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MySQL 5-Table Procedure

with one comment

A student wanted a better example of writing a MySQL Persistent Stored Module (PSM) that maintains transactional scope across a couple tables. Here’s the one I wrote about ten years ago to build the MySQL Video Store model. It looks I neglected to put it out there before, so here it is for reference.

-- Conditionally drop procedure if it exists.
DROP PROCEDURE IF EXISTS contact_insert;
 
-- Reset the delimiter so that a semicolon can be used as a statement and block terminator.
DELIMITER $$
 
SELECT 'CREATE PROCEDURE contact_insert' AS "Statement";
CREATE PROCEDURE contact_insert
( pv_member_type         CHAR(12)
, pv_account_number      CHAR(19)
, pv_credit_card_number  CHAR(19)
, pv_credit_card_type    CHAR(12)
, pv_first_name          CHAR(20)
, pv_middle_name         CHAR(20)
, pv_last_name           CHAR(20)
, pv_contact_type        CHAR(12)
, pv_address_type        CHAR(12)
, pv_city                CHAR(30)
, pv_state_province      CHAR(30)
, pv_postal_code         CHAR(20)
, pv_street_address      CHAR(30)
, pv_telephone_type      CHAR(12)
, pv_country_code        CHAR(3)
, pv_area_code           CHAR(6)
, pv_telephone_number    CHAR(10)) MODIFIES SQL DATA
 
BEGIN
 
  /* Declare variables to manipulate auto generated sequence values. */
  DECLARE member_id            int unsigned;
  DECLARE contact_id           int unsigned;
  DECLARE address_id           int unsigned;
  DECLARE street_address_id    int unsigned;
  DECLARE telephone_id         int unsigned;
 
  /* Declare local constants for who-audit columns. */
  DECLARE lv_created_by        int unsigned DEFAULT 1001;
  DECLARE lv_creation_date     DATE         DEFAULT UTC_DATE();
  DECLARE lv_last_updated_by   int unsigned DEFAULT 1001;
  DECLARE lv_last_update_date  DATE         DEFAULT UTC_DATE();
 
  /* Declare a locally scoped variable. */
  DECLARE duplicate_key INT DEFAULT 0;
 
  /* Declare a duplicate key handler */
  DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER FOR 1062 SET duplicate_key = 1;
 
  /* Start the transaction context. */
  START TRANSACTION;
 
  /* Create a SAVEPOINT as a recovery point. */
  SAVEPOINT all_or_none;
 
  /* Insert into the first table in sequence based on inheritance of primary keys by foreign keys. */
  INSERT INTO member
  ( member_type
  , account_number
  , credit_card_number
  , credit_card_type
  , created_by
  , creation_date
  , last_updated_by
  , last_update_date )
  VALUES
  ((SELECT   common_lookup_id
    FROM     common_lookup
    WHERE    common_lookup_context = 'MEMBER'
    AND      common_lookup_type = pv_member_type)
  , pv_account_number
  , pv_credit_card_number
  ,(SELECT   common_lookup_id
    FROM     common_lookup
    WHERE    common_lookup_context = 'MEMBER'
    AND      common_lookup_type = pv_credit_card_type)
  , lv_created_by
  , lv_creation_date
  , lv_last_updated_by
  , lv_last_update_date );
 
  /* Preserve the sequence by a table related variable name. */
  SET member_id = last_insert_id();
 
  /* Insert into the first table in sequence based on inheritance of primary keys by foreign keys. */
  INSERT INTO contact
  VALUES
  ( null
  , member_id
  ,(SELECT   common_lookup_id
    FROM     common_lookup
    WHERE    common_lookup_context = 'CONTACT'
    AND      common_lookup_type = pv_contact_type)
  , pv_first_name
  , pv_middle_name
  , pv_last_name
  , lv_created_by
  , lv_creation_date
  , lv_last_updated_by
  , lv_last_update_date );  
 
  /* Preserve the sequence by a table related variable name. */
  SET contact_id = last_insert_id();
 
  /* Insert into the first table in sequence based on inheritance of primary keys by foreign keys. */
  INSERT INTO address
  VALUES
  ( null
  , last_insert_id()
  ,(SELECT   common_lookup_id
    FROM     common_lookup
    WHERE    common_lookup_context = 'MULTIPLE'
    AND      common_lookup_type = pv_address_type)
  , pv_city
  , pv_state_province
  , pv_postal_code
  , lv_created_by
  , lv_creation_date
  , lv_last_updated_by
  , lv_last_update_date );  
 
  /* Preserve the sequence by a table related variable name. */
  SET address_id = last_insert_id();
 
