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--- howtos:sqlite_tutorial [2007/01/22 11:23] – copy from old wiki (needs reformatting) texasfett
+++ howtos:sqlite_tutorial [2013/10/25 14:52] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-= sqlite: a command-line program to administer SQLite databases =
+====== 'sqlite' Tutorial for POPFile 0.21.0 to 1.0.1 ======
-== Introduction ==
+**'sqlite'** is a command-line program to administer SQLite 2.x databases as used by POPFile 0.21.0 to 1.0.1. This utility is called **''sqlite.exe''** or **''sqlite''** depending upon the platform. For simplicity this tutorial refers to the utility as **''sqlite''**.
-POPFile uses an SQLite database to hold essential information, such as the corpus used to classify the messages it handles. At present POPFile only works with SQLite 2.x libraries, even though SQLite 3.x libraries are available.
+^ POPFile 1.1.0 (or later) uses the SQLite 3.x format for its database which requires a different command-line program (**''sqlite3.exe''** or **''sqlite3''**). There is a [[http://www.sqlite.org/sqlite.html | tutorial]] showing how to use this SQLite 3.x format utility on the SQLite website.^
-The SQLite library includes a simple command-line utility that allows the user to manually enter and execute SQL commands against an SQLite database. Databases built using SQLite 2.x libraries are not compatible with databases built using the SQLite 3.x libraries. Therefore there are separate command-line utilities: <b>sqlite</b> for SQLite 2.x format databases and <b>sqlite3</b> for SQLite 3.x format databases.
-The SQLite web site only seems to document the <b>sqlite3</b> utility which is not compatible with the SQLite databases created by POPFile. The information on this wiki page is based upon an old page (last modified on 2004/05/31 15:06:30) from the SQLite web site which documented the features supported by the <b>sqlite</b> command-line utility.
-The SQLite web site still has some [http://www.sqlite.org/download.html download] links for the old <b>sqlite</b> command-line utility (listed under "Historial Binaries And Source Code").
+==== Introduction ====
-== Getting Started ==
+POPFile uses an SQLite database to hold essential information, such as the corpus used to classify the messages it handles. POPFile versions 0.21.0 to 1.0.1 only work with SQLite 2.x libraries (none of these versions can work with SQLite 3.x libraries).
-To start the <b>sqlite</b> program, just type "sqlite" (without the quotes!) followed by the name of the file that holds the SQLite database. If the file does not exist, a new one is created automatically. The <b>sqlite</b> program will then prompt you to enter SQL. Type in SQL statements (terminated by a semicolon), press "Enter" and the SQL will be executed.
+The SQLite library includes a simple command-line utility that allows the user to manually enter and execute SQL commands against an SQLite database. Databases built using SQLite 2.x libraries are not compatible with databases built using the SQLite 3.x libraries. Therefore there are separate command-line utilities: **''sqlite''** for SQLite 2.x format databases and **''sqlite3''** for SQLite 3.x format databases.
-For example, to create a new SQLite database named "ex1" with a single table named "tbl1", you might do this:
+The SQLite web site only seems to document the **''sqlite3''** utility which is not compatible with the SQLite databases created by POPFile 0.21.0 to 1.0.1 (POPFile 1.1.0, or later, uses SQLite 3.x). The information on this wiki page is based upon an old page (last modified on 2004/05/31 15:06:30) from the SQLite web site which documented the features supported by the **''sqlite''** command-line utility.
-: <tt>$ <b>sqlite ex1</b></tt>
+The SQLite web site's [[http://www.sqlite.org/download.html | download]] page no longer has links for the old **''sqlite''** command-line utility (Windows and Linux binary versions used to be listed under "Historical Binaries And Source Code") but the SQLite 2.8 source code is still available. (POPFile's Windows installer includes a SQLite 2.x version of the **''sqlite.exe''** command-line utility.)
-: <tt>SQLite version 2.8.15</tt>
-: <tt>Enter ".help" for instructions</tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint);</b></tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>insert into tbl1 values('hello!',10);</b></tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>insert into tbl1 values('goodbye', 20);</b></tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from tbl1;</b></tt>
-: <tt>hello!|10</tt>
-: <tt>goodbye|20</tt>
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
-You can terminate the sqlite program by typing your systems End-Of-File character (usually a Control-D) or the interrupt character (usually a Control-C).
