INSERT OR REPLACE + foreign key ON DELETE CASCADE working too good

Question

I am currently trying to create an sqlite database where I can import a table from another sqlite database (can\'t attach) and add some extra data to each column.

Si

Answer 1

Assuming you only have a single foreign key relationship on a primary key in your referenced table (as you do in your example), this proved to be a fairly painless solution for me.

Simply disable foreign key checks, run the replace query, then enable foreign keys again.

If the replace query is the only query that runs while foreign keys are disabled, you can be assured that no foreign keys will be fouled up. If you are inserting a new row, nothing will have had a chance to be linked to it yet and if you are replacing a row, the existing row will not be removed or have its primary key changed by the query so the constraint will still hold once foreign keys are re-enabled.

SQLlite code looks something like this:

PRAGMA foreign_keys=OFF;
INSERT OR REPLACE ...;
PRAGMA foreign_keys=ON;