Should I Always Fully Qualify Column Names In SQL?

Question

Out of interest when working with SQL statements should I always use the fully qualifed column name (tablename.columnname) even if only working with one table e.g.

Answer 1

I would put this as personal preference. It would only make a difference if you started joining tables which contain duplicate column names.

Also, rather than write out the table name in full, use an alias:

SELECT t.column1, t.column2 FROM table as t