IN ( 'nchar', 'nvarchar' ) THEN CASE WHEN colz.[max_length] = -1 THEN '(max)' + SPACE(6 - LEN(CONVERT(VARCHAR, (colz.[max_length])))) + SPACE(7) + SPACE(16 - LEN(TYPE_NAME(colz.[user_type_id]))) ----collate to comment out when not desired --+ CASE -- WHEN colz.collation_name IS NULL -- THEN '' -- ELSE ' COLLATE ' + colz.collation_name -- END + CASE WHEN colz.[is_nullable] = 0 THEN ' NOT NULL' ELSE ' NULL' END ELSE '(' + CONVERT(VARCHAR, (colz.[max_length])) + ') ' + SPACE(6 - LEN(CONVERT(VARCHAR, (colz.[max_length])))) + SPACE(7) + SPACE(16 - LEN(TYPE_NAME(colz.[user_type_id]))) ----collate to comment out when not desired --+ CASE -- WHEN colz.collation_name IS NULL -- THEN '' -- ELSE ' COLLATE ' + colz.collation_name -- END + CASE WHEN colz.[is_nullable] = 0 THEN ' NOT NULL' ELSE ' NULL' END END END END --iscomputed = 0 + ';' AS Command FROM sys.columns colz LEFT OUTER JOIN sys.tables objz ON colz.object_id = objz.object_id INNER JOIN #MyAffectedTables tabz ON tabz.object_id = colz.object_id AND tabz.column_id = colz.column_id WHERE objz.type = 'U' AND TYPE_NAME(colz.[user_type_id]) IN ( 'char', 'varchar', 'nchar', 'nvarchar' ) --################################################################################################# --STEP_009 refresh dependent views, procs and functions -- refresh them in dependancy order in a single pass. --################################################################################################# --if there was nothing with the wrong collation, there's no need to refresh: IF EXISTS(SELECT * FROM #Results WHERE ExecutionOrder > 0) BEGIN CREATE TABLE #MyObjectHierarchy ( HID int identity(1,1) not null primary key, ObjectId int, TYPE int,OBJECTTYPE AS CASE WHEN TYPE = 1 THEN 'FUNCTION' WHEN TYPE = 4 THEN 'VIEW' WHEN TYPE = 8 THEN 'TABLE' WHEN TYPE = 16 THEN 'PROCEDURE' WHEN TYPE =128 THEN 'RULE' ELSE '' END, ONAME varchar(255), OOWNER varchar(255), SEQ int ) --our list of objects in dependancy order INSERT #MyObjectHierarchy (TYPE,ONAME,OOWNER,SEQ) -- use this if inside a stored procedure -- EXEC sp_msdependencies @intrans = 1 --else EXEC sp_msdependencies INSERT INTO #Results (ExecutionOrder,Command) SELECT 900 + HID AS ExecutionOrder, CASE WHEN OBJECTTYPE = 'VIEW' THEN 'EXEC sp_refreshview ''' + QUOTENAME(OOWNER) + '.' + QUOTENAME(ONAME) + ''';' WHEN OBJECTTYPE IN ('FUNCTION' ,'PROCEDURE') THEN 'EXEC sp_recompile ''' + QUOTENAME(OOWNER) + '.' + QUOTENAME(ONAME) + ''';' END FROM #MyObjectHierarchy WHERE OBJECTTYPE IN('FUNCTION','VIEW','PROCEDURE') ORDER BY HID END --Exists --################################################################################################# --Final Presentation --################################################################################################# SELECT * FROM #Results ORDER BY ExecutionOrder, ID --################################################################################################# --optional cursor to go ahead and run all these scripts --don't run this cursor unless you are 100% sure of the scripts. --TEST TEST TEST! --################################################################################################# /* declare @isql varchar(max) declare c1 cursor LOCAL FORWARD_ONLY STATIC READ_ONLY for --############################################################################################### --cursor definition --############################################################################################### SELECT Command FROM #Results ORDER BY ExecutionOrder, ID --############################################################################################### open c1 fetch next from c1 into @isql While @@fetch_status <> -1 begin print @isql exec(@isql) fetch next from c1 into @isql end close c1 deallocate c1 */--################################################################################################# --clean up our temp objects --################################################################################################# IF (SELECT OBJECT_ID('Tempdb.dbo.#MyAffectedTables')) IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #MyAffectedTables IF (SELECT OBJECT_ID('Tempdb.dbo.#Indexes')) IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #Indexes IF (SELECT OBJECT_ID('Tempdb.dbo.#Results')) IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #Results IF (SELECT OBJECT_ID('Tempdb.dbo.#MyObjectHierarchy')) IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #MyObjectHierarchy
Grab a copy of one of your databases, the more complex the better. Try it out for yourself, and join the discussion on this article and report your results! Any feedback you give will make the SQL community as a whole a lot better.
There’s always room for improvement. There’s SQL code I wrote last week that I might refactor or make better today.