diff --git a/python/core/qgsdatasourceuri.sip b/python/core/qgsdatasourceuri.sip
index af0a6c81ace..893982ec655 100644
--- a/python/core/qgsdatasourceuri.sip
+++ b/python/core/qgsdatasourceuri.sip
@@ -19,8 +19,14 @@ public:
   //! constructor which parses input URI
   QgsDataSourceURI(QString uri);
    
-  //! All in a single string
-  QString text() const;
+  //! connection info
+  QString connInfo() const;
+
+  //! complete uri
+  QString uri() const;
+
+  //! quoted table name
+  QString quotedTablename() const;
   
   //! Set all connection related members at once
   void setConnection(const QString& aHost,
@@ -35,28 +41,11 @@ public:
                      const QString& aGeometryColumn,
                      const QString& aSql = QString());
   
-  /* data */
+  QString username() const;
+  QString schema() const;
+  QString table() const;
+  QString sql() const;
+  QString geometryColumn() const;
 
-  //! host name
-  QString host;
-  //! database name
-  QString database;
-  //! port the database server listens on
-  QString port;
-  //! schema
-  QString schema;
-  //! spatial table
-  QString table;
-  //! geometry column
-  QString geometryColumn;
-  //! SQL where clause used to limit features returned from the layer
-  QString sql;
-  //! username 
-  QString username;
-  //! password
-  QString password;
-
-  //! whole connection info (host, db, port, name, pass)
-  QString connInfo;
+  void setSql(QString sql);
 };
-
diff --git a/src/app/qgsdbsourceselect.cpp b/src/app/qgsdbsourceselect.cpp
index 3bd1fc44a3b..52bbf546265 100644
--- a/src/app/qgsdbsourceselect.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgsdbsourceselect.cpp
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ email                : sherman at mrcc.com
 #include "qgscontexthelp.h"
 #include "qgsnewconnection.h"
 #include "qgspgquerybuilder.h"
+#include "qgsdatasourceuri.h"
 
 #include <QInputDialog>
 #include <QMessageBox>
@@ -351,45 +352,40 @@ void QgsDbSourceSelect::on_btnConnect_clicked()
   // populate the table list
   QSettings settings;
 
-  QString key = "/PostgreSQL/connections/" + cmbConnections->currentText();
-  QString connString = "host=";
-  QString host = settings.readEntry(key + "/host");
-  connString += host;
-  connString += " dbname=";
-  QString database = settings.readEntry(key + "/database");
-  connString += database + " port=";
-  QString port = settings.readEntry(key + "/port");
-  if(port.length() == 0)
-  {
-    port = "5432";
-  }
-  connString += port + " user=";
-  QString username = settings.readEntry(key + "/username");
-  connString += username;
-  QString password = settings.readEntry(key + "/password");
-  bool searchPublicOnly = settings.readBoolEntry(key + "/publicOnly");
-  bool searchGeometryColumnsOnly = settings.readBoolEntry(key + "/geometryColumnsOnly");
   bool makeConnection = true;
+  QString key = "/PostgreSQL/connections/" + cmbConnections->currentText();
+
+  QString database = settings.readEntry(key + "/database");
+  QString username = settings.readEntry(key + "/username");
+  QString password = settings.readEntry(key + "/password");
+
   if (password == QString::null)
   {
     // get password from user 
     makeConnection = false;
-    QString password = QInputDialog::getText(tr("Password for ") + database + "@" + host,
+    QString password = QInputDialog::getText(tr("Password for ") + username,
         tr("Please enter your password:"),
         QLineEdit::Password, QString::null, &makeConnection, this);
     // allow null password entry in case its valid for the database
   }
 
-  // Need to escape the password to allow for single quotes and backslashes
-  password.replace('\\', "\\\\");
-  password.replace('\'', "\\'");
-  connString += " password='" + password + "'";
+  QgsDataSourceURI uri;
+  uri.setConnection( settings.readEntry(key + "/host"),
+		     settings.readEntry(key + "/port"),
+		     database,
+		     settings.readEntry(key + "/username"),
+		     password );
 
-  QgsDebugMsg("Connection info: " + connString);
+  bool searchPublicOnly = settings.readBoolEntry(key + "/publicOnly");
+  bool searchGeometryColumnsOnly = settings.readBoolEntry(key + "/geometryColumnsOnly");
+
+  // Need to escape the password to allow for single quotes and backslashes
+
+  QgsDebugMsg("Connection info: " + uri.connInfo());
 
   if (makeConnection)
   {
-    m_connInfo = connString;  //host + " " + database + " " + username + " " + password;
+    m_connInfo = uri.connInfo();
     //qDebug(m_connInfo);
     // Tidy up an existing connection if one exists.
     if (pd != 0)
diff --git a/src/app/qgsnewconnection.cpp b/src/app/qgsnewconnection.cpp
index 80a0978c27d..5992353c4aa 100644
--- a/src/app/qgsnewconnection.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgsnewconnection.cpp
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@
 
 #include "qgsnewconnection.h"
 #include "qgscontexthelp.h"
+#include "qgsdatasourceuri.h"
+#include "qgslogger.h"
+
 extern "C"
 {
 #include <libpq-fe.h>
@@ -31,38 +34,38 @@ QgsNewConnection::QgsNewConnection(QWidget *parent, const QString& connName, Qt:
 {
   setupUi(this);
   if (!connName.isEmpty())
-    {
-      // populate the dialog with the information stored for the connection
-      // populate the fields with the stored setting parameters
-      QSettings settings;
+  {
+    // populate the dialog with the information stored for the connection
+    // populate the fields with the stored setting parameters
+    QSettings settings;
 
