title: password limitations in SQL Server and MySql
body: <p>Does MySql 5.1 and SQL Server 2008 (Web edition, Standard) have any functional password limitations other than length limits? Are metacharacters in any form a bad idea to use, like bang, pipe, hash, any slash, carrot, and so on?</p>
  
  <p>I know that MySql 5.1 has a password length limitation of 16 characters that is hardcoded, but I was wondering, are any metacharacters (i.e. non alphanumerics) a bad idea to use? And is this true in SQL Server 2008 Web edition, Standard?</p>
  
  <p>So specifically: can symbols like:</p>
  
  <p>/`~>:}{[]^ be used successfully?</p>
  
  <p>I would hope it doesn't matter to the database, but I don't understand enough about password storage in enterprise database systems yet to know for sure, and I was looking for confirmation or an explanation.</p>