09/11/2016 SQLiteOpenHelper | Android Developers

Added in API level 1

SQLiteOpenHelper (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-
element.html#ApiLevels)
Summary: Ctors (#pubctors) | Methods (#pubmethods) |
public abstract class SQLiteOpenHelper  Inherited Methods (#inhmethods) | [Expand All] (#)
extends Object (https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/Object.html) 

java.lang.Object (https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/Object.html)
   ↳ android.database.sqlite.SQLiteOpenHelper

A helper class to manage database creation and version management.

You create a subclass implementing onCreate(SQLiteDatabase)

(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onCreate(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase)),

onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase, int, int)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onUpgrade(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase, int, int)) and optionally
onOpen(SQLiteDatabase) (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onOpen(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase)),
and this class takes care of opening the database if it exists, creating it if it does not, and upgrading it as necessary. Transactions are used to make
sure the database is always in a sensible state.

This class makes it easy for ContentProvider (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentProvider.html) implementations to defer

opening and upgrading the database until �rst use, to avoid blocking application startup with long-running database upgrades.

For an example, see the NotePadProvider class in the NotePad sample application, in the samples/ directory of the SDK.

Note: this class assumes monotonically increasing version numbers for upgrades.

Summary

Public constructors

SQLiteOpenHelper (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#SQLiteOpenHelper(android.content.Context,
java.lang.String, android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory, int))(Context (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Context.html)

context, String (https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/String.html) name, SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory.html) factory, int version)

Create a helper object to create, open, and/or manage a database.

SQLiteOpenHelper (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#SQLiteOpenHelper(android.content.Context,
java.lang.String, android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory, int, android.database.DatabaseErrorHandler))(Context

(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Context.html) context, String (https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/String.html)

name, SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory.html) factory, int
version, DatabaseErrorHandler (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/DatabaseErrorHandler.html) errorHandler)
Create a helper object to create, open, and/or manage a database.

Public methods

void close (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#close())
Close any open database object.

String (https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/String.html) getDatabaseName (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#
Return the name of the SQLite database being opened, as given to the constructor.

SQLiteDatabase getReadableDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) Create and/or open a database.

SQLiteDatabase getWritableDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) Create and/or open a database that will be used for reading and writing.

void onConfigure (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onCon
(SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html)
Called when the database connection is being con�gured, to enable features

abstract void onCreate (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onCreate
(SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html)
Called when the database is created for the �rst time.

void onDowngrade (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onDow
int))(SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.ht

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Called when the database needs to be downgraded.

void onOpen (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onOpen(andr
(SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html)
Called when the database has been opened.

abstract void onUpgrade (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onUpgra
int))(SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.ht

Called when the database needs to be upgraded.

void setWriteAheadLoggingEnabled
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#setWriteAheadLoggin

Enables or disables the use of write-ahead logging for the database.

Inherited methods

(#)From class java.lang.Object (https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/Object.html)

Public constructors

SQLiteOpenHelper Added in API level 1 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

SQLiteOpenHelper (Context (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Context.html) context,  
                String (https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/String.html) name,  
                SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory.html) factory, 
                int version)

Create a helper object to create, open, and/or manage a database. This method always returns very quickly. The database is not actually created or
opened until one of getWritableDatabase() (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#getWritableDatabase()) or
getReadableDatabase() (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#getReadableDatabase()) is called.

Parameters

context Context: to use to open or create the database

name String: of the database �le, or null for an in-memory database

factory SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory: to use for creating cursor objects, or null for the default

version int: number of the database (starting at 1); if the database is older, onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase, int, int)
This site uses cookies to store your preferences for site-speci�c language and display options.
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onUpgrade(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase, int,

OKwill
int)) be used to upgrade the database; if the database is newer, onDowngrade(SQLiteDatabase, int, int)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onDowngrade(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase, int,

int)) will be used to downgrade the database

SQLiteOpenHelper Added in API level 11 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

SQLiteOpenHelper (Context (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Context.html) context,  
                String (https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/String.html) name,  
                SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory.html) factory, 
                int version,  
                DatabaseErrorHandler (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/DatabaseErrorHandler.html) errorHandler)

Create a helper object to create, open, and/or manage a database. The database is not actually created or opened until one of getWritableDatabase()
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#getWritableDatabase()) or getReadableDatabase()
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#getReadableDatabase()) is called.

Accepts input param: a concrete instance of DatabaseErrorHandler (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/DatabaseErrorHandler.html) to

be used to handle corruption when sqlite reports database corruption.

Parameters

context Context: to use to open or create the database

name String: of the database �le, or null for an in-memory database

factory SQLiteDatabase.CursorFactory: to use for creating cursor objects, or null for the default

version int: number of the database (starting at 1); if the database is older, onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase, int, int)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onUpgrade(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase,

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09/11/2016 SQLiteOpenHelper | Android Developers
int, int)) will be used to upgrade the database; if the database is newer, onDowngrade(SQLiteDatabase, int, int)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onDowngrade(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase,

int, int)) will be used to downgrade the database

errorHandler DatabaseErrorHandler: the DatabaseErrorHandler (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/DatabaseErrorHandler.html)

to be used when sqlite reports database corruption, or null to use the default error handler.

Public methods

close Added in API level 1 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

void close ()

Close any open database object.

getDatabaseName Added in API level 14 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

String (https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/String.html) getDatabaseName ()

Return the name of the SQLite database being opened, as given to the constructor.

Returns

String
(https://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/String.html)

getReadableDatabase Added in API level 1 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) getReadableDatabase ()

Create and/or open a database. This will be the same object returned by getWritableDatabase()
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#getWritableDatabase()) unless some problem, such as a full disk, requires
the database to be opened read-only. In that case, a read-only database object will be returned. If the problem is �xed, a future call to
getWritableDatabase() (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#getWritableDatabase()) may succeed, in which
case the read-only database object will be closed and the read/write object will be returned in the future.

