Can't locate object method "fetch

jsPerl has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

My code looks like this:

use DBI;
$sth = $dbh->prepare("SELECT Date,Time,Metal_Code,Metal_Desc,Weight,Price FROM History
WHERE Date = $RDate
ORDER by Date, Time, Metal_Code");
print "\nDetail Report for $MonthName[$mon] $day, $yr\n";
$sth->execute();
while (my (@data) = $sth->fetch_array()) {

When I run it, I get this error:

H:\>Report-History.pl
R1=1 R2=0 R3=0 R4=0 R5=0 R6=0 R7=0
RDate=2010/02/09 RMonth=2 RYear=2010

Report 1 - Detail for Day

Detail Report for February 09, 2010
Can't locate object method "fetch_array" via package "DBI::st" at H:\Report-History.pl line 119.

Do I need to include another module to get this to work? What am I missing?

Comment on Can't locate object method "fetch_array"

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Re: Can't locate object method "fetch_array" by kennethk (Abbot) on Nov 05, 2010 at 17:59 UTC
When you post code, please wrap it in `<code>` tags to preserve formatting. See Writeup Formatting Tips. Your error is happening because there is no `fetch_array` method. You likely mean `fetchrow_array`. See DBI for the documentation on DBI. As a side note, I see you are doing direct variable interpolation into your SQL. This is generally a bad idea, because it makes tracking down bugs harder, requires you to deal with character escaping and opens you up to potential security issues. It is generally considered better to use `prepare` and `bind_param`. It also a good idea to test the results of database operations (perhaps with `or die`) a la: `use DBI; $sth = $dbh->prepare("SELECT Date,Time,Metal_Code,Metal_Desc,Weight,Pr +ice FROM History WHERE Date = ? ORDER by Date, Time, Metal_Code") or die "prepare failed: $DBI::errstr +"; $sth->bind_param(1,$RDate) or die "bind_param failed: $DBI::errstr"; $sth->execute() or die "execute failed: $DBI::errstr"; print "\nDetail Report for $MonthName[$mon] $day, $yr\n"; while (my @data = $sth->fetchrow_array()) { print @data, "\n"; }` [download] See http://search.cpan.org/~timb/DBI-1.615/DBI.pm#Placeholders_and_Bind_Values in DBI.	[reply] [d/l] [select]

Replies are listed 'Best First'.

Re: Can't locate object method "fetch_array"
by kennethk (Abbot) on Nov 05, 2010 at 17:59 UTC

<code>

Writeup Formatting Tips

Your error is happening because there is no fetch_array method. You likely mean fetchrow_array. See DBI for the documentation on DBI.

As a side note, I see you are doing direct variable interpolation into your SQL. This is generally a bad idea, because it makes tracking down bugs harder, requires you to deal with character escaping and opens you up to potential security issues. It is generally considered better to use prepare and bind_param. It also a good idea to test the results of database operations (perhaps with or die) a la:

use DBI;

$sth = $dbh->prepare("SELECT Date,Time,Metal_Code,Metal_Desc,Weight,Pr
+ice FROM History
WHERE Date = ?
ORDER by Date, Time, Metal_Code") or die "prepare failed: $DBI::errstr
+";
$sth->bind_param(1,$RDate) or die "bind_param failed: $DBI::errstr";
$sth->execute() or die "execute failed: $DBI::errstr";

print "\nDetail Report for $MonthName[$mon] $day, $yr\n";
while (my @data = $sth->fetchrow_array()) {
    print @data, "\n";
}
[download]

See http://search.cpan.org/~timb/DBI-1.615/DBI.pm#Placeholders_and_Bind_Values in DBI.

[reply]
[d/l]
[select]