  /* Insert into the first table in sequence based on inheritance of primary keys by foreign keys. */
  INSERT INTO street_address
  VALUES
  ( null
  , last_insert_id()
  , pv_street_address
  , lv_created_by
  , lv_creation_date
  , lv_last_updated_by
  , lv_last_update_date );  
 
  /* Insert into the first table in sequence based on inheritance of primary keys by foreign keys. */
  INSERT INTO telephone
  VALUES
  ( null
  , contact_id
  , address_id
  ,(SELECT   common_lookup_id
    FROM     common_lookup
    WHERE    common_lookup_context = 'MULTIPLE'
    AND      common_lookup_type = pv_telephone_type)
  , pv_country_code
  , pv_area_code
  , pv_telephone_number
  , lv_created_by
  , lv_creation_date
  , lv_last_updated_by
  , lv_last_update_date);
 
  /* This acts as an exception handling block. */  
  IF duplicate_key = 1 THEN
 
    /* This undoes all DML statements to this point in the procedure. */
    ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT all_or_none;
 
  END IF;
 
  /* This commits the write when successful and is harmless otherwise. */
  COMMIT;
 
END;
$$
 
-- Reset the standard delimiter to let the semicolon work as an execution command.
DELIMITER ;

You can then call the procedure, like:

SELECT 'CALL contact_insert() PROCEDURE 5 times' AS "Statement";
CALL contact_insert('INDIVIDUAL','R11-514-34','1111-1111-1111-1111','VISA_CARD','Goeffrey','Ward','Clinton','CUSTOMER','HOME','Provo','Utah','84606','118 South 9th East','HOME','011','801','423\-1234');
CALL contact_insert('INDIVIDUAL','R11-514-35','1111-2222-1111-1111','VISA_CARD','Wendy',null,'Moss','CUSTOMER','HOME','Provo','Utah','84606','1218 South 10th East','HOME','011','801','423-1234');
CALL contact_insert('INDIVIDUAL','R11-514-36','1111-1111-2222-1111','VISA_CARD','Simon','Jonah','Gretelz','CUSTOMER','HOME','Provo','Utah','84606','2118 South 7th East','HOME','011','801','423-1234');
CALL contact_insert('INDIVIDUAL','R11-514-37','1111-1111-1111-2222','MASTER_CARD','Elizabeth','Jane','Royal','CUSTOMER','HOME','Provo','Utah','84606','2228 South 14th East','HOME','011','801','423-1234');
CALL contact_insert('INDIVIDUAL','R11-514-38','1111-1111-3333-1111','VISA_CARD','Brian','Nathan','Smith','CUSTOMER','HOME','Spanish Fork','Utah','84606','333 North 2nd East','HOME','011','801','423-1234');

I hope this code complete approach helps those looking to learn how to write MySQL PSMs.

Written by maclochlainn

March 31st, 2022 at 1:40 am

PostgreSQL Arrays

with one comment

If you’re wondering about this post, it shows the basic array of a set of integers and strings before showing you how to create nested tables of data in PostgreSQL. By the way, they’re not called nested tables in PostgreSQL, like they are in Oracle but perform like their Oracle cousins.

Let’s create a table with an auto-incrementing column and two arrays, one array of integers and another of strings:

-- Conditionally drop the demo table.
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS demo;
 
-- Create the test table.
CREATE TABLE demo
( demo_id     serial
, demo_number integer[5]
, demo_string varchar(5)[7]);

You can insert test values like this:

INSERT INTO demo
(demo_number, demo_string)
VALUES
( array[1,2,3,4,5]
, array['One','Two','Three','Four','Five','Six','Seven']);

Then, you can query them with this unnest function, like:

SELECT  unnest(demo_number) AS numbers
,       unnest(demo_string) AS strings
FROM    demo;

It returns:

 numbers | strings
---------+---------
 1       | One
 2       | Two
 3       | Three
 4       | Four
 5       | Five
         | Six
         | Seven
(7 rows)

You may note that the two arrays are asymmetrical. It only becomes an issue when you navigate the result in a PL/pgSQL cursor or imperative programming language, like Python.

Now, let’s do something more interesting like work with a composite user-defined type, like the player structure. You would create the composite user-defined type with this syntax:

-- Conditionally drop the player type.
DROP TYPE IF EXISTS player;
 
-- Create the player type.
CREATE TYPE player AS
( player_no        integer
, player_name      varchar(24)
, player_position  varchar(14)
, ab               integer
, r                integer
, h                integer
, bb               integer
, rbi              integer );

You can create a world_series table that include a players column that uses an array of player type, like

-- Conditionally drop the world_series table.
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS world_series;
 
-- Create the player type.
CREATE TABLE world_series
( world_series_id  serial
, team             varchar(24)
, players          player[30]
, game_no          integer
, year             integer );

If you’re familiar with the Oracle Database, you’d have to specify a tested table in the syntax. Fortunately, PostgreSQL doesn’t require that.

