OK, sorry for all the posts. I am trying to find the best way to accomplish a specific task and I keep hitting some walls.

I got the linked server thing to work, and this question is somewhat related to that. Is there any way to "alias" a database? Let me explain...

Our application has two databases. The main "production" database and an archive database. We have a process in which database is "archived" from the production db to the archive db. However, we can't always guarantee that the archive db will always be called the same thing.

So, we want to be able to Alias it so that the code in the production db never needs to be changed.

Does this make sense?

Any input is greatly appreciated...

Scott Klein
Author - Professional SQL Server 2005 XML
http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTit...764597922.html

__________________
========================
Scott Klein
Author of:
Professional SQL Server 2005 XML
Professional WCF Programming: .NET Development with the Windows Communication Foundation
Professional LINQ
========================

So, the answer is a combination of both Linked Servers and Synonyms. Synonyms allow you to "alias" database objects, even objects in other databases, AND databases on other servers.

To alias a db object in a database on the same machine, the syntax is real easy:

CREATE SYNONYM aliasname FOR database.dbo.objectname
GO
SELECT * FROM aliasname

If you want to alias an object on another server, you first need to create a LINKED SERVER then create the synonym using the Linked Server name.

CREATE SYNONYM aliasname FOR linkedservername.database.dbo.objectname
GO
SELECT * FROM aliasname

Pretty cool...


Scott Klein
Author - Professional SQL Server 2005 XML
http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTit...764597922.html

Sorry for the late reply...

SYNONYM will certainly work for SQL Server 2005... if you only have SQL Server 2000, a view works very well and has some other advantages, as well. For example, as dumb as it sounds, some of our folks need the ability to work with current information AND the archived information at the same time. Rather than them doing a JOIN in all their code, we simply made a view that does the join. For example, we have a current table called InvoiceDetail and an archived table (for things more than 120 days old) also called InvoiceDetail but in a different database. We called the view "InvoiceDetailALL".

This method will allow you to split voluminous data into online, near-line, and "almost off-line" databases and make changes in the background without having to change a lick of foreground code... Can't necessarily do that even with a synonym... unless of course, the synonym refers to a view :D

--Jeff Moden

Thanks for the reply Jeff. Luckily we're using SQL Server 2005. However, you're solution may also come in handy if we aren't achieving the results we expect via SYNONYMS.

Scott Klein
Author - Professional SQL Server 2005 XML
http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTit...764597922.html