In this section, you will learn how to use SQLite in C/C++ programs.
Installation
Before you start using SQLite in our C/C++ programs, you need to make sure that you have SQLite library set up on the machine. You can check the SQLite Installation chapter to understand the installation process.
C/C++ Interface APIs
Following are important C/C++ SQLite interface routines, which can suffice your requirement to work with SQLite database from your C/C++ program. If you are looking for a more sophisticated application, then you can look into SQLite official documentation.
| Serial No | API & Description |
|---|---|
| 1 | sqlite3_open(const char *filename, sqlite3 **ppDb)This routine opens a connection to an SQLite database file and returns a database connection object to be used by other SQLite routines. If the filename argument is NULL or ':memory:', sqlite3_open() will create an in-memory database in RAM that lasts only for the duration of the session. If the filename is not NULL, sqlite3_open() attempts to open the database file by using its value. If no file by that name exists, sqlite3_open() will open a new database file by that name. |
| 2 | sqlite3_exec(sqlite3*, const char *sql, sqlite_callback, void *data, char **errmsg)This routine provides a quick, easy way to execute SQL commands provided by sql argument which can consist of more than one SQL command. Here, the first argument sqlite3 is an open database object, sqlite_callback is a call back for which data is the 1st argument and errmsg will be returned to capture any error raised by the routine. SQLite3_exec() routine parses and executes every command given in the sql argument until it reaches the end of the string or encounters an error. |
| 3 | sqlite3_close(sqlite3*)This routine closes a database connection previously opened by a call to sqlite3_open(). All prepared statements associated with the connection should be finalized prior to closing the connection. If any queries remain that have not been finalized, sqlite3_close() will return SQLITE_BUSY with the error message Unable to close due to unfinalized statements. |
Connect To Database
Following C code segment shows how to connect to an existing database. If the database does not exist, then it will be created and finally a database object will be returned.
Example Code
#include <stdio.h>
#include <sqlite3.h>
int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
sqlite3 *db;
char *zErrMsg = 0;
int rc;
rc = sqlite3_open("test.db", &db);
if( rc ) {
fprintf(stderr, "Can't open database: %s\n", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
return(0);
} else {
fprintf(stderr, "Opened database successfully\n");
}
sqlite3_close(db);
}Output
$gcc test.c -l sqlite3 $./a.out Opened database successfully
Create Table
Following C code segment will be used to create a table in the previously created database −
Example Code
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <sqlite3.h>
static int callback(void *NotUsed, int argc, char **argv, char **azColName) {
int i;
for(i = 0; i<argc; i++) {
printf("%s = %s\n", azColName[i], argv[i] ? argv[i] : "NULL");
}
printf("\n");
return 0;
}
int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
sqlite3 *db;
char *zErrMsg = 0;
int rc;
char *sql;
/* Open database */
rc = sqlite3_open("test.db", &db);
if( rc ) {
fprintf(stderr, "Can't open database: %s\n", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
return(0);
} else {
fprintf(stdout, "Opened database successfully\n");
}
/* Create SQL statement */
sql = "CREATE TABLE COMPANY(" \
"ID INT PRIMARY KEY NOT NULL," \
"NAME TEXT NOT NULL," \
"AGE INT NOT NULL," \
"ADDRESS CHAR(50)," \
"SALARY REAL );";
/* Execute SQL statement */
rc = sqlite3_exec(db, sql, callback, 0, &zErrMsg);
if( rc != SQLITE_OK ) {
fprintf(stderr, "SQL error: %s\n", zErrMsg);
sqlite3_free(zErrMsg);
} else {
fprintf(stdout, "Table created successfully\n");
}
sqlite3_close(db);
return 0;
}Output (Check the database file status):
