topic Re: Is there a way for users to modify column/table comments without owning the object? in Data Governance

Is there a way for users to modify column/table comments without owning the object?

mrosman — Thu, 27 Feb 2025 18:42:29 GMT

From my understanding, a user needs to own the object in order to alter the comments of columns/tables. A user would also need ALTER TABLE permissions in order to make the change. Is there a way to permit a user to change comments without giving them full alter table permissions?

Ideally there would be a permission similar to "APPLY TAG" that could be used to modify such metadata without actually altering the table.

Thanks!

Re: Is there a way for users to modify column/table comments without owning the object?

JissMathew — Tue, 04 Mar 2025 06:16:43 GMT

Hi @mrosman

In most database systems, altering comments on tables or columns typically requires some level of permission that is often bundled with broader permissions like ALTER TABLE.
However, the ability to grant more granular permissions, such as modifying metadata without full table alteration rights, can vary depending on the database system you are using. Here are a few approaches you might consider:

Database-Specific Roles or Permissions:

Some databases might offer specific roles or permissions that allow for metadata changes without full ALTER TABLE permissions.
For example, in Oracle, you might use roles or specific grants to achieve this, but it would depend on the database's capabilities.

Stored Procedures or Functions:

You could create a stored procedure or function that allows users to change comments.
This procedure would be owned by a user with the necessary permissions, and you could grant execute permissions on this procedure to other users. This way, users can change comments without having direct ALTER TABLE permissions.

Re: Is there a way for users to modify column/table comments without owning the object?

Nivethan_Venkat — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 12:26:55 GMT

Hi @mrosman,

As far as I understand, you can only provision SELECT / MODIFY / APPLY TAG to a table. And there is no specific privilege as of now in UC where you can assign a permission to alter the table / column comments. If the user have SELECT privilege on top of table they can modify the table / column comments as of now.

Here you can find more info on different privileges that could be applied to a schema object: Privileges to Unity Catalog object

Please let us know if this is helpful. Or if you need more information.

Best Regards,
Nivethan V