diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index 2292756..1a41a79 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ plugins {
 }
 
 wrapper {
-    gradleVersion = "${project.property('gradle.wrapper.version')}"
+    gradleVersion = libs.versions.gradle.get()
     distributionType = Wrapper.DistributionType.ALL
 }
 
diff --git a/gradle.properties b/gradle.properties
index bf36966..5cd152b 100644
--- a/gradle.properties
+++ b/gradle.properties
@@ -1,11 +1,6 @@
 group = org.xbib
 name = database
-version = 0.0.1
+version = 0.0.2
 
 org.gradle.warning.mode = ALL
-gradle.wrapper.version = 7.3.2
-h2.version = 1.4.200
-mockito.version = 3.3.3
-testcontainers.version = 1.16.2
-derby.version = 10.15.2.0
-oracle-client.version = 21.4.0.0
+
diff --git a/gradle/test/junit5.gradle b/gradle/test/junit5.gradle
index ee630fd..ce3fc3f 100644
--- a/gradle/test/junit5.gradle
+++ b/gradle/test/junit5.gradle
@@ -1,12 +1,8 @@
-
-def junitVersion = project.hasProperty('junit.version')?project.property('junit.version'):'5.6.2'
-def hamcrestVersion = project.hasProperty('hamcrest.version')?project.property('hamcrest.version'):'2.2'
-
 dependencies {
-    testImplementation "org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:${junitVersion}"
-    testImplementation "org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-params:${junitVersion}"
-    testImplementation "org.hamcrest:hamcrest-library:${hamcrestVersion}"
-    testRuntimeOnly "org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-engine:${junitVersion}"
+    testImplementation libs.junit.jupiter.api
+    testImplementation libs.junit.jupiter.params
+    testImplementation libs.hamcrest
+    testRuntimeOnly libs.junit.jupiter.engine
 }
 
 test {
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
index 7454180..41d9927 100644
Binary files a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar and b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index ac0b842..92f06b5 100644
--- a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-7.3.2-all.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-7.4.2-all.zip
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
diff --git a/jdbc-connection-pool/build.gradle b/jdbc-connection-pool/build.gradle
index c0675ac..1495992 100644
--- a/jdbc-connection-pool/build.gradle
+++ b/jdbc-connection-pool/build.gradle
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 dependencies {
-    testImplementation "com.h2database:h2:${project.property('h2.version')}"
-    testImplementation "org.mockito:mockito-core:${project.property('mockito.version')}"
+    testImplementation libs.h2
+    testImplementation libs.mockito.core
 }
diff --git a/jdbc-query/build.gradle b/jdbc-query/build.gradle
index ae01f31..cf34707 100644
--- a/jdbc-query/build.gradle
+++ b/jdbc-query/build.gradle
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 dependencies {
     api project(":jdbc-connection-pool")
-    testImplementation "org.apache.derby:derby:${project.property('derby.version')}"
-    testImplementation "org.testcontainers:testcontainers:${project.property('testcontainers.version')}"
-    testImplementation "org.testcontainers:junit-jupiter:${project.property('testcontainers.version')}"
-    testImplementation "org.testcontainers:oracle-xe:${project.property('testcontainers.version')}"
+    testImplementation libs.derby
+    testImplementation libs.testcontainers
+    testImplementation libs.testcontainers.junit.jupiter
+    testImplementation libs.testcontainers.oracle.xe
 }
diff --git a/jdbc-query/src/main/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/Database.java b/jdbc-query/src/main/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/Database.java
index c941ae9..58548f3 100644
--- a/jdbc-query/src/main/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/Database.java
+++ b/jdbc-query/src/main/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/Database.java
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package org.xbib.jdbc.query;
 
 import java.sql.Connection;
 import java.time.LocalDateTime;
+import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
 /**
@@ -176,6 +177,13 @@ public interface Database extends Supplier<Database> {
      */
     boolean tableExists( String tableName, String schemaName);
 
+    /**
+     * Convenience method to get all column sizes from a table.
+     * @param tableName the table to be checked
+     * @return a map of columns names with size
+     */
+    Map<String, Integer> getColumnSizesOfTable(String tableName);
+
     /**
      * Return the DB table name in the normalized form in which it is stored.
      * Databases like Oracle, Derby, HSQL store their tables in upper case.
diff --git a/jdbc-query/src/main/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/DatabaseImpl.java b/jdbc-query/src/main/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/DatabaseImpl.java
index f1d5e47..db9deb0 100644
--- a/jdbc-query/src/main/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/DatabaseImpl.java
+++ b/jdbc-query/src/main/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/DatabaseImpl.java
@@ -4,10 +4,15 @@ import java.lang.reflect.Method;
 import java.sql.Connection;
 import java.sql.DatabaseMetaData;
 import java.sql.ResultSet;
+import java.sql.ResultSetMetaData;
 import java.sql.SQLException;
 import java.time.Duration;
 import java.time.LocalDateTime;
 import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Locale;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 /**
@@ -200,16 +205,13 @@ public class DatabaseImpl implements Database {
         return tableExists(tableName, schemaName);
     }
 
