Syntax Error In Python SQLite

Question

THE CODE BELOW IS UPDATED CODE THAT WORKS

I am getting a syntax error when I try to run this. Here is the relevant code:

import sqlite3
mydatabase="/Users/noahclark/cities.db"
connection=sqlite3.connect(mydatabase)
cur = connection.cursor()

def getDaysURLS(self):
    day = cur.execute('select state from cities where city = "pointer"')
    day = cur.fetchone()[0]
    print day
    cur.execute('select URL from cities where day = ?', (str(day),))

When I run this code, I get the following error.

  Tkinter.py", line 1410, in __call__
  return self.func(*args)
  File "tkinter.py", line 50, in getDaysURLS
  cur.execute(urlstring)
  OperationalError: near "<": syntax error

I can run the -- select state from cities where city is "pointer" -- line in the sqlite command line and it works.

Any ideas or pointers? Thanks in advance.

Don't forget to accept the answer that best helped you figure out the problem. — Winston Ewert
– Winston Ewert, Commented Aug 4, 2011 at 16:15

Ned Batchelder · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-04 15:13:29Z

3

SQLite follows the SQL standard: strings are enclosed in single quotes, not double quotes. Also, generally use = to check for string equality.

answered Aug 4, 2011 at 15:13

Ned Batchelder

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6 Comments

Noah Clark Over a year ago

Thanks, I made those changes, but the issue remains.

Ned Batchelder Over a year ago

Can you update the question with the latest code and error message?

Ned Batchelder Over a year ago

@Noah Clark: The error is now on a different line. You've taken the result from a cur.execute, stringified it, and created a new SQL statement from it. That doesn't make any sense. Think through what you are trying to do.

Noah Clark Over a year ago

The code is updated to work. However, help me understand why it doesn't make sense. If I'm pulling an integer don't I need to stringify it to use it in an SQL statement?

Ned Batchelder Over a year ago

The old code didn't make sense because you weren't getting the integer from the query, you were turning the result set object into a string. Now you've added the lines you need to extract the integer from the result set.

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Winston Ewert · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-04 15:33:04Z

1

Only use is in sql when checking for null

  day = cur.execute('select state from cities where city = "pointer"')

Or better yet:

  day = cur.execute('select state from cities where city = ?',("pointer",))

EDIT

 urlstring = "select URL from cities where day is" + str(day)
 cur.execute(urlstring)

Use the ? method I showed previously
You need a space after is
cur.execute() doesn't return the value like that. I'm not sure what it returns. You need to use a fetch method.

edited Aug 4, 2011 at 15:33

answered Aug 4, 2011 at 15:13

Winston Ewert

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3 Comments

Noah Clark Over a year ago

Winston, why is the second one better?

Winston Ewert Over a year ago

@Noah, it doesn't actually make a big difference here. But it takes care of quoting strings for you which is really important if you put user input inside the string.

Noah Clark Over a year ago

Thanks, I got it working and have put the working code in the question.

Ferdinand Beyer · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-04 15:32:45Z

1

Don't use double quotes. SQLite uses those to escape identifiers such as field and table names. Use single quotes instead. Furthermore, you should use = instead of is:

day = cur.execute("select state from cities where city = 'pointer'")

UPDATE: cur.execute() returns the cursor cur, not a result from the query. You need to call cursor.fetchone() to get the value:

# Execute the query.  If all went well, you can use the cursor to navigate through
# the results.
cur.execute("select state from cities where city = 'pointer'")
# Fetch the next row and extract the first value in the row.
day = cur.fetchone()[0]

edited Aug 4, 2011 at 15:32

answered Aug 4, 2011 at 15:14

Ferdinand Beyer

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6 Comments

Noah Clark Over a year ago

I changed that! Thanks. The original issue still remains

Ferdinand Beyer Over a year ago

The issue does not remain, Python is just pointing to the next bug in your code! :(

Noah Clark Over a year ago

Ferdinard Beyer, You are correct. I figured out the next bug, and am now working on the third bug.

Ferdinand Beyer Over a year ago

@Noah: You really have to try to understand what people tell you and try to fix your issues by yourself. Your last edit made no sense: You are turning the cursor object from cursor.execute() into a string, which results into the meaningless <sqlite3.Cursor object at ...>! Just use print now and then to see what's going wrong!

Noah Clark Over a year ago

Ferdinand, I got it working with the fetch part. I wasn't trying to not fix the issues my self, but I really wanted to just yell, "Give me a minute to play with this so I can test it and figure it out for my self." But, I also wanted to give SOME update, so people weren't trying to solve a non-issue. It's probably better to give no update at all then?

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