Programming Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012

Introducing FileTable

The new FileTable feature in SQL Server 2012 builds on FILESTREAM. FileTable combines FILESTREAM with hierarchyid and the Windows file system API to deliver exciting new BLOB capabilities in SQL Server. As implied by the two words joined together in its name, one FileTable functions as two distinct things simultaneously:

1. A FileTable is an Ordinary Table

2. A FileTable is an Ordinary File System

First and foremost, a FileTable is a regular SQL Server database table in every respect, with one exception: The schema of a FileTable is fixed. The columns of a FileTable and their data types are pre-determined by SQL Server. Specifically, every FileTable contains the columns shown in Table 8-1.

Table 8-1. Fixed FileTable columns.

Column ...