Index: src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/HColumnDescriptor.java =================================================================== --- src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/HColumnDescriptor.java (revision 740857) +++ src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/HColumnDescriptor.java (working copy) @@ -242,12 +242,11 @@ Bytes.toString(b)); } for (int i = 0; i < (b.length - 1); i++) { - if (Character.isLetterOrDigit(b[i]) || b[i] == '_' || b[i] == '.') { - continue; + if (Character.isISOControl(b[i])) { + throw new IllegalArgumentException("Illegal character <" + b[i] + + ">. Family names cannot contain control characters: " + + Bytes.toString(b)); } - throw new IllegalArgumentException("Illegal character <" + b[i] + - ">. Family names can only contain 'word characters' and must end" + - "with a colon: " + Bytes.toString(b)); } return b; }