sqlite-ruby 2.1.0-mswin32

data/doc/faq/faq.yml

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+---
+- "How do I do a database query?":
+  - "I just want an array of the rows...": >-
+
+      Use the Database#execute method. If you don't give it a block, it will
+      return an array of all the rows:
+
+
+      <pre>
+        require 'sqlite'
+
+        db = SQLite::Database.new( "test.db" )
+        rows = db.execute( "select * from test" )
+      </pre>
+
+  - "I'd like to use a block to iterate through the rows...": >-
+
+      Use the Database#execute method. If you give it a block, each row of the
+      result will be yielded to the block:
+
+
+      <pre>
+        require 'sqlite'
+
+        db = SQLite::Database.new( "test.db" )
+        db.execute( "select * from test" ) do |row|
+          ...
+        end
+      </pre>
+
+  - "I need to get the column names as well as the rows...": >-
+
+      Use the Database#execute2 method. This works just like Database#execute;
+      if you don't give it a block, it returns an array of rows; otherwise, it
+      will yield each row to the block. _However_, the first row returned is
+      always an array of the column names from the query:
+
+
+      <pre>
+        require 'sqlite'
+
+        db = SQLite::Database.new( "test.db" )
+        columns, *rows = db.execute( "select * from test" )
+
+        # or use a block:
+
+        columns = nil
+        db.execute( "select * from test" ) do |row|
+          if columns.nil?
+            columns = row
+          else
+            # process row
+          end
+        end
+      </pre>
+
+  - "I need the result set object itself...": >-
+
+      Sometimes you don't want all the rows at once, and yet you'd like to be
+      able to iterate through the results. For instance, you may want to pass
+      the results to some other function (or series of functions) and have them
+      pull rows from the results on demand. This is more effecient for very
+      large queries.
+
+
+      To do this, use Database#query. If called without a block, it returns the
+      ResultSet instance. If called _with_ a block, it yields the ResultSet to
+      the block (and then closes the set when the block terminates).
+
+
+      You can do both internal and external iteration with the result set this
+      way:
+
+
+      <pre>
+        require 'sqlite'
+
+        db = SQLite::Database.new( "test.db" )
+        result = db.query( "select * from test" )
+
+        if do_external_iteration
+
+          while ( row = result.next )
+            # process row
+          end
+
+        elsif do_internal_iteration
+
+          result.each do |row|
+            # process row
+          end
+
+        elsif get_result_metadata
+
+          column_names = result.columns
+          column_types = result.types
+
+        end
+
+        result.close
+      </pre>
+
+      _Note_: if you are using Database#query to execute statements with no
+      result sets (ie, inserts, deletes, udpates, etc.), you _must_ call
+      @result.next@ to actually perform the operation. Otherwise, the
+      operation will never be executed:
+
+
+      <pre>
+        db.query( "insert into table values ( 'a', 'b' )" ) do |result|
+          result.next
+        end
+      </pre>
+
+
+      In general, Database#query is not a very good choice for such
+      operations...
+
+
+  - "I just want the first row of the result set...": >-
+
+      Easy. Just call Database#get_first_row:
+
+
+      <pre>
+        row = db.get_first_row( "select * from table" )
+      </pre>
+
+
+      This also supports bind variables, just like Database#execute
+      and friends.
+
+  - "I just want the first value of the first row of the result set...": >-
+
+      Also easy. Just call Database#get_first_value:
+
+
+      <pre>
+        count = db.get_first_value( "select count(*) from table" )
+      </pre>
+
+
+      This also supports bind variables, just like Database#execute
+      and friends.
+
+- "How do I prepare a statement for repeated execution?": >-
+    If the same statement is going to be executed repeatedly, you can speed
+    things up a bit by _preparing_ the statement. You do this via the
+    Database#prepare method. It returns a Statement object, and you can
+    then invoke #execute on that to get the ResultSet:
+
+    
+    <pre>
+      stmt = db.prepare( "select * from person" )
+
+      1000.times do
+        stmt.execute do |result|
+          ...