+==== Getting Started ====
-Make sure you type a semicolon at the end of each SQL command! The sqlite looks for a semicolon to know when your SQL command is complete. If you omit the semicolon, <b>sqlite</b> will give you a continuation prompt and wait for you to enter more text to be added to the current SQL command. This feature allows you to enter SQL commands that span multiple lines. For example:
+To start the **''sqlite''** program, just type ''sqlite'' at the command prompt ((If you want to use ''sqlite'' with an existing SQLite database file it is best to change to the directory containing the database file before you run ''sqlite'')) followed by the name of the file that holds the SQLite database. If the file does not exist, a new one is created automatically (**NOTE**: The program **__will not__** warn that it has created an empty SQLite database). The **''sqlite''** program will then prompt you to enter SQL. Type in SQL statements (terminated by a semicolon), press "Enter" and the SQL will be executed.
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>CREATE TABLE tbl2 (<b></tt>
+For example, to create a new SQLite database named **''ex1''** with a single table named **''tbl1''**, you might do this:
-: <tt>   ...>   <b>f1 varchar(30) primary key,</b></tt>
-: <tt>   ...>   <b>f2 text,</b></tt>
-: <tt>   ...>   <b>f3 real</b></tt>
-: <tt>   ...> <b>);</b></tt>
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
-== Aside: Querying the SQLITE_MASTER table ==
-The database schema in an SQLite database is stored in a special table named "sqlite_master". You can execute "SELECT" statements against the special sqlite_master table just like any other table in an SQLite database. For example:
+<code>
+$ sqlite ex1
+SQLite version 2.8.17
+Enter ".help" for instructions
+sqlite> create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint);
+sqlite> insert into tbl1 values('hello!', 10);
+sqlite> insert into tbl1 values('goodbye', 20);
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
+hello!|10
+goodbye|20
+sqlite>
+</code>
-: <tt>$ <b>sqlite ex1</b></tt>
+You can terminate the **''sqlite''** program by typing your system's End-Of-File character (usually a Control-D) or the interrupt character (usually a Control-C).
-: <tt>SQLite version 2.8.15</tt>
-: <tt>Enter ".help" for instructions</tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from sqlite_master;</b></tt>
-: <tt>    type = table</tt>
-: <tt>    name = tbl1</tt>
-: <tt>tbl_name = tbl1</tt>
-: <tt>rootpage = 3</tt>
-: <tt>     sql = create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint)</tt>
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
-But you cannot execute DROP TABLE, UPDATE, INSERT or DELETE against the sqlite_master table. The sqlite_master table is updated automatically as you create or drop tables and indices from the database. You can not make manual changes to the sqlite_master table.
+Make sure you type a semicolon at the end of each SQL command! The **''sqlite''** program looks for a semicolon to know when your SQL command is complete. If you omit the semicolon, **''sqlite''** will give you a continuation prompt and wait for you to enter more text to be added to the current SQL command. This feature allows you to enter SQL commands that span multiple lines. For example:
-The schema for TEMPORARY tables is not stored in the "sqlite_master" table since TEMPORARY tables are not visible to applications other than the application that created the table. The schema for TEMPORARY tables is stored in another special table named "sqlite_temp_master". The "sqlite_temp_master" table is temporary itself.
+<code>
+sqlite> CREATE TABLE tbl2 (
+   ...> f1 varchar(30) primary key,
+   ...> f2 text,
+   ...> f3 real
+   ...> );
+sqlite>
+</code>
-== Special commands to sqlite ==
-Most of the time, sqlite just reads lines of input and passes them on to the SQLite library for execution. But if an input line begins with a dot ("."), then that line is intercepted and interpreted by the sqlite program itself. These "dot commands" are typically used to change the output format of queries, or to execute certain prepackaged query statements.