Insert two rows with the following statement:

INSERT INTO world_series
( team
, players
, game_no
, year )
VALUES
('San Francisco Giants'
, array[(24,'Willie Mayes','Center Fielder',5,0,1,0,0)::player
       ,(5,'Tom Haller','Catcher',4,1,2,0,2)::player]
, 4
, 1962 );

You can append to the array with the following syntax. A former student and I have a disagreement on whether this is shown in the PostgreSQL 8.15.4 Modifying Array documentation. I believe it can be inferred from the document and he doesn’t believe so. Anyway, here’s how you add an element to an existing array in a table with the UPDATE statement:

UPDATE world_series
SET    players = (SELECT array_append(players,(7,'Henry Kuenn','Right Fielder',3,0,0,1,0)::player) FROM world_series)
WHERE  team = 'San Francisco Giants'
AND    year = 1962
AND    game_no = 4;

Like Oracle’s nested tables, PostgreSQL’s arrays of composite user-defined types requires writing a PL/pgSQL function. I’ll try to add one of those shortly in another blog entry to show you how to edit and replace entries in stored arrays of composite user-defined types.

You can query the unnested rows and get a return set like a Python tuple with the following query:

SELECT unnest(players) AS player_list
FROM   world_series
WHERE  team = 'San Francisco Giants'
AND    year = 1962
AND    game_no = 4;

It returns the three rows from the players array:

                 player_list
----------------------------------------------
 (24,"Willie Mayes","Center Field",5,0,1,0,0)
 (5,"Tom Haller",Catcher,4,1,2,0,2)
 (7,"Henry Kuenn","Right Fielde",3,0,0,1,0)
(3 rows)

It returns the data set in entry-order. If we step outside of the standard 8.15 Arrays PostgreSQL Documentation, you can do much more with arrays (or nested tables). The balance of this example demonstrates some new syntax that helps you achieve constructive outcomes in PostgreSQL.

You can use a Common Table Expression (CTE) to get the columnar display of the player composite user-defined type. This type of solution is beyond the standard , like:

WITH list AS
 (SELECT unnest(players) AS row_result
  FROM   world_series
  WHERE  team = 'San Francisco Giants'
  AND    year = 1962
  AND    game_no = 4)
SELECT  (row_result).player_name
,       (row_result).player_no
,       (row_result).player_position
FROM     list;

If you’re unfamiliar with accessing composite user-defined types, I wrote a post on that 7 years ago. You can find the older blog entry PostgreSQL Composites on my blog.

It returns only the three requested columns of the player composite user-defined type:

 player_name  | player_no | player_position
--------------+-----------+-----------------
 Willie Mayes |        24 | Center Fielder
 Tom Haller   |         5 | Catcher
 Henry Kuenn  |         7 | Right Fielder
(3 rows)

You should note that the data is presented in an entry-ordered manner when unnested alone in the SELECT-list. That behavior changes when the SELECT-list includes non-array data.

The easiest way to display data from the non-array and array columns is to list them inside the SELECT-list of the CTE, like:

WITH list AS
 (SELECT game_no AS game
  ,      year
  ,      unnest(players) AS row_result
  FROM   world_series
  WHERE  team = 'San Francisco Giants'
  AND    year = 1962
  AND    game_no = 4)
SELECT   game
,        year 
,       (row_result).player_name
,       (row_result).player_no
,       (row_result).player_position
FROM     list;

It returns an ordered set of unnested rows when you include non-array columns, like:

 game | year | player_name  | player_no | player_position
------+------+--------------+-----------+-----------------
    4 | 1962 | Henry Kuenn  |         7 | Right Fielder
    4 | 1962 | Tom Haller   |         5 | Catcher
    4 | 1962 | Willie Mayes |        24 | Center Fielder
(3 rows)

While you can join the world_series table to the unnested array rows (returned as a derived table, its a bad idea. The mechanics to do it require you to return the primary key column in the same SELECT-list of the CTE. Then, you join the CTE list to the world_series table by using the world_series_id primary key.

However, there is no advantage to an inner join approach and it imposes unnecessary processing on the database server. The odd rationale that I heard when I noticed somebody was using a CTE to base-table join was: “That’s necessary so they could use column aliases for the non-array columns.” That’s not true because you can use the aliases inside the CTE, as shown above when game is an alias to the game_no column.

As always, I hope this helps those looking to solve a problem in PostgreSQL.

