How Do I Escape Keyword-Like Column Names in PostgreSQL?

When processing tables in PostgreSQL, we may encounter column names that are similar to keywords in the SQL language. This can cause errors when writing queries because PostgreSQL may try to interpret column names as keywords rather than identifiers.

To solve this problem, we can use double quotes to surround the column name, thereby escaping it and preventing PostgreSQL from mistaking it for a keyword.

For example, consider the following table:

<code class="language-sql">CREATE TABLE my_table (id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT, year INTEGER);</code>

Now, let’s say we want to insert a new row into this table and set the “year” column to a specific value. If we write the query as follows:

<code class="language-sql">INSERT INTO my_table (id, name, year) VALUES (1, 'John Doe', 1990);</code>

We get errors near the "year" keyword because PostgreSQL is trying to interpret it as a reserved word.

To fix this, we just wrap "year" in double quotes:

<code class="language-sql">INSERT INTO my_table (id, name, "year") VALUES (1, 'John Doe', 1990);</code>

By quoting the column name, we instruct PostgreSQL to treat it as an identifier rather than a keyword, allowing us to successfully set its value.

According to the PostgreSQL documentation, a "delimited identifier" or "quoted identifier" is an identifier enclosed in double quotes. They are always recognized as identifiers and cannot be mistaken for keywords. This allows us to use keywords as column or table names without encountering errors.

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