-For a listing of the available dot commands, you can enter ".help" at any time. For example:
+==== Aside: Querying the SQLITE_MASTER table ====
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.help</b></tt>
+The database schema in an SQLite database is stored in a special table named "''sqlite_master''". You can execute **SELECT** statements against the special "''sqlite_master''" table just like any other table in an SQLite database. For example:
-<pre>
+<code>
+$ sqlite ex1
+SQLite version 2.8.17
+Enter ".help" for instructions
+sqlite> .mode lines
+sqlite> select * from sqlite_master;
+    type = table
+    name = tbl1
+tbl_name = tbl1
+rootpage = 3
+     sql = create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint)
+sqlite>
+</code>
+But you cannot execute DROP TABLE, UPDATE, INSERT or DELETE against the "''sqlite_master''" table. The "''sqlite_master''" table is updated automatically as you create or drop tables and indices from the database. You can not make manual changes to the "''sqlite_master''" table.
+The schema for TEMPORARY tables is not stored in the "''sqlite_master''" table since TEMPORARY tables are not visible to applications other than the application that created the table. The schema for TEMPORARY tables is stored in another special table named "''sqlite_temp_master''". The "''sqlite_temp_master''" table is temporary itself.
+==== Special commands to 'sqlite' ====
+Most of the time, **''sqlite''** just reads lines of input and passes them on to the SQLite library for execution. But if an input line begins with a dot ("."), then that line is intercepted and interpreted by the **''sqlite''** program itself. These "dot commands" are typically used to change the output format of queries, or to execute certain prepackaged query statements.
+For a listing of the available dot commands, you can enter **''.help''** at any time. For example:
+<code>
+sqlite> .help
 .databases             List names and files of attached databases
 .dump ?TABLE? ...      Dump the database in a text format
@@ Line 89: / Line 106: @@
 .timeout MS            Try opening locked tables for MS milliseconds
 .width NUM NUM ...     Set column widths for "column" mode
-sqlite></pre>
+sqlite>
+</code>
-== Changing Output Formats ==
-The sqlite program is able to show the results of a query in five different formats: "line", "column", "list", "html", and "insert". You can use the ".mode" dot command to switch between these output formats.
-The default output mode is "list". In list mode, each record of a query result is written on one line of output and each column within that record is separated by a specific separator string. The default separator is a pipe symbol ("|"). List mode is especially useful when you are going to send the output of a query to another program (such as AWK) for additional processing.
+==== Changing Output Formats ====
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.mode list</b></tt>
+The **''sqlite''** program is able to show the results of a query in five different formats: "line", "column", "list", "html", and "insert". You can use the **''.mode''** dot command to switch between these output formats.
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from tbl1;</b></tt>
-: <tt>hello|10</tt>
-: <tt>goodbye|20</tt>
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
-You can use the ".separator" dot command to change the separator for list mode. For example, to change the separator to a comma and a space, you could do this:
+The default output mode is **list**. In list mode, each record of a query result is written on one line of output and each column within that record is separated by a specific separator string. The default separator is a pipe symbol ("|"). List mode is especially useful when you are going to send the output of a query to another program (such as AWK) for additional processing.
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.separator ", "</b></tt>
+<code>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from tbl1;</b></tt>
+sqlite> .mode list
-: <tt>hello, 10</tt>
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
-: <tt>goodbye, 20</tt>
+hello!|10
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
+goodbye|20
+sqlite>
+</code>
-In "line" mode, each column in a row of the database is shown on a line by itself. Each line consists of the column name, an equal sign and the column data. Successive records are separated by a blank line. Here is an example of line mode output:
+You can use the **''.separator''** dot command to change the separator for list mode. For example, to change the separator to a comma and a space, you could do this:
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.mode line</b></tt>
+<code>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from tbl1;</b></tt>
+sqlite> .separator ", "
-: <tt>one = hello</tt>
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
-: <tt>two = 10</tt>
+hello!, 10
+goodbye, 20
-: <tt>one = goodbye</tt>
+sqlite>
-: <tt>two = 20</tt>
+</code>
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
-In column mode, each record is shown on a separate line with the data aligned in columns. For example:
+In **line** mode, each column in a row of the database is shown on a line by itself. Each line consists of the column name, an equal sign and the column data. Successive records are separated by a blank line. Here is an example of line mode output:
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.mode column</b></tt>
+<code>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from tbl1;</b></tt>
+sqlite> .mode line
-<pre>one         two
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
+  one = hello!