Setting SQL_MODE

with one comment

In MySQL, the @@sql_mode parameter should generally use ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY. If it doesn’t include it and you don’t have the ability to change the database parameters, you can use a MySQL PSM (Persistent Stored Module), like:

Create the set_full_group_by procedure:

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-- Drop procedure conditionally on whether it exists already.
DROP PROCEDURE IF EXISTS set_full_group_by;
 
-- Reset delimter to allow semicolons to terminate statements.
DELIMITER $$
 
-- Create a procedure to verify and set connection parameter.
CREATE PROCEDURE set_full_group_by()
  LANGUAGE SQL
  NOT DETERMINISTIC
  SQL SECURITY DEFINER
  COMMENT 'Set connection parameter when not set.'
BEGIN
 
  /* Check whether full group by is set in the connection and
     if unset, set it in the scope of the connection. */
  IF NOT EXISTS
    (SELECT NULL
     WHERE  REGEXP_LIKE(@@SQL_MODE,'ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY'))
  THEN
    SET SQL_MODE=(SELECT CONCAT(@@sql_mode,',ONLY_FULL_GROUP_BY'));
  END IF;
END;
$$
 
-- Reset the default delimiter.
DELIMITER ;

Run the following SQL command before you attempt the exercises in the same session scope:

CALL set_full_group_by();

As always, I hope this helps those looking for a solution. Naturally, you can simply use the SET command on line #21 above.

Drop Overloaded Routine

without comments

In October 2019, I wrote a post with anonymous block programs to drop tables, sequences, routines, and triggers. Two weeks later, I wrote another post to drop all overloaded routines. However, I recognized the other day that I should have written a function that let you target which function or procedure you want to drop.

The older code only let you drop all of your functions or procedures. That was overkill when you’re working on new functions or procedures.

This post provides a utility for those writing functions and procedures in a public schema of any database in a PostgreSQL installation. It is designed to drop functions or procedures from the public schema.

The code follows below:

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CREATE OR REPLACE
  FUNCTION drop_routine( IN pv_routine_name    VARCHAR(64)
                       , IN pv_routine_type    VARCHAR(64))
  RETURNS INTEGER AS
  $$
  DECLARE
    /* Declare the current catalog. */
    lv_local_catalog  VARCHAR(64) := current_database();
 
    /* Declare return type variable. */
    lv_retval  INTEGER := 1;
 
    /* Manage data dictionary case mechanics:
       ======================================
	     routine_name is always in lowercase.
	     routine_type is always in uppercase. */
    lv_routine_name  VARCHAR(64) := LOWER(pv_routine_name);
    lv_routine_type  VARCHAR(64) := UPPER(pv_routine_type);
 
    /* Declare an indefinite length string for SQL statement. */
    sql  VARCHAR;
 
    /* Declare variables to manage cursor return values. */
    row  RECORD;
    arg  VARCHAR;
 
    /* Declare parameter list. */
    list VARCHAR;
 
    /* Declare a routine cursor. */
    routine_cursor CURSOR( cv_routine_name  VARCHAR
                         , cv_routine_type  VARCHAR ) FOR
      SELECT r.routine_name
      ,      r.specific_name
      ,      r.routine_type
      FROM   information_schema.routines r
      WHERE  r.specific_catalog = current_database()
      AND    r.routine_schema = 'public'
      AND    r.routine_type = cv_routine_type
      AND    r.routine_name = cv_routine_name;
 
    /* Declare a parameter cursor. */
    parameter_cursor CURSOR( cv_specific_name  VARCHAR ) FOR
      SELECT args.data_type
      FROM   information_schema.parameters args
      WHERE  args.specific_catalog = current_database()
      AND    args.specific_schema = 'public'
      AND    args.specific_name = cv_specific_name;
 
  BEGIN
    /* Open the cursor. */
    OPEN routine_cursor(lv_routine_name, lv_routine_type);
    <<row_loop>>
    LOOP
      /* Fetch table names. */
      FETCH routine_cursor INTO row;
 
      /* Exit when no more records are found. */
      EXIT row_loop WHEN NOT FOUND;
 
      /* Initialize parameter list. */
      list := '(';
 
      /* Open the parameter cursor. */
      OPEN parameter_cursor(row.specific_name::varchar);
      <<parameter_loop>>
      LOOP
        FETCH parameter_cursor INTO arg;
 
        /* Exit the parameter loop. */
        EXIT parameter_loop WHEN NOT FOUND;
 
        /* Add parameter and delimit more than one parameter with a comma. */
        IF LENGTH(list) > 1 THEN
          list := CONCAT(list,',',arg);
        ELSE
          list := CONCAT(list,arg);
        END IF;
      END LOOP;
 
      /* Close the parameter list. */
      list := CONCAT(list,')');
 
      /* Close the parameter cursor. */
      CLOSE parameter_cursor;
 
      /* Concatenate together a DDL to drop the table with prejudice. */
      sql := 'DROP '||row.routine_type||' IF EXISTS '||row.routine_name||list;
 
