Chapter 44 – SQL/CLI Statement Functions¶

Note

You are reading a digital copy of SQL-99 Complete, Really, a book that documents the SQL-99 standard.

For more information specific to CrateDB, check out the CrateDB Reference.

Of the 62 CLI functions, only three actually handle what we know as “SQL statements”. There are two steps in SQL statement handling: the “prepare” step and the “execute” step. You can do these steps separately, using the SQLPrepare and SQLExecute functions or you can roll them together and just use the SQLExecDirect function. The following flowchart shows the steps involved:

 [[ SQL statement ]]
 |
 |
 |     -
 >   -   -
   -       -               ----------------
 -  Is the  -              -              -
- statement - ---> no ---> - Return error -
 -  valid?  -              - diagnostics  -
   -       -               -              -
     -   -                 ----------------
       -
      |
      |               PREPARE PHASE
      v
     yes
      |
      |
      v
 -----------------------------
 - Make "Prepared statement" -
 - associated with stmt      -
 -----------------------------
     |
     |
     v
 ------------------------------
 - Execute prepared statement -        EXECUTE PHASE
 ------------------------------
     |
     |
     v
      -
     -   -
   -       -
 -  Is the  -              --------
- statement - ---> no ---> - done -
 - a query? -              --------
   -       -
     -   -
       -
      |
      |
      v
     yes
      |
      |
      v
 ------------------------------------
 - associate Cursor with result set -
 ------------------------------------
      |
      v
 --------
 - done -
 --------

Table of Contents

Preparable SQL Statements
SQLPrepare
SQLExecute
SQLExecDirect
SQLEndTran

Preparable SQL Statements ¶

Some SQL statements are not preparable. Here’s the list of all possibilities, showing whether the SQL statement can be prepared.

SQL STATEMENT	SQL STATEMENT CLASS	PREPARABLE?
`ALTER`	Schema	yes
`CALL`	control	yes
`CLOSE`	data	NO
`COMMIT`	transaction	NO [Note 2]
`CONNECT`	Connection	NO [Note 1]
`CREATE`	Schema	yes
`DELETE`	data change	yes
`DISCONNECT`	Connection	NO [Note 1]
`DROP`	Schema	yes
`FETCH`	data	NO
`GET DIAGNOSTICS`	diagnostics	NO
`GRANT`	Schema	yes
`INSERT`	data change	yes
`OPEN`	data	NO
`RELEASE SAVEPOINT`	transaction	yes
`RETURN`	control	yes
`REVOKE`	Schema	yes
`ROLLBACK`	transaction	NO [Note 2]
`SAVEPOINT`	transaction	yes
`SELECT with no INTO`	query	yes
`SELECT with INTO`	query	NO
`SET CONNECTION`	Connection	NO [Note 1]
`SET CONSTRAINTS MODE`	transaction	yes
`SET LOCAL TIME ZONE`	SQL-session	yes
`SET ROLE`	SQL-session	yes
`SET SESSION`	SQL-session	yes
`SET TRANSACTION`	transaction	yes
`START TRANSACTION`	transaction	yes
`UPDATE`	data change	yes

Notes: The “preparable statements” for embedded SQL are as above, except:

[1] Connection statements are “directly executable” with embedded SQL, but not preparable.
[2] COMMIT and ROLLBACK are “preparable” with embedded SQL.

There are some SQL statements which you may use in other contexts (such as embedded SQL or SQL/PSM), but their use is inappropriate with the CLI because their functionality is included in special function calls which require a henv or hdbc as the input handle – and the SQLPrepare function requires a hstmt. For such SQL statements there will usually be an analogous CLI function. For example: CONNECT and DISCONNECT statements are not preparable, but there are SQLConnect and SQLDisconnect functions; GET DIAGNOSTICS is not preparable but there are SQLGetDiag... functions; COMMIT and ROLLBACK are not preparable but there is an SQLEndTran (“end transaction”) function.

