Question

How can I find out the date a MS SQL Server 2000 object was last modified?

I need to get a list of all the views, procs, functions etc that were modified since Aug 15th. In sysObjects I can see the date objects were created but I need to know when they were last altered.

NB: this is an SQL 2000 database.

Answer 1

Note that SQL Server actually does not record the last modification date. It does not exist in any system tables.

The Schema Changes History report is actually constructed from the Default Trace. Since many admins (and web hosts) turn that off, it may not work for you. Buck Woody had a good explanation of how this report works here. The data is also temporary.

For this reason, you should never RELY on the Schema Changes History report. Alternatives:

• Use DDL Triggers to log all schema modification to a table of your choosing.
• Enforce a protocol where views and procs are never altered, they are only dropped and recreated. This means the created date will also be the last updated date (this does not work with tables obviously).
• Vigilantly version your SQL objects and schema in source control.

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Edit: saw that this is SQL 2000. That rules out Default Trace and DDL Triggers. You’re left with one of the more tedious options I listed above.