      /* Execute the DDL statement. */
      EXECUTE sql;
 
      /* Assign success flag of 0. */
      lv_retval := 0;
 
    END LOOP;
 
    /* Close the routine_cursor. */
    CLOSE routine_cursor;
 
    /* Return the output text variable. */
    RETURN lv_retval;
  END
  $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

If you now create a series of hello overloaded functions, like:

CREATE OR REPLACE
  FUNCTION hello()
  RETURNS text AS
  $$
  DECLARE
    output  VARCHAR;
  BEGIN
    SELECT 'Hello World!' INTO output;
    RETURN output;
  END
  $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
 
CREATE OR REPLACE
  FUNCTION hello(whom text)
  RETURNS text AS
  $$
  DECLARE
    output  VARCHAR;
  BEGIN
    SELECT CONCAT('Hello ',whom,'!') INTO output;
    RETURN output;
  END
  $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;
 
CREATE OR REPLACE
  FUNCTION hello(id int, whom text)
  RETURNS text AS
  $$
  DECLARE
    output  VARCHAR;
  BEGIN
    SELECT CONCAT('[',id,'] Hello ',whom,'!') INTO output;
    RETURN output;
  END
  $$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

After you create the overloaded functions, you can query their status from the information_schema.routines table in the data dictionary:

SELECT routine_name
,      specific_name
,      routine_type
FROM   information_schema.routines
WHERE  specific_catalog = current_setting('videodb.catalog_name')
AND    routine_schema = 'public'
AND    routine_name = 'hello';

Which shows you the three versions of the hello function:

 routine_name | specific_name | routine_type
--------------+---------------+--------------
 hello        | hello_18100   | FUNCTION
 hello        | hello_18101   | FUNCTION
 hello        | hello_18102   | FUNCTION
(3 rows)

You can drop all versions of the hello functions by calling the drop_routine function:

SELECT CASE
         WHEN drop_routine('hello','function') = 0
         THEN 'Success'
         ELSE 'Failure'
       END AS drop_routine;

It returns the following:

 drop_routine
--------------
 Success
(1 row)

As always, I hope this helps those looking for how to routinely test new functions and procedures.

Written by maclochlainn

March 6th, 2022 at 11:53 pm

PostgreSQL CLI Error

without comments

Problems get reported to me all the time on installations for my students, this one was interesting. They got an error complaining about a missing libpq.so.5 library.

psql: /usr/pgsql-11/lib/libpq.so.5: no version information available (required by psql)
psql: /usr/pgsql-11/lib/libpq.so.5: no version information available (required by psql)
could not change directory to "/root": Permission denied
psql (11.7, server 11.8)
Type "help" for help.
 
postgres=#

It appeared as a mismatch of libraries but it’s not that. For reference, this was a Fedora instance. I ran the rpm utility:

rpm -qa | grep postgres

It returned:

postgresql11-libs-11.8-1PGDG.f30.x86_64
postgresql-11.7-2.fc30.x86_64
postgresql-server-11.7-2.fc30.x86_64

Then, I had them run the rpm utility again looking for the Python driver for PostgreSQL:

rpm -qa | grep psycopg2

It returned:

python3-psycopg2-2.7.7-1.fc30.x86_64

Then, it was easy to explain. The Python psycopg2 library uses both PostgreSQL 11.7 and 11.8 dependent libraries and the libpq.so.5 library is missing version information. You must ignore the error, which is really only a warning message, when you want to work on Fedora, PostgreSQL 11, and Python 3.

Written by maclochlainn

March 2nd, 2022 at 12:41 am

MySQL WITH Clause

without comments

When I went over my example of using the WITH clause to solve how to use a series of literal values in data sets, some students got it right away and some didn’t. The original post showed how to solve a problem where one value in the data set is returned in the SELECT-list and two values are used as the minimum and maximum values with a BETWEEN operator. It used three approaches with literal values:

  • A list of Python dictionaries that require you to filter the return set from the database through a range loop and if statement that mimics a SQL BETWEEN operator.
  • A WITH clause that accepts the literals as bind variables to filter the query results inside the query.
  • A table design that holds the literals values that an analyst might use for reporting.

It was the last example that required elaboration. I explained you might build a web form that uses a table, and the table could allow a data analyst to enter parameter sets. That way the analyst could submit a flag value to use one or another set of values. I threw out the idea on the whiteboard of introducing a report column to the prior post’s level table. The student went off to try it.

Two problems occurred. The first was in the design of the new table and the second was how to properly use the MySQL Python driver.

Below is a formal table design that supports this extension of the first blog post as a list of parameter values. It uses a report column as a super key to return a set of possible values. One value will show in the SELECT-list and the other two values deploy as the minimum and maximum values in a BETWEEN operator. It is seeded with two sets of values. One of the report possibilities is Summary level with three possibilities and the other is the Detail level with five possibilities.