-      QString key = "/PostgreSQL/connections/" + connName;
-      txtHost->setText(settings.readEntry(key + "/host"));
-      txtDatabase->setText(settings.readEntry(key + "/database"));
-      QString port = settings.readEntry(key + "/port");
-      if(port.length() ==0){
-      	port = "5432";
-      }
-      txtPort->setText(port);
-      txtUsername->setText(settings.readEntry(key + "/username"));
-      Qt::CheckState s = Qt::Checked;
-      if ( ! settings.readBoolEntry(key + "/publicOnly", false))
-	s = Qt::Unchecked;
-      cb_publicSchemaOnly->setCheckState(s);
-      s = Qt::Checked;
-      if ( ! settings.readBoolEntry(key + "/geometrycolumnsOnly", false))
-	s = Qt::Unchecked;
-      cb_geometryColumnsOnly->setCheckState(s);
-      // Ensure that cb_plublicSchemaOnly is set correctly
-      on_cb_geometryColumnsOnly_clicked();
-
-      if (settings.readEntry(key + "/save") == "true")
-        {
-          txtPassword->setText(settings.readEntry(key + "/password"));
-          chkStorePassword->setChecked(true);
-        }
-      txtName->setText(connName);
+    QString key = "/PostgreSQL/connections/" + connName;
+    txtHost->setText(settings.readEntry(key + "/host"));
+    txtDatabase->setText(settings.readEntry(key + "/database"));
+    QString port = settings.readEntry(key + "/port");
+    if(port.length() ==0){
+      port = "5432";
     }
+    txtPort->setText(port);
+    txtUsername->setText(settings.readEntry(key + "/username"));
+    Qt::CheckState s = Qt::Checked;
+    if ( ! settings.readBoolEntry(key + "/publicOnly", false))
+      s = Qt::Unchecked;
+    cb_publicSchemaOnly->setCheckState(s);
+    s = Qt::Checked;
+    if ( ! settings.readBoolEntry(key + "/geometrycolumnsOnly", false))
+      s = Qt::Unchecked;
+    cb_geometryColumnsOnly->setCheckState(s);
+    // Ensure that cb_plublicSchemaOnly is set correctly
+    on_cb_geometryColumnsOnly_clicked();
+
+    if (settings.readEntry(key + "/save") == "true")
+    {
+      txtPassword->setText(settings.readEntry(key + "/password"));
+      chkStorePassword->setChecked(true);
+    }
+    txtName->setText(connName);
+  }
 }
 /** Autoconnected SLOTS **/
 void QgsNewConnection::on_btnOk_clicked()
@@ -96,21 +99,12 @@ QgsNewConnection::~QgsNewConnection()
 }
 void QgsNewConnection::testConnection()
 {
-  // following line uses Qt SQL plugin - currently not used
-  // QSqlDatabase *testCon = QSqlDatabase::addDatabase("QPSQL7","testconnection");
+  QgsDataSourceURI uri;
+  uri.setConnection( txtHost->text(), txtPort->text(), txtDatabase->text(), txtUsername->text(), txtPassword->text() );
 
-  // Need to escape the password to allow for single quotes and backslashes
-  QString password = txtPassword->text();
-  password.replace('\\', "\\\\");
-  password.replace('\'', "\\'");
+  QgsLogger::debug( "PQconnectdb(" + uri.connInfo() + ");" );
 
-  QString connInfo =
-    "host=" + txtHost->text() + 
-    " dbname=" + txtDatabase->text() + 
-    " port=" + txtPort->text() +
-    " user=" + txtUsername->text() + 
-    " password='" + password + "'";
-  PGconn *pd = PQconnectdb(connInfo.toLocal8Bit().data());
+  PGconn *pd = PQconnectdb( uri.connInfo().toLocal8Bit().data() );
 //  std::cout << pd->ErrorMessage();
   if (PQstatus(pd) == CONNECTION_OK)
     {
diff --git a/src/app/qgspgquerybuilder.cpp b/src/app/qgspgquerybuilder.cpp
index 07b14dcedd6..d48e15fdd15 100644
--- a/src/app/qgspgquerybuilder.cpp
+++ b/src/app/qgspgquerybuilder.cpp
@@ -34,28 +34,21 @@ QgsPgQueryBuilder::QgsPgQueryBuilder(QgsDataSourceURI *uri,
   setupUi(this);
   // The query builder must make its own connection to the database when
   // using this constructor
-  QString connInfo = QString("host=%1 dbname=%2 port=%3 user=%4 password=%5")
-    .arg(mUri->host)
-    .arg(mUri->database)
-    .arg(mUri->port)
-    .arg(mUri->username)
-    .arg(mUri->password);
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-  std::cerr << "Attempting connect using: " << connInfo.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl; 
-#endif
+  QString connInfo = mUri->connInfo();
+
+  QgsDebugMsg("Attempting connect using: " + connInfo); 
+
   mPgConnection = PQconnectdb(connInfo.toLocal8Bit().data());
   // check the connection status
   if (PQstatus(mPgConnection) == CONNECTION_OK) {
     QString datasource = QString(tr("Table <b>%1</b> in database <b>%2</b> on host <b>%3</b>, user <b>%4</b>"))
-      .arg(mUri->table)
+      .arg(mUri->table() )
       .arg(PQdb(mPgConnection))
       .arg(PQhost(mPgConnection))
       .arg(PQuser(mPgConnection));
     mOwnConnection = true; // we own this connection since we created it
     // tell the DB that we want text encoded in UTF8
     PQsetClientEncoding(mPgConnection, "UNICODE");
-    // and strip any quotation as this code does it's own quoting.
-    trimQuotation();
 
