JDBC incorrect syntax near "." from executeQuery

Question

Ok, I have no hair left. When passing a constant string to executeQuery there's no problem. When passing a String object it fails and the exception is ' incorrect syntax near "."'.

Everything is essentially exactly the same, but for some reason one case works and the other does not. To give a little background, I am connecting to an SQLServer2008 DB. What gives?

Here's the code that has taken my hair from me:

public List<IdValuePair> Get_Job_Types() {
   ArrayList<IdValuePair> jt = Get_Id_Value_Pairs(
         "SELECT * FROM USER_JOB_TYPE", "JOB_TYPE_ID", "JOB_TYPE");
   return (jt);
}

private List<IdValuePair> Get_Id_Value_Pairs(String query, String idRowName,
      String valueRowName) {
   try {
      List<IdValuePair> pairs = new ArrayList<IdValuePair>();

      Class.forName("net.sourceforge.jtds.jdbc.Driver");
      m_Connection = DriverManager.getConnection(db_connect_string,
            db_userid, db_password);

      Statement stmt = m_Connection.createStatement();

      // THIS WORKS ?!
      ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT * FROM USER_JOB_TYPE");

      // THIS DOESN'T !!!!???
      rs = stmt.executeQuery(query);

      // ...

      rs.close();
      stmt.close();

      return (pairs);
   }

   catch (Exception e) {
      e.printStackTrace();
      return (null);
   }
}

is it an exception or a compile time error? If its an exception can you post the stack trace, if its a compile error please post the full code. — The Cat, Nov 27 '12 at 00:07
*"Here's the code that has taken my hair from me"* - Here, take this prescription for a toupee ... Next patient please! — Stephen C, Nov 27 '12 at 00:13

score 3 · Answer 1 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

When passing a String object it fails and the exeception is ' incorrect syntax near "." '.

What gives?

Based on the evidence that you have presented, the problem is in your query string. Basically, SQLServer is telling you that there is a syntax error in your SQL query.

But this works:

 ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery("SELECT * FROM USER_JOB_TYPE");

... because the syntax of that SQL query is fine.

Print out the actual value of query that you are using in:

 rs = stmt.executeQuery(query);

If the solution isn't obvious, add the value of query to your Question so that we can look at it.

On rereading the question, it looks like the query string should be identical to the one the worked. But the evidence of the exception / message says that it isn't, and I'm more inclined to believe THAT evidence than the source code.

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 03 '12 at 21:08

I figured it out. I blame Microsoft. For some dumb reason, when I copied the sql statement from Visual Studio and pasted it into InteliJ, MS added a BOM character which was hidden. So it seems that it was Microsoft that sent us up the BOM. Thank you Microsoft you moronic hive of mediocrity.

JDBC incorrect syntax near "." from executeQuery

2 Answers2