Maybe because the value to be updated doesn't take quotation marks? Also, I know that limit != LIMIT, but maybe your column should be named something besides a (probable) reserved word?

By the way, is there a better place to post this, such as an SQLMonks group? ;-) But seriously, that error string looks like it's produced by your database, not by perl.

BCE
--Your punctuation skills are insufficient!

If you're using MySQL, "limit" is a reserved word, though you should have seen this earlier when you created the table.

Greetings "anonymous" (are you andrew?),

Always use bind values or placeholders when possible. They'll take care of all the quoting issues that come up from time to time.

my $p = 33;
$dbh->do(q{
  UPDATE settings SET limit = ?
}, undef, $p) or die $dbh->errstr;
[download]

The undef is important. It's where you would put a reference to an array detailing any attributes you want included in the do action. I've never used it yet, but you have to add the undef else things don't work.

Spend some time scanning (or better yet reading) through the DBI documentation. You'll be glad you did.

Update: Although I think the problem you're encountering is caused by a quoting issue, there's also the chance that "limit" is a reserved word for your particular database's SQL. Try renaming the column to something else and retrying the UPDATE query. (Actually, try a SELECT first.)

-gryphon
code('Perl') || die;

"UPDATE settings SET [limit]='$p'"OR
"UPDATE settings SET [limit]=$p"

Specifying the field name within the squares should take care of any reserved word conflicts. Double check the 'limit' field data type to make sure nobody changed it on you - there are times when our coworkers get creative without telling anyone...

"Falling in love with map, one block at a time." - simeon2000