Odd NSString Behavior "warning: Unable to read symbols for..." - iphone

I have an object that handles database actions. It initiates with:
-(id)init{
databaseName = #"WhoPaidLast.sql";
// I think this one gets it from the app whereas the next one gets it from the phone
// databasePath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"WhoPaidLast" ofType:#"sql"];
// Get the path to the documents directory and append the databaseName
NSArray *documentPaths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDir = [documentPaths objectAtIndex:0];
self.databasePath = [documentsDir stringByAppendingPathComponent:databaseName];
// Execute the "checkAndCreateDatabase" function
[self checkAndCreateDatabase];
return self;
At the end of this I check the db:
-(void) checkAndCreateDatabase{
// Check if the SQL database has already been saved to the users phone, if not then copy it over
BOOL success;
// Create a FileManager object, we will use this to check the status
// of the database and to copy it over if required
NSFileManager *fileManager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
// Check if the database has already been created in the users filesystem
success = [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:self.databasePath];
// If the database already exists then return without doing anything
if(success) return;
// If not then proceed to copy the database from the application to the users filesystem
// Get the path to the database in the application package
NSString *databasePathFromApp = [[[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath] stringByAppendingPathComponent:databaseName];
// Copy the database from the package to the users filesystem
[fileManager copyItemAtPath:databasePathFromApp toPath:self.databasePath error:nil];
//[fileManager release];
}
After this, when I go to use databasePath I only seem to be able to use it once before it throws this error:
warning: Unable to read symbols for /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/DeviceSupport/4.3.1 (8G4)/Symbols/Developer/usr/lib/libXcodeDebuggerSupport.dylib (file not found).
I have a function that returns a bunch of values from the database. The first time detabasePath is used it works fine and outputs the intended value, the second time it throws the above error.
Here is the beginning of that function:
// Setup the database object
sqlite3 *database;
// Init groupsArray
groupsArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
NSLog(#"r- %#",self.databasePath);
NSLog(#"s- %#",self.databasePath);
// Open the database from the users filessytem
if(sqlite3_open([self.databasePath UTF8String], &database) == SQLITE_OK) {
If I remove the second NSLog function then it errors the next time databasePath is used. If I remove both it'll work for the sqlite3_open function but error on the next use.
If anyone knows the source of my error and/or what I might be doing wrong I'd very much appreciate your help.
Thanks.

There look to be a number of memory-management-related errors in the above code. I'm guessing that the debugger error you're seeing is due to a memory-related crash that the debugger isn't quite able to latch onto to give you a stack trace.
First off, your -init method never calls this on the superclass, which is not right. You need to have something like
if (!(self = [super init]))
{
return nil;
}
at the start of that method.
That alone should lead to all kinds of fun crashes. Beyond that, make sure that the databasePath property is set to use copy or retain (preferably copy, given that it's an NSString), or it won't hold on to the autoreleased object returned by [documentsDir stringByAppendingPathComponent:databaseName].
Also, I know you have it commented out, but don't use [fileManager release]. That's a shared instance you get back from [NSFileManager defaultManager] and you haven't retained it, so releasing that would lead to bad things.
You could try to enable breakpoints and turn NSZombie on to find your specific crash location, but I bet the cause is one of the factors I list above.

This is a bug of iOS/ Xcode 4
Enter the following 2 commands in Terminal
cd /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/DeviceSupport/4.3.1\ \(8G4\)/Symbols/
sudo ln -s /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/iPhoneOS4.3.sdk/Developer/ Developer
Clean (shift+cmd+k) the project before run it. And the problem should solved.
Ref: http://blog.damore.it/2011/04/xcode4-debugging-problem-warning-unable.html

