I have noted that mssql_select_db fails if the database name contains a dash or hyphen. for example a database named foo-bar will fail and the error that is returned indicates that the name was interpreted as only 'foo'
mssql_select_db
(PHP 4, PHP 5, PECL odbtp >= 1.1.1)
mssql_select_db — Select MS SQL database
Description
$database_name
[, resource $link_identifier
] )mssql_select_db() sets the current active database on the server that's associated with the specified link identifier.
Every subsequent call to mssql_query() will be made on the active database.
Parameters
-
database_name -
The database name.
To escape the name of a database that contains spaces, hyphens ("-"), or any other exceptional characters, the database name must be enclosed in brackets, as is shown in the example, below. This technique must also be applied when selecting a database name that is also a reserved word (such as primary).
-
link_identifier -
A MS SQL link identifier, returned by mssql_connect() or mssql_pconnect().
If no link identifier is specified, the last opened link is assumed. If no link is open, the function will try to establish a link as if mssql_connect() was called, and use it.
Return Values
Returns TRUE on success or FALSE on failure.
Examples
Example #1 mssql_select_db() example
<?php
// Create a link to MSSQL
$link = mssql_connect('KALLESPC\SQLEXPRESS', 'sa', 'phpfi');
// Select the database 'php'
mssql_select_db('php', $link);
?>
Example #2 Escaping the database name with square brackets
<?php
// Create a link to MSSQL
$link = mssql_connect('KALLESPC\SQLEXPRESS', 'sa', 'phpfi');
// Select the database 'my.database-name'
mssql_select_db('[my.database-name]', $link);
?>
See Also
- mssql_connect() - Open MS SQL server connection
- mssql_pconnect() - Open persistent MS SQL connection
- mssql_query() - Send MS SQL query
A way around this if you cannot avoid a long DB name is to create a new db and add views.
eg a database called [abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFG] has a table in it called tblHelloWorld.
To reference this you create a database called [alphabet] and create a view with the following query,
SELECT *
FROM [abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFG].dbo.tblHelloWorld
save this view as tblHelloWorld
not sure if this will work on inserts but it does on select queries.
Database names with '-' must also be enclosed in [].
eg. if $databaseName = "my-database" must be selected as:
mssql_select_db('['.$databaseName.']', $connection);
Use of square brackets to enclose the database name is also necessary if the name contains a dot: '.'
e.g.
mssql_select_db('Company.ERP');
Produces the error:
Warning: mssql_select_db(): Sybase: Server message: Could not locate entry in sysdatabases for database 'Company'. No entry found with that name. Make sure that the name is entered correctly. (severity 16, procedure N/A) in
mssql_select_db('[Company.ERP]');
Will select successfully
mssql_select_db() seems to truncate the databasename at the length of 30 characters. In my example the following error occured:
mssql_select_db("VeryLongDatabaseNameWhichIsReallyLong", $this->dbConn);
Warning: mssql_select_db(): message: Could not locate entry in sysdatabases for database 'VeryLongDatabaseNameWhichIsRea'. No entry found with that na
me. Make sure that the name is entered correctly. (severity 16) in...
A shorter databasename solved this issue.
