Database catalog

The database catalog of a database instance consists of metadata in which definitions of database objects such as base tables, views (virtual tables), synonyms, value ranges, indexes, users, and user groups are stored.^[1][2]

The SQL standard specifies a uniform means to access the catalog, called the INFORMATION_SCHEMA, but not all databases follow this, even if they implement other aspects of the SQL standard. For an example of database-specific metadata access methods, see Oracle metadata.

References

1. ^ Paul C. Tinnirello (1999). Systems Development Handbook. CRC Press. ISBN 0849398223. 
2. ^ CREATE VIEW (Transact-SQL) in SQL Server 2008 Books Online, Microsoft Corporation, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187956.aspx