Snowflake Keyword Compatibility Reference

Generated for GSP Java version 4.1.9 on 2026-07-29

This page was generated using hybrid static extraction from parser source files combined with runtime validation against the actual GSP parser. Re-run the extraction script after parser updates to keep this page current.

Keyword-as-Column-Name Support

As of version 4.1.0.8, the GSP Snowflake parser handles keyword-as-column-name through its grammar rules — a large unreserved_keyword production allows most keywords to be parsed as identifiers in column-name position.

---

Full Classification Overview

Out of 730 keywords recognized by the GSP Snowflake parser:

Classification	Count	Description
Allowed	689	Can be used as an unquoted column name in both canonical contexts
Context-specific	39	Fails as SELECT keyword FROM t but works as SELECT t.keyword FROM t
Blocked	2	Cannot be used as an unquoted column name in either context

Context-Specific Keywords (39)

These keywords parse in one canonical context but not the other (measured against the release stamped above).

Keyword	SELECT kw FROM t	SELECT t.kw FROM t
ALL	no	yes
ARRAY	no	yes
BINARY	no	yes
BIT	no	yes
BOOLEAN	no	yes
BYTEINT	no	yes
CASE	no	yes
CHAR	no	yes
CHARACTER	no	yes
CONCURRENTLY	no	yes
CONNECT_BY_ROOT	no	yes
CROSS	no	yes
DECIMAL	no	yes
DISTINCT	no	yes
DOUBLE	no	yes
FLOAT	no	yes
FLOAT4	no	yes
FLOAT8	no	yes
FULL	no	yes
ILIKE	no	yes
IS	no	yes
JOIN	no	yes
LIKE	no	yes
NATURAL	no	yes
NOT	no	yes
NUMERIC	no	yes
OUTER	no	yes
OVERLAPS	no	yes
PRIOR	no	yes
REAL	no	yes
REGEXP	no	yes
SIMILAR	no	yes
SMALLINT	no	yes
STRING	no	yes
TINYINT	no	yes
TOP	no	yes
VARBINARY	no	yes
VARCHAR	no	yes
VERBOSE	no	yes

Blocked Keywords (2)

These keywords fail as unquoted identifiers in both canonical contexts. Workaround: quote the identifier (e.g. "KEYWORD").

Keyword
FROM
SET

Workaround: Double-Quoted Identifiers

For any keyword that fails as an unquoted column name, you can use double-quoted identifiers:

-- Blocked or context-specific keyword as column name
SELECT "from" FROM t;

-- Or use table qualification for context-specific keywords
SELECT t.all FROM t;

Scope and Limitations

• Tested contexts: SELECT keyword FROM t and SELECT t.keyword FROM t. Other contexts (DDL column definitions, INSERT column lists, aliases) may behave differently.
• Version-specific: This report reflects GSP Java version 4.1.0.8.
• Case sensitivity: Keywords are case-insensitive. select, SELECT, and Select are all treated the same.

How to Report Discrepancies

If you encounter a keyword that behaves differently from what this page describes, please report it through your support channel. Include:

1. The exact SQL statement
2. The GSP parser version
3. Whether the same SQL works in Snowflake

Methodology

1. Static extraction: A Python script parses the lexer (.cod) and grammar (.y) source files to identify all 730 keywords and their grammar classifications.
2. Runtime validation: A Java test harness validates every classification against actual TGSqlParser runtime behavior.
3. JSON dataset: The authoritative data is stored in docs/generated/snowflake_keyword_compatibility.json.