ASP Kitchen: SQL Server Articles: How to use apostrophes in SQL Server's Transact SQL

How to use apostrophes in SQL Server's Transact SQL

Since strings are normally enclosed within single quotes in Transact SQL, it can be a problem if the string's text contains an apostrophe within it, such as the query below:

SELECT *, FROM Products WHERE ProductName = 'King's Jalapeno Peppers'

Obviously this SQL query would fail due to the apostrophe in the ProductName. Thankfully though, the solution is simple - just put two apostrophes in the string, as shown below:

SELECT *, FROM Products WHERE ProductName = 'King''s Jalapeno Peppers'

Replacing the single quotes with two single quotes should be done wherever a string that may potentially contain a single quote is used within a query. This can be achived in most programming languages by using a Replace function. For example, in Visual Basic.NET the syntax to use would be the following:

Dim ProductName As String = "King's Jalapeno Peppers"
Dim SQL As String
SQL = "SELECT *, FROM Products WHERE ProductName = '" & Replace(ProductName, "'", "''") & "'"

Similarly, in C# the Replace function can be used in an identical way:

Dim ProductName As String = "King's Jalapeno Peppers"
Dim SQL As String
SQL = "SELECT *, FROM Products WHERE ProductName = '" & Replace(ProductName, "'", "''") & "'"

If your strings are being obtained from user input (e.g. from a web form) then don't forget to remove other characters from strings as well in order to guard against SQL injection attacks. See this article guarding web applications against sql injection attacks for more information.

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Author details

Brett Burridge has worked as a web developer since 1997 and has developed web applications for a range of corporations, start up busiensses and educational establishments.

Brett is presently employed as an Internet developer and technical writer through his own company, Winnersh Triangle Web Solutions Limited. The company produces a number of innovative products, including a range of software documentation tools, which include the ASP Documentation Tool™, the .NET Documentation Tool for VB.NET and C#, and the SQL Server Documentation Tool. Other products include The Website Utility, which functions as a website error checker, search engine optimizer and ASP/ASP.NET search engine builder application.

As well as the ASPAlliance, Brett has written articles for Ariadne.ac.uk, ASPToday, the software documentation portal www.softwaredocumentation.info, and has contributed recipes to the ASP.NET Developer's Cookbook.    links

Outside web development, Brett is interested in travelling (here are my travel logs from New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo), digital photography (here's my photo gallery), tropical fishkeeping and collecting contemporary works of art by artists such as Doug Hyde.

Contact Brett by emailing

ASP Kitchen: SQL Server Articles: How to use apostrophes in SQL Server's Transact SQL