Home Forums Article Discussions Article Discussions by Author Discuss content posted by Sylvia Moestl Vasilik Enhancing the readability of your code: Table aliasing in sql RE: Enhancing the readability of your code: Table aliasing in sql

  • May 6, 2009 at 10:40 pm

    #990125

    But in this particular SQL statement, there's no reason to alias your tables names - it would just save a few keystrokes, at the cost of making it much less readable. Here's what I would do.

    I apologize but I must strongly disagree with that statement. While it may appear to make it more readable for you at the time you're writing it, the next poor slob that has to troubleshoot the code will likely not be as intimately familiar with the tables as you are. (S)he will end up having to lookup which tables contain which columns and that takes a comparably long time even if you only have two tables joined. To wit, the practice of not using table aliases on joined queries is probably worse than the practices of either selecting nonrelated aliases or using full table names on every column reference.

    And, heh... don't get me started on the practice of using leading commas in code.

    --Jeff Moden

    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)