+  two = 10
+  one = goodbye
+  two = 20
+sqlite>
+</code>
+In **column** mode, each record is shown on a separate line with the data aligned in columns. For example:
+<code>
+sqlite> .headers on
+sqlite> .mode column
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
+one         two
 ----------  ----------
-hello       10
+hello!      10
 goodbye     20
-sqlite></pre>
+sqlite>
+</code>
-By default, each column is at least 10 characters wide. Data that is too wide to fit in a column is truncated. You can adjust the column widths using the ".width" command. Like this:
+By default, each column is at least 10 characters wide. Data that is too wide to fit in a column is truncated. You can adjust the column widths using the **''.width''** command. Like this:
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.width 12 6</b></tt>
+<code>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from tbl1;</b></tt>
+sqlite> .headers on
-<pre>one           two
+sqlite> .mode column
+sqlite> .width 12 6
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
+one           two
 ------------  ------
-hello         10
+hello!        10
 goodbye       20
-sqlite></pre>
+sqlite>
+</code>
-The ".width" command in the example above sets the width of the first column to 12 and the width of the second column to 6. All other column widths were unaltered. You can gives as many arguments to ".width" as necessary to specify the widths of as many columns as are in your query results.
+The **''.width''** command in the example above sets the width of the first column to 12 and the width of the second column to 6. All other column widths were unaltered. You can gives as many arguments to **''.width''** as necessary to specify the widths of as many columns as are in your query results.
 If you specify a column a width of 0, then the column width is automatically adjusted to be the maximum of three numbers: 10, the width of the header, and the width of the first row of data. This makes the column width self-adjusting. The default width setting for every column is this auto-adjusting 0 value.
-The column labels that appear on the first two lines of output can be turned on and off using the ".header" dot command. In the examples above, the column labels are on. To turn them off you could do this:
+The column labels that appear on the first two lines of output can be turned on and off using the **''.header''** dot command. In the examples above, the column labels are on. To turn them off you could do this:
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.header off</b></tt>
+<code>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from tbl1;</b></tt>
+sqlite> .header off
-: <tt>hello         10</tt>
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
-: <tt>goodbye       20</tt>
+hello!        10
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
+goodbye       20
+sqlite>
+</code>
-Another useful output mode is "insert". In insert mode, the output is formatted to look like SQL INSERT statements. You can use insert mode to generate text that can later be used to input data into a different database.
+Another useful output mode is **insert**. In **insert** mode, the output is formatted to look like SQL INSERT statements. You can use **insert** mode to generate text that can later be used to input data into a different database.
-When specifying insert mode, you have to give an extra argument which is the name of the table to be inserted into. For example:
+When specifying **insert** mode, you have to give an extra argument which is the name of the table to be inserted into. For example:
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.mode insert new_table</b></tt>
+<code>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from tbl1;</b></tt>
+sqlite> .mode insert new_table
-: <tt>INSERT INTO 'new_table' VALUES('hello',10);</tt>
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
-: <tt>INSERT INTO 'new_table' VALUES('goodbye',20);</tt>
+INSERT INTO new_table VALUES('hello!',10);
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
+INSERT INTO new_table VALUES('goodbye',20);
+sqlite>
+</code>
-The last output mode is "html". In this mode, sqlite writes the results of the query as an XHTML table. The beginning <TABLE> and the ending </TABLE> are not written, but all of the intervening <TR>s, <TH>s, and <TD>s are. The html output mode is envisioned as being useful for CGI.
+The last output mode is **html**. In this mode, **''sqlite''** writes the results of the query as an XHTML table. The beginning <TABLE> and the ending </TABLE> are not written, but all of the intervening <TR>s, <TH>s, and <TD>s are. For example:
-== Writing results to a file ==
+<code>
+sqlite> .mode html
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
+<TR><TD>hello!</TD>
+<TD>10</TD>
+</TR>
+<TR><TD>goodbye</TD>
+<TD>20</TD>
+</TR>
+sqlite>
+</code>
-By default, sqlite sends query results to standard output. You can change this using the ".output" command. Just put the name of an output file as an argument to the .output command and all subsequent query results will be written to that file. Use ".output stdout" to begin writing to standard output again. For example:
+The **html** output mode is envisioned as being useful for CGI.
