Appendix A
Naming Conventions


The following are recommended naming conventions for SQL Server.

Suggested Naming Conventions

Object Naming Convention Example
database device (business name) sales
data device (business name) + _data sales_data
log device (business name) + _log sales_log
dump device (business name) + _dump sales_dump
table constraint (business name) customer
foreign key constraint (table name) + _fk customer_fk
primary key constraint (table name) + _pk customer_pk
unique key constraint (table name) + _uniq customer_uniq
or
foreign key constraint fk_ + (table name) fk_customer
primary key constraint pk_ + (table name) pk_customer
unique key constraint index uniq_ + (table name) uniq_customer
clustered (column_name) + _cdx customer_id_cdx
nonclustered trigger (column name) + _idx customer_id_idx
delete (table name) + _dtr customer_dtr
insert (table name) + _itr customer_itr
update (table name) + _utr customer_utr
insert and update (table name) + _iutr customer_iutr
or
delete dtr_ + (table name) dtr_customer
insert itr_ + (table name) itr_customer
update utr_ + (table name) utr_customer
insert and update iutr_ + (table name) iutr_customer
stored procedure (style A) usp_ + (business name) (usp stands for user-defined stored procedure) usp_customer_inquiry
stored procedure (style B) This style combines the action being performed in the stored procedure with a business name. For example, a stored procedure that deletes the customer profile has the name del_customer. If the stored procedure performs multiple business functions, use oth_ + (business name).
DELETE del_ + (business name) del_customer
INSERT ins_ + (business name) ins_customer
SELECT sel_ + (business name) sel_customer
UPDATE upd_ + (business name) upd_customer
Other types of actions oth_ + (business name) oth_customer
view (business name) + _view customer_view


TIP: SQL Server is case sensitive. I generally make everything lowercase to avoid confusion.



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