diff --git a/db/apichanges.xml b/db/apichanges.xml
--- a/db/apichanges.xml
+++ b/db/apichanges.xml
@@ -105,6 +105,19 @@
     <!-- ACTUAL CHANGES BEGIN HERE: -->
 
     <changes>
+        <change>
+            <api name="database_explorer_api"/>
+            <summary>Add support for always quoting and for unquoting SQL identifiers.</summary>
+            <version major="1" minor="29"/>
+            <date day="15" month="8" year="2008"/>
+            <author login="abadea"/>
+            <compatibility addition="yes"/>
+            <description>
+                Add support for always quoting and for unquoting SQL identifiers.
+            </description>
+            <class package="org.netbeans.api.db.sql.support" name="SQLIdentifiers"/>
+            <issue number="143441"/>
+        </change>
         <change>
             <api name="database_explorer_api"/>
             <summary>Add ability to get the underlying JDBC Driver instance for a JDBCDriver</summary>
diff --git a/db/nbproject/project.properties b/db/nbproject/project.properties
--- a/db/nbproject/project.properties
+++ b/db/nbproject/project.properties
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
 javadoc.arch=${basedir}/arch.xml
 javadoc.apichanges=${basedir}/apichanges.xml
 
-spec.version.base=1.28.0
+spec.version.base=1.29.0
 
 extra.module.files=modules/ext/ddl.jar
 
diff --git a/db/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/SQLIdentifiers.java b/db/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/SQLIdentifiers.java
--- a/db/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/SQLIdentifiers.java
+++ b/db/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/SQLIdentifiers.java
@@ -95,6 +95,56 @@
          */
         public abstract String quoteIfNeeded(String identifier);
 
+        /**
+         * Quotes an SQL identifier, even if the {@link #quoteIfNeeded} method
+         * would not have quoted it.
+         *
+         * @param identifier a SQL identifier. Can not be null.
+         *
+         * @return the quoted identifier.
+         *
+         * @since 1.29
+         */
+        public abstract String quoteAlways(String identifier);
+
+        /**
+         * Unquotes an identifier if it is quoted.
+         *
+         * @param identifier a SQL identifier. Can not be null.
+         *
+         * @return the unquoted identifier.
+         *
+         * @since 1.29
+         */
+        public String unquote(String identifier) {
+            Parameters.notNull("identifier", identifier);
+
+            int start = 0;
+            while (identifier.regionMatches(start, quoteString, 0, quoteString.length())) {
+                start += quoteString.length();
+            }
+            int end = identifier.length();
+            if (end > start) {
+                for (;;) {
+                    int offset = end - quoteString.length();
+                    if (identifier.regionMatches(offset, quoteString, 0, quoteString.length())) {
+                        end = offset;
+                    } else {
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            String result = "";
+            if (start < end) {
+                result = identifier.substring(start, end);
+            }
+            return result;
+        }
+
+        public String getQuoteString() {
+            return quoteString;
+        }
+
         boolean alreadyQuoted(String identifier) {
             return (identifier.startsWith(quoteString) && identifier.endsWith(quoteString));
         }
@@ -128,6 +178,16 @@
             Parameters.notNull("identifier", identifier);
 
             if ( needToQuote(identifier) ) {
+                return doQuote(identifier);
+            }
+
+            return identifier;
+        }
+
+        public final String quoteAlways(String identifier) {
+            Parameters.notNull("identifier", identifier);
+
+            if ( !alreadyQuoted(identifier) ) {
                 return doQuote(identifier);
             }
 
diff --git a/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/NonASCIIQuoter.java b/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/NonASCIIQuoter.java
--- a/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/NonASCIIQuoter.java
+++ b/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/NonASCIIQuoter.java
@@ -62,4 +62,13 @@
             return identifier;
         }
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public String quoteAlways(String identifier) {
+        if (!alreadyQuoted(identifier)) {
+            return quoteString + identifier + quoteString;
+        } else {
+            return identifier;
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/NonASCIIQuoterTest.java b/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/NonASCIIQuoterTest.java
--- a/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/NonASCIIQuoterTest.java
+++ b/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/NonASCIIQuoterTest.java
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
         super(name);
     }
 
-    public void testBasic() {
+    public void testQuoteIfNeeded() {
         Quoter quoter = new NonASCIIQuoter("\"");
 
         assertEquals("foo", quoter.quoteIfNeeded("foo"));
@@ -51,4 +51,11 @@
 
         assertEquals("\"foo bar\"", quoter.quoteIfNeeded("\"foo bar\""));
     }
+
+    public void testQuoteAlways() {
+        Quoter quoter = new NonASCIIQuoter("\"");
+
+        assertEquals("\"foo\"", quoter.quoteAlways("foo"));
+        assertEquals("\"foo bar\"", quoter.quoteAlways("\"foo bar\""));
+    }
 }
diff --git a/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/QuoterTest.java b/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/QuoterTest.java
--- a/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/QuoterTest.java
+++ b/db/test/unit/src/org/netbeans/api/db/sql/support/QuoterTest.java
@@ -123,6 +123,18 @@
         } catch ( NullPointerException npe ) {
             // expected
         }
+        try {
+            quoter.quoteAlways(null);
+            fail("Expected a NullPointerException");
+        } catch ( NullPointerException npe ) {
+            // expected
+        }
+        try {
+            quoter.unquote(null);
+            fail("Expected a NullPointerException");
+        } catch ( NullPointerException npe ) {
+            // expected
+        }
     }
     
     public void testFirstCharIsUnderbar() throws Exception {
@@ -144,4 +156,13 @@
         
         assertEquals(expResult, result);
     }
+
+    public void testUnquote() {
+        assertEquals("", quoter.unquote(""));
+        assertEquals("", quoter.unquote("\"\""));
+        assertEquals("id", quoter.unquote("id"));
+        assertEquals("id", quoter.unquote("\"id"));
+        assertEquals("id", quoter.unquote("id\""));
+        assertEquals("id", quoter.unquote("\"id"));
+    }
 }