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.mode list</b></tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.separator |</b></tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.output test_file_1.txt</b></tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>select * from tbl1;</b></tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.exit</b></tt>
-: <tt>$ <b>cat test_file_1.txt</b></tt>
-: <tt>hello|10</tt>
-: <tt>goodbye|20</tt>
-: <tt>$</tt>
-== Querying the database schema ==
-The sqlite program provides several convenience commands that are useful for looking at the schema of the database. There is nothing that these commands do that cannot be done by some other means. These commands are provided purely as a shortcut.
+==== Writing results to a file ====
-For example, to see a list of the tables in the database, you can enter ".tables".
+By default, **''sqlite''** sends query results to standard output. You can change this using the **''.output''** command. Just put the name of an output file as an argument to the **''.output''** command and all subsequent query results will be written to that file. Use **''.output stdout''** to begin writing to standard output again. For example:
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.tables</b></tt>
+<code>
-: <tt>tbl1</tt>
+sqlite> .mode list
-: <tt>tbl2</tt>
+sqlite> .separator |
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
+sqlite> .output test_file_1.txt
+sqlite> select * from tbl1;
+sqlite> .exit
+$ cat test_file_1.txt
+hello!|10
+goodbye|20
+$
+</code>
-The ".tables" command is the same as setting list mode then executing the following query:
-: <tt>SELECT name FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table'</tt>
-: <tt>UNION ALL SELECT name FROM sqlite_temp_master WHERE type='table'</tt>
-: <tt>ORDER BY name;</tt>
-In fact, if you look at the source code to the sqlite program (found in the source tree in the file src/shell.c) you'll find exactly the above query.
-The ".indices" command works in a similar way to list all of the indices for a particular table. The ".indices" command takes a single argument which is the name of the table for which the indices are desired. Last, but not least, is the ".schema" command. With no arguments, the ".schema" command shows the original CREATE TABLE and CREATE INDEX statements that were used to build the current database. If you give the name of a table to ".schema", it shows the original CREATE statement used to make that table and all if its indices. We have:
+==== Querying the database schema ====
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.schema</b></tt>
+The **''sqlite''** program provides several convenience commands that are useful for looking at the schema of the database. There is nothing that these commands do that cannot be done by some other means. These commands are provided purely as a shortcut.
-: <tt>create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint)</tt>
-: <tt>CREATE TABLE tbl2 (</tt>
-: <tt>  f1 varchar(30) primary key,</tt>
-: <tt>  f2 text,</tt>
-: <tt>  f3 real</tt>
-: <tt>)</tt>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.schema tbl2</b></tt>
-: <tt>CREATE TABLE tbl2 (</tt>
-: <tt>  f1 varchar(30) primary key,</tt>
-: <tt>  f2 text,</tt>
-: <tt>  f3 real</tt>
-: <tt>)</tt>
-: <tt>sqlite></tt>
-The ".schema" command accomplishes the same thing as setting list mode, then entering the following query:
+For example, to see a list of the tables in the database, you can enter **''.tables''**.
-: <tt>SELECT sql FROM</tt>
+<code>
-: <tt>   (SELECT * FROM sqlite_master UNION ALL</tt>
+sqlite> .tables
-: <tt>    SELECT * FROM sqlite_temp_master)</tt>
+tbl1  tbl2
-: <tt>WHERE type!='meta'</tt>
+sqlite>
-: <tt>ORDER BY tbl_name, type DESC, name</tt>
+</code>
-Or, if you give an argument to ".schema" because you only want the schema for a single table, the query looks like this:
+The **''.tables''** command is equvalent to executing the following query:
-: <tt>SELECT sql FROM</tt>
+<code sql>
-: <tt>   (SELECT * FROM sqlite_master UNION ALL</tt>
+SELECT name FROM sqlite_master WHERE type='table'
-: <tt>    SELECT * FROM sqlite_temp_master)</tt>
+UNION ALL SELECT name FROM sqlite_temp_master WHERE type='table'
-: <tt>WHERE tbl_name LIKE '%s' AND type!='meta'</tt>
+ORDER BY name;
-: <tt>ORDER BY type DESC, name</tt>
+</code>
-The <b>%s</b> in the query above is replaced by the argument to ".schema", of course. Notice that the argument to the ".schema" command appears to the right of an SQL LIKE operator. So you can use wildcards in the name of the table. For example, to get the schema for all tables whose names contain the character string "abc" you could enter:
+In fact, if you look at the source code to the **''sqlite''** program (found in the source tree in the file src/shell.c) you'll find exactly the above query.
