title: Check if table or column exists in SQL Server database table
body: <p>Before I create a column or table in a SQL Server database I want to check if the required table and/or columns exist.</p>
  
  <p>I have searched around and found 2 ways so far.</p>
  
  <ol>
  <li>Stored procedures, which I don't want to use</li>
  <li>By using the <code>SqlCommand.ExecuteScalar()</code> method and catching an exception to determine if the table/column exists, which for me is a work around but not a perfect solution.</li>
  </ol>
  
  <p>Is there another way to check if table/column exists in SQL Server?</p>