     lblDataUri->setText(datasource);
     populateFields();
@@ -77,22 +70,12 @@ QgsPgQueryBuilder::QgsPgQueryBuilder(QString tableName, PGconn *con,
 {
   setupUi(this);
   mOwnConnection = false; // we don't own this connection since it was passed to us
-  mUri = new QgsDataSourceURI();
+  mUri = new QgsDataSourceURI( "table=" + tableName);
   QString datasource = QString(tr("Table <b>%1</b> in database <b>%2</b> on host <b>%3</b>, user <b>%4</b>"))
     .arg(tableName)
     .arg(PQdb(mPgConnection))
     .arg(PQhost(mPgConnection))
     .arg(PQuser(mPgConnection));
-  // populate minimum uri fields needed for the populate fields function
-  QRegExp reg("\"(.+)\"\\.\"(.+)\"");
-  reg.indexIn(tableName);
-  QStringList parts = reg.capturedTexts(); // table name contains table and schema
-  mUri->schema = parts[1];
-  // strip whitespace to make sure the table name is clean
-  mUri->table = parts[2];
-
-  // and strip any quotation as this code does it's own quoting.
-  trimQuotation();
 
   lblDataUri->setText(datasource);
   populateFields();
@@ -109,7 +92,7 @@ void QgsPgQueryBuilder::populateFields()
 {
   // Populate the field vector for this layer. The field vector contains
   // field name, type, length, and precision (if numeric)
-  QString sql = "select * from \"" + mUri->schema + "\".\"" + mUri->table + "\" limit 1";
+  QString sql = "select * from " + mUri->quotedTablename() + " limit 1";
   PGresult *result = PQexec(mPgConnection, (const char *) (sql.utf8()));
   QgsLogger::debug("Query executed: " + sql);
   if (PQresultStatus(result) == PGRES_TUPLES_OK) 
@@ -152,30 +135,14 @@ void QgsPgQueryBuilder::populateFields()
       mFieldMap[fieldName] = QgsField(fieldName, type, fieldType);
       lstFields->insertItem(fieldName);
     }
-  }else
+  }
+  else
   {
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG 
-    std::cerr << "Error fetching a row from " << mUri->table.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl; 
-#endif 
+    QgsDebugMsg( "Error fetching a row from " + mUri->table() );
   }
   PQclear(result);
 }
 
-void QgsPgQueryBuilder::trimQuotation()
-{
-  // Trim " characters that may be surrounding the table and schema name
-  if (mUri->schema.at(0) == '"')
-    {
-      mUri->schema.remove(mUri->schema.length()-1, 1);
-      mUri->schema.remove(0, 1);
-    }
-  if (mUri->table.at(0) == '"')
-    {
-      mUri->table.remove(mUri->table.length()-1, 1);
-      mUri->table.remove(0, 1);
-    }
-}
-
 void QgsPgQueryBuilder::on_btnSampleValues_clicked()
 {
   if (lstFields->currentText().isEmpty())
@@ -183,7 +150,7 @@ void QgsPgQueryBuilder::on_btnSampleValues_clicked()
 
   QString sql = "SELECT DISTINCT \"" + lstFields->currentText() + "\" " +
       "FROM (SELECT \"" + lstFields->currentText() + "\" " +
-      "FROM \"" + mUri->schema + "\".\"" + mUri->table + "\" " +
+      "FROM " + mUri->quotedTablename() + " " +
       "LIMIT 5000) AS foo " +
       "ORDER BY \"" + lstFields->currentText() + "\" "+
       "LIMIT 25";
@@ -224,7 +191,7 @@ void QgsPgQueryBuilder::on_btnGetAllValues_clicked()
       return;
 
   QString sql = "select distinct \"" + lstFields->currentText() 
-    + "\" from \"" + mUri->schema + "\".\"" + mUri->table + "\" order by \"" + lstFields->currentText() + "\"";
+    + "\" from " + mUri->quotedTablename() + " order by \"" + lstFields->currentText() + "\"";
   // clear the values list 
   lstValues->clear();
   // determine the field type
@@ -272,8 +239,8 @@ void QgsPgQueryBuilder::on_btnTest_clicked()
   else
   { 
     QString numRows;
-    QString sql = "select count(*) from \"" + mUri->schema + "\".\"" + mUri->table
-      + "\" where " + txtSQL->text();
+    QString sql = "select count(*) from " + mUri->quotedTablename() 
+      + " where " + txtSQL->text();
     PGresult *result = PQexec(mPgConnection, (const char *)(sql.utf8()));
     if (PQresultStatus(result) == PGRES_TUPLES_OK) 
     {
@@ -297,8 +264,7 @@ void QgsPgQueryBuilder::on_btnTest_clicked()
 // XXX This should really throw an exception
 long QgsPgQueryBuilder::countRecords(QString where) 
 {
-  QString sql = "select count(*) from \"" + mUri->schema + "\".\"" + mUri->table
-      + "\" where " + where;
+  QString sql = "select count(*) from " + mUri->quotedTablename() + " where " + where;
 
   long numRows;
   PGresult *result = PQexec(mPgConnection, (const char *)(sql.utf8()));
diff --git a/src/app/qgspgquerybuilder.h b/src/app/qgspgquerybuilder.h
index 52ddb947631..45845884084 100644
--- a/src/app/qgspgquerybuilder.h
+++ b/src/app/qgspgquerybuilder.h
@@ -119,11 +119,6 @@ class QgsPgQueryBuilder : public QDialog, private Ui::QgsPgQueryBuilderBase {
    */ 
   void populateFields();
 
-  /*!
-   * Trims surround " characters from the schema and table name
-   */
-  void trimQuotation();
-
   /*! Get the number of records that would be returned by the current SQL
    * @return Number of records or -1 if an error was encountered
    */
diff --git a/src/core/qgsdatasourceuri.cpp b/src/core/qgsdatasourceuri.cpp
index 911ca22f100..bc1b940a0d6 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsdatasourceuri.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsdatasourceuri.cpp
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 /* $Id: qgsdatasourceuri.h 5839 2006-09-19 18:04:21Z wonder $ */
 
 #include "qgsdatasourceuri.h"
+#include "qgslogger.h"
 
 #include <QStringList>
 #include <QRegExp>
@@ -29,150 +30,257 @@ QgsDataSourceURI::QgsDataSourceURI()
 