-rwxr-xr-x. 1 root root 9567 May 8 02:31 a.out -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 1207 May 8 02:31 test.c -rw-r--r--. 1 root root 3072 May 8 02:31 test.db
Insert Operation
Following C code segment shows how you can create records in COMPANY table created in the above example –
Example Code
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <sqlite3.h>
static int callback(void *NotUsed, int argc, char **argv, char **azColName) {
int i;
for(i = 0; i<argc; i++) {
printf("%s = %s\n", azColName[i], argv[i] ? argv[i] : "NULL");
}
printf("\n");
return 0;
}
int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
sqlite3 *db;
char *zErrMsg = 0;
int rc;
char *sql;
/* Open database */
rc = sqlite3_open("test.db", &db);
if( rc ) {
fprintf(stderr, "Can't open database: %s\n", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
return(0);
} else {
fprintf(stderr, "Opened database successfully\n");
}
/* Create SQL statement */
sql = "INSERT INTO COMPANY (ID,NAME,AGE,ADDRESS,SALARY) " \
"VALUES (1, 'Paul', 32, 'California', 20000.00 ); " \
"INSERT INTO COMPANY (ID,NAME,AGE,ADDRESS,SALARY) " \
"VALUES (2, 'Allen', 25, 'Texas', 15000.00 ); " \
"INSERT INTO COMPANY (ID,NAME,AGE,ADDRESS,SALARY)" \
"VALUES (3, 'Teddy', 23, 'Norway', 20000.00 );" \
"INSERT INTO COMPANY (ID,NAME,AGE,ADDRESS,SALARY)" \
"VALUES (4, 'Mark', 25, 'Rich-Mond ', 65000.00 );";
/* Execute SQL statement */
rc = sqlite3_exec(db, sql, callback, 0, &zErrMsg);
if( rc != SQLITE_OK ) {
fprintf(stderr, "SQL error: %s\n", zErrMsg);
sqlite3_free(zErrMsg);
} else {
fprintf(stdout, "Records created successfully\n");
}
sqlite3_close(db);
return 0;
}Output
Opened database successfully Records created successfully
SELECT Operation
Before proceeding with actual example to fetch records, let us look at some detail about the callback function, which we are using in our examples. This callback provides a way to obtain results from SELECT statements. It has the following declaration –
typedef int (*sqlite3_callback)( void*, /* Data provided in the 4th argument of sqlite3_exec() */ int, /* The number of columns in row */ char**, /* An array of strings representing fields in the row */ char** /* An array of strings representing column names */ );
If the above callback is provided in sqlite_exec() routine as the third argument, SQLite will call this callback function for each record processed in each SELECT statement executed within the SQL argument.
Following C code segment shows how you can fetch and display records from the COMPANY table created in the above example –
Example Code
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <sqlite3.h>
static int callback(void *data, int argc, char **argv, char **azColName) {
int i;
fprintf(stderr, "%s: ", (const char*)data);
for(i = 0; i<argc; i++) {
printf("%s = %s\n", azColName[i], argv[i] ? argv[i] : "NULL");
}
printf("\n");
return 0;
}
int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
sqlite3 *db;
char *zErrMsg = 0;
int rc;
char *sql;
const char* data = "Callback function called";
/* Open database */
rc = sqlite3_open("test.db", &db);
if( rc ) {
fprintf(stderr, "Can't open database: %s\n", sqlite3_errmsg(db));
return(0);
} else {
fprintf(stderr, "Opened database successfully\n");
}
/* Create SQL statement */
sql = "SELECT * from COMPANY";
/* Execute SQL statement */
rc = sqlite3_exec(db, sql, callback, (void*)data, &zErrMsg);
if( rc != SQLITE_OK ) {
fprintf(stderr, "SQL error: %s\n", zErrMsg);
sqlite3_free(zErrMsg);
} else {
fprintf(stdout, "Operation done successfully\n");
}
sqlite3_close(db);
return 0;
}Output
Opened database successfully Callback function called: ID = 1 NAME = Paul AGE = 32 ADDRESS = California SALARY = 20000.0 Callback function called: ID = 2 NAME = Allen AGE = 25 ADDRESS = Texas SALARY = 15000.0 Callback function called: ID = 3 NAME = Teddy AGE = 23 ADDRESS = Norway SALARY = 20000.0 Callback function called: ID = 4 NAME = Mark AGE = 25 ADDRESS = Rich-Mond SALARY = 65000.0 Operation done successfully