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 say it is nice to use qualified name, it adds readability to your code. It does not make much sense to use it for single table but for multiple tables it is must. if table names are too big then it is recommended to use alias, alias should preferably be derived from table name.

SELECT Dep.Name,Emp.Name
FROM Department DEP INNER JOIN Employee Emp
ON Dep.departmentid=Emp.DepartmentID