SQL error: not an error

“SQL error: not an error” is an odd SQLite error message that can be confusing. It stumped me for a moment. The fix is quite simple:

C:\Android\android-sdk-windows\tools>adb -e shell
# sqlite3 /data/data/com.pod.tripsnmiles/tripsnmiles/tripsnmiles
sqlite3 /data/data/com.pod.tripsnmiles/tripsnmiles/tripsnmiles
SQLite version 3.5.9
Enter ".help" for instructions
sqlite> select * from trip;
select * from trip;
SQL error: not an error
sqlite>

But then it dawned on me:

sqlite> .tables
.tables
sqlite>

I entered the wrong path and the database was not even open. SQLite does not report an error when you pass it a non-existent database. I actually tries to create a new one.

# sqlite3 /data/data/com.pod.tripsnmiles/databases/tripsnmiles
sqlite3 /data/data/com.pod.tripsnmiles/databases/tripsnmiles
SQLite version 3.5.9
Enter ".help" for instructions
sqlite> .tables
.tables
android_metadata  setup             vehicle
gas               trip
sqlite>

Now this looks better.