APP_NAME() vs PROGRAM_NAME()

• Sibbs

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  April 29, 2009 at 2:06 pm

  #202649

  Hello,

  I have been implementing some session source tracking on our SQL servers, and am unclear on any difference between the APP_NAME() and PROGRAM_NAME() functions.

  Most of the code examples I find online use the PROGRAM_NAME() function, but I can't find any mention in books online or MSDN, which both describe the APP_NAME() function.

  In my testing they both seem to return the same results. I would guess that, since it is documented, APP_NAME would be preferred.

  Has anyone experienced any practical difference between the two?

  Thanks,

• Lynn Pettis

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  April 29, 2009 at 3:35 pm

  #986304

  Sibbs (4/29/2009)

  ---

  Hello,

  I have been implementing some session source tracking on our SQL servers, and am unclear on any difference between the APP_NAME() and PROGRAM_NAME() functions.

  Most of the code examples I find online use the PROGRAM_NAME() function, but I can't find any mention in books online or MSDN, which both describe the APP_NAME() function.

  In my testing they both seem to return the same results. I would guess that, since it is documented, APP_NAME would be preferred.

  Has anyone experienced any practical difference between the two?

  Thanks,

  I can find APP_NAME() in BOL,

  Returns the application name for the current session if set by the application.

  I can't find an entry in BOL for PROGRAM_NAME.

• Paul White

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  April 29, 2009 at 7:54 pm

  #986366

  Lynn Pettis (4/29/2009)

  ---

  I can find APP_NAME() in BOL...I can't find an entry in BOL for PROGRAM_NAME.

  Hey Lynn,

  I remember this from years ago - PROGRAM_NAME does work, and returns the same result as APP_NAME - but I can't find documentation either. Even more strangely, selecting the two functions produces the following in a compute scalar:

  [font="Courier New"][Expr1000] = Scalar Operator(program_name()), [Expr1001] = Scalar Operator(app_name())[/font]

  ..so they seem to be genuinely different, as opposed to say GET_DATE() and CURRENT_TIMESTAMP, which are both reported as GET_DATE().

  Interesting stuff. In answer to the question though - use APP_NAME, it's safer.

  Paul

  Paul White
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