LESSON 18Exploring the Data Dictionary (System Catalog)

In this lesson, we discuss the data dictionary, also known as the system catalog. By the end of this lesson, you should have a solid understanding of the following:

• The definition of the data dictionary

• The type of information the data dictionary contains

• Different types of tables within the data dictionary

• Effective ways to retrieve useful information from the data dictionary

An Introduction to the Data Dictionary

Every relational database has some form of data dictionary, or system catalog. (We use both terms in this lesson’s presentation.) A data dictionary is a system area within a database environment that contains information about the ingredients of a database. Data dictionaries ...

Get Sams Teach Yourself SQL in One Hour a Day, Fifth Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.