Like getWritableDatabase() (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#getWritableDatabase()), this method

may take a long time to return, so you should not call it from the application main thread, including from ContentProvider.onCreate()
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentProvider.html#onCreate()).

This site uses cookies to store your preferences for site-speci�c language and display options.
Returns
OK
SQLiteDatabase a database object valid until getWritableDatabase()
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#getWritableDatabase

or close() (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#close()
is called.

Throws

SQLiteException if the database cannot be opened

(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteException.html)

getWritableDatabase Added in API level 1 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) getWritableDatabase ()

Create and/or open a database that will be used for reading and writing. The �rst time this is called, the database will be opened and
onCreate(SQLiteDatabase)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onCreate(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase)),

onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase, int, int)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onUpgrade(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase, int, int)) and/or
onOpen(SQLiteDatabase) (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onOpen(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase))
will be called.

Once opened successfully, the database is cached, so you can call this method every time you need to write to the database. (Make sure to call close()
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#close()) when you no longer need the database.) Errors such as bad
permissions or a full disk may cause this method to fail, but future attempts may succeed if the problem is �xed.

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Database upgrade may take a long time, you should not call this method from the application main thread, including from
ContentProvider.onCreate() (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/ContentProvider.html#onCreate()).

Returns

SQLiteDatabase a read/write database object valid until close()

(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#close())

is called

Throws

SQLiteException if the database cannot be opened for writing

(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteException.html)

onCon�gure Added in API level 16 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

void onConfigure (SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) db)

Called when the database connection is being con�gured, to enable features such as write-ahead logging or foreign key support.

This method is called before onCreate(SQLiteDatabase)

(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onCreate(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase)),

onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase, int, int)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onUpgrade(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase, int, int)),

onDowngrade(SQLiteDatabase, int, int)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onDowngrade(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase, int, int)), or
onOpen(SQLiteDatabase) (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onOpen(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase))
are called. It should not modify the database except to con�gure the database connection as required.

This method should only call methods that con�gure the parameters of the database connection, such as enableWriteAheadLogging()
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html#enableWriteAheadLogging()) setForeignKeyConstraintsEnabled(boolean)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html#setForeignKeyConstraintsEnabled(boolean)), setLocale(Locale)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html#setLocale(java.util.Locale)), setMaximumSize(long)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html#setMaximumSize(long)), or executing PRAGMA statements.

Parameters

db SQLiteDatabase: The database.

onCreate Added in API level 1 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

void onCreate (SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) db)

Called when the database is created for the �rst time. This is where the creation of tables and the initial population of the tables should happen.

This site uses cookies to store your preferences for site-speci�c language and display options.
Parameters
OK
db SQLiteDatabase: The database.

onDowngrade Added in API level 11 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

void onDowngrade (SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) db,  
                int oldVersion,  
                int newVersion)

Called when the database needs to be downgraded. This is strictly similar to onUpgrade(SQLiteDatabase, int, int)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onUpgrade(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase, int, int)) method, but is
called whenever current version is newer than requested one. However, this method is not abstract, so it is not mandatory for a customer to implement
it. If not overridden, default implementation will reject downgrade and throws SQLiteException

This method executes within a transaction. If an exception is thrown, all changes will automatically be rolled back.

Parameters

db SQLiteDatabase: The database.

oldVersion int: The old database version.

newVersion int: The new database version.

onOpen Added in API level 1 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

void onOpen (SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) db)

Called when the database has been opened. The implementation should check isReadOnly()
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html#isReadOnly()) before updating the database.

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This method is called after the database connection has been con�gured and after the database schema has been created, upgraded or downgraded as
necessary. If the database connection must be con�gured in some way before the schema is created, upgraded, or downgraded, do it in
onConfigure(SQLiteDatabase)
(https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteOpenHelper.html#onConfigure(android.database.sqlite.SQLiteDatabase)) instead.

Parameters

db SQLiteDatabase: The database.

onUpgrade Added in API level 1 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

void onUpgrade (SQLiteDatabase (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html) db,  
                int oldVersion,  
                int newVersion)

Called when the database needs to be upgraded. The implementation should use this method to drop tables, add tables, or do anything else it needs to
upgrade to the new schema version.

The SQLite ALTER TABLE documentation can be found here (http://sqlite.org/lang_altertable.html). If you add new columns you can use ALTER TABLE to insert
them into a live table. If you rename or remove columns you can use ALTER TABLE to rename the old table, then create the new table and then populate
the new table with the contents of the old table.

This method executes within a transaction. If an exception is thrown, all changes will automatically be rolled back.

Parameters

db SQLiteDatabase: The database.

oldVersion int: The old database version.

newVersion int: The new database version.

setWriteAheadLoggingEnabled Added in API level 16 (https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/uses-sdk-element.html#ApiLevels)

void setWriteAheadLoggingEnabled (boolean enabled)

Enables or disables the use of write-ahead logging for the database. Write-ahead logging cannot be used with read-only databases so the value of this
౪ag is ignored if the database is opened read-only.

Parameters

enabled boolean: True if write-ahead logging should be enabled, false if it should be disabled.

See also:

enableWriteAheadLogging() (https://developer.android.com/reference/android/database/sqlite/SQLiteDatabase.html#enableWriteAheadLogging())

This site uses cookies to store your preferences for site-speci�c language and display options.

OK

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09/11/2016 SQLiteOpenHelper | Android Developers

This site uses cookies to store your preferences for site-speci�c language and display options.

OK

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