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.schema %abc%</b></tt>
+The **''.indices''** command works in a similar way to list all of the indices for a particular table. The **''.indices''** command takes a single argument which is the name of the table for which the indices are desired.
-Along these same lines, the ".table" command also accepts a pattern as its first argument. If you give an argument to the .table command, a "%" is both appended and prepended and a LIKE clause is added to the query. This allows you to list only those tables that match a particular pattern.
+Last, but not least, is the **''.schema''** command. With no arguments, the **''.schema''** command shows the original CREATE TABLE and CREATE INDEX statements that were used to build the current database. If you give the name of a table to **''.schema''**, it shows the original CREATE statement used to make that table and all if its indices. We have:
-The ".databases" command shows a list of all databases open in the current connection. There will always be at least 2. The first one is "main", the original database opened. The second is "temp", the database used for temporary tables. There may be additional databases listed for databases attached using the ATTACH statement. The first output column is the name the database is attached with, and the second column is the filename of the external file.
+<code>
+sqlite> .schema
+create table tbl1(one varchar(10), two smallint)
+CREATE TABLE tbl2 (
+  f1 varchar(30) primary key,
+  f2 text,
+  f3 real
+)
+sqlite> .schema tbl2
+CREATE TABLE tbl2 (
+  f1 varchar(30) primary key,
+  f2 text,
+  f3 real
+)
+sqlite>
+</code>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.databases</b></tt>
+The **''.schema''** command accomplishes the same thing as setting list mode, then entering the following query:
-== Converting An Entire Database To An ASCII Text File ==
+<code sql>
+ SELECT sql FROM
+    (SELECT * FROM sqlite_master UNION ALL
+     SELECT * FROM sqlite_temp_master)
+ WHERE type!='meta'
+ ORDER BY tbl_name, type DESC, name;
+</code>
-Use the ".dump" command to convert the entire contents of a database into a single ASCII text file. This file can be converted back into a database by piping it back into <b>sqlite</b>.
+Or, if you give an argument to **''.schema''** because you only want the schema for a single table, the query looks like this:
+<code sql>
+SELECT sql FROM
+   (SELECT * FROM sqlite_master UNION ALL
+    SELECT * FROM sqlite_temp_master)
+WHERE tbl_name LIKE '%s' AND type!='meta'
+ORDER BY type DESC, name;
+</code>
+The **%s** in the query above is replaced by the argument to **''.schema''**, of course. Notice that the argument to the **''.schema''** command appears to the right of an SQL LIKE operator. So you can use wildcards in the name of the table. For example, to get the schema for all tables whose names contain the character string "abc" you could enter:
+<code>sqlite> .schema %abc%</code>
+Along these same lines, the **''.table''** command also accepts a pattern as its first argument. If you give an argument to the **''.table''** command, a "%" is both appended and prepended and a LIKE clause is added to the query. This allows you to list only those tables that match a particular pattern.
+The **''.databases''** command shows a list of all databases open in the current connection. There will always be at least 2. The first one is "main", the original database opened. The second is "temp", the database used for temporary tables. There may be additional databases listed for databases attached using the ATTACH statement. The first output column is the name the database is attached with, and the second column is the filename of the external file.
+<code>
+C:\TEMP> sqlite ex1.db
+SQLite version 2.8.17
+Enter ".help" for instructions
+sqlite> .databases
+seq  name             file
+---  ---------------  ---------------------------------
+    main             C:\TEMP\ex1.db
+    temp             C:\TEMP\sqlite_wk2nfpGbeTwPGOz
+sqlite>
+</code>
+==== Converting An Entire Database To An ASCII Text File ====
+Use the **''.dump''** command to convert the entire contents of a database into a single ASCII text file. This file can be converted back into a database by piping it back into **''sqlite''**.