-- Conditionally drop the levels table.
DROP TABLE IF EXISTS levels;
 
-- Create the levels list.
CREATE TABLE levels
( level      VARCHAR(16)
, report     ENUM('Summary','Detail')
, min_roles  INT
, max_roles  INT );
 
-- Insert values into the list table.
INSERT INTO levels
( level, report, min_roles, max_roles )
VALUES
 ('Hollywood Star','Summary', 30, 99999)
,('Prolific Actor','Summary', 20, 29)
,('Newcommer','Summary', 1, 19)
,('Hollywood Star','Detail', 30, 99999)
,('Prolific Actor','Detail', 20, 29)
,('Regular Actor','Detail', 10, 19)
,('Actor','Detail', 5, 9)
,('Newcommer','Detail', 1, 4);

The foregoing table design uses an ENUM type because reporting parameter sets are typically fewer than 64 possibilities. If you use the table to support multiple reports, you should add a second super key column like report_type. The report_type column key would let you use the table to support a series of different report parameter lists.

While the student used a %s inside the query, they created a runtime error when trying to pass the single bind variable into the query. The student misunderstood how to convert a report column input parameter variable into a tuple, which shows up when the student calls the Python MySQL Driver, like this:

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cursor.execute(query, (report))

The student’s code generated the following error stack:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "./python-with-clause.py", line 59, in <module>
    cursor.execute(query,(report))
  File "/usr/lib/python3.7/site-packages/mysql/connector/cursor_cext.py", line 248, in execute
    prepared = self._cnx.prepare_for_mysql(params)
  File "/usr/lib/python3.7/site-packages/mysql/connector/connection_cext.py", line 632, in prepare_for_mysql
    raise ValueError("Could not process parameters")
ValueError: Could not process parameters

The ValueError should indicate to the developer that they’ve used a wrong data type in the call to the method:

cursor.execute(<class 'str'>,<class 'tuple'>)

This clearly was a misunderstanding of how to cast a single string to a tuple. A quick explanation of how Python casts a single string into a tuple can best be illustrated inside an interactive Python shell, like:

>>> # Define a variable.
>>> x = 'Detail'
>>> # An incorrect attempt to make a string a tuple.
>>> y = (x)
>>> # Check type of y after assignment.
>>> print(type(y))
<class 'str'>
>>> # A correct attempt to make a string a tuple.
>>> y = tuple(x)
>>> # Check type of y after assignment.
>>> print(type(y))
<class 'tuple'>
>>> # An alternative to make a string a tuple.
>>> z = (x,)
>>> # Check type of z after assignment.
>>> print(type(z))
<class 'tuple'>

So, the fix was quite simple to line 59:

59
cursor.execute(query, (report,))

The student started with a copy of a Python program that I provided. I fixed the argument handling and added some comments. The line 59 reference above maps to this code example.

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# Import the library.
import sys
import mysql.connector
from mysql.connector import errorcode
 
# Capture argument list.
fullCmdArguments = sys.argv
 
# Assign argument list to variable.
argumentList = fullCmdArguments[1:]
 
# Define a standard report variable.
report = "Summary"
 
#  Check and process argument list.
# ============================================================
#  If there are less than two arguments provide default values.
#  Else enumerate and convert strings to dates.
# ============================================================
if (len(argumentList) == 1):
  # Set a default start date.
  if (isinstance(report,str)):
    report = argumentList[0]
 
#  Attempt the query.
# ============================================================
#  Use a try-catch block to manage the connection.
# ============================================================
try:
  # Open connection.
  cnx = mysql.connector.connect(user='student', password='student',
                                host='127.0.0.1',
                                database='sakila')
  # Create cursor.
  cursor = cnx.cursor()
 
  # Set the query statement.
  query = ("WITH actors AS "
           "(SELECT   a.actor_id "
           " ,        a.first_name "
           " ,        a.last_name "
           " ,        COUNT(fa.actor_id) AS num_roles "
           " FROM     actor a INNER JOIN film_actor fa "
           " ON       a.actor_id = fa.actor_id "
           " GROUP BY a.actor_id "
           " ,        a.first_name "
           " ,        a.last_name ) "
           " SELECT   a.first_name "
           " ,        a.last_name "
           " ,        l.level "
           " ,        a.num_roles "
           " FROM     actors a CROSS JOIN levels l "
           " WHERE    a.num_roles BETWEEN l.min_roles AND l.max_roles "
           " AND      l.report = %s "
           " ORDER BY a.last_name "
           " ,        a.first_name")
 
