Using the GUI interface to BaseX 7.2, when I select Database / Open and Manage ..., I get a list of the databases I have built over the time I've been using BaseX. When I try to open the collection named MEP.bigbooks, though, I get an error box saying "Name 'MEP.bigbooks' is invalid."
In the "Manage Databases" dialog box, the information about the collection appears normal and plausible (at least, the size is about what I expect, and so on). It's only when I try to open the collection that I run into the error. I get similar errors on other collections which have . in their name; I do not get errors when opening other collections built (as far as I can remember) at the same time from the same data, if their name does not include a full stop.
When I try renaming the collection without the full stop, I get the same error message.
When I try to issue the command
ALTER DATABASE MEP.bigbooks MEPbigbooks
from the server command area of the GUI, I get a short syntax summary in the Query Info area complaining about the syntax of the command. When I replace MEP.bigbooks with MEP.bigbooks and "MEP.bigbooks", I also get syntax errors.
If I close the GUI and just rename the directory within my BaseXData directory, the database appears to open normally.
I think I have two questions:
Q1 is just renaming the directory a safe way (assuming no server is currently working with the data) to rename a collection? Should I do the same for all the other collections I have that don't currently open?
I assume that if the 7.2 GUI won't let me rename them, it also will have trouble deleting them, so a related question is: is just deleting a sub-directory of BaseXData a safe way to delete a collection?
Q2 Did the rules for names of collections change? Or is there some other cause?
Speaking for myself, I guess that as a user I haven't thought much about what characters should be allowed in collection names, but I may have assumed that if they are not unrestricted, they would be restricted to being legal NCNames. I do kind of like using dots in names, so you can count this as one vote for relaxing the naming rules at some convenient moment. It's not a really important point, of course.
best,
Michael