Understanding SQLite Cursor Behavior - android

I'm writing a method to update default settings in a table. The table is very simple: two columns, the first containing labels to indicate the type of setting, the second to store the value of the setting.
At this point in the execution, the table is empty. I'm just setting up the initial value. So, I expect that this cursor will come back empty. But instead, I'm getting an error (shown below). The setting that I am working with is called "lastPlayer" and is supposed to get stored in the "SETTING_COLUMN" in the "SETTINGS_TABLE". Here's the code:
public static void updateSetting(String setting, String newVal) {
String table = "SETTINGS_TABLE";
String[] resultColumn = new String[] {VALUE_COLUMN};
String where = SETTING_COLUMN + "=" + setting;
System.err.println(where);
SQLiteDatabase db = godSimDBOpenHelper.getWritableDatabase();
Cursor cursor = db.query(table, resultColumn, where, null, null, null, null);
System.err.println("cursor returned"); //I never see this ouput
\\more
}
sqlite returned: error code = 1, msg = no such column: lastPlayer
Why is it saying that there is no such column lastPlayer? I thought that I was telling the query to look at the column "SETTING_COLUMN" and return the record where that column has a value "lastPlayer". I'm confused. Can somebody straighten me out? I've been looking a this for an hour and I just don't see what I am doing wrong.
Thanks!

You're not properly building/escaping your query. Since the value lastPlayer is not in quotes, your statement is checking for equality of two columns, which is what that error message is saying.
To properly build your query, it's best to not do this manually with String concatenation. Instead, the parameter selectionArgs of SQLiteDatabase.query() is meant to do this.
The parameters in your query should be defined as ? and then filled in based on the selectionArgs. From the docs:
You may include ?s in selection, which will be replaced by the values
from selectionArgs, in order that they appear in the selection. The
values will be bound as Strings.
So, your code would look like this:
String where = SETTING_COLUMN + " = ?";
Cursor cursor = db.query(table, resultColumn, where, new String[] { setting }, null, null, null);

Related

syntax error in "SELECT DISTINCT _id near "SELECT"

If someone knows a better way to get a rowId from text in the row, please let me know.
I've been running around in circles with this and I know it's probably something simple, but I can't figure it out. Hoping someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong. I'm getting an error running this SQLite code:
String where = "SELECT rowid, * FROM masterRecord WHERE masNameCol=" + name;
Cursor c = db.query(true, masterName, ALL_KEYS_MASTER, where, null, null, null, null, null);
The error points to the second line.
"name" is a string variable (in this case it's "Mary"). The exact error I'm getting is:
SQLiteLog: (1) near "SELECT": syntax error in "SELECT DISTINCT _id, masNameCol, masTotalTimeCol FROM masterRecord WHERE SELECT rowid, * FROM masterRecord WHERE masNameCol=Mary"
I've tried every syntax change I could find and think of, and it never changes the error. I'm just trying to get the rowId of the row so I can change a value in another column.
Use rawQuery(), not query().
You are trying to specify the entire SQL statement, which is what rawQuery() is for. query() assembles the SQL statement from pieces, and your one piece (where) is not just the WHERE clause.
Use placeholders for queries:
where = "masNameCol = ?";
whereArgs = new String[] { name };
columns = new String[] { "rowId" , /* all other column names you are interested in */ };
Cursor c = db.query("mytable", columns, where, whereArgs, null, null, null);

Android: Getting row by id

I'm trying to get database row by it's ID, but somehow query doesn't return that row. The sql query SELECT * From Table1 Where _id = 100 works good, so I don't know what's the reason. Here is the code of the query:
String [] selectedArgs = new String [] {String.valueOf(selectedItemId)};
String selection = Tables.Table1.COLUMN_ID + "=?";
String [] columns = {Tables.Table1.COLUMN_ID, Tables.Table1.COLUMN_NAME};
Cursor c = foodDB.query(Tables.Food.TABLE_NAME, columns, selection, selectedArgs, null, null, null);
Does anybody have any suggestions?
The problem is that your ID field is a number, while the parameter is a string; the query function does not allow other parameter types for some strange reason.
Try using an expression like COLUMN_ID + " = CAST(? AS INTEGER)".
If your query had only one result column, you could use a separate SQLiteStatement object where you'd be able to use bindLong().
Just in case somebody need it, i have used rawQuery() method for such type of query to work, because query() doesn't work.