+        end
+      end
+    </pre>
+
+
+    This is made more useful by the ability to bind variables to placeholders
+    via the Statement#bind_param and Statement#bind_params methods. (See the
+    next FAQ for details.)
+
+- "How do I use placeholders in an SQL statement?": >-
+    Placeholders in an SQL statement take any of the following formats:
+
+
+    * @?@
+
+    * @?_n_@
+
+    * @:_word_@
+
+    * @:_word_:@
+
+
+    Where _n_ is an integer, and _word_ is an alpha-numeric identifier (or
+    number). When the placeholder is associated with a number, that number
+    identifies the index of the bind variable to replace it with. When it
+    is an identifier, it identifies the name of the correponding bind
+    variable. (In the instance of the first format--a single question
+    mark--the placeholder is assigned a number one greater than the last
+    index used, or 1 if it is the first.)
+
+
+    For example, here is a query using these placeholder formats:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      select *
+        from table
+       where ( c = ?2 or c = ? )
+         and d = :name
+         and e = :spouse:
+         and f = :1
+    </pre>
+
+
+    This defines 5 different placeholders: 1, 2, 3, "name", and "spouse".
+
+
+    You replace these placeholders by _binding_ them to values. This can be
+    accomplished in a variety of ways.
+
+
+    The Database#execute, Database#execute2, and Database#query methods all
+    accept additional arguments following the SQL statement. These arguments
+    are assumed to be bind parameters, and they are bound (positionally) to
+    their corresponding placeholders:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      db.execute( "select * from table where a = ? and b = ?",
+                  "hello",
+                  "world" )
+    </pre>
+
+
+    The above would replace the first question mark with 'hello' and the
+    second with 'world'. If the placeholders have an explicit index given, they
+    will be replaced with the bind parameter at that index (1-based).
+
+
+    If a Hash is given as a bind parameter, then its key/value pairs are bound
+    to the placeholders. This is how you bind by name:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      db.execute( "select * from table where a = :name and b = :value",
+                  "name" => "bob",
+                  "value" => "priceless" )
+    </pre>
+
+
+    You can also bind explicitly using the Statement object itself. Just do a
+    Database#prepare to get the Statement, and then use either Statement#bind_param
+    or Statement#bind_params:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      stmt = db.prepare( "select * from table where a = :name and b = ?" )
+
+      stmt.bind_param( "name", "bob" )
+      stmt.bind_param( 1, "value" )
+
+      # or
+
+      stmt.bind_params( "value", "name" => "bob" )
+    </pre>
+
+- "How do I discover metadata about a query?": >-
+  
+    If you ever want to know the names or types of the columns in a result
+    set, you can do it in several ways.
+
+
+    The first way is to ask the row object itself. Each row will have a
+    property "fields" that returns an array of the column names. The row
+    will also have a property "types" that returns an array of the column
+    types:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      rows = db.execute( "select * from table" )
+      p rows[0].fields
+      p rows[0].types
+    </pre>
+
+
+    Obviously, this approach requires you to execute a statement that actually
+    returns data. If you don't know if the statement will return any rows, but
+    you still need the metadata, you can use Database#query and ask the ResultSet
+    object itself:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      db.query( "select * from table" ) do |result|
+        p result.columns
+        p result.types
+        ...
+      end
+    </pre>
+
+
+    Lastly, you can use Database#prepare and ask the Statement object what
+    the metadata are:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      stmt = db.prepare( "select * from table" )
+      p stmt.columns
+      p stmt.types
+    </pre>
+
+- "I'd like the rows to be indexible by column name.": >-
+    By default, each row from a query is returned as an Array of values. This
+    means that you can only obtain values by their index. Sometimes, however,
+    you would like to obtain values by their column name.
+
+
+    The first way to do this is to set the Database property "results_as_hash"
+    to true. If you do this, then all rows will be returned as Hash objects,
+    with the column names as the keys. (In this case, the "fields" property
+    is unavailable on the row, although the "types" property remains.)
