Unsupported system objects
Emulation context
In Microsoft SQL Server, system objects such as built-in stored procedures, system catalog views, user and login commands, and DBCC utilities are frequently used for diagnostics, metadata inspection, and server-level configuration. These include objects like:
sp_addrolemember
,sp_showspaceused
,sp_set_firewall_rule
sys.sequences
,sys.objects
,sys.dm_*
viewsCREATE USER
,ALTER DATABASE
, andDBCC
commands
However, Microsoft Fabric Warehouse does not support system-level operations or low-level configuration objects. Fabric exposes only a limited metadata surface and does not allow direct manipulation of roles, users, database configuration, or extended diagnostics using T-SQL. These system objects must be removed or restructured during migration.
Emulation strategy
SQL Tran does not emulate or rewrite system-level objects. Instead:
For traceability purposes, unsupported system commands and procedures are commented out using:
/* SQLTRAN FIX: ... */
Certain T-SQL features and constructs are flagged using diagnostic comments such as:
-- SQLTRAN FABRIC LIMITATION:
No transformation or replacement logic is generated, as these constructs have no equivalent in Fabric's SQL surface.
SQL Tran preserves the original structure to allow downstream review and manual rewriting.
Code example
SQL Server:
Fabric Warehouse (generated by SQL Tran):
Important notes
System procedures are not supported: SQL Server built-in procedures such as
sp_addrolemember
,sp_helpuser
,sp_set_firewall_rule
, andsp_showspaceused
are not available in Fabric and are commented out by SQL Tran.DBCC and administrative commands are removed: DBCC statements like
CHECKDB
,USEROPTIONS
, and platform-level commands such asCREATE USER
orALTER DATABASE
are not supported in Fabric and are commented out.System views like
sys.sequences
are unsupported: SQL Tran preserves references to system catalog views likesys.sequences
, but they are flagged with diagnostic comments. These views are not available in Fabric and may produce errors or empty results.XML methods are flagged: SQL Tran identifies unsupported XML methods such as
.value()
and flags them inline with/* SQLTRAN FIX */
and-- SQLTRAN FABRIC LIMITATION:
. These are not supported in Fabric’s SQL engine.Unsupported system clauses and special constructs: SQL Tran flags T-SQL clauses and constructs that are not classified as system objects but are unsupported in Fabric, including:
$PARTITION
,FOR JSON
,FOR XML
,FOR BROWSE
, and recursive common table expressions (CTEs). These are preserved in the translated output but must be manually replaced or removed.No emulation or fallback is generated: SQL Tran does not attempt to simulate or replace unsupported system objects or features. All such usage must be manually reviewed.
Manual review required: Any logic that depends on system-level behavior, metadata access, or administrative commands must be reviewed and rewritten using Fabric-compatible ingestion tools, platform APIs, or equivalent logic external to the warehouse SQL surface.
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