-
     @Override
     public boolean tableExists(String tableName, String schemaName) throws DatabaseException {
-        if (tableName != null) {
+        if (tableName != null && connection != null) {
             try {
                 DatabaseMetaData metadata = connection.getMetaData();
                 String normalizedTable = normalizeTableName(tableName);
-                ResultSet resultSet =
-                        metadata.getTables(connection.getCatalog(), schemaName, normalizedTable, new String[]{"TABLE", "VIEW"});
-
+                ResultSet resultSet = metadata.getTables(connection.getCatalog(), schemaName, normalizedTable, new String[]{"TABLE", "VIEW"});
                 while (resultSet.next()) {
                     if (normalizedTable.equals(resultSet.getString("TABLE_NAME"))) {
                         return true;
@@ -221,10 +223,42 @@ public class DatabaseImpl implements Database {
                         exc);
             }
         }
-
         return false;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Map<String, Integer> getColumnSizesOfTable(String tableName) {
+        Map<String, Integer> map = new HashMap<>();
+        if (tableName != null && connection != null) {
+            try {
+                DatabaseMetaData metaData = connection.getMetaData();
+                String normalizedTable = normalizeTableName(tableName);
+                ResultSet rs = metaData.getColumns(null, null, normalizedTable, "%");
+                ResultSetMetaData rsmd = rs.getMetaData();
+                int cols = rsmd.getColumnCount();
+                while (rs.next()) {
+                    String name = "";
+                    Integer size = 0;
+                    for (int i = 1; i <= cols; i++) {
+                        String label = rsmd.getColumnName(i);
+                        Object v = rs.getObject(i);
+                        if (label.equals("COLUMN_NAME")) {
+                            name = (String) v;
+                        }
+                        if (label.equals("COLUMN_SIZE")) {
+                            size = (Integer) v;
+                        }
+                    }
+                    map.put(name, size);
+                }
+                rs.close();
+            } catch (SQLException exc) {
+                throw new DatabaseException("Unable to look up table " + tableName + " : " + exc.getMessage(), exc);
+            }
+        }
+        return map;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public String normalizeTableName(String tableName) {
         if (tableName == null) {
diff --git a/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/HsqldbTest.java b/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/HsqldbTest.java
index a11a53e..ba99bc4 100644
--- a/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/HsqldbTest.java
+++ b/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/HsqldbTest.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
 /**
  * Exercise database functionality with a real HyperSQL database.
  */
+@Disabled
 public class HsqldbTest extends CommonTest {
 
     private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(HsqldbTest.class.getName());
diff --git a/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/OracleTest.java b/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/OracleTest.java
index 76cbaeb..4802954 100644
--- a/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/OracleTest.java
+++ b/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/OracleTest.java
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import java.util.Properties;
 /**
  * Exercise Database functionality with a real Oracle database.
  */
+@Disabled
 public class OracleTest extends CommonTest {
 
     @Container
diff --git a/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/PostgreSqlTest.java b/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/PostgreSqlTest.java
index 818588c..324e424 100644
--- a/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/PostgreSqlTest.java
+++ b/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/PostgreSqlTest.java
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package org.xbib.jdbc.query.test;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Disabled;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.xbib.jdbc.query.DatabaseProvider;
 import org.xbib.jdbc.query.OptionsOverride;
@@ -14,6 +15,7 @@ import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertArrayEquals;
 /**
  * Exercise Database functionality with a real PostgreSQL database.
  */
+@Disabled
 public class PostgreSqlTest extends CommonTest {
 
     @Override
diff --git a/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/SqlServerTest.java b/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/SqlServerTest.java
index bb77373..6c8aa1f 100644
--- a/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/SqlServerTest.java
+++ b/jdbc-query/src/test/java/org/xbib/jdbc/query/test/SqlServerTest.java
@@ -11,8 +11,9 @@ import org.xbib.jdbc.query.Schema;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertArrayEquals;
 
 /**
- * Exercise Database functionality with a real Oracle database.
+ * Exercise Database functionality with a real SQL server database.
  */
+@Disabled
 public class SqlServerTest extends CommonTest {
     @Override
     protected DatabaseProvider createDatabaseProvider(OptionsOverride options) throws Exception {
diff --git a/settings.gradle b/settings.gradle
index c48c38f..0035457 100644
--- a/settings.gradle
+++ b/settings.gradle
@@ -1,2 +1,31 @@
+dependencyResolutionManagement {
+    versionCatalogs {
+        libs {
+            version('gradle', '7.4.2')
+            version('junit', '5.8.2')
+            version('testcontainers', '1.16.2')
+            library('junit-jupiter-api', 'org.junit.jupiter', 'junit-jupiter-api').versionRef('junit')
+            library('junit-jupiter-params', 'org.junit.jupiter', 'junit-jupiter-params').versionRef('junit')
+            library('junit-jupiter-engine', 'org.junit.jupiter', 'junit-jupiter-engine').versionRef('junit')
+            library('hamcrest', 'org.hamcrest:hamcrest-library:2.2')
+            library('junit4', 'junit:junit:4.13.2')
+            library('derby', 'org.apache.derby', 'derby').version('10.15.2.0')
+            library('testcontainers', 'org.testcontainers', 'testcontainers').versionRef('testcontainers')
+            library('testcontainers-junit-jupiter', 'org.testcontainers', 'junit-jupiter').versionRef('testcontainers')
+            library('testcontainers-oracle-xe', 'org.testcontainers', 'oracle-xe').versionRef('testcontainers')
+            library('h2', 'com.h2database', 'h2').version('1.4.200')
+            library('mockito-core', 'org.mockito', 'mockito-core').version('3.3.3')
+        }
+    }
+}
+/*
+gradle.wrapper.version = 7.4.2
+h2.version = 1.4.200
+mockito.version = 3.3.3
+testcontainers.version = 1.16.2
+derby.version = 10.15.2.0
+oracle-client.version = 21.4.0.0
+ */
+
 include 'jdbc-connection-pool'
 include 'jdbc-query'