Get stored procedure column names

Question

I have a stored procedure looking like this:

SELECT
    nTransactionId
    ,strInstrument
FROM dbo.Deals

I've read that for SQL Server 2012 I can use sp_describe_first_result_set, but is there any alternative for SQL Server 2008?

When I say I want the column names I mean nTransactionId and strInstrument. Even if the query doesn't return any result.

Many thanks!

possible duplicate of [Retrieve column definition for stored procedure result set](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7368864/retrieve-column-definition-for-stored-procedure-result-set) — GarethD, Sep 30 '14 at 10:11
In that case I am fairly sure you can't do it. As far as I know you 3 options: **1.** Upgrade to SQL Server 2012. **2.** Use a linked server (although it is only linking it to itself). **3.** Find a solution to the problem that doesn't require knowing the definition of the procedure result. — GarethD, Sep 30 '14 at 10:32

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 01 '14 at 11:15

For that purpose I mostly use :

SET FMTONLY ON;

Returns only metadata to the client. Can be used to test the format of the response without actually running the query.

This is what DataSet designer is using for example in order to get the parameteres of a procedure.

1 Answers1