Since I write SQL for several different relational database management systems, I prefer to use a syntax which works on all of them, which normally means writing ANSI compatible SQL. My normal formatting preference is:
SELECT
S.name AS SchemaName,
O.name AS ObjectName,
C.column_id AS ColumnId,
C.name AS ColumnName
FROM
sys.schemas AS S
INNER JOIN sys.objects AS O ON S.schema_id = O.schema_id
INNER JOIN sys.columns AS C ON O.object_id = C.object_id
ORDER BY
S.name ASC,
O.name ASC,
C.column_id ASC;
As an alternative formatting of the above, the following makes it easier to see the column alias names:
SELECT
S.name
AS SchemaName,
O.name
AS ObjectName,
C.column_id
AS ColumnId,
C.name
AS ColumnName
FROM
sys.schemas AS S
INNER JOIN sys.objects AS O ON S.schema_id = O.schema_id
INNER JOIN sys.columns AS C ON O.object_id = C.object_id
ORDER BY
S.name ASC,
O.name ASC,
C.column_id ASC;
