How do I rename a column in a database table using SQL?

Question

If I wish to simply rename a column (not change its type or constraints, just its name) in an SQL database using SQL, how do I do that? Or is it not possible?

This is for any database claiming to support SQL, I'm simply looking for an SQL-specific query that will work regardless of actual database implementation.

Answer 1

Use sp_rename

USE AdventureWorks;
GO
EXEC sp_rename 'Sales.SalesTerritory.TerritoryID', 'TerrID', 'COLUMN';
GO

Answer 2

On PostgreSQL (and many other RDBMS), you can do it with regular "ALTER TABLE":

essais=> SELECT * FROM Test1;
 id | foo | bar 
----+-----+-----
  2 |   1 |   2

essais=> ALTER TABLE Test1 RENAME COLUMN foo TO baz;
ALTER TABLE

essais=> SELECT * FROM Test1;
 id | baz | bar 
----+-----+-----
  2 |   1 |   2

Answer 3

ALTER TABLE is standard SQL. But it's not completely implemented in many database systems.

Answer 4

In Informix, you can use:

RENAME COLUMN TableName.OldName AS NewName;

This was implemented before the SQL standard addressed the issue - if it is addressed in the SQL standard. My copy of the SQL 9075:2003 standard does not show it as being standard (amongst other things, RENAME is not one of the keywords). I don't know whether it is actually in SQL 9075:2008.

Answer 5

The standard would be ALTER TABLE, but that's not necessarily supported by every DBMS you're likely to encounter, so if you're looking for an all-encompassing syntax, you may be out of luck.