SQLite add Primary Key

Question

I created a table in Sqlite by using the CREATE TABLE AS syntax to create a table based on a SELECT statement. Now this table has no primary key b

Answer 1

Introduction

This is based on Android's java and it's a good example on changing the database without annoying your application fans/customers. This is based on the idea of the SQLite FAQ page http://sqlite.org/faq.html#q11

The problem

I did not notice that I need to set a row_number or record_id to delete a single purchased item in a receipt, and at same time the item barcode number fooled me into thinking of making it as the key to delete that item. I am saving a receipt details in the table receipt_barcode. Leaving it without a record_id can mean deleting all records of the same item in a receipt if I used the item barcode as the key.

Notice

Please understand that this is a copy-paste of my code I am work on at the time of this writing. Use it only as an example, copy-pasting randomly won't help you. Modify this first to your needs

Also please don't forget to read the comments in the code .

The Code

Use this as a method in your class to check 1st whether the column you want to add is missing . We do this just to not repeat the process of altering the table receipt_barcode. Just mention it as part of your class. In the next step you'll see how we'll use it.

public boolean is_column_exists(SQLiteDatabase mDatabase , String table_name,
String     column_name) {
    //checks if table_name has column_name
    Cursor cursor = mDatabase.rawQuery("pragma table_info("+table_name+")",null);
    while (cursor.moveToNext()){
    if (cursor.getString(cursor.getColumnIndex("name")).equalsIgnoreCase(column_name)) return true;
    }
    return false;
}

Then , the following code is used to create the table receipt_barcode if it already does NOT exit for the 1st time users of your app. And please notice the "IF NOT EXISTS" in the code. It has importance.

//mDatabase should be defined as a Class member (global variable) 
//for ease of access : 
//SQLiteDatabse mDatabase=SQLiteDatabase.openOrCreateDatabase(dbfile_path, null);
creation_query = " CREATE TABLE if not exists receipt_barcode ( ";
creation_query += "\n record_id        INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,";
creation_query += "\n rcpt_id INT( 11 )       NOT NULL,";
creation_query += "\n barcode VARCHAR( 255 )  NOT NULL ,";
creation_query += "\n barcode_price VARCHAR( 255 )  DEFAULT (0),";
creation_query += "\n PRIMARY KEY ( record_id ) );";
mDatabase.execSQL(creation_query);

//This is where the important part comes in regarding the question in this page:

//adding the missing primary key record_id in table receipt_barcode for older versions
        if (!is_column_exists(mDatabase, "receipt_barcode","record_id")){
            mDatabase.beginTransaction();
            try{
                Log.e("record_id", "creating");


                 creation_query="CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE t1_backup(";
                 creation_query+="record_id INTEGER        PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,";
                 creation_query+="rcpt_id INT( 11 )       NOT NULL,";
                 creation_query+="barcode VARCHAR( 255 )  NOT NULL ,";
                 creation_query+="barcode_price VARCHAR( 255 )  NOT NULL DEFAULT (0) );";
                 mDatabase.execSQL(creation_query);

                 creation_query="INSERT INTO t1_backup(rcpt_id,barcode,barcode_price) SELECT rcpt_id,barcode,barcode_price  FROM receipt_barcode;";
                 mDatabase.execSQL(creation_query);

                 creation_query="DROP TABLE receipt_barcode;";
                 mDatabase.execSQL(creation_query);

                 creation_query="CREATE TABLE receipt_barcode (";
                 creation_query+="record_id INTEGER        PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,";
                 creation_query+="rcpt_id INT( 11 )       NOT NULL,";
                 creation_query+="barcode VARCHAR( 255 )  NOT NULL ,";
                 creation_query+="barcode_price VARCHAR( 255 )  NOT NULL DEFAULT (0) );";
                 mDatabase.execSQL(creation_query);

                 creation_query="INSERT INTO receipt_barcode(record_id,rcpt_id,barcode,barcode_price) SELECT record_id,rcpt_id,barcode,barcode_price  FROM t1_backup;";
                 mDatabase.execSQL(creation_query);

                 creation_query="DROP TABLE t1_backup;";
                 mDatabase.execSQL(creation_query);


                 mdb.setTransactionSuccessful();
            } catch (Exception exception ){
                Log.e("table receipt_bracode", "Table receipt_barcode did not get a primary key (record_id");
                exception.printStackTrace();
            } finally {
                 mDatabase.endTransaction();
            }