SQLPrepare ¶

Function Prototype:

SQLRETURN SQLPrepare(
  SQLHSTMT hstmt,           /* 32-bit input */
  SQLCHAR *StatementText,   /* pointer to CHAR* input = SQL statement */
  SQLINTEGER TextLength     /* 32-bit input */
  );

Job: Check a SQL statement for syntax or access errors. If all is well, make this string the “prepared SQL statement” associated with stmt. It is then ready to execute.

Algorithm:

If (there is an open Cursor associated with stmt)
  /* You must close Cursor before re-using the stmt */
  return error: 24000 - invalid Cursor state -
Get the string using StatementText and TextLength. This is a typical
example of a pass of a character string, except that TextLength is an integer
rather than a smallint. TextLength may be SQL_NTS.
If the TextLength value doesn't make sense:
  return error: HY090 CLI-specific condition-invalid string length or buffer length
If (the string contains "DELETE|UPDATE ... WHERE CURRENT OF ...")
  If (Cursor is not the name of a Cursor associated with another stmt of the same dbc)
    return error: 34000 invalid Cursor name
  /* Note the word "another" -- don't use positioned UPDATE|DELETE with the same stmt you executed the SELECT with */
If (statement violates a format rule, syntax rule, or access rule)
Or (statement is not a preparable statement)
Or (statement is a <simple comment>)
Or (statement has a ? parameter marker in an invalid position)
  return error: (exact error depends on the nature of the violation)
                (often 42000 Syntax error or access rule violation)

Determine the data types of the ? parameter markers.
/* An example of a ? in an invalid position is: SELECT -? FROM t; */
Destroy some things which are associated with stmt, left over from
the last time we called SQLPrepare for the same stmt:
      -- the "prepared statement", and
      -- the "Cursor" (if any).
/* Leftovers exist because stmts are re-usable objects. */
Note: destroying a Cursor can have a cascading effect: if there is
another prepared statement that references that Cursor (e.g. DELETE
FROM t WHERE CURRENT OF <Cursor name>), it too is destroyed.
Note: destroying a Cursor does not imply destroying the Cursor name.

Now we have "prepared". The statement is called a "prepared statement".

If (prepared statement is a SELECT)
  /* The prepared SELECT statement is called the "select source". */
  If (there is no Cursor name) (as set by SQLSetCursorName)
    Set Cursor name = an implementation-dependent identifier beginning
    with the letters SQL_CUR or SQLCUR.

Notes:

You can process SQL statements in two separate phases using the SQLPrepare and SQLExecute functions. Usually, you would want to do the two phases separately if the SQL statement appeared in a loop – you’d call SQLPrepare before entering the loop, and you’d call SQLExecute within the loop. That way, you’d only be preparing once, but executing many times. If you used the alternative – SQLExecDirect – you’d be preparing and executing with every iteration of the loop.
The prepare and execute phases of SQL resemble the compile and execute phases of most computer languages. If we were going to make a distinction between preparing and compiling, we would point out that: (a) preparing fails if an SQL statement refers to an inaccessible Table, but compiling does not fail if a file is unavailable at compile time; and (b) compiling results in executable code, but preparing results only in a descriptive “plan” which needs some interpretation at run time. Such, at least, is the state of SQL today. There are no true SQL compilers.
If SQLPrepare finds an error, the stmt's state is unchanged. A SQL statement that was previously prepared continues to be “live”. For example:
```
SQLPrepare(hstmt,"UPDATE t SET t_column = t_column + 1;",SQL_NTS);
SQLExecute(hstmt);
SQLPrepare(hstmt,"SELCT * FROM t;",SQL_NTS); /* sic-"SELCT" */
SQLExecute(hstmt);
```
The second SQLPrepare won’t work because "SELCT" is bad SQL syntax – but what happens to the SQLExecute that follows it? Answer: it executes the "UPDATE t ..." statement a second time. Silly, eh? Well it wouldn’t happen if we had made sure to check what the SQLPrepare call returned.
Some DBMSs do nothing during SQLPrepare. They defer even syntax checking until SQLExecute time. You have to be ready for such non-standard behaviour: do not assume that an SQL statement is grammatical until it’s been executed.
There is no “UnPrepare” function. Instead, prepared statements are removed by:
- Calling SQLPrepare again for the same stmt.
- Calling SQLFreeStmt(...,SQL_REALLOCATE).
- Cascade effects – for example, if the prepared statement depends on a Cursor which is destroyed.
- (Usually) calling SQLEndTran (the “transaction-end” function which is used instead of COMMIT or ROLLBACK). It is best to assume that SQL statements need re-preparing after transaction end, though some DBMSs preserve prepared statements. You can find out what your DBMS does by calling the SQLGetInfo function. (In any case, if a Cursor is holdable, its result set survives if the termination is with COMMIT.)
In standard SQL, the SQL statement does not have to end with a semicolon.

