Phil Factor gives us the gloop:
Metadata extract files are handy for documentation, study, cataloguing and change-tracking. This type of file supplements source because it can record configuration, permissions, dependencies and documentation much more clearly. It is a good way of making a start with documenting your database.
Here is a sample of a json metadata file (from AdventureWorks 2016). It was generated using GloopCollectionOfObjects.sql that is here in Github, and is being viewed in JSONBuddy. I use this format of JSON, a collection of documents representing SQL Server base objects (no parent objects) when I need to read the contents into MongoDB. The term ‘Gloop’ refers to a large query that, you’d have thought, would be better off as a procedure. Here is a typical sample of the output.
This is an interesting approach to documentation. I’m not totally buying into it, but that might just be due to my not having tried it.