Naming of ID columns in database tables

Question

I was wondering peoples opinions on the naming of ID columns in database tables.

If I have a table called Invoices with a primary key of an identity column I would c

Answer 1

I just started working in a place that uses only "ID" (in the core tables, referenced by TableNameID in foreign keys), and have already found TWO production problems directly caused by it.

In one case the query used "... where ID in (SELECT ID FROM OtherTable ..." instead of "... where ID in (SELECT TransID FROM OtherTable ...".

Can anyone honestly say that wouldn't have been much easier to spot if full, consistent names were used where the wrong statement would have read "... where TransID in (SELECT OtherTableID from OtherTable ..."? I don't think so.

The other issue occurs when refactoring code. If you use a temp table whereas previously the query went off a core table then the old code reads "... dbo.MyFunction(t.ID) ..." and if that is not changed but "t" now refers to a temp table instead of the core table, you don't even get an error - just erroneous results.

If generating unnecessary errors is a goal (maybe some people don't have enough work?), then this kind of naming convention is great. Otherwise consistent naming is the way to go.