Example:

#include "sqlcli.h"
SQLHSTMT hstmt;
...
SQLPrepare(hstmt,"DELETE FROM t",SQL_NTS);
/* Now we need to call SQLExecute. */

ODBC: The SQLPrepare function has been part of ODBC since ODBC version 1.0.

SQLExecute ¶

Function Prototype:

SQLRETURN SQLExecute(
  SQLHSTMT hstmt                        /* 32-bit input */
  );

Job: Execute a prepared SQL statement. You must do an SQLPrepare first.

Algorithm:

If (SQLPrepare has not been performed for this stmt)
  return error: HY010 CLI-specific condition-function sequence error
If (there is an open Cursor associated with this stmt)
  /* This would happen if you don't close the Cursor after the last
     execution of a SELECT statement; see SQLCloseCursor */
  return error: 24000 Invalid Cursor state -
If (there are input parameters)
  Get parameter addresses and do appropriate "casting" (described in our chapter on SQL/CLI desc functions)
Execute the prepared statement. It is now the "executed statement".
If (the statement was SELECT)
  Set up a Cursor (described in our chapter on SQL/CLI Cursor functions)
  Change the row descriptors (described in our chapter on SQL/CLI desc functions)
If (there are output parameters)
  Get parameter addresses and do appropriate "casting"
Change the Diagnostics Area

Since there are many possible SQL statements, the range of possible problem conditions is wide – see especially the SQLSTATE errors in class 22000 (data exception) and class 23000 (integrity constraint violation) in our chapter on SQL/CLI diagnostics. Watch also for warnings and even “No data” conditions (for example, execution of UPDATE Table_1 SET column_1 = 0; will result in SQLSTATE 02000 "Data not found" if there are no rows in TABLE_1).

Notes:

Calls to SQLExecute always follow calls to SQLPrepare (for the same stmt), but other function calls may intervene.

Example: In this example we prepare and execute two SQL statements. We use two different stmts, so that we can get all the preparing done before we start executing.

#include "sqlcli.h"
...
SQLHSTMT hstmt1, hstmt2;
...
SQLPrepare(hstmt1,"INSERT INTO t VALUES (1)",SQL_NTS);
SQLPrepare(hstmt2,"INSERT INTO t VALUES (2)",SQL_NTS);
...
SQLExecute(hstmt1);
SQLExecute(hstmt2);

ODBC: The SQLExecute function has been around since ODBC 1.0.

SQLExecDirect ¶

Function Prototype:

SQLRETURN  SQLExecDirect(
  SQLHSTMT hstmt,                 /* 32-bit input -- statement handle */
  SQLCHAR *StatementText,         /* CHAR* input */
  SQLINTEGER TextLength           /* 32-bit input */
  );

Job: Prepare and execute an SQL statement.

