feat: add support for system-versioned tables in database explorer

jakubkozera · jakubkozera · commit 20fe3f7c3156 · 2026-03-26T08:05:05.000+01:00
diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -5,6 +5,18 @@ All notable changes to the MS SQL Manager extension will be documented in this f
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
+## [0.19.2] - 2026-03-26
+
+### Added
+
+- **Database Explorer — System-versioned (temporal) table support**
+  - System-versioned tables now display a distinct sparkle icon (✦) in the database explorer to visually differentiate them from regular tables.
+  - The table description now includes a `(system-versioned)` label after the row count and size (e.g. `51 Rows < 1 MB (system-versioned)`).
+  - History tables (`temporal_type = 1`) are hidden from the main Tables list — they only appear as a child node when expanding their associated system-versioned table.
+  - Expanding a system-versioned table shows a **History** child node (clock icon) pointing to the linked history table with full exploration support: Columns, Indexes, Statistics.
+  - Scripting commands (Select Top 1000, Script Table Create, etc.) work on both system-versioned tables and their history child nodes without SQL name escaping issues.
+  - Compatible with SQL Server 2008–2014 via automatic fallback query when `temporal_type` column is absent.
+
 ## [0.19.1] - 2026-03-23
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "name": "ms-sql-manager",
   "displayName": "MS SQL Manager",
   "description": "Manage Microsoft SQL Server databases with connection management, schema browsing, and query execution.",
-  "version": "0.19.1",
+  "version": "0.19.2",
   "publisher": "jakubkozera",
   "icon": "ms-sql-manager.png",
   "sponsor": {
diff --git a/src/serverGroupIcon.ts b/src/serverGroupIcon.ts
@@ -100,6 +100,24 @@ export function createStoredProcedureIcon(): { light: vscode.Uri; dark: vscode.U
     return createThemedSvgIcon(lightSvg, darkSvg);
 }
 
+export function createTemporalTableIcon(): { light: vscode.Uri; dark: vscode.Uri } {
+    const lightSvg = `<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#000000" stroke-width="1.5" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round">
+        <path d="M19 22.5a4.75 4.75 0 0 1 3.5 -3.5a4.75 4.75 0 0 1 -3.5 -3.5a4.75 4.75 0 0 1 -3.5 3.5a4.75 4.75 0 0 1 3.5 3.5" />
+        <path d="M12 21h-7a2 2 0 0 1 -2 -2v-14a2 2 0 0 1 2 -2h14a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v7" />
+        <path d="M3 10h18" />
+        <path d="M10 3v18" />
+    </svg>`;
+    
+    const darkSvg = `<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#CCCCCC" stroke-width="1.5" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round">
+        <path d="M19 22.5a4.75 4.75 0 0 1 3.5 -3.5a4.75 4.75 0 0 1 -3.5 -3.5a4.75 4.75 0 0 1 -3.5 3.5a4.75 4.75 0 0 1 3.5 3.5" />
+        <path d="M12 21h-7a2 2 0 0 1 -2 -2v-14a2 2 0 0 1 2 -2h14a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v7" />
+        <path d="M3 10h18" />
+        <path d="M10 3v18" />
+    </svg>`;
+
+    return createThemedSvgIcon(lightSvg, darkSvg);
+}
+
 export function createViewIcon(): { light: vscode.Uri; dark: vscode.Uri } {
     const lightSvg = `<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="#000000" stroke-width="1.5" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round">
         <path d="M17.73 19.875a2.225 2.225 0 0 1 -1.948 1.125h-7.283a2.222 2.222 0 0 1 -1.947 -1.158l-4.272 -6.75a2.269 2.269 0 0 1 0 -2.184l4.272 -6.75a2.225 2.225 0 0 1 1.946 -1.158h7.285c.809 0 1.554 .443 1.947 1.158l3.98 6.75a2.33 2.33 0 0 1 0 2.25l-3.98 6.75v-.033z" />
diff --git a/src/unifiedTreeProvider.ts b/src/unifiedTreeProvider.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import * as vscode from 'vscode';
 import * as sql from 'mssql';
 import { ConnectionProvider, ConnectionConfig, ServerGroup } from './connectionProvider';
-import { createServerGroupIcon, createTableIcon, createColumnIcon, createStoredProcedureIcon, createViewIcon, createLoadingSpinnerIcon, createDatabaseIcon, createFunctionIcon, createTriggerIcon, createTypeIcon, createSequenceIcon, createSynonymIcon, createAssemblyIcon } from './serverGroupIcon';
+import { createServerGroupIcon, createTableIcon, createColumnIcon, createStoredProcedureIcon, createViewIcon, createLoadingSpinnerIcon, createDatabaseIcon, createFunctionIcon, createTriggerIcon, createTypeIcon, createSequenceIcon, createSynonymIcon, createAssemblyIcon, createTemporalTableIcon } from './serverGroupIcon';
 import { SchemaCache } from './utils/schemaCache';
 