  # Execute cursor.
  cursor.execute(query,(report,))
 
  # Display the rows returned by the query.
  for (first_name, last_name, level, num_roles) in cursor:
    print('{0} {1} is a {2} with {3} films.'.format( first_name.title()
                                                   , last_name.title()
                                                   , level.title()
                                                   , num_roles))
 
  # Close cursor.
  cursor.close()
 
# ------------------------------------------------------------
# Handle exception and close connection.
except mysql.connector.Error as e:
  if e.errno == errorcode.ER_ACCESS_DENIED_ERROR:
    print("Something is wrong with your user name or password")
  elif e.errno == errorcode.ER_BAD_DB_ERROR:
    print("Database does not exist")
  else:
    print("Error code:", e.errno)        # error number
    print("SQLSTATE value:", e.sqlstate) # SQLSTATE value
    print("Error message:", e.msg)       # error message
 
# Close the connection when the try block completes.
else:
  cnx.close()

A Linux shell program like the following (provided the name of the shell script and Python program are the same) can run the Python program with or without a parameter. It works without a parameter because it sets a default value for the report variable.

# Switch the file extension and run the python program.
file=${0/%sh/py}
python3 ${file} "${@}"

You call the shell script like this:

./python-with-clause.sh Detail

As always, I hope this helps those looking for a solution.

Written by maclochlainn

November 14th, 2021 at 11:01 pm

Linux sqlplus wrapper

without comments

Here’s a quick way to ensure you can use the up-arrows and navigation keys when using the sqlplus command-line interface. You can just add it to your .bashrc file.

sqlplus ()
{ 
    path=`which rlwrap 2>/dev/null`;
    file='';
    if [ -n ${path} ]; then
        file=${path##/*/};
    fi;
    if [ -n ${file} ] && [[ ${file} = "rlwrap" ]]; then
        rlwrap sqlplus "${@}";
    else
        echo "Command-line history unavailable: Install the rlwrap package.";
        $ORACLE_HOME/bin/sqlplus "${@}";
    fi
}

As always, I hope this helps those looking of solutions.

Written by maclochlainn

November 12th, 2021 at 11:34 pm

Waking up the Network

without comments

Interesting problems seem to plague me from time to time. The current problem isn’t yet solved but I’m working on it. After a sleep cycle, IPV6 networking isn’t starting.

No internet

Try:

  • Checking the network cables, modem, and router
  • Reconnecting to Wi-Fi
ERR_INTERNET_DISCONNECTED

In the broken Fedora 30 VM, I checked the status with the nmcli tool:

sudo nmcli general status

It returned:

STATE   CONNECTIVITY  WIFI-HW  WIFI     WWAN-HW  WWAN    
asleep  none          enabled  enabled  enabled  enabled

The STATE should return connected and connectivity return full. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

There was little surprise that the next check:

sudo nmcli device

Returned the following:

DEVICE      TYPE      STATE      CONNECTION 
virbr0      bridge    unmanaged  --         
ens33       ethernet  unmanaged  --         
lo          loopback  unmanaged  --         
virbr0-nic  tun       unmanaged  --

In a working instance, it should return:

DEVICE      TYPE      STATE      CONNECTION 
ens33       ethernet  connected  ens33      
virbr0      bridge    connected  virbr0     
lo          loopback  unmanaged  --         
virbr0-nic  tun       unmanaged  --

I’m currently troubleshooting what failed by leveraging an article on How to Configure Network Connection Using ‘nmcli’ Tool and the Gnome nmcli documentation. Naturally, when I get it fixed, I’ll finish this article.

Written by maclochlainn

November 8th, 2021 at 12:45 am

Posted in Fedora,Linux,nmcli,Unix

Tagged with

Title Case Anyone?

without comments

Sometimes life is too surreal. Like when somebody says, “How do you get title case in an Oracle database?” That’s when you know three things about the individual, while suppressing laughter. They’re not very experienced with SQL, likely lazy, and don’t read the documentation.

I had a little fun with somebody today by taking them down a small rat-hole. “Oh, gosh … ” I said, “… let’s write a function for that.” Here’s the joke function, like:

CREATE OR REPLACE
FUNCTION title_case
( string VARCHAR2 ) RETURN VARCHAR2 IS
BEGIN
  /* Change upper case to title case. */
  RETURN UPPER(SUBSTR(string,1,1)) || LOWER(SUBSTR(string,2,LENGTH(string)));
END title_case;
/

Then, we tested it with a query from the pseudo dual table:

SELECT title_case('incredible') AS "Proper Name" FROM dual;

It returned:

Proper Name
----------
Incredible

Then, I said “Oh, that’s not his proper name in the Pixar World.” It should be: Mr. Incredible. Let’s try that:

SELECT title_case('mr. incredible') AS "Proper Name" FROM dual;

It returned:

Proper Name
--------------
Mr. incredible

Then, I said: “That’s not what we want at all. Should we rewrite our function or simply use the INITCAP built-in function?” Then, I wrote:

SELECT INITCAP('mr. incredible') AS "Proper Name" FROM dual;

It returned:

Proper Name
--------------
Mr. Incredible

Well, needless to say my acquaintance got it immediately and said “I should have Googled it or read the documentation.” I concurred with his observation.

