% Generated by roxygen2: do not edit by hand
% Please edit documentation in R/dbGetQuery.R
\name{dbGetQuery}
\alias{dbGetQuery}
\title{Retrieve results from a query}
\usage{
dbGetQuery(conn, statement, ...)
}
\arguments{
\item{conn}{A \linkS4class{DBIConnection} object, as returned by
\code{\link[=dbConnect]{dbConnect()}}.}

\item{statement}{a character string containing SQL.}

\item{...}{Other parameters passed on to methods.}
}
\value{
\code{dbGetQuery()} always returns a \link{data.frame}, with
as many rows as records were fetched and as many
columns as fields in the result set,
even if the result is a single value
or has one
or zero rows.
}
\description{
Returns the result of a query as a data frame.
\code{dbGetQuery()} comes with a default implementation
(which should work with most backends) that calls
\code{\link[=dbSendQuery]{dbSendQuery()}}, then \code{\link[=dbFetch]{dbFetch()}}, ensuring that
the result is always freed by \code{\link[=dbClearResult]{dbClearResult()}}.
For retrieving chunked/paged results or for passing query parameters,
see \code{\link[=dbSendQuery]{dbSendQuery()}}, in particular the "The data retrieval flow" section.
For retrieving results as an Arrow object, see \code{\link[=dbGetQueryArrow]{dbGetQueryArrow()}}.

\Sexpr[results=rd,stage=render]{DBI:::methods_as_rd("dbGetQuery")}
}
\details{
This method is for \code{SELECT} queries only
(incl. other SQL statements that return a \code{SELECT}-alike result,
e.g., execution of a stored procedure or data manipulation queries
like \verb{INSERT INTO ... RETURNING ...}).
To execute a stored procedure that does not return a result set,
use \code{\link[=dbExecute]{dbExecute()}}.

Some backends may
support data manipulation statements through this method for compatibility
reasons.  However, callers are strongly advised to use
\code{\link[=dbExecute]{dbExecute()}} for data manipulation statements.
}
\section{Implementation notes}{

Subclasses should override this method only if they provide some sort of
performance optimization.
}

\section{Failure modes}{


An error is raised when issuing a query over a closed
or invalid connection,
if the syntax of the query is invalid,
or if the query is not a non-\code{NA} string.
If the \code{n} argument is not an atomic whole number
greater or equal to -1 or Inf, an error is raised,
but a subsequent call to \code{dbGetQuery()} with proper \code{n} argument succeeds.

}

\section{Additional arguments}{


The following arguments are not part of the \code{dbGetQuery()} generic
(to improve compatibility across backends)
but are part of the DBI specification:
\itemize{
\item \code{n} (default: -1)
\item \code{params} (default: \code{NULL})
\item \code{immediate} (default: \code{NULL})
}

They must be provided as named arguments.
See the "Specification" and "Value" sections for details on their usage.

}

\section{Specification}{



A column named \code{row_names} is treated like any other column.

The \code{n} argument specifies the number of rows to be fetched.
If omitted, fetching multi-row queries with one
or more columns returns the entire result.
A value of \link{Inf} for the \code{n} argument is supported
and also returns the full result.
If more rows than available are fetched (by passing a too large value for
\code{n}), the result is returned in full without warning.
If zero rows are requested, the columns of the data frame are still fully
typed.
Fetching fewer rows than available is permitted,
no warning is issued.

The \code{param} argument allows passing query parameters, see \code{\link[DBI:dbBind]{DBI::dbBind()}} for details.

}

\section{Specification for the \code{immediate} argument}{



The \code{immediate} argument supports distinguishing between "direct"
and "prepared" APIs offered by many database drivers.
Passing \code{immediate = TRUE} leads to immediate execution of the
query or statement, via the "direct" API (if supported by the driver).
The default \code{NULL} means that the backend should choose whatever API
makes the most sense for the database, and (if relevant) tries the
other API if the first attempt fails. A successful second attempt
should result in a message that suggests passing the correct
\code{immediate} argument.
Examples for possible behaviors:
\enumerate{
\item DBI backend defaults to \code{immediate = TRUE} internally
\enumerate{
\item A query without parameters is passed: query is executed
\item A query with parameters is passed:
\enumerate{
\item \code{params} not given: rejected immediately by the database
because of a syntax error in the query, the backend tries
\code{immediate = FALSE} (and gives a message)
\item \code{params} given: query is executed using \code{immediate = FALSE}
}
}
\item DBI backend defaults to \code{immediate = FALSE} internally
\enumerate{
\item A query without parameters is passed:
\enumerate{
\item simple query: query is executed
\item "special" query (such as setting a config options): fails,
the backend tries \code{immediate = TRUE} (and gives a message)
}
\item A query with parameters is passed:
\enumerate{
\item \code{params} not given: waiting for parameters via \code{\link[DBI:dbBind]{DBI::dbBind()}}
\item \code{params} given: query is executed
}
}
}

}

\examples{
\dontshow{if (requireNamespace("RSQLite", quietly = TRUE)) withAutoprint(\{ # examplesIf}
con <- dbConnect(RSQLite::SQLite(), ":memory:")

dbWriteTable(con, "mtcars", mtcars)
dbGetQuery(con, "SELECT * FROM mtcars")
dbGetQuery(con, "SELECT * FROM mtcars", n = 6)

# Pass values using the param argument:
# (This query runs eight times, once for each different
# parameter. The resulting rows are combined into a single
# data frame.)
dbGetQuery(
  con,
  "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM mtcars WHERE cyl = ?",
  params = list(1:8)
)

dbDisconnect(con)
\dontshow{\}) # examplesIf}
}
\seealso{
For updates: \code{\link[=dbSendStatement]{dbSendStatement()}} and \code{\link[=dbExecute]{dbExecute()}}.

Other DBIConnection generics: 
\code{\link{DBIConnection-class}},
\code{\link{dbAppendTable}()},
\code{\link{dbAppendTableArrow}()},
\code{\link{dbCreateTable}()},
\code{\link{dbCreateTableArrow}()},
\code{\link{dbDataType}()},
\code{\link{dbDisconnect}()},
\code{\link{dbExecute}()},
\code{\link{dbExistsTable}()},
\code{\link{dbGetException}()},
\code{\link{dbGetInfo}()},
\code{\link{dbGetQueryArrow}()},
\code{\link{dbIsReadOnly}()},
\code{\link{dbIsValid}()},
\code{\link{dbListFields}()},
\code{\link{dbListObjects}()},
\code{\link{dbListResults}()},
\code{\link{dbListTables}()},
\code{\link{dbQuoteIdentifier}()},
\code{\link{dbReadTable}()},
\code{\link{dbReadTableArrow}()},
\code{\link{dbRemoveTable}()},
\code{\link{dbSendQuery}()},
\code{\link{dbSendQueryArrow}()},
\code{\link{dbSendStatement}()},
\code{\link{dbUnquoteIdentifier}()},
\code{\link{dbWriteTable}()},
\code{\link{dbWriteTableArrow}()}

Other data retrieval generics: 
\code{\link{dbBind}()},
\code{\link{dbClearResult}()},
\code{\link{dbFetch}()},
\code{\link{dbFetchArrow}()},
\code{\link{dbFetchArrowChunk}()},
\code{\link{dbGetQueryArrow}()},
\code{\link{dbHasCompleted}()},
\code{\link{dbSendQuery}()},
\code{\link{dbSendQueryArrow}()}
}
\concept{DBIConnection generics}
\concept{data retrieval generics}