 QgsDataSourceURI::QgsDataSourceURI(QString uri)
 {
-  // URI looks like this:
-  //  host=192.168.1.5 dbname=test port=5342 user=gsherman password=xxx table=tablename
-  // (optionally at the end there might be: sql=..... )
-  
-  // TODO: improve parsing
-  
-  // A little bit of backwards compability. At r6193 the schema/table 
-  // names became fully quoted, but with the problem that earlier 
-  // project files then didn't load. This bit of code puts in the 
-  // quotes that are now required. 
-  QString uriModified = uri; 
-  int start = uriModified.indexOf("table=\""); 
-  if (start == -1) 
-    { 
-      // Need to put in some "'s 
-      start = uriModified.indexOf("table="); 
-      uriModified.insert(start+6, '"'); 
-      int start_dot = uriModified.indexOf('.', start+7); 
-      if (start_dot != -1) 
-        { 
-          uriModified.insert(start_dot, '"'); 
-          uriModified.insert(start_dot+2, '"'); 
-        } 
-      // and one at the end 
-      int end = uriModified.indexOf(' ',start); 
-      if (end != -1) 
-        uriModified.insert(end, '"'); 
-    }  
-  
-  // Strip the table and sql statement name off and store them
-  int sqlStart = uriModified.find(" sql");
-  int tableStart = uriModified.find("table=");
-  
-  // set table name
-  table = uriModified.mid(tableStart + 6, sqlStart - tableStart -6);
+  int i = 0;
+  while( i<uri.length() )
+  {
+    skipBlanks(uri, i);
 
-  // set sql where clause
-  if(sqlStart > -1)
-  { 
-    sql = uriModified.mid(sqlStart + 5);
+    if( uri[i] == '=' )
+    {
+      QgsDebugMsg("parameter name expected before =");
+      i++;
+      continue;
+    }
+
+    int start = i;
+
+    while( i<uri.length() && uri[i]!='=' && !uri[i].isSpace() )
+      i++;
+
+    QString pname = uri.mid(start, i-start);
+
+    skipBlanks(uri, i);
+
+    if( uri[i]!='=' ) {
+      QgsDebugMsg("= expected after parameter name");
+      return;
+    }
+
+    i++;
+
+    if( pname=="sql" ) {
+      // rest of line is a sql where clause
+      skipBlanks(uri, i);
+      mSql = uri.mid(i);
+      break;
+    } else {
+      QString pval = getValue(uri, i);
+
+      if( pname=="table" ) {
+        if( uri[i] == '.' ) {
+          i++;
+
+          mSchema = pval;
+          mTable = getValue(uri, i);
+        } else {
+          mSchema = "";
+          mTable = pval;
+        }
+
+        if( uri[i] == '(' ) {
+          i++;
+
+          int start = i;
+          QString col;
+          while( i<uri.length() && uri[i]!=')')
+            i++;
+
+          if( i==uri.length() ) {
+            QgsDebugMsg("closing parenthesis missing");
+          }
+
+          mGeometryColumn = uri.mid(start, i-start);
+
+          i++;
+        }
+      } else if( pname=="service" ) {
+        QgsDebugMsg("service keyword ignored");
+      } else if(pname=="user") {
+        mUsername = pval;
+      } else if(pname=="password") {
+        mPassword = pval;
+      } else if(pname=="connect_timeout") {
+        QgsDebugMsg("connection timeout ignored");
+      } else if(pname=="dbname") {
+        mDatabase = pval;
+      } else if(pname=="host") {
+        mHost = pval;
+      } else if(pname=="hostaddr") {
+        QgsDebugMsg("database host ip address ignored");
+      } else if(pname=="port") {
+        mPort = pval;
+      } else if(pname=="tty") {
+        QgsDebugMsg("backend debug tty ignored");
+      } else if(pname=="options") {
+        QgsDebugMsg("backend debug options ignored");
+      } else if(pname=="sslmode") {
+        QgsDebugMsg("sslmode ignored");
+      } else if(pname=="krbsrvname") {
+        QgsDebugMsg("kerberos server name ignored");
+      } else if(pname=="gsslib") {
+        QgsDebugMsg("gsslib ignored");
+      } else {
+        QgsDebugMsg( "invalid connection option \"" + pname + "\" ignored");
+      }
+    }
   }
+}
+
+QString QgsDataSourceURI::username() const
+{
+  return mUsername;
+}
+
+QString QgsDataSourceURI::schema() const
+{
+  return mSchema;
+}
+
+QString QgsDataSourceURI::table() const
+{
+  return mTable;
+}
+
+QString QgsDataSourceURI::sql() const
+{
+  return mSql;
+}
+
+QString QgsDataSourceURI::geometryColumn() const
+{
+  return mGeometryColumn;
+}
+
+void QgsDataSourceURI::setSql(QString sql)
+{
+  mSql = sql;
+}
+
+void QgsDataSourceURI::skipBlanks(const QString &uri, int &i)
+{
+	// skip space before value
+	while( i<uri.length() && uri[i].isSpace() )
+		i++;
+}
+
+QString QgsDataSourceURI::getValue(const QString &uri, int &i)
+{
+  skipBlanks(uri, i);
+
+  // Get the parameter value
+  QString pval;
+  if( uri[i] == '\'' || uri[i]=='"' ) {
+    QChar delim = uri[i];
+
+    i++;
+
+    // value is quoted
+    for (;;)
+    {
+      if( i==uri.length() ) {
+        QgsDebugMsg("unterminated quoted string in connection info string");
+        return pval;
+      }
+
+      if( uri[i] == '\\') {
+        i++;
+        if( i==uri.length() )
+          continue;
+      } else if(uri[i]==delim) {
+        i++;
+        break;
+      }
+
+      pval += uri[i++];
+    }
+  } else {
+    // value is not quoted
+    while( i<uri.length() ) {
+      if( uri[i].isSpace() ) {
+        // end of value
+        break;
+      }
+
+      if( uri[i] == '\\' ) {
+        i++;
+        if( i==uri.length() )
+          break;
+      }
+
+      pval += uri[i++];
+    }
+  }
+
+  skipBlanks(uri, i);
+
+  return pval;
+}
+
+QString QgsDataSourceURI::connInfo() const
+{
+  QString connInfo = "dbname="+mDatabase;
+
+  if( mHost != "" )
+  {
+    connInfo += " host=" + mHost;
+    if( mPort!="" )
+      connInfo += " port=" + mPort;
+  }
+
+  if( mUsername != "" )
+  {
+    connInfo += " user=" + mUsername;
+
+    if( mPassword != "" )
+    {
+      QString p = mPassword; 
+      p.replace('\\', "\\\\");
+      p.replace('\'', "\\'");
+      connInfo += " password='"+p+"'";
+    }
+  }
+
+  return connInfo;
+}
+
+QString QgsDataSourceURI::uri() const
+{ 
+  return connInfo()
+       + QString(" table=\"%1\".\"%2\" (%3) sql=%4")
+                .arg(mSchema)
+                .arg(mTable)
+                .arg(mGeometryColumn)
+                .arg(mSql);
+}
+
+QString QgsDataSourceURI::quotedTablename() const
+{
+  if(mSchema!="")
+    return QString("\"%1\".\"%2\"").arg(mSchema).arg(mTable);
   else
-  {
-    sql = QString::null;
-  }
-  
-  // calculate the schema if specified
-
-  // Pick up some stuff from the uriModified: basically two bits of text 
-  // inside double quote marks, separated by a . 
-  QRegExp reg("\"(.+)\"\\.\"(.+)\".+\\((.+)\\)");
-  reg.indexIn(table); 
-  QStringList stuff = reg.capturedTexts(); 
-
-  schema = stuff[1]; 
-  table = stuff[2]; 
-  geometryColumn = stuff[3]; 
-
-  // set connection info
-  connInfo = uriModified.left(uriModified.find("table="));
-  
-  // parse the connection info
-  QStringList conParts = QStringList::split(" ", connInfo);
-  QStringList parm = QStringList::split("=", conParts[0]);
-  if(parm.size() == 2)
-  {
-    host = parm[1];
-  }
-  parm = QStringList::split("=", conParts[1]);
-  if(parm.size() == 2)
-  {
-    database = parm[1];
-  }
-  parm = QStringList::split("=", conParts[2]);
-  if(parm.size() == 2)
-  {
-    port = parm[1];
-  }
-
-  parm = QStringList::split("=", conParts[3]);
-  if(parm.size() == 2)
-  {
-    username = parm[1];
-  }
-  
-  // The password can have '=' and ' ' characters in it, so we can't 
-  // use the split on '=' and ' ' technique - use indexOf() 
-  // instead. 
-  QString key="password='"; 
-  int i = connInfo.indexOf(key); 
-  if (i != -1) 
-  { 
-    QString pass = connInfo.mid(i+key.length()); 
-    // Now walk through the string till we find a ' character, but 
-    // need to allow for an escaped ' character (which will be the 
-    // \' character pair). 
-    int n = 0; 
-    bool escaped = false; 
-    while (n < pass.length() && (pass[n] != '\'' || escaped)) 
-    { 
-      if (pass[n] == '\\') 
-        escaped = true; 
-      else 
-        escaped = false; 
-      n++; 
-    } 
-    // The -1 is to remove the trailing ' character 
-    password = pass.left(n); 
-  } 
+    return QString("\"%1\"").arg(mTable);
 }
 
