Tag Archives: SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON Vs SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF

Difference Between SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON and OFF setting in SQL Server

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In this article we will discuss on the difference between SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON and SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF. Please go through the article SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON/OFF Setting in Sql Server to have detailed information on this setting. As a better practice we should always use SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIERS ON setting.

SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF
Characters Enclosed within double quotes is treated as Identifier is treated as Literal
Try using Characters Enclosed within double quotes as identifier Works
Example: Below statement to create a table with table name “Table” succeeds.

SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
CREATE TABLE dbo."Table"
(id int,
"Function" VARCHAR(20)) 
GO
 Fails
Example: Below statement to create a table with table name “Table” Fails.

SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF
GO
CREATE TABLE dbo."Table"
(id int,
"Function" VARCHAR(20)) 
GO

Error Message:
Msg 102, Level 15, State 1,
Line 1 Incorrect syntax near ‘Table’.
Try using Characters Enclosed within double quotes as Literal. Fails
Example: Below statement fails.

SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
SELECT "BIRADAR"

Error Message:
Msg 207, Level 16, State 1,
Line 1 Invalid column name ‘BIRADAR’.

 Works
Example: Below Statement Works.

SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF
GO
SELECT "BIRADAR"
Characters Enclosed within single quotes is treated as Literal
Example:

SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO
SELECT 'BIRADAR'
 is treated as Literal
Example:

SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF
GO
SELECT 'BIRADAR'
How to find all the objects which are created with SET QUTOED IDENTIFIER ON/OFF Below Statement can be used to find all the objects created with SET QUTOED_IDENTIFIER setting as ON:

SELECT OBJECT_NAME(object_id) 
FROM sys.sql_modules 
WHERE uses_quoted_identifier = 1
 Below Statement can be used to find all the objects created with SET QUTOED_IDENTIFIER setting as OFF:

SELECT OBJECT_NAME(object_id) 
FROM sys.sql_modules
WHERE uses_quoted_identifier = 0
Which One to USE? Best practice is to use the SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON setting. Try to avoid using SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER OFF setting. As more and more new features require this setting value to be ON. For example while working with Filtered Indexes SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER setting should be ON otherwise we will get into an exception as demonstrated in the article INSERT/UPDATE failed because the following SET options have incorrect settings: ‘QUOTED_IDENTIFIER’ ….

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Please correct me, if my understanding is wrong. Comments are always welcome.