 export class UnifiedTreeProvider implements vscode.TreeDataProvider<TreeNode>, vscode.FileDecorationProvider, vscode.TreeDragAndDropController<TreeNode> {
@@ -751,10 +751,13 @@ export class UnifiedTreeProvider implements vscode.TreeDataProvider<TreeNode>, v
                         this.outputChannel.appendLine(`[UnifiedTreeProvider] Found ${cachedTables.length} tables to display in database ${element.database || 'current'}`);
                     }
                     
-                    return tablesToDisplay.map((table) => {
+                    return tablesToDisplay
+                        .filter(table => table.temporalType !== 1)
+                        .map((table) => {
+                        const itemType = table.temporalType === 2 ? 'temporal-table' : 'table';
                         const tableNode = new SchemaItemNode(
                             `${table.schema}.${table.name}`,
-                            'table',
+                            itemType,
                             table.schema,
                             vscode.TreeItemCollapsibleState.Collapsed
                         );
@@ -784,8 +787,9 @@ export class UnifiedTreeProvider implements vscode.TreeDataProvider<TreeNode>, v
                                 formattedSize = '< 1 MB';
                             }
                             
-                            // Set description: "1.6k Rows 34 MB"
-                            tableNode.description = `${formattedRows} Rows ${formattedSize}`;
+                            // Set description: "1.6k Rows 34 MB" (+ system-versioned label for temporal tables)
+                            const temporalSuffix = table.temporalType === 2 ? ' (system-versioned)' : '';
+                            tableNode.description = `${formattedRows} Rows ${formattedSize}${temporalSuffix}`;
                         }
                         
                         return tableNode;
@@ -1132,7 +1136,7 @@ export class UnifiedTreeProvider implements vscode.TreeDataProvider<TreeNode>, v
                 }
                 
                 return items;
-            } else if (element.itemType === 'table') {
+            } else if (element.itemType === 'table' || element.itemType === 'temporal-table') {
                 // Show table details (columns, keys, etc.)
                 // Extract table name from label format schema.tableName
                 const fullLabel = element.label as string;
@@ -1604,6 +1608,27 @@ export class UnifiedTreeProvider implements vscode.TreeDataProvider<TreeNode>, v
                     statisticsNode.database = database;
                     items.push(statisticsNode);
                     
