Progress
DataServer
for ODBC Guide


Naming Conventions

When planning for maximum transparency across Progress databases and ODBC data sources, be sure to consider the restrictions that each places on naming data-source objects when you perform a Progress-to-ODBC conversion. Table 2–2 describes these restrictions, and the notes that follow it discuss how the DataServer resolves differences between Progress and ODBC naming conventions.

Table 2–2: Progress Database and ODBC Data-source Naming Restrictions
Category
Progress
DB2
Informix
Microsoft Access
Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase
Alphanumeric characters
A-Z or a-z
0-9
A-Z or a-z
0-91
A-Z or a-z
0-9
A-Z or a-z
0-9
All alphanumeric characters from the character set that you defined for your Microsoft SQL Server or Sybase database
Special characters
Allows $, &, #, %, –, and _2
Allows @, $, #, and _3
Allows _
None
Allows @, $, #, _, ¥, and £3
Initial character
Alphabetic only
Alphabetic only
See your data-source documentation
See your data-source documentation
Alphabetic only
Maximum length of object name
32 characters
18 characters
18 characters (10 for database)
24 characters4
24 characters4
Keywords
Not allowed5
Not allowed5
Allowed but not recommended5
Not allowed5
Not allowed5
Unique table names
Required6
Required7
Required
Required
Required8
  1. In a DB2 schema, lowercase letters in object names are converted to uppercase letters.
  2. Although Progress allows you to use the ampersand (&) in database-object names, the Progress ADE tools use this character internally to denote preprocessor directives.
  3. When the DataServer encounters characters not supported by Progress in a table, index, or field name, it converts them to underscores ( _ ) in the schema holder. For example, the data-source table name emp@status becomes emp_status in the schema holder. If the unsupported character is at the beginning of an object name, the DataServer substitutes a lowercase z. Also, the DataServer strips @ symbols from stored procedure parameter names.
  4. Object names in these data sources are limited by the data source to 30 characters. When you use the Progress-to-ODBC utility to perform a database conversion, however, the utility truncates object names to 24 characters in order to accommodate the suffix characters that it appends when it finds nonunique names, reused Progress keywords, array fields, sequences, triggers, and so forth. If you intend to use the Progress-to-ODBC utility, be sure to limit object names to 24 characters to accommodate this name resolution during conversion.
  5. Progress databases and most ODBC data sources contain restrictions against using keywords as database object names. If a data source object name consists of a Progress keyword, the DataServer appends an underscore character ( _ ) to the name. For example, an object named “each” becomes “each_”
  6. DB2, Sybase, and Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 qualify nonunique table names to make them unique (see your data-source documentation for details); however, Progress still regards these qualified names as nonunique. The DataServer resolves nonunique table names for you as follows: when Progress encounters matching table names while creating or updating a schema holder, it names the second and subsequent tables table-1, table-2, etc. For example, if Progress encounters a table named lee.employee (the employee table owned by the user lee) that is the second instance of the name in the data source, it names the corresponding table in the schema holder employee-1.
    NOTE: When resolving naming conventions, the DataServer can append up to three characters to an object name: two in the case of a nonunique name and one in the case of a Progress keyword. Therefore, you should limit your object names to 29 characters so that you do not exceed the Progress 32-character limit for object names in the schema holder. Note that object-name length limit for some data sources (for example, DB2) is low enough that you are unlikely to exceed the Progress 32-character limit.
  7. DB2 allows you to qualify an object name by adding the following:
    - the data-source instance name
    - the owner’s name
    - (for columns) the table name
  8. Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 allow you to qualify an object name by adding the following:
    - the database name
    - the owner’s name
    - (for columns) the table name


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