 A good way to make an archival copy of a database is this:
-: <tt>$ <b>echo '.dump' | sqlite ex1 | gzip -c >ex1.dump.gz</b></tt>
+<code bash>$ echo '.dump' | sqlite ex1 | gzip -c >ex1.dump.gz</code>
+This generates a file named **''ex1.dump.gz''** that contains everything you need to reconstruct the database at a later time, or on another machine. To reconstruct the database, just type:
+<code bash>$ zcat ex1.dump.gz | sqlite ex2</code>
+The text format used is the same as used by %%PostgreSQL%%, so you can also use the **''.dump''** command to export an SQLite database into a %%PostgreSQL%% database. Like this:
+<code bash>
+$ createdb ex2
+$ echo '.dump' | sqlite ex1 | psql ex2
+</code>
+You can almost (but not quite) go the other way and export a %%PostgreSQL%% database into SQLite using the **pg_dump** utility. Unfortunately, when **pg_dump** writes the database schema information, it uses some SQL syntax that SQLite does not understand. So you cannot pipe the output of **pg_dump** directly into **''sqlite''**. But if you can recreate the schema separately, you can use **pg_dump** with the **-a** option to list just the data of a %%PostgreSQL%% database and import that directly into SQLite.
+<code bash>
+$ sqlite ex3 <schema.sq1
+$ pg_dump -a ex2 | sqlite ex3
+</code>
+==== Other Dot Commands ====
-This generates a file named <b>ex1.dump.gz</b> that contains everything you need to reconstruct the database at a later time, or on another machine. To reconstruct the database, just type:
+The **''.explain''** dot command can be used to set the output mode to **column** and to set the column widths to values that are reasonable for looking at the output of an EXPLAIN command. The EXPLAIN command is an SQLite-specific SQL extension that is useful for debugging. If any regular SQL is prefaced by EXPLAIN, then the SQL command is parsed and analyzed but is not executed. Instead, the sequence of virtual machine instructions that would have been used to execute the SQL command are returned like a query result. For example:
-: <tt>$ <b>zcat ex1.dump.gz | sqlite ex2</b></tt>
+<code>
+sqlite> .explain
+sqlite> explain delete from tbl1 where two<20;
+addr  opcode        p1          p2          p3
+----  ------------  ----------  ----------  ----------
+     Transaction   0           0
+     VerifyCookie  0           180
+     Transaction   1           0
+     Integer       0           0
+     OpenRead      0           3           tbl1
+     Rewind        0           12
+     Column        0           1
+     Integer       20          0           20
+     Ge            1           11
+     Recno         0           0
+    ListWrite     0           0
+    Next          0           6
+    Close         0           0
+    ListRewind    0           0
+    Integer       0           0
+    OpenWrite     0           3           tbl1
+    ListRead      0           20
+    NotExists     0           19
+    Delete        0           5
+    Goto          0           16
+    ListReset     0           0
+    Close         0           0
+    SetCounts     0           0
+    Commit        0           0
+    Halt          0           0
+sqlite>
+</code>
-The text format used is the same as used by PostgreSQL, so you can also use the .dump command to export an SQLite database into a PostgreSQL database. Like this:
+The **''.timeout''** command sets the amount of time that the **''sqlite''** program will wait for locks to clear on files it is trying to access before returning an error. The default value of the timeout is zero so that an error is returned immediately if any needed database table or index is locked.
-: <tt>$ <b>createdb ex2</b></tt>
+And finally, we mention the **''.exit''** command which causes the **''sqlite''** program to exit (**''.quit''** and **''.q''** can also be used to exit).
-: <tt>$ <b>echo '.dump' | sqlite ex1 | psql ex2</b></tt>
-You can almost (but not quite) go the other way and export a PostgreSQL database into SQLite using the <b>pg_dump</b> utility. Unfortunately, when <b>pg_dump</b> writes the database schema information, it uses some SQL syntax that SQLite does not understand. So you cannot pipe the output of <b>pg_dump</b> directly into <b>sqlite</b>. But if you can recreate the schema separately, you can use <b>pg_dump</b> with the <b>-a</b> option to list just the data of a PostgreSQL database and import that directly into SQLite.
