SQL identifiers
There are two types of SQL identifiers: ordinary identifiers and delimited identifiers.
- An ordinary identifier is an uppercase letter followed by zero or more characters, each of which is an uppercase letter, a digit, or the underscore character. Note that ordinary identifiers are converted to uppercase. An ordinary identifier should not be a reserved word. See Reserved schema names and reserved words for a list of reserved words. If a reserved word is used as an identifier in SQL, it should be specified in uppercase and should be a delimited identifier or specified in a variable.
- A delimited identifier is a sequence of one or more characters
enclosed within SQL escape characters. The sequence must consist of one or
more characters. Leading blanks in the sequence are significant. Trailing
blanks in the sequence are not significant. The length of a delimited identifier
does not include the two SQL escape characters. Note that delimited identifiers
are not converted to uppercase. The escape character is the quotation mark
(") except in the following cases where the escape character is the apostrophe
('):
- Interactive SQL when the SQL string delimiter is set to the quotation mark in COBOL syntax checking statement mode
- Dynamic SQL in a COBOL program when the CRTSQLCBL or CRTSQLCBLI parameter OPTION(*QUOTESQL) specifies that the string delimiter is the quotation mark (")
- COBOL application program when the CRTSQLCBL or CRTSQLCBLI parameter OPTION(*QUOTESQL) specifies that the string delimiter is the quotation mark (")
The following characters are not allowed within delimited identifiers:
- X'00' through X'3F' and X'FF'