SQL Server Database names with spaces

SQL Server Database names with spaces create problems for the DBA.During database creation leaving a database name blank or using / : * # ? " < > |  causes an error.

Creating a database name with a space , won’t throw an immediate error , but can cause application errors.

There are good reasons to not use spaces in database names.

1) Database names with spaces can confuse applications

An example is the following code:

EXEC( 'sp_msforeachdb''use ?; Select ''''?'''' DBName, Name FileNme,

fileproperty(Name,''''SpaceUsed'''') SpaceUsed from sysfiles''')

 If a space exists in the database name – the code will throw an error.

To overcome the immediate error , I place square brackets [?] in the code. – to enclose the badly designed data element name

 EXEC( 'sp_msforeachdb''use [?]; Select ''''?'''' DBName, Name FileNme,

fileproperty(Name,''''SpaceUsed'''') SpaceUsed from sysfiles''')

 
2) The iso-11179 rules outline naming conventions

Letters, Digits, Underscores.Read iso 11179-4 :Formulation of data definition for details.  Apply the iso-11179 rules to create a data dictionary usable across platforms  such as DB2, application levels integration and all programming languages.

3)Maintenance of database servers is less error-prone

If consistent naming conventions are used. My DBA scripts  execute across all database servers . As a fail-safe I use [] around database objects, but also run regular scans to capture objects with spaces.

Avoid Database names with spaces  for easier database server management