Metadata provides structural details about your Salesforce database, including tables, columns, data types, primary and foreign keys, and other schema-level details.
In most cases, metadata is requested automatically by an application using the ODBC driver. The application initiates metadata requests using standard ODBC functions such as SQLTables and SQLColumns. The driver fetches the requested metadata from Salesforce and returns it to the application.
Metadata can also be retrieved manually by executing SQL queries against the information schema.
The retrieved metadata is cached and remains available until one of the following events occurs:
The configured cache duration expires. By default, metadata is refreshed 24 hours after it’s first retrieved. For more information on configuring metadata caching, see Metadata caching.
The application using the ODBC driver is closed or restarted.
For more information on accessing metadata through ODBC functions or the information schema, see Access metadata.