In PostgreSQL, you can get the day name from a date by using the to_char()
function. This function returns a string based on the timestamp and the template pattern you provide as arguments..
Tag: how to
Get the Short Month Name in PostgreSQL
In PostgreSQL, you can use the to_char()
function to get the short month name from a date.
By “short month name” I mean the abbreviated month name, for example Jan, Feb, Mar, etc.
The to_char()
function accepts two parameters; the date and the format string with which to format that date.
Set a Default Value for a Column in SQLite: DEFAULT Constraint
When creating a table in SQLite, you have the option of adding constraints to each column.
One such constraint is the DEFAULT
constraint.
The DEFAULT
constraint allows you to specify a value to be used in the event no value is supplied for that column when a new row is inserted.
If you don’t use a DEFAULT
clause, then the default value for a column is NULL
.
Add a Generated Column to a Table in SQLite
You can add a generated column to an existing table in SQLite by using the ALTER TABLE
statement.
SQLite’s implementation of the ALTER TABLE
statement is very limited, but it does allow you to add a column – including generated columns.
Generated columns (also known as “computed columns”) are columns that get their value from an expression that computes values from other columns.
Continue readingHow to Create a Computed Column in SQLite
Generated column support was added to SQLite in version 3.31.0, which was released on 22 January 2020.
Generated columns and computed columns are the same thing. They are columns whose values are a function of other columns in the same row.
In SQLite, generated columns are created using the GENERATED ALWAYS
column-constraint when creating or altering the table.
There are two types of generated column; STORED
and VIRTUAL
. Only VIRTUAL
columns can be added when altering a table. Both types can be added when creating a table.
Add a Column to an Existing Table in SQLite
In SQLite, you can use the ALTER TABLE
statement to add a column to an existing table.
This is actually one of the few things you can do with the ALTER TABLE
statement in SQLite. The only things you can do with the ALTER TABLE
statement in SQLite is rename a table, rename a column, and add a new column to an existing table.
Convert NULL Values to the Column’s Default Value when Inserting Data in SQLite
One of SQLite‘s non-standard extensions to SQL is the ON CONFLICT
clause.
This clause allows you to determine what should happen when certain conflicts occur due to a constraint violation.
One of the things you can use this clause for is to replace NULL
values with a column’s default value when inserting or updating data in a table.
By default, if you try to explicitly insert NULL
into a column with a NOT NULL
constraint, it will fail.
And if you try to explicitly insert NULL
into a column without a NOT NULL
constraint, then NULL
will be assigned to that column, even if there’s a DEFAULT
clause.
However, you can use the ON CONFLICT
clause to set it to the default value instead of NULL
.
How to Skip Rows that Violate Constraints When Inserting Data in SQLite
In SQLite, when you try to insert multiple rows into a table, and any of those rows violates a constraint on that table, the operation will fail.
This is to be expected, after all, that’s what the constraint is for.
But what if you just want to ignore any rows that violate constraints? In other words, if a row violates a constraint, you want SQLite to skip that row, then carry on processing the next row, and so on.
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to do this in SQLite.
Continue reading4 Ways to Get Information about a Table’s Structure in SQLite
Sometimes you just want to see the basic structure of a table.
In SQLite, there are several ways to retrieve information about a given table. In particular, here are four options:
- The
PRAGMA table_info()
statement - The
PRAGMA table_xinfo()
statement (for virtual tables) - The
.schema
command - The
sqlite_master
table
Examples of each method are below.
Continue reading3 Ways to Backup an SQLite Database
When it comes to backing up your databases in SQLite, you have a few options as to how to go about it.
In particular, you can use one of the following methods:
- Use the
.backup
command to back up a specified database - Use the
.dump
command to export the database to a .sql file - Use the
.clone
command to clone the database