Algorithm:

SQLRETURN = SQLExecDirect(hstmt,"text",text-length);

is the same as

SQLRETURN = SQLPrepare(hstmt,"text",text-length);
if (sqlreturn <> SQL_ERROR && sqlreturn <> SQL_INVALID_HANDLE) {
   sqlreturn = SQLExecute(hstmt); }

Notes:

Technically, SQLExecDirect is redundant: you can do the same thing by calling SQLPrepare and SQLExecute. But programmers prefer to use SQLExecDirect for SQL statements that will only be prepared and executed once.
Since SQLExecDirect includes a “prepare” step, it follows that non-preparable SQL statements cannot be arguments of SQLExecDirect. Such statements include CONNECT, DISCONNECT, COMMIT, ROLLBACK – refer to the list of “Preparable and Non-Preparable SQL Statements”, shown earlier.
Does the size of a string include the null terminator?
- If you are passing a string’s octet length: NO. For example:
  SQLExecDirect(hstmt,"abcd",4);
- If you are passing (maximum) target octet length: YES. For example:
  char x[8]; ... SQLGetCursorName(hstmt,x,8,&strlen_or_ind);
- If the DBMS is returning the (actual) target octet length: NO. Using the previous example: if a null-terminated string “abcd\0” is returned, then strlen_or_ind will equal 4.
- If the string is a BIT or BINARY string: NO.

Example: Take a value at run time, incorporate it in an SQL statement. This is how you can pass a parameter value without using a desc function.

#include "sqlcli.h"
...
void measurement_update (float measurement, SQLHSTMT hstmt)
{
  int len;
  SQLCHAR statement[50];
  len = sprintf(statement, "UPDATE t SET measurement = %f", measurement);
  SQLExecDirect(hstmt, update_statement, len); }

EXAMPLE3.C; Basic “Interactive SQL” Program: If you want to put together a program that accepts SQL statements from the keyboard and displays results on the screen, this is the skeletal arrangement:

#include "sqlcli.h"
...
SQLAllocHandle(); SQLAllocHandle(); SQLConnect(); SQLAllocHandle();
...
for (;;)
  printf("Type in an SQL statement, O user: \n");
  gets(user_statement);
  if (SQLExecDirect(StatementHandle,user_statement,SQL_NTS)>=0) {
    printf("OK\n"); }
  else {
    printf("Error\n"); }
...
SQLFreeHandle(); SQLDisconnect(); SQLFreeHandle(); SQLFreeHandle();

In this code, notice how SQLExecDirect is fundamental – it’s the only CLI function that must be called for every iteration of the loop. In later examples, we’ll show you other things that are necessary here (e.g.: how to exit from the loop, what to do with errors and how queries need special handling).

ODBC: The SQLExecDirect function has been around since ODBC 1.0.

SQLEndTran ¶

Function Prototype:

SQLRETURN SQLEndTran(
  SQLSMALLINT HandleType,         /* 16-bit input */
  SQLINTEGER Handle,              /* 32-bit input */
  SQLSMALLINT CompletionType      /* 16-bit input */
  );

Job: End a transaction, either with COMMIT or with ROLLBACK. SQLEndTran is not a “statement” function, but we believe that it fits in this chapter because it’s used to COMMIT or ROLLBACK the results of SQL statements that have been processed with SQLExecute or SQLExecDirect.

Algorithm:

If (HandleType is not one of: SQL_HANDLE_ENV, SQL_HANDLE_DBC, SQL_HANDLE_STMT)
  return error: CLI-specific condition-invalid handle
If (HandleType == SQL_HANDLE_STMT)
  If (Handle is not a hstmt)
    return error: HY092 CLI-specific condition-invalid attribute identifier
     The COMMIT/ROLLBACK will be done for the dbc associated with this stmt
If (HandleType == SQL_HANDLE_DBC)
  If (Handle is not a hdbc)
    return error: HY092 CLI-specific condition-invalid attribute identifier
  The dbc's diagnostics area is emptied.
     The COMMIT/ROLLBACK will be done for the specified dbc
If (HandleType == SQL_HANDLE_DESC)
  If (Handle is not a hdesc)
    return error: HY092 CLI-specific condition-invalid attribute identifier
     The COMMIT/ROLLBACK will be done for the dbc associated with this desc
If (HandleType == SQL_HANDLE_ENV)
  If (Handle is not a henv, or env is a skeleton env)
    return error: HY092 CLI-specific condition-invalid attribute identifier
     The COMMIT/ROLLBACK will be done for all dbcs associated with this env
If (CompletionType is not either COMMIT (0) or ROLLBACK (1))
  return error: HY012 CLI-specific condition-invalid transaction operation code
If (the current transaction is part of an encompassing transaction)
  If (transaction control is not controlled by this DBMS alone)
    return error: 2D000 Invalid transaction termination -
/* The rest of the algorithm might iterate several times if the
   Handle is a henv, and there are multiple active dbcs */
For (each stmt in the dbc)
  If (a deferred parameter number is associated with the stmt)
    return error: HY010 CLI-specific condition-function sequence error
For each stmt in the dbc:
  If (there is a non-holdable Cursor associated with the stmt)
    Close the Cursor and destroy its copy of the select source
    Remove any associated fetched row
If (CompletionType == SQL_COMMIT (0))
  Commit.
  /* The usual "commit" operations happen, as described in the
     Transactions chapter. For example: if a temporary Table was
     created with the ON COMMIT DELETE [ROWS] option, all its rows
     are deleted. Warning: checking of deferred Constraints might result
      in: 40002 Transaction rollback-integrity constraint violation */
  If (any other error prevents commitment now)
    /* For example, writing to disk causes a "disk full" error */
    return error: 40??? Transaction rollback-implementation-defined subclass value
If (CompletionType == SQL_ROLLBACK)
  Rollback.
  /* The usual "rollback" operations happen, as described in the Transactions chapter. */
The transaction is now terminated.

Notes about the algorithm:

See the SQLSTATE error codes HY010, HY092 and 40002 in our chapter on SQL/CLI diagnostics. Pay particular attention to 40002, which implies that ROLLBACK occurred when you asked for COMMIT.
Since COMMIT and ROLLBACK are non-preparable SQL statements, the correct way to end a transaction is to call SQLEndTran. Some DBMSs accept SQLExecDirect(hstmt,"COMMIT;",SQL_NTS); anyway, but it’s not legal according to the SQL Standard and you can’t be sure exactly what will happen.
It is not clear why one would pass a hstmt or hdesc to SQLEndTran. These are new (SQL3) options. The safe thing is to use only hdbc or henv for the handle.
When there is only one env and one dbc, the convention is to use the henv for this function:
```
SQLEndTran(SQL_HANDLE_ENV,henv,SQL_COMMIT)
```
Have a look at our chapter on transactions before you try to use SQLEndTran.

Example:

#include "sqlcli.h"
SQLHDBC hdbc;
SQLHSTMT hstmt;
...
SQLAllocHandle(SQL_HANDLE_STMT,hdbc,&hstmt);
/* Do an SQL statement using a stmt associated with dbc */
SQLExecDirect(hstmt,"INSERT INTO t1 SELECT * FROM t2",SQL_NTS);
/* Commit the statement results using the dbc */
SQLEndTran(SQL_HANDLE_DBC,hdbc,SQL_COMMIT);

ODBC: The SQLEndTran function was added in ODBC 3.0, but there was a nearly-equivalent function in ODBC 2.0 (SQLTransact). With ODBC, if the HandleType value is not SQL_HANDLE_ENV or SQL_HANDLE_DBC, the return is HY092 (invalid attribute/option identifier), rather than “invalid handle”.

With ODBC, the default behaviour is “autocommit” (i.e.: perform an automatic “commit” after every SQL statement), so SQLEndTran has nothing to do. This is a major difference between ODBC and Standard SQL. The suggested way to resolve it is to call an ODBC function which turns the “autocommit” flag off:

SQLSetConnectAttr(hdbc,SQL_ATTR_AUTOCOMMIT,SQL_AUTOCOMMIT_OFF);

And that’s it for the statement functions. In the next chapter, we’ll take a look at the Cursor functions.

Chapter 44 – SQL/CLI Statement Functions¶

Preparable SQL Statements¶

SQLPrepare¶

SQLExecute¶

SQLExecDirect¶

SQLEndTran¶

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Preparable SQL Statements ¶

SQLPrepare ¶

SQLExecute ¶

SQLExecDirect ¶

SQLEndTran ¶