+                    // History table node for system-versioned (temporal) tables
+                    const allTables = await this.schemaCache.getTables(cacheConnection, connection);
+                    const currentTable = allTables.find(t => 
+                        t.name.toLowerCase() === tableName.toLowerCase() &&
+                        t.schema.toLowerCase() === schema.toLowerCase()
+                    );
+                    if (currentTable?.temporalType === 2 && currentTable.historyTableName && currentTable.historyTableSchema) {
+                        const historyNode = new SchemaItemNode(
+                            `${currentTable.historyTableSchema}.${currentTable.historyTableName}`,
+                            'table',
+                            currentTable.historyTableSchema,
+                            vscode.TreeItemCollapsibleState.Collapsed
+                        );
+                        (historyNode as any).tableName = currentTable.historyTableName;
+                        historyNode.connectionId = connectionId;
+                        historyNode.database = database;
+                        historyNode.iconPath = new vscode.ThemeIcon('history');
+                        historyNode.description = '(History)';
+                        items.push(historyNode);
+                    }
+                    
                     this.outputChannel.appendLine(`[UnifiedTreeProvider] Returning ${items.length} items from cache for table ${tableName}`);
                     return items;
                 }
@@ -2695,6 +2720,10 @@ export class SchemaItemNode extends TreeNode {
                 this.iconPath = createTableIcon();
                 this.contextValue = 'table';
                 break;
+            case 'temporal-table':
+                this.iconPath = createTemporalTableIcon();
+                this.contextValue = 'table';
+                break;
             case 'view':
                 this.iconPath = createViewIcon();
                 this.contextValue = 'view';
diff --git a/src/utils/schemaCache.ts b/src/utils/schemaCache.ts
@@ -46,6 +46,10 @@ export interface TableInfo {
     sizeMB?: number;
     type: 'table';
     lastModified?: Date;
+    /** 0 = non-temporal, 1 = history table, 2 = system-versioned temporal table (SQL Server 2016+) */
+    temporalType?: number;
+    historyTableSchema?: string;
+    historyTableName?: string;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -396,7 +400,31 @@ export class SchemaCache {
      * Fetch all tables from database
      */
     private async fetchTables(pool: DBPool): Promise<Map<string, TableInfo>> {
-        const query = `
+        // Query with temporal table columns (SQL Server 2016+).
+        // Falls back to a simpler query if temporal_type column doesn't exist.
+        const temporalQuery = `
+            SELECT 
+                t.TABLE_SCHEMA as [schema],
+                t.TABLE_NAME as name,
+                USER_NAME(st.principal_id) AS owner,
+                ISNULL(SUM(p.rows), 0) as [rowCount],
+                SUM(a.total_pages) * 8 / 1024.0 AS [sizeMB],
+                st.modify_date as lastModified,
+                st.temporal_type as temporalType,
+                OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(st.history_table_id) as historySchema,
+                OBJECT_NAME(st.history_table_id) as historyTable
+            FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES t
+            INNER JOIN sys.tables st ON t.TABLE_NAME = st.name AND t.TABLE_SCHEMA = SCHEMA_NAME(st.schema_id)
+            LEFT JOIN sys.indexes i ON st.object_id = i.object_id AND i.index_id <= 1
+            LEFT JOIN sys.partitions p ON st.object_id = p.object_id AND i.index_id = p.index_id
+            LEFT JOIN sys.allocation_units a ON p.partition_id = a.container_id
+            WHERE t.TABLE_TYPE = 'BASE TABLE'
+            GROUP BY t.TABLE_SCHEMA, t.TABLE_NAME, st.principal_id, st.modify_date,
+                st.temporal_type, st.history_table_id
+            ORDER BY t.TABLE_SCHEMA, t.TABLE_NAME
+        `;
+
+        const fallbackQuery = `
             SELECT 
                 t.TABLE_SCHEMA as [schema],
                 t.TABLE_NAME as name,
@@ -414,7 +442,13 @@ export class SchemaCache {
             ORDER BY t.TABLE_SCHEMA, t.TABLE_NAME
         `;
 
-        const result = await pool.request().query(query);
+        let result;
+        try {
+            result = await pool.request().query(temporalQuery);
+        } catch {
+            // SQL Server < 2016 — temporal_type column doesn't exist
+            result = await pool.request().query(fallbackQuery);
+        }
         const tables = new Map<string, TableInfo>();
 
         for (const row of result.recordset) {
@@ -426,7 +460,10 @@ export class SchemaCache {
                 rowCount: row.rowCount,
                 sizeMB: row.sizeMB,
                 type: 'table',
-                lastModified: row.lastModified
+                lastModified: row.lastModified,
+                temporalType: row.temporalType || 0,
+                historyTableSchema: row.historySchema || undefined,
+                historyTableName: row.historyTable || undefined
             });
         }
 
