SQLite - Run multi-line SQL script from file? - sqlite

Question

I have the following SQL in a file, user.sql:
CREATE TABLE user
(
user_id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
username varchar(255),
password varchar(255)
);
However, when the following command is executed:
sqlite3 my.db < user.sql
The following error is generated:
Error: near line 1: near ")": syntax error
I would prefer to keep the SQL as-is, as the file will be checked into source control and will be more maintainable and readable as it is now. Can the SQL span multiple lines like this, or do I need to put it all on the same line?

Answer 1

I realize that this is not a direct answer to your question. As Brian mentions, this could be a silly platform issue.
If you interface with SQLite through Python, you will probably avoid most platform-specific issues and you get to have fun things like datetime columns :-)
Something like this should work fine:
import sqlite3
qry = open('create_table_user.sql', 'r').read()
conn = sqlite3.connect('/path/to/db')
c = conn.cursor()
c.execute(qry)
conn.commit()
c.close()
conn.close()

Answer 2

I had exactly the same problem.
Then I noticed, my editor (Notepad++) reports Macintosh format for end of lines.
Converting eols into Unix style turned the script file into format, which sqlite3 understood.

Answer 3

Multiple lines aren't a problem. There might be a platform issue, because I am able to run this example successfully using SQLite3 3.6.22 on OS X 10.5.8.

Answer 4

Here is bernie's python example upgraded to handle exceptions in the script instead of silently failing (Windows 7, ActiveState Python 3.x)
import sqlite3
import os
import os.path
import ctypes
databaseFile = '.\\SomeDB.db'
sqlFile = '.\\SomeScripts.sql'
# Delete the old table
if os.path.isfile(databaseFile):
os.remove(databaseFile)
# Create the tables
qry = open(sqlFile, 'r').read()
sqlite3.complete_statement(qry)
conn = sqlite3.connect(databaseFile)
cursor = conn.cursor()
try:
cursor.executescript(qry)
except Exception as e:
MessageBoxW = ctypes.windll.user32.MessageBoxW
errorMessage = databaseFile + ': ' + str(e)
MessageBoxW(None, errorMessage, 'Error', 0)
cursor.close()
raise