How to check if a column exists in a SQL Server table?

Question

I need to add a specific column if it does not exist. I have something like the following, but it always returns false:

IF EXISTS(SELECT *           FROM   INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS           WHERE  TABLE_NAME = 'myTableName'                  AND COLUMN_NAME = 'myColumnName')  

How can I check if a column exists in a table of the SQL Server database?

Answer 1

SQL Server 2005 onwards:

IF EXISTS(SELECT 1 FROM sys.columns            WHERE Name = N'columnName'           AND Object_ID = Object_ID(N'schemaName.tableName')) BEGIN     -- Column Exists END 

Martin Smith's version is shorter:

IF COL_LENGTH('schemaName.tableName', 'columnName') IS NOT NULL BEGIN     -- Column Exists END