android sqLite prob with where clause

I am building a cursor for a select query. The WHERE section lookup value refers to a variable which is a path so it has several full stops in it.
The query doesnt like this and errors , the error says a col doesn't exist named with a name which is the lookup value i.e the path with stops in it. If I use the sqlEscape util on the variable it doesnt cause an error but the lookup fails.
Any suggestions please?
Without a bit of your code it is hard to say but I'm guessing you are putting your where clause together like this:
String value = "some.thing.or.other";
String where = "FIELD = " + value;
Try building a parameterized where clause instead
String value = "some.thing.or.other";
String where = "FIELD = ?";
SQLiteDatabase db = fDbOpener.getReadableDatabase();
Cursor results = db.query(TABLE_NAME, COLUMNS_LIST, where, new String[] { value }, null, null, null);
When you run the query method now, SQLite will substitute your value into the where clause specifically as a value - it won't try to interpret the value in any way so it can't mistake the full stops for syntax.

Where clause in SQLite not working in android :(

I'm getting an annoying error when trying to query some data in SQLite.
Here is my code:
Cursor cursor= db.query(TABLE_IMAGES, new String[]{"_id"}, "name" +" = "+compareToThis, null, null, null, null);
I'm just returning the cursor as a string.
The error is saying:
no such column: compareToThis: while compiling.....the statement
My question is: why is SQLite setting the compareToThis attribute as a column when it's just a value?
How can I fix this?
Thanks in advance.
Cursor cursor= db.query(TABLE_IMAGES, new String[]{"_id"}, "name" +" = ?", new String[]{compareToThis}, null, null, null);
The selection must include placeholder for parameter, and the next argument should be the array of parameters.
The solution by Vladimir works, however if you are like me and wonder why your approach did not work initially when it should have, here is why:
It is because it expects an integer unless you used (single or double) quotation marks to indicate that it is a string.
For example, in MySql this would return no results:
SELECT * FROM clients WHERE firstName = Bob; -- This will not work.
However when you surround it with quotations, it will return a result because it identifies Bob as a String literal.
Select * FROM clients WHERE firstName = 'Bob'; -- Single quotes work.
Select * FROM clients WHERE firstName = "Bob"; -- Double quotes as well.
Therefore for it to work, you would have to surround your compareToString with single quotes, as Muhhammad mentioned within the comments.
Cursor cursor= db.query(TABLE_IMAGES, new String[]{"_id"}, "name" +'" = "+compareToThis+"'", null, null, null, null);

Using the LIMIT statement in a SQLite query

I have a query that selects rows in a ListView without having a limit. But now that I have implemented a SharedPreferences that the user can select how much rows will be displayed in the ListView, my SQLite query doesn't work. I'm passing the argument this way:
return wDb.query(TABELANOME, new String[] {IDTIT, TAREFATIT, SUMARIOTIT}, CONCLUIDOTIT + "=1", null, null, null, null, "LIMIT='" + limite + "'");
The equals (=) operator is not used with the LIMIT clause. Remove it.
Here's an example LIMIT query:
SELECT column FROM table ORDER BY somethingelse LIMIT 5, 10
Or:
SELECT column FROM table ORDER BY somethingelse LIMIT 10
In your case, the correct statement would be:
return wDb.query(TABELANOME, new String[] {IDTIT, TAREFATIT, SUMARIOTIT}, CONCLUIDOTIT + "=1", null, null, null, null, String.valueOf(limite));
Take a look here at the SQLite select syntax: http://www.sqlite.org/syntaxdiagrams.html#select-stmt
This image is rather useful: http://www.sqlite.org/images/syntax/select-stmt.gif
For anyone stumbling across this answer looking for a way to use a LIMIT clause with an OFFSET, I found out from this bug that Android uses the following regex to parse the limit clause of a query:
From <framework/base/core/java/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteQueryBuilder.java>
LIMIT clause is checked with following sLimitPattern.
private static final Pattern sLimitPattern = Pattern.compile("\\s*\\d+\\s*(,\\s*\\d+\\s*)?");
Note that the regex does accept the format offsetNumber,limitNumber even though it doesn't accept the OFFSET statement directly.
Due to this bug which also doesn't allow for negative limits
8,-1
I had to use this workaround
SQLiteQueryBuilder builder = new SQLiteQueryBuilder();
builder.setTables(table);
String query = builder.buildQuery(projection, selection, null, null, null, sortOrder, null);
query+=" LIMIT 8,-1";

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