Cursors provide a powerful tool for DBAs but sometimes they're not needed. The procedure sp_MSforeachdb with the @command1 through @command3 parameter and is very similary to sp_Foreachtable.
Sp_MSforeachdb gives a DBA the ability to cycle through every database in your catalog. Although, the procedure was introduced in SQL Server 6+, Microsoft has made major improvements in
SQL Server 7.0 and 2000. The procedure is especially useful if you'd like to run through a list of databases for standard DBCCs.
In SQL Server 7.0 and 2000, you can run a DBCC CHECKDB on all databases by using the following :
EXEC sp_Msforeachdb "DBCC checkdb ('?')" |
In SQL 6.5 however, you must create a temporary table and in the same
session, run a procedure to populate the table. After that, you have the same
capabilities as in 7.0 and 2000, as long as you stay in the same connection. To run
sp_MSforeachdb in SQL 6.5, you must run the following:
Create table #SQLOLEDbUserProfile (dbid int NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY, profilebits int NOT NULL) go sp_MSdbuserprofile 'init' go --insert your desired code here (I'm just doing maintenance) EXEC sp_Msforeachdb "DBCC checkdb ('?')" |
As you can see, I'm just performing a DBCC CHECKDB with sp_MSforeachdb. You can also use this procedure for
sizing, and placing databases in single user mode. If you have any other ideas for applications, please feel free to contribute them to the DBA to DBA section.