Neoview SQL Reference Manual (R2.5)

Identifiers
SQL identifiers are names used to identify tables, views, columns, and other SQL entities. The
two types of identifiers are regular and delimited. A delimited identifier is enclosed in double
quotes ("). An identifier of either type can contain up to 128 characters.
Regular Identifiers
Regular identifiers begin with a letter (A through Z or a through z), but can also contain digits
(0 through 9), or underscore characters (_). Regular identifiers are not case-sensitive. You cannot
use a reserved word as a regular identifier.
Delimited Identifiers
Neoview has extended support within Neoview SQL to include the forward slash (/) character.
The forward slash (/) is supported within delimited identifiers for DDL, DML, and SQL utility
statements. The forward slash (/) character can be in any position with the delimited identifier
string including the first character following the starting double quote.
Delimited identifiers are character strings that appear within double quote characters (") and
consist of alphanumeric characters and other characters. To include a double quote character in
a delimited identifier, use two consecutive double quotes (for example, "da Vinci’s ""Mona
Lisa""").
Unlike regular identifiers, delimited identifiers are case-sensitive. Spaces within a delimited
identifier are significant except for trailing spaces, which Neoview SQL truncates. You can use
reserved words as delimited identifiers.
Limitations for Delimited Identifiers
These limitations apply to delimited identifiers:
• Must start and end with a double quote.
• Internal double quotes must be doubled.
• Identifiers with @ character prefix are reserved for internal names.
• The circumflex character ^ cannot be the first character following the starting double quote
(characters are removed).
• Cannot contain trailing spaces before the end double quote
• Must contain at least one non blank character.
• Cannot be all special characters (for example, “-” or “~!#$%^&”).
• Can cause a length limit (128) overflow. For example, 250 double quotes result in character
length of 125 bytes.
• A table or column name including a double quote retrieved from an ODBC/JDBC catalog
API needs to be prefixed with another double quote before being used as part of an SQL
statement. For example, if the catalog API returns the table name 'Abc"def' then the
application needs to convert the table name to a delimited identifier and prefix the internal
double quote with another quote in an SQL statement, like "Abc""def".
Examples of Identifiers
• These are regular identifiers:
mytable
SALES2006
Employee_Benefits_Selections
CUSTOMER_BILLING_INFORMATION
Because regular identifiers are case insensitive, Neoview SQL treats all these identifiers as
alternative representations of mytable:
Identifiers 269