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I am interested in the terminology for the characters you can put around table names, column names, etc. when referencing them in a query. A name that in Microsoft SQL Server would be for []s and in MySQL would be for ``s or possibly ""s.

I am unable to find a generic term for them anywhere and am wondering if one exists.

2 Answers 2

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"I think" this is what you are referring to:

Delimited Identifiers

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms176027(v=sql.105).aspx

T-SQL Naming Conventions

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/language-elements/transact-sql-syntax-conventions-transact-sql

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    For example, if an object's (table, column, etc) delimited identifier is "super_table", then the identifier body is super_table, and the delimiters are " and " (these are SQL standard). In SQL Server, the same object can also be identified by the delimited identifier [super_table] where the delimiters are [ and ]. In MySQL, it could also be identified by `super_table`, where the delimiters are ` and `. Commented Oct 11, 2017 at 16:13
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The characters themselves are called delimiters. The object you are referencing is the identifier.

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