python sqlite3 cursor.execute() with parameters leads to syntax error near ? (paramstyle qmark)

Question

after searching untill madness, i decided to post a question here. I try to create a sqlite3 database where i'd like to make use of the secure variable substituation function of the cursor.execute(SQL, param) function. My function goes like this:

#!/usr/bin/env python3
#-*- coding: utf-8 -*-

import sqlite3

def create():
    values = ("data")
    sql = "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS ? ( name TEXT, street TEXT, time REAL, age INTEGER )"

    con = sqlite3.connect("database.db")
    c = con.cursor()
    c.execute(sql, values)
    con.commit()
    c.close()
    con.close()

if __name__ = "__main__":
    create()

I know that the first argument should be the sql command in form of a string and the second argument must be a tuple of the values which are supposed to be substituted where the ? is in the sql string. However, when i run the file it returns the following error:

$ ./test.py 

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "./test.py", line 21, in <module>
    create()
  File "./test.py", line 14, in create
    c.execute(sql, values)
sqlite3.OperationalError: near "?": syntax error

This also happens when paramstyle is set to named (e.g. the :table form). I can't spot a syntax error here, so i think that the problem must be caused somewhere in the system. I tested it on an Archlinux and Debian install, both post me the same error.

Now it is up yo you, as I have no idea anymore where to look for the cause.

Answer 1

SQL parameters can only apply to insert data, not table names. That means parameters are not even parsed for DDL statements.

For that you'll have to use string formatting:

sql = "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS {} ( name TEXT, street TEXT, time REAL, age INTEGER )".format(*values)

Answer 2

As I understand, your parameter is the table name?

so your command would be

tbl = 'my_table'
sql = "CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS '%s' ( name TEXT, street TEXT, time REAL, age INTEGER )" % tbl