Related

How to overwrite a SQLite DB in iOS

i have created an App in where i am using a SQLlite Database...I copy that Database, if needed, in the NSCaches Directory at the first start of the app with the following method:
- (void) copyDatabaseIfNeeded {
//Using NSFileManager we can perform many file system operations.
NSFileManager *fileManager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
NSError *error;
NSString *dbPath = [self getDBPath];
BOOL success = [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:dbPath];
if(!success) {
NSString *defaultDBPath = [[[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath] stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"datenbankSpeed"];
success = [fileManager copyItemAtPath:defaultDBPath toPath:dbPath error:&error];
if (!success)
NSAssert1(0, #"Failed to create writable database file with message '%#'.", [error localizedDescription]);
}
}
- (NSString *) getDBPath {
//Search for standard documents using NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains
//First Param = Searching the documents directory
//Second Param = Searching the Users directory and not the System
//Expand any tildes and identify home directories.
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSCachesDirectory , NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDir = [paths lastObject];
return [documentsDir stringByAppendingPathComponent:#"datenbankSpeed"];
}
My problem is, if i change sth in the Database- file and create a new App File for my Customers, they install the new App over the old App but the old Database is still in use, which will result in a crash!
I'm assuming the problem is only when you change your db schema. Create a version table in the sqlite database and add a column schema_version and populate it with a value from your code. Now, whenever you change your sql schema, update schema_version number in your code. In copyDatabaseIfNeeded, check if you have existing db file, open it and read schema_version. If this version is the same as your current version, then you're fine. Else, you need to migrate the schema. You'll probably also want to migrate the data into the new schema as well.
EDIT: To clarify - in copyDatabaseIfNeeded, do the following:
int version = ... // read schema_version from db
if (version != kCurrentSchemaVersion)
{
// convert the schema into new version preserving data if required.
// this can be a multi-step process. Eg. if user directly upgrades to schema_version 3
// after schema_version 1, first you'll convert from 1->2, then 2->3.
}
You might also want to take a look at PRAGMA user_version as mentioned by #Martin in the comments.

SQLite3 on iPhone - insert returns error code 8 attempt to write a readonly database

So, I have been beating my head against the wall on this for about a week now.
I'm writing an iPhone app that has an sqlite database in it. I'm able to open the database and read from it (I put some test data in there through via the command line / terminal), select specific data, etc. But, what I cannot do is insert into the database from the phone. When I execute sqlite3_exec(...) it returns error code 8 "attempt to write a readonly database."
I had read other questions on here saying that I was using the Main Bundle's database and not the users database, and that the simulator will often times just "let you do it" while on a live device you'll get an error. Well, that's not what's happening in my case - I'm getting this error while running on the simulator. And from what I can tell my code to check the database is exactly as a lot of others recommend it to be.
Here is the code I use to verify the database exists, and if it doesn't I copy it:
// initialize db (if not already)
+(void) checkDatabase {
// setup some variables
Boolean success;
dbName = #"daarma.sqlite";
NSArray *documentPath = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDirectory, YES);
// I have tried this with both NSUserDirectory and NSUserDomainMask, desn't seem to make a difference
NSString *documentsDir = [documentPath objectAtIndex:0];
dbPath = [documentsDir stringByAppendingPathComponent:dbName];
// dbPath = [[NSBundle mainBundle] pathForResource:#"daarma" ofType:#"sqlite"];
// check to see if the database already exists
NSFileManager *fm = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
success = [fm fileExistsAtPath:dbPath];
if(success) {
NSLog(#"Database exists, returning.");
return;
}
// if not, we create it
NSLog(#"Creating database in user profile...");
NSString *dbPathFromApp = [[[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath] stringByAppendingPathComponent:dbName];
[fm copyItemAtPath:dbPathFromApp toPath:dbPath error:nil];
[fm release];
[documentPath release];
[documentsDir release];
}
When I go to insert data using this:
sqlite3 *db;
int open = sqlite3_open_v2([dbPath UTF8String], &db, -1, NULL);
if(open == 0) {
NSLog(#"open, inserting");
NSString *sql = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"insert into affiliates values('1','2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9','10','11','12')"];
int exec = sqlite3_exec(db, [sql UTF8String], NULL, NULL, NULL);
NSLog(#"exec = %d",exec);
}
sqlite3_close(db);
exec returns with the above mentioned error code 8: ""attempt to write a readonly database."
I've also tried the usual restarts, cleaning the project, resetting the simulator data. I even went in to my Simulator directory and deleted all the application data out manually. When I tried to go back in, it recognized the database wasn't there and copied it over, but I still get that error.
EDIT:
I've just noticed that if I do this in the checkDatabase method:
NSError *error;
[fm copyItemAtPath:dbPathFromApp toPath:dbPath error:&error];
NSLog(#"error = %#",error);
it causes the simulator to crash the first go around (after doing a content reset), but each time after that it resumes the above error with no crashes. So maybe I am doing something wrong with my checkDatabase method. ?? :( It never tells me the output of the error message.
try to change the open function to this
sqlite3_open_v2([dbPath UTF8String], &db, SQLITE_OPEN_READWRITE , NULL);
or basically use the trivial open function
Sqlite3_open([dbPath UTF8String],&db);// this should do the job
hope that helps :)
I tried your code, and it failed with open = 21 (SQLITE_MISUSE) in the following line:
int open = sqlite3_open_v2([dbPath UTF8String], &db, -1, NULL);
Because you pass -1 to flags parameter. It should be SQLITE_OPEN_READWRITE.
I have some more comments.
[fm release];
[documentPath release];
[documentsDir release];
These release's are not necessary, because you don't alloc/init, retain, or copy them.
NSString *sql = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"insert into affiliates values('1','2','3','4','5','6','7','8','9','10','11','12')"];
int exec = sqlite3_exec(db, [sql UTF8String], NULL, NULL, NULL);
You should use sqlite3_prepare_v2 and bind parameters instead of stringWithFormat: for SQL.
if(open == 0) { ... }
Whenever possible, you should use symbolic constant (SQLITE_OK) instead of magic number (0).
NSError *error;
[fm copyItemAtPath:dbPathFromApp toPath:dbPath error:&error];
NSLog(#"error = %#",error);
You should initialize error = nil before calling copyItemAtPath: because error is not changed when the copy operation succeeds.

