Can not prepare INSERT statement in SQLITE, C API

Question

  /* DATABASE INIT */

ret = sqlite3_open_v2(dbfile, &DB, SQLITE_OPEN_READWRITE | SQLITE_OPEN_CREATE, NULL);

if (SQLITE_OK != ret) {
    printf("Could not open database.\n");
    exit(1);
}

const char* zSql = "INSERT INTO abc VALUES (?)";
ret = sqlite3_prepare_v2(sites[DB, zSql, strlen(zSql), &s, NULL);

if (SQLITE_OK != ret) {
    printf("Could not compile statement '%s', got %d.\n", zSql, ret);
    exit(1);
}

Well, there you go. What's wrong? sqlite3_prepare_v2 always fails.

Update: I tried the suggestions so far, but no cigar. I created the simplest case I could think of, with a schema:

CREATE TABLE abc(a INTEGER);

And the C code as above, still does not work, gets 'Could not compile statement' got return code 26 which apparently means SQLITE_NOTADB. So it seems my database file is not... a database file. Strange, I will have to look into this.

The sqlite CLI accepts the file and can show the schema if I use the ".dump" command.

I changed the database file name from "data.db" to "data.sqlite". Now I get a return code of 1, SQLITE_ERROR, instead.

Update: I was accessing the wrong file, AKA user error. Accepting one of the answers that pointed out a syntax error in my unedited question.

What does SQLite return? Your code seems ok. Maybe it's a mismatch in the column/table name, or constraint violation? — valdo, Oct 18 '10 at 08:21

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 17 '10 at 23:58

3

I think you should try

const char* zSql = 
    "INSERT INTO abc (moderation_status, phonenumber, email) VALUES(?,?,?)";

assuming moderation_status phonenumber and email are the names of the fields in your table.

or:

const char* zSql = "INSERT INTO abc VALUES(?,?,?)";

The ? is the placeholder for where the arguments will be inserted.

answered Oct 17 '10 at 23:58

John Ledbetter

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Beat me by a second! I knew I shouldn't have done that last tweak to my answer :) – Jonathan Leffler Oct 17 '10 at 23:59
That's what you get for being detailed and explaining your answer :P – John Ledbetter Oct 18 '10 at 00:01

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 17 '10 at 23:58

You haven't supplied a list of values; you've supplied a list of names (presumably column names) where a list of values is needed.

You might need:

char* zSql = "INSERT INTO abc(moderation_status, phonenumber, email) "
             "VALUES('U', '212-234-6678', 'example@example.com')";

Or you might not bother with the column names:

char* zSql = "INSERT INTO abc VALUES('U', '212-234-6678',"
             "'example@example.com')";

Or you might use placeholders:

char* zSql = "INSERT INTO abc VALUES(?, ?, ?)";

If you use placeholders, you'll have to provide the corresponding values when you execute the statement. (But placeholders are generally the best solution - they avoid SQL Injection problems.)

Can not prepare INSERT statement in SQLITE, C API

2 Answers2

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