Query vs. Method C # to retrieve database metadata

Question

I need to get the following information for each table in the database:

• All column names
• For each column, its type
• Type of maximum length

A possible way to do this is to run the request (even execute it using await, i.e. async):

select object_NAME(c.object_id), c.name, t.name, c.max_length
from sys.columns c
INNER JOIN sys.types t
    ON t.system_type_id = c.system_type_id

On the other hand, there is a GetSchema method on connection that does the same:

DataTable columns = connection.GetSchema(SqlClientMetaDataCollectionNames.Columns, restrictions);
foreach (DataRow row in columns.Rows)
{
    string columnName = row[3].ToString();
    string columnDataType = row[7].ToString();   
    string columnDataTypeLen = row[8].ToString();
}

Which method is better to use? It looks like the second should be faster - am I right? What about performance?

Answer 1

Use any method and cache the result

Meta data does not change during normal operation, so performance is not a problem