Query error with ambiguous column name in SQL

Question

I get an Ambiguous column name error with this query (InvoiceID). I can\'t figure out why. They all seem to be joined correctly so why doesn\'t the management studio know to

Answer 1

One of your tables has the same column name's which brings a confusion in the query as to which columns of the tables are you referring to. Copy this code and run it.

SELECT 
    v.VendorName, i.InvoiceID, iL.InvoiceSequence, iL.InvoiceLineItemAmount
FROM Vendors AS v
JOIN Invoices AS i ON (v.VendorID = .VendorID)
JOIN InvoiceLineItems AS iL ON (i.InvoiceID = iL.InvoiceID)
WHERE  
    I.InvoiceID IN
        (SELECT iL.InvoiceSequence 
         FROM InvoiceLineItems
         WHERE iL.InvoiceSequence > 1)
ORDER BY 
    V.VendorName, i.InvoiceID, iL.InvoiceSequence, iL.InvoiceLineItemAmount

Answer 2

This happens because there are fields with the same name in more than one table, in the query, because of the joins, so you should reference the fields differently, giving names (aliases) to the tables.