The columns_introspection extension attempts to introspect the selected columns for a dataset before issuing a query. If it thinks it can guess correctly at the columns the query will use, it will return the columns without issuing a database query.
This method is not fool-proof, it's possible that some databases will use column names that Sequel does not expect. Also, it may not correctly handle all cases.
To attempt to introspect columns for a single dataset:
ds.extension(:columns_introspection)
To attempt to introspect columns for all datasets on a single database:
DB.extension(:columns_introspection)
To attempt to introspect columns for all datasets on all databases:
Sequel.extension :columns_introspection Sequel::Dataset.introspect_all_columns