iPhone app database

So I can access a read-only SQLite database inside an iPhone / iPod app (Objective-C), but I'm writing a new app that will have a writable database. Obviously, the r/w file has to be in the user-writable directory. My question is, should I ship an empty database with the application and copy it over to the r/w location, or create the r/w database on the fly the first time the app launches?
You can do either, but it will be much easier (and less error prone) for you to create an empty database, put it in your bundle and then do this in your AppDelegate.m file:
- (void)prepareDatabase
{
//add Database Versioning check to see if the resources database is newer
// generally as simple as naming your database with a version on the end
NSFileManager *filemanager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
NSString *databasePath = [[NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES) objectAtIndex:0] stringByAppendingString:#"/YOURDATABASE.s3db"];
if(![filemanager fileExistsAtPath:databasePath]) {
//Database doesn't exist yet, so we copy it from our resources
NSString *defaultDBPath = [[[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath] stringByAppendingString:#"/YOURDATABASE.s3db"];
if([filemanager copyItemAtPath:defaultDBPath toPath:databasePath error:nil]) {
NSLog(#"Database Copied from resources");
} else {
NSLog(#"Database copy FAILED from %# to %#",defaultDBPath,databasePath);
}
}
}
Then in your applicationDidFinishLaunching: method call this:
[self prepareDatabase];

How to keep existing database on app update?

