Inserting a column which starts with _

Question

Hi, I want to create a table with a column that begins with the _ character, but unfortuntly SQL*PLUS will not accept it.
I checked and it seems that the _ character is a reserved oracle character for the LIKE operator.
Is there anyway to start a column with the _ character ?
Thank you in advance for your replies.

Answer 1

Yes, you can do it, but you should avoid it. In order to do it, you have to enclose it in double quotes. The drawback is that you will then have to enclose it in double quotes any time that you reference it, which can get very messy if, for example, you are using some complex dynamic sql. The following demonstrates that it can be done, but it is definitely not recommended.
scott@ORA92> create table "_test" (col1 number)
  2  /
Table created.
scott@ORA92> insert into "_test" values (1)
  2  /
1 row created.
scott@ORA92> desc "_test"
Name                                      Null?    Type
COL1                                               NUMBER
scott@ORA92> select * from "_test"
  2  /
      COL1
         1
scott@ORA92> drop table "_test"
  2  /
Table dropped.
scott@ORA92>