How DB_NAME() Works in SQL Server

In SQL Server, you can use the DB_NAME() function to return the name of the current database, or another specified database.

The way it works is, you pass the ID of the database as an argument, and then the function will return the name of that database. However, if you don’t pass an ID it will return the name of the current database.

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How to Use OBJECT_ID() on Cross-Database Objects in SQL Server

One difference between OBJECT_ID() and OBJECT_NAME() in SQL Server is the syntax used for cross-database queries. By this I mean, when they’re used on objects in a different database.

The OBJECT_NAME() function has an optional argument that you can provide, which specifies the database ID of the database that contains the object you’re trying to get the name of. Providing this argument enables you to get the name of an object on a different database.

The OBJECT_ID() function on the other hand, doesn’t require such an argument. Instead, this function allows you to use a 3-part name to specify the database, schema, and name of the object that you’re trying to get the ID of.

This article contains examples of using OBJECT_ID() to get the name of an object from a different database.

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How to Get an OBJECT_NAME() from a Different Database in SQL Server

If you ever need to use the OBJECT_NAME() function to get an object’s name from a different database in SQL Server, you might run into issues if you don’t know how it works.

You probably know that OBJECT_NAME() accepts an object_id argument that tells SQL Server which object to get the name from.

What you may or may not know, is that this function also accepts an optional database_id argument that tells SQL Server which database the object_id belongs to.

By default, SQL Server assumes that object_id is in the context of the current database. In this case, a query that references an object_id in another database will return NULL or (even worse) incorrect results.

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Use OBJECT_NAME() to Get an Object’s Name from its object_id in SQL Server

When using SQL Server, if you ever find yourself about to do a join against the sys.objects system catalog view in order to get the name of an object, maybe stop and read this first.

Transact-SQL has a built-in function called OBJECT_NAME() that returns the name of an object, based on its ID.

In other words, if you have the object’s ID (for example, the object_id column), you can simply pass that ID to the OBJECT_NAME() function, and it will return the object’s name for you – no join required!

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