-
-QString QgsDataSourceURI::text() const
+void QgsDataSourceURI::setConnection(const QString &host,
+                                     const QString &port,
+                                     const QString &database,
+                                     const QString &username,
+                                     const QString &password)
 {
-  return QString("host=" + host + 
-      " dbname=" + database + 
-      " port=" + port + 
-      " user=" + username + 
-      " password='" + password + 
-      "' table=" + schema + '.' + table + 
-      " (" + geometryColumn + ")" +
-      " sql=" + sql);
-}
-
-void QgsDataSourceURI::setConnection(const QString& aHost,
-                                     const QString& aPort,
-                                     const QString& aDatabase,
-                                     const QString& aUsername,
-                                     const QString& aPassword)
-{
-  host = aHost;
-  database = aDatabase;
-  port = aPort;
-  username = aUsername;
-  password = aPassword;
+  mHost = host;
+  mDatabase = database;
+  mPort = port;
+  mUsername = username;
+  mPassword = password;
 }
   
-void QgsDataSourceURI::setDataSource(const QString& aSchema,
-                                     const QString& aTable,
-                                     const QString& aGeometryColumn,
-                                     const QString& aSql)
+void QgsDataSourceURI::setDataSource(const QString &schema,
+                                     const QString &table,
+                                     const QString &geometryColumn,
+                                     const QString &sql)
 {
-  schema = aSchema;
-  table = aTable;
-  geometryColumn = aGeometryColumn;
-  sql = aSql;
+  mSchema = schema;
+  mTable = table;
+  mGeometryColumn = geometryColumn;
+  mSql = sql;
 }
diff --git a/src/core/qgsdatasourceuri.h b/src/core/qgsdatasourceuri.h
index 88d51f9b028..0770bfe11b5 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsdatasourceuri.h
+++ b/src/core/qgsdatasourceuri.h
@@ -39,10 +39,16 @@ public:
    