+
+
+    <pre>
+      db.results_as_hash = true
+      db.execute( "select * from table" ) do |row|
+        p row['column1']
+        p row['column2']
+      end
+    </pre>
+
+
+    The other way is to use Ara Howard's "ArrayFields":http://rubyforge.org/projects/arrayfields
+    module. Just require "arrayfields", and all of your rows will be indexable by column name,
+    even though they are still arrays!
+
+
+    <pre>
+      require 'arrayfields'
+
+      ...
+      db.execute( "select * from table" ) do |row|
+        p row[0] == row['column1']
+        p row[1] == row['column2']
+      end
+    </pre>
+
+- "I'd like the values from a query to be the correct types, instead of String.": >-
+    You can turn on "type translation" by setting Database#type_translation to true:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      db.type_translation = true
+      db.execute( "select * from table" ) do |row|
+        p row
+      end
+    </pre>
+
+
+    By doing this, each return value for each row will be translated to its
+    correct type, based on its declared column type.
+
+
+    You can even declare your own translation routines, if (for example) you are
+    using an SQL type that is not handled by default:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      # assume "objects" table has the following schema:
+      #   create table objects (
+      #     name varchar2(20),
+      #     thing object
+      #   )
+
+      db.type_translation = true
+      db.translator.add_translator( "object" ) do |type, value|
+        db.decode( value )
+      end
+
+      h = { :one=>:two, "three"=>"four", 5=>6 }
+      dump = db.encode( h )
+
+      db.execute( "insert into objects values ( ?, ? )", "bob", dump )
+
+      obj = db.get_first_value( "select thing from objects where name='bob'" )
+      p obj == h
+    </pre>
+
+- "How do I do a DDL (insert, update, delete) statement?": >-
+    You can actually do inserts, updates, and deletes in exactly the same way
+    as selects, but in general the Database#execute method will be most
+    convenient:
+
+    
+    <pre>
+      db.execute( "insert into table values ( ?, ? )", *bind_vars )
+    </pre>
+
+- "How do I execute multiple statements in a single string?": >-
+    The standard query methods (Database#execute, Database#execute2,
+    Database#query, and Statement#execute) will only execute the first
+    statement in the string that is given to them. Thus, if you have a
+    string with multiple SQL statements, each separated by a string,
+    you can't use those methods to execute them all at once.
+
+
+    Instead, use Database#execute_batch:
+
+
+    <pre>
+      sql = <<SQL
+        create table the_table (
+          a varchar2(30),
+          b varchar2(30)
+        );
+
+        insert into the_table values ( 'one', 'two' );
+        insert into the_table values ( 'three', 'four' );
+        insert into the_table values ( 'five', 'six' );
+      SQL
+
+      db.execute_batch( sql )
+    </pre>
+
+
+    Unlike the other query methods, Database#execute_batch accepts no
+    block. It will also only ever return +nil+. Thus, it is really only
+    suitable for batch processing of DDL statements.
+
+- "How do I begin/end a transaction?":
+    Use Database#transaction to start a transaction. If you give it a block,
+    the block will be automatically committed at the end of the block,
+    unless an exception was raised, in which case the transaction will be
+    rolled back. (Never explicitly call Database#commit or Database#rollback
+    inside of a transaction block--you'll get errors when the block
+    terminates!)
+
+
+    <pre>
+      database.transaction do |db|
+        db.execute( "insert into table values ( 'a', 'b', 'c' )" )
+        ...
+      end
+    </pre>
+
+
+    Alternatively, if you don't give a block to Database#transaction, the
+    transaction remains open until you explicitly call Database#commit or
+    Database#rollback.
+
+
+    <pre>
+      db.transaction
+      db.execute( "insert into table values ( 'a', 'b', 'c' )" )
+      db.commit
+    </pre>
+
+
+    Note that SQLite does not allow nested transactions, so you'll get errors
+    if you try to open a new transaction while one is already active. Use
+    Database#transaction_active? to determine whether a transaction is
+    active or not.
+
+#- "How do I discover metadata about a table/index?":
+#
+#- "How do I do tweak database settings?":