-: <tt>$ <b>sqlite ex3 <schema.sq1</b></tt>
-: <tt>$ <b>pg_dump -a ex2 | sqlite ex3</b></tt>
-== Other Dot Commands ==
+==== Using sqlite in a shell script ====
-The ".explain" dot command can be used to set the output mode to "column" and to set the column widths to values that are reasonable for looking at the output of an EXPLAIN command. The EXPLAIN command is an SQLite-specific SQL extension that is useful for debugging. If any regular SQL is prefaced by EXPLAIN, then the SQL command is parsed and analyzed but is not executed. Instead, the sequence of virtual machine instructions that would have been used to execute the SQL command are returned like a query result. For example:
+One way to use **''sqlite''** in a shell script is to use **''echo''** or **''cat''** to generate a sequence of commands in a file, then invoke **''sqlite''** while redirecting input from the generated command file. This works fine and is appropriate in many circumstances. But as an added convenience, **''sqlite''** allows a single SQL command to be entered on the command line as a second argument after the database name. When the **''sqlite''** program is launched with two arguments, the second argument is passed to the SQLite library for processing, the query results are printed on standard output in list mode, and the program exits. This mechanism is designed to make **''sqlite''** easy to use in conjunction with programs like **''awk''**. For example:
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>.explain</b></tt>
+<code bash>
-: <tt>sqlite> <b>explain delete from tbl1 where two<20;</b></tt>
+$ sqlite ex1 'select * from tbl1' |
-<pre>
+>  awk '{printf "<tr><td>%s<td>%s\n",$1,$2 }'
- addr  opcode        p1     p2     p3
+<tr><td>hello<td>10
- ----  ------------  -----  -----  --------------
+<tr><td>goodbye<td>20
-     ListOpen      0      0
+$</code>
-     Open          0      1      tbl1
-     Next          0      9
-     Field         0      1
-     Integer       20     0
-     Ge            0      2
-     Key           0      0
-     ListWrite     0      0
-     Goto          0      2
-     Noop          0      0
-    ListRewind    0      0
-    ListRead      0      14
-    Delete        0      0
-    Goto          0      11
-    ListClose     0      0</pre>
-The ".timeout" command sets the amount of time that the <b>sqlite</b> program will wait for locks to clear on files it is trying to access before returning an error. The default value of the timeout is zero so that an error is returned immediately if any needed database table or index is locked.
-And finally, we mention the ".exit" command which causes the sqlite program to exit.
-== Using sqlite in a shell script ==
+==== Ending shell commands ====
-One way to use sqlite in a shell script is to use "echo" or "cat" to generate a sequence of commands in a file, then invoke sqlite while redirecting input from the generated command file. This works fine and is appropriate in many circumstances. But as an added convenience, sqlite allows a single SQL command to be entered on the command line as a second argument after the database name. When the sqlite program is launched with two arguments, the second argument is passed to the SQLite library for processing, the query results are printed on standard output in list mode, and the program exits. This mechanism is designed to make sqlite easy to use in conjunction with programs like "awk". For example:
+SQLite commands are normally terminated by a semicolon. In the shell you can also use the word "GO" (case-insensitive) or a backslash character "\" on a line by itself to end a command. These are used by SQL Server and Oracle, respectively. These won't work in **sqlite_exec()**, because the shell translates these into a semicolon before passing them to that function.
-: <tt>$ <b>sqlite ex1 'select * from tbl1' |</b></tt>
-: <tt>>  <b>awk '{printf "<tr><td>%s<td>%s\n",$1,$2 }'</b></tt>
-: <tt><tr><td>hello<td>10</tt>
-: <tt><tr><td>goodbye<td>20</tt>
-: <tt>$</tt>
-== Ending shell commands ==
-SQLite commands are normally terminated by a semicolon. In the shell you can also use the word "GO" (case-insensitive) or a backslash character "\" on a line by itself to end a command. These are used by SQL Server and Oracle, respectively. These won't work in <b>sqlite_exec()</b>, because the shell translates these into a semicolon before passing them to that function.
+==== Compiling the sqlite program from sources ====
-== Compiling the sqlite program from sources ==
+The **''sqlite''** program is built automatically when you compile the SQLite library. Just get a copy of the source tree, run **''configure''** and then **''make''**.
-The sqlite program is built automatically when you compile the sqlite library. Just get a copy of the source tree, run "configure" and then "make".

POPFile - Automatic Email Classification

'sqlite' Tutorial for POPFile 0.21.0 to 1.0.1

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