   //! constructor which parses input URI
   QgsDataSourceURI(QString uri);
-   
-  //! All in a single string
-  QString text() const;
-  
+
+  //! return connection part of URI
+  QString connInfo() const;
+
+  //! return complete uri
+  QString uri() const;
+
+  //! quoted table name
+  QString quotedTablename() const;
+
   //! Set all connection related members at once
   void setConnection(const QString& aHost,
                      const QString& aPort,
@@ -55,31 +61,39 @@ public:
                      const QString& aTable,
                      const QString& aGeometryColumn,
                      const QString& aSql = QString());
-  
+
+  QString username() const;
+  QString schema() const;
+  QString table() const;
+  QString sql() const;
+  QString geometryColumn() const;
+
+  void setSql(QString sql);
+
+private:
+  void skipBlanks(const QString &uri, int &i);
+  QString getValue(const QString &uri, int &i);
+
   /* data */
 
   //! host name
-  QString host;
+  QString mHost;
   //! database name
-  QString database;
+  QString mDatabase;
   //! port the database server listens on
-  QString port;
+  QString mPort;
   //! schema
-  QString schema;
+  QString mSchema;
   //! spatial table
-  QString table;
+  QString mTable;
   //! geometry column
-  QString geometryColumn;
+  QString mGeometryColumn;
   //! SQL where clause used to limit features returned from the layer
-  QString sql;
+  QString mSql;
   //! username 
-  QString username;
+  QString mUsername;
   //! password
-  QString password;
-  
-  //! whole connection info (host, db, port, name, pass)
-  QString connInfo;
-
+  QString mPassword;
 };
 
 #endif //QGSDATASOURCEURI_H
diff --git a/src/core/qgsvectorlayer.cpp b/src/core/qgsvectorlayer.cpp
index 13c6b1dd5f3..a540401ded3 100644
--- a/src/core/qgsvectorlayer.cpp
+++ b/src/core/qgsvectorlayer.cpp
@@ -1616,8 +1616,7 @@ bool QgsVectorLayer::readXML_( QDomNode & layer_node )
     // if the provider string isn't empty, then we successfully
     // got the stored provider
   }
-  else if ((mDataSource.find("host=") > -1) &&
-      (mDataSource.find("dbname=") > -1))
+  else if ( mDataSource.contains("dbname=") )
   {
     mProviderKey = "postgres";
   }
diff --git a/src/plugins/geoprocessing/qgspggeoprocessing.cpp b/src/plugins/geoprocessing/qgspggeoprocessing.cpp
index 4eaff2fbc13..199c97f46ab 100644
--- a/src/plugins/geoprocessing/qgspggeoprocessing.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/geoprocessing/qgspggeoprocessing.cpp
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ email                : sherman at mrcc.com
 #include "qgsvectorlayer.h"
 #include "qgsvectordataprovider.h"
 #include "qgsfield.h"
+#include "qgsdatasourceuri.h"
+#include "qgslogger.h"
 
 #include <QMessageBox>
 #include <QAction>
@@ -96,45 +98,29 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
     if (layer->type() != QgsMapLayer::RASTER && 
         lyr->providerType() == "postgres") {
 
-      QString dataSource = lyr->source(); //qI->activeLayerSource();
+      QgsDataSourceURI uri( lyr->source() );
+
+      QgsDebugMsg("data source = " + uri.connInfo() );
 
-      // create the connection string
-      QString connInfo = dataSource.left(dataSource.find("table="));
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-      std::cerr << "Data source = " << QString("Datasource:%1\n\nConnectionInfo:%2").arg(dataSource).arg(connInfo).toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
       // connect to the database and check the capabilities
-      PGconn *capTest = PQconnectdb((const char *) connInfo);
+      PGconn *capTest = PQconnectdb((const char *) uri.connInfo() );
       if (PQstatus(capTest) == CONNECTION_OK) {
         postgisVersion(capTest);
       }
       PQfinish(capTest);
       if(geosAvailable){
-        // get the table name
-        QStringList connStrings = QStringList::split(" ", dataSource);
-        QStringList tables = connStrings.grep("table=");
-        QString table = tables[0];
-        QString tableName = table.mid(table.find("=") + 1);
-        // get the schema
-        QString schema = tableName.left(tableName.find("."));
-        // get the database name
-        QStringList dbnames = connStrings.grep("dbname=");
-        QString dbname = dbnames[0];
-        dbname = dbname.mid(dbname.find("=") + 1);
-        // get the user name
-        QStringList userNames = connStrings.grep("user=");
-        QString user = userNames[0];
-        user = user.mid(user.find("=") + 1);
-
         // show dialog to fetch buffer distrance, new layer name, and option to
         // add the new layer to the map
         QgsDlgPgBuffer *bb = new QgsDlgPgBuffer(qI);
 
         // set the label
-        QString lbl = tr("Buffer features in layer %1").arg(tableName);
+        QString lbl = tr("Buffer features in layer %1").arg( uri.table() );
         bb->setBufferLabel(lbl);
         // set a default output table name
-        bb->setBufferLayerName(tableName.mid(tableName.find(".") + 1) + "_buffer");
+        bb->setBufferLayerName( uri.table() + "_buffer");
+
+        QString tableName = uri.quotedTablename();
+
         // set the fields on the dialog box drop-down
         QgsVectorDataProvider *dp = dynamic_cast<QgsVectorDataProvider *>(lyr->getDataProvider());
         QgsFieldMap flds = dp->fields();
@@ -145,11 +131,11 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
           }
         }
         // connect to the database
-        PGconn *conn = PQconnectdb((const char *) connInfo);
+        PGconn *conn = PQconnectdb((const char *) uri.connInfo() );
         if (PQstatus(conn) == CONNECTION_OK) {
           // populate the schema drop-down
           QString schemaSql =
-            QString("select nspname from pg_namespace,pg_user where nspowner = usesysid and usename = '%1'").arg(user);
+            QString("select nspname from pg_namespace,pg_user where nspowner = usesysid and usename = '%1'").arg( uri.username() );
           PGresult *schemas = PQexec(conn, (const char *) schemaSql);
           if (PQresultStatus(schemas) == PGRES_TUPLES_OK) {
             // add the schemas to the drop-down, otherwise just public (the
@@ -162,11 +148,11 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
           // query the geometry_columns table to get the srid and use it as default
           QString sridSql =
             QString("select srid,f_geometry_column from geometry_columns where f_table_schema='%1' and f_table_name='%2'")
-            .arg(schema)
-            .arg(tableName.mid(tableName.find(".") + 1));
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-          std::cerr << "SRID SQL" << sridSql.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif 
+            .arg( uri.schema() )
+            .arg( uri.table() );
+
+          QgsDebugMsg("SRID SQL: " + sridSql);
+
           QString geometryCol;
           PGresult *sridq = PQexec(conn, (const char *) sridSql);
           if (PQresultStatus(sridq) == PGRES_TUPLES_OK) {
@@ -203,9 +189,8 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
               sql = QString("set search_path = '%1','public'").arg(bb->schema());
               result = PQexec(conn, (const char *) sql);
               PQclear(result);
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-              std::cerr << sql.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
+ 
+              QgsDebugMsg("SQL: " + sql);
             }
             // first create the new table
 
