Internal/System id for every column in SQL Server

[Kristen]

@jotorre_riversidedpss.org

I use extended properties to store metadata.
In SQL Server many extended properties can be stored for each object. Each extended property has a name, and that name must be unique for each object. If I have a Cases table with a CaseDescription column I can have only one Length property on the column, but I can add as many distinctly named properties for a given object as I want.

Sorry, missed your message first time around.

I never considered using extended properties for each of my properties, because I started off with them in my own table. I don't suppose Extended Properties existed back then - it would have been in SQL 6.5 !!

Personally, I'm happier with them in my own table as (I think) I have better performance [than having to query multiple attributes, individually, from the extended properties, or using some sort of PIVOT, as compared to getting all of them as a single row in my Column Meta Data table].

But it may well be as-broad-as-it-is-long ...