Just sharing a cute day’s event that made me laugh and cry at the same time because there are too many who say SQL isn’t worth learning.

Written by maclochlainn

June 30th, 2021 at 11:49 am

MongoDB Two Step

without comments

Sometimes a bit of humor helps with a new topic. Creating a database in MongoDB is a two-step process, like the Texas Two-Step (a nick name for a country/western two-step danced in common time). A Texas Two Step is a one-two, one-two shuffle which is like the two-step process for how you create a MongoDB database.

While databases in MongoDB are a multiuser sandbox like a relational database, you can’t simply create them and grant them privileges. You must first USE the database and then put a collection (a.k.a., equivalent to a table in MySQL) in it. This blog post shows you how to create a MongoDB play database with an actor collection. It shows you the commands to create the a database with one collection in it and how to verify its existence.

You connect through the mongo shell, like:

mongo

The first-step requires you to connect to the play database even though it doesn’t exist. You do that by typing:

> use play

You can verify you’re in the play database by typing the db command, which the mongo shell treats as an expression. It returns play, as the name of the current database.

However, when you call the shell show dbs helper:

> show dbs

It displays:

admin   0.000GB
config  0.000GB
local   0.000GB

You also should note that the play database still doesn’t exist when you run the JavaScript equivalent to the shell show dbs helper:

> db.getMongo().getDBs()

It returns the following list of databases, which excludes the as yet not created play database:

{
  "databases" : [
    {
      "name" : "admin",
      "sizeOnDisk" : 32768,
      "empty" : false
    },
    {
      "name" : "config",
      "sizeOnDisk" : 61440,
      "empty" : false
    },
    {
      "name" : "local",
      "sizeOnDisk" : 81920,
      "empty" : false
    }
  ],
  "totalSize" : 176128,
  "ok" : 1
}

You create an actor collection (a.k.a. the equivalent of a relational table) with the following syntax, where db maps to the play database that you’re using. Note that you must create or insert one document to begin a document collection. While you can use the insert method, you should use either the newer insertOne() or insertMany() methods.

> db.actors.insertOne({"actor" : {"first_name" : "Chris", "last_name" : "Pine"}, "age" : 40 })

A new call to the shell show dbs helper:

> show dbs

displays your new play database:

admin   0.000GB
config  0.000GB
local   0.000GB
play    0.000GB

You can add two more documents (a.k.a. for rows in a relational database) with the insertMany() method:

> db.actors.insertMany([{"actor" : {"first_name" : "Chris", "last_name" : "Evans"}, "age" : 39 }
                       ,{"actor" : {"first_name" : "Chris", "last_name" : "Pratt"}, "age" : 41 }])

A quick word to the JavaScript novices out there. Don’t forget the square brackets ([{},{},...]) in the insertMany() method call or you’ll get an error like this:

2021-04-12T16:20:13.237-0600 E QUERY    [js] TypeError: documents.map is not a function :
DBCollection.prototype.insertMany@src/mongo/shell/crud_api.js:295:1
@(shell):1:1

You call the shell show collections helper or db.getMongo().getCollectionNames() JavaScript function to display the collections in the play database. The show collections displays a list of collections, and the db.getMongo().getCollectionNames() displays an JavaScript array of collections.

If you’re like me, Mongo’s db convention is a bit risky that I could do something in the wrong database. So, I put the following function into my .mongorc.js (a.k.a., MongoDB Resource file):

prompt = function() { var dbName = db; return dbName + "> " }

It ensures you will see the current database name to the left of the prompt (“>”), like:

play>

You can query the documents from the actors collection with the following:

play> db.actors.find().pretty()

It returns:

{
  "_id" : ObjectId("6074c692813c5a85db9cc9df"),
  "actor" : {
    "first_name" : "Chris",
    "last_name" : "Pine"
  },
  "age" : 40
}
{
  "_id" : ObjectId("6074c7ea813c5a85db9cc9e0"),
  "actor" : {
    "first_name" : "Chris",
    "last_name" : "Evans"
  },
  "age" : 39
}
{
  "_id" : ObjectId("6074c7ea813c5a85db9cc9e1"),
  "actor" : {
    "first_name" : "Chris",
    "last_name" : "Pratt"
  },
  "age" : 41
}

As always, I hope this helps those looking for a solution.

Written by maclochlainn

April 12th, 2021 at 5:57 pm