@@ -214,15 +199,14 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
               .arg(bb->bufferLayerName())
               .arg(objId)
               .arg(objIdType);
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-            std::cerr << sql.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
+            QgsDebugMsg("SQL: " + sql);
+
             result = PQexec(conn, (const char *) sql);
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-            std::cerr << "Status from create table is " << PQresultStatus(result) << std::endl;
-            std::cerr << "Error message is " << PQresStatus(PQresultStatus(result)) << std::endl;
-#endif
-            if (PQresultStatus(result) == PGRES_COMMAND_OK) {
+            QgsDebugMsg( QString("Status from create table is %1").arg( PQresultStatus(result) ) );
+            QgsDebugMsg( QString("Error message is %1").arg(PQresStatus(PQresultStatus(result))) );
+
+            if (PQresultStatus(result) == PGRES_COMMAND_OK)
+            {
               PQclear(result);
               // add the geometry column
               //<db_name>, <table_name>, <column_name>, <srid>, <type>, <dimension>
@@ -233,9 +217,8 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
                 .arg(bb->srid())
                 .arg("POLYGON")
                 .arg("2");
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-              std::cerr << sql.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
+              QgsDebugMsg("SQL: " + sql);
+
               PGresult *geoCol = PQexec(conn, (const char *) sql);
 
             if (PQresultStatus(geoCol) == PGRES_TUPLES_OK) {
@@ -248,9 +231,9 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
               sql = QString("alter table %1.%2 drop constraint \"enforce_geotype_shape\"")
                 .arg(bb->schema())
                 .arg(bb->bufferLayerName());
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-              std::cerr << sql.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
+
+              QgsDebugMsg( "SQL: " + sql);
+
               result = PQexec(conn, (const char *) sql);
               if(PQresultStatus(result) == PGRES_COMMAND_OK)
               {
@@ -264,11 +247,11 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
 