I have an iPhone app that use an Sqlite database to store some data and some user configurations. The problem that I'm having is that when I submit an update of my application, the existing database on the user installation is overwrite with the empty database and the users lost their configurations. I'm sure it can not be too difficult to avoid this, but I don't know how to do it.
This is my code of the method that create the copy of the db:
// Creates a writable copy of the bundled default database in the application Documents directory.
- (void)createEditableCopyOfDatabaseIfNeeded {
// First, test for existence.
BOOL success;
NSFileManager *fileManager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
NSError *error;
NSString *writableDBPath = [self databasePath];
success = [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:writableDBPath];
if (!success) {
// The writable database does not exist, so copy the default to the appropriate location.
//NSLog(dbName);
NSString *defaultDBPath = [[[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath] stringByAppendingPathComponent:dbName];
success = [fileManager copyItemAtPath:defaultDBPath toPath:writableDBPath error:&error];
if (!success) {
NSAssert1(0, #"Failed to create writable database file with message '%#'.", [error localizedDescription]);
}
}
}
This method is called form:
- (BOOL)openDatabase {
BOOL success = true;
if (!database) {
[self createEditableCopyOfDatabaseIfNeeded];
if (sqlite3_open([[self databasePath] UTF8String], &database) != SQLITE_OK) {
success = false;
// Even though the open failed, call close to properly clean up resources.
sqlite3_close(database);
NSAssert1(0, #"Failed to open database with message '%s'.", sqlite3_errmsg(database));
}
}
return success;
}
- (NSString*)databasePath {
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDirectory = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *path = [documentsDirectory stringByAppendingPathComponent:dbName];
return path;
}
Maybe I forgot something in my code?
Can some one help me to solve this out? Thank you!
How about copying the sqlite database from your main bundle to the application's document directory, but only if it does not already exist?
If you are using Core Data, or using sqlite - you are probibly storing your data in the "Documents" directory. This will not be wiped-out when updating your app.
I don't know much about sqlite databases, except that they are in-memory databases. It is not possible to 'keep' the in-memory databases. You have two options:
1) find a way to configure your sqlite to use a file instead of running in-memory (I don't know if this is possible, I looked but couldn't find a way quickly)
2) switch to a different database provider. If the pc is yours, you can install xampp or wamp (lamp on linux), containing a pre-configured, ready-to-run MySql database.
A final way would be to temporarily store the sqlite data when exiting and then reload it on startup, but that doesn't seem very optimal!
If you don't really need a database, you could also consider alternate storing such as xml or a flatfile

Sqlite doesn't seem to like my delete statement

I've got the following iphone code, which seems to be failing:
sqlite3_stmt *dbps;
NSString *sql = #"delete from days where day=?1;insert into days(disabled,recipe_id,day) values(?2,?3,?1)";
int rc = sqlite3_prepare_v2(db, sql.UTF8String, -1, &dbps, NULL);
...
The 'rc' return code is 1, meaning SQLITE_ERROR (SQL error or missing database, according to the sqlite site). Not sure what i've done wrong? The database 'db' is indeed open, and other queries seem to work fine.
Thanks a lot guys
Remove the insert statement from your string. It is not compiled anyway since sqlite3_prepare_v2 will "only compile the first statement in zSql."
Perhaps you should use a trigger to do your (optional) delete, or use insert or replace.
Are you sure you have copied the database in Documents directory before opening it? iPhone OS only allow write permissions in documents directory. Here is the code for copying database to Documents directory -
//function to copy database in Documents dir.
-(void) checkAndCreateDatabase{
// Check if the SQL database has already been saved to the users phone, if not then copy it over
BOOL success;
// Create a FileManager object, we will use this to check the status
// of the database and to copy it over if required
NSFileManager *fileManager = [NSFileManager defaultManager];
// Check if the database has already been created in the users filesystem
success = [fileManager fileExistsAtPath:databasePath];
// If the database already exists then return without doing anything
if(success) return;
// If not then proceed to copy the database from the application to the users filesystem
// Get the path to the database in the application package
NSString *databasePathFromApp = [[[NSBundle mainBundle] resourcePath] stringByAppendingPathComponent:databaseName];
// Copy the database from the package to the users filesystem
[fileManager copyItemAtPath:databasePathFromApp toPath:databasePath error:nil];
[fileManager release];
}
// open the database and fire the delete query...
sqlite3 *database;
NSString *sqlStatement = #"";
NSArray *documentPaths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory, NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *documentsDir = [documentPaths objectAtIndex:0];
databasePath = [documentsDir stringByAppendingPathComponent:databaseName];
NSLog(#"%#",databasePath);
[serlf checkAndCreateDatabase];
if(sqlite3_open([databasePath UTF8String], &database) == SQLITE_OK)
{
// here you can fire the delete query...
}
Silly me, i just had an old copy of the schema in my Documents folder, which didn't have the 'days' table in it. So i followed the instructions here: Cleaning up the iPhone simulator, and then it copied the new schema over, and it started working again.
Thanks for the help guys.