               if(version < "7.4.0"){
                 // modify the tableName 
-                tableName = tableName.mid(tableName.find(".")+1);
+                tableName = uri.table();
               }
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-              std::cerr << "Table name for PG 7.3 is: " << tableName.mid(tableName.find(".")+1).toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
+
+              QgsDebugMsg("Table name for PG 7.3 is: " + uri.table() );
+
               //   if(PQresultStatus(geoCol) == PGRES_COMMAND_OK) {
               // do the buffer and insert the features
               if (objId == "objectid") {
@@ -285,17 +268,14 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
                   .arg(geometryCol)
                   .arg(bb->bufferDistance().toDouble())
                   .arg(tableName);
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-                std::cerr << sql.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
-
+                QgsDebugMsg("SQL: " + sql);
               }
               result = PQexec(conn, (const char *) sql);
               PQclear(result);
               // }
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-              std::cerr << sql.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
+
+              QgsDebugMsg("SQL: " + sql);
+
               result = PQexec(conn, "end work");
               PQclear(result);
               result = PQexec(conn, "commit;vacuum");
@@ -305,17 +285,15 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
               // add new layer to the map
               if (bb->addLayerToMap()) {
                 // create the connection string
-                QString newLayerSource = dataSource.left(dataSource.find("table="));
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-                std::cerr << "newLayerSource: " << newLayerSource.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
+                QString newLayerSource = uri.connInfo();
+                QgsDebugMsg("newLayerSource: " + newLayerSource );
+
                 // add the schema.table and geometry column
                 /*  newLayerSource += "table=" + bb->schema() + "." + bb->bufferLayerName()  
                     + " (" + bb->geometryColumn() + ")"; */
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-                std::cerr << "newLayerSource: " << newLayerSource.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-                std::cerr << "Adding new layer using\n\t" << newLayerSource.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
+
+                QgsDebugMsg("Adding new layer using " + newLayerSource);
+
                 // host=localhost dbname=gis_data user=gsherman password= table=public.alaska (the_geom)
                 // Using addVectorLayer requires that be add a table=xxxx to the layer path since
                 // addVectorLayer is generic for all supported layers
@@ -335,18 +313,15 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
               }
               else
               {
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-            std::cerr << "Status from drop constraint is " << PQresultStatus(result) << std::endl;
-            std::cerr << "Error message is " << PQresStatus(PQresultStatus(result)) << std::endl;
-#endif
+                QgsDebugMsg(QString("Status from drop constraint is %1").arg(PQresultStatus(result)) );
+                QgsDebugMsg(QString("Error message is %1").arg( PQresStatus(PQresultStatus(result))) );
               }
             }
             else
             {
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-            std::cerr << "Status from add geometry column is " << PQresultStatus(geoCol) << std::endl;
-            std::cerr << "Error message is " << PQresStatus(PQresultStatus(geoCol)) << std::endl;
-#endif
+              QgsDebugMsg(QString("Status from add geometry column is %1").arg(PQresultStatus(geoCol)) );
+              QgsDebugMsg(QString("Error message is %1").arg( PQresStatus(PQresultStatus(geoCol))) );
+
               QMessageBox::critical(0, tr("Unable to add geometry column"),
                   QString(tr("Unable to add geometry column to the output table ") +
                       QString("%1-%2").arg(bb->bufferLayerName()).arg(PQerrorMessage(conn))));
@@ -365,7 +340,9 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
           QString err = tr("Error connecting to the database");
           QMessageBox::critical(0, err, PQerrorMessage(conn));
         }
-      }else{
+      }
+      else
+      {
         QMessageBox::critical(0,tr("No GEOS support"),
                               tr("Buffer function requires GEOS support in PostGIS"));
       }
@@ -384,9 +361,9 @@ void QgsPgGeoprocessing::buffer()
 QString QgsPgGeoprocessing::postgisVersion(PGconn *connection){
   PGresult *result = PQexec(connection, "select postgis_version()");
   postgisVersionInfo = PQgetvalue(result,0,0);
-#ifdef QGISDEBUG
-  std::cerr << "PostGIS version info: " << postgisVersionInfo.toLocal8Bit().data() << std::endl;
-#endif
+
+  QgsDebugMsg("PostGIS version info: " + postgisVersionInfo);
+
   // assume no capabilities
   geosAvailable = false;
   gistAvailable = false;
diff --git a/src/plugins/grass/qgsgrassmodule.cpp b/src/plugins/grass/qgsgrassmodule.cpp
index 68dd0db6b61..c9a3cdb48fa 100644
--- a/src/plugins/grass/qgsgrassmodule.cpp
+++ b/src/plugins/grass/qgsgrassmodule.cpp
@@ -2643,19 +2643,8 @@ void QgsGrassModuleGdalInput::updateQgisLayers()
             {
                 // Construct OGR DSN
                 QgsDataSourceURI dsUri(provider->dataSourceUri());
-                uri = "PG:host=" + dsUri.host 
-                      + " dbname=" + dsUri.database; 
-
-                if ( dsUri.port.length() > 0 ) 
-		    uri += " port=" + dsUri.port;
-
-                if ( dsUri.username.length() > 0 ) 
-		    uri += " user=" + dsUri.username;
-
-                if ( dsUri.password.length() > 0 ) 
-		    uri += " password=" + dsUri.password;
-
-                ogrLayer = dsUri.schema + "." + dsUri.table;
+                uri = "PG:" + dsUri.connInfo();
+                ogrLayer = dsUri.schema() + "." + dsUri.table();
             }
             else
             {
diff --git a/src/providers/postgres/qgspostgresprovider.cpp b/src/providers/postgres/qgspostgresprovider.cpp
index f1c2067a019..3fc9cb9ae6b 100644
--- a/src/providers/postgres/qgspostgresprovider.cpp
+++ b/src/providers/postgres/qgspostgresprovider.cpp
@@ -80,20 +80,17 @@ const QString POSTGRES_DESCRIPTION = "PostgreSQL/PostGIS data provider";
   mUri = QgsDataSourceURI(uri);
 
   /* populate members from the uri structure */
-  mSchemaName = mUri.schema;
-  mTableName = mUri.table;
-  geometryColumn = mUri.geometryColumn;
-  sqlWhereClause = mUri.sql;
+  mSchemaName = mUri.schema();
+  mTableName = mUri.table();
+  geometryColumn = mUri.geometryColumn();
+  sqlWhereClause = mUri.sql();
 
   // Keep a schema qualified table name for convenience later on.
-  if (mSchemaName.length() > 0)
-    mSchemaTableName = "\"" + mSchemaName + "\".\"" + mTableName + "\"";
-  else
-    mSchemaTableName = "\"" + mTableName + "\"";
+  mSchemaTableName = mUri.quotedTablename();
 
   QgsDebugMsg("Table name is " + mTableName);
   QgsDebugMsg("SQL is " + sqlWhereClause);
-  QgsDebugMsg("Connection info is " + mUri.connInfo);
+  QgsDebugMsg("Connection info is " + mUri.connInfo() );
 
   QgsDebugMsg("Geometry column is: " + geometryColumn);
   QgsDebugMsg("Schema is: " + mSchemaName);
@@ -103,7 +100,7 @@ const QString POSTGRES_DESCRIPTION = "PostgreSQL/PostGIS data provider";
   //pLog.open((const char *)logFile);
   //QgsDebugMsg("Opened log file for " + mTableName);
 
-  connection = connectDb( (const char *)mUri.connInfo );
+  connection = connectDb( (const char *)mUri.connInfo() );
   if( connection==NULL ) {
     valid = false;
     return;
@@ -2214,15 +2211,14 @@ void QgsPostgresProvider::setSubsetString(QString theSQL)
 {
   sqlWhereClause=theSQL;
   // Update datasource uri too
-  mUri.sql=theSQL;
+  mUri.setSql(theSQL);
   // Update yet another copy of the uri. Why are there 3 copies of the
   // uri? Perhaps this needs some rationalisation.....
-  setDataSourceUri(mUri.text());
+  setDataSourceUri(mUri.connInfo());
 
   // need to recalculate the number of features...
   getFeatureCount();
   calculateExtents();
-
 }
 
 long QgsPostgresProvider::getFeatureCount()
@@ -2551,8 +2547,8 @@ bool QgsPostgresProvider::getGeometryDetails()
           " when geometrytype(%1) IN ('POLYGON','MULTIPOLYGON') THEN 'POLYGON'"
           " end "
           "from %2").arg(geometryColumn).arg(mSchemaTableName);
-      if(mUri.sql!="")
-        sql += " where " + mUri.sql;
+      if(mUri.sql()!="")
+        sql += " where " + mUri.sql();
 
       result = executeDbCommand(connection, sql);