I’m trying to run the following fairly simple query in SQL Server Management Studio:
SELECT TOP 1000 *
FROM
master.sys.procedures as procs
left join
master.sys.parameters as params on procs.object_id = params.object_id
This seems totally correct, but I keep getting the following error:
Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Line 6
Incorrect syntax near ».
It works if I take out the join and only do a simple select:
SELECT TOP 1000 *
FROM
master.sys.procedures as procs
But I need the join to work. I don’t even have the string » in this query, so I can’t figure out what it doesn’t like.
halfer
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asked Nov 1, 2013 at 15:57
Joshua FrankJoshua Frank
13k11 gold badges46 silver badges95 bronze badges
7
Such unexpected problems can appear when you copy the code from a web page or email and the text contains unprintable characters like individual CR or LF and non-breaking spaces.
halfer
19.8k17 gold badges98 silver badges185 bronze badges
answered Nov 4, 2013 at 8:15
5
Panagiotis Kanavos is right, sometimes copy and paste T-SQL can make appear unwanted characters…
I finally found a simple and fast way (only Notepad++ needed) to detect which character is wrong, without having to manually rewrite the whole statement: there is no need to save any file to disk.
It’s pretty quick, in Notepad++:
You should easily find the wrong character(s)
answered May 21, 2019 at 12:50
2
You can identify the encoding used for the file (in this case sql file) using an editor (I used Visual studio code). Once you open the file, it shows you the encoding of the file at the lower right corner on the editor.
encoding
I had this issue when I was trying to check-in a file that was encoded UTF-BOM (originating from a non-windows machine) that had special characters appended to individual string characters
You can change the encoding of your file as follows:
In the bottom bar of VSCode, you’ll see the label UTF-8 With BOM. Click it. A popup opens. Click Save with encoding. You can now pick a new encoding for that file (UTF-8)
answered Jan 15, 2021 at 18:32
The error for me was that I read the SQL statement from a text file, and the text file was saved in the UTF-8 with BOM (byte order mark) format.
To solve this, I opened the file in Notepad++ and under Encoding, chose UTF-8. Alternatively you can remove the first three bytes of the file with a hex editor.
answered Sep 7, 2018 at 3:19
3
I was using ADO.NET and was using SQL Command as:
string query =
"SELECT * " +
"FROM table_name" +
"Where id=@id";
the thing was i missed a whitespace at the end of "FROM table_name"+
So basically it said
string query = "SELECT * FROM table_nameWHERE id=@id";
and this was causing the error.
Hope it helps
answered Jun 7, 2019 at 3:39
IamButtmanIamButtman
1972 silver badges15 bronze badges
I got this error because I pasted alias columns into a DECLARE statement.
DECLARE @userdata TABLE(
f.TABLE_CATALOG nvarchar(100),
f.TABLE_NAME nvarchar(100),
f.COLUMN_NAME nvarchar(100),
p.COLUMN_NAME nvarchar(100)
)
SELECT * FROM @userdata
ERROR:
Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Line 2
Incorrect syntax near ‘.’.
DECLARE @userdata TABLE(
f_TABLE_CATALOG nvarchar(100),
f_TABLE_NAME nvarchar(100),
f_COLUMN_NAME nvarchar(100),
p_COLUMN_NAME nvarchar(100)
)
SELECT * FROM @userdata
NO ERROR
answered Jul 2, 2019 at 13:35
For me I was miss single quote in the statement
Incorrect One : "INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerNo, FirstName, MobileNo1, RelatedPersonMobileNo) VALUES ('John123', John', '1111111111', '1111111111)"
missed quote in John’ and ‘1111111111
Correct One: "INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerNo, FirstName, MobileNo1, RelatedPersonMobileNo) VALUES ('John123', 'John', '1111111111', '1111111111')"
answered Feb 23, 2022 at 13:37
abdellaabdella
4303 silver badges10 bronze badges
I was able to run this by replacing the ‘Dot’; with and ‘Underscore’; for the [dbo][tablename].
EXAMPLE:
EXEC sp_columns INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
GO //**this will NOT work. But will intelliSence/autocomplete as if its correct.
EXEC sp_columns INFORMATION_SCHEMA_COLUMNS
GO //**This will run in Synapse. but funny enough will not autocomplete.
answered Aug 15, 2022 at 19:16
Incorrect syntax near is an error message in SQL Server because you’re using the wrong syntax for a SQL query or the query contains unprintable characters that are invincible to the naked eye.
This article will show you SQL statements that will lead to the “incorrect syntax near” error, and we’ll show you solutions that you can use to solve similar errors in your environment.
Before you proceed, know that we’re aware of how frustrating this error can get, and that’s why this article will analyze the “incorrect syntax near ‘ ‘ meaning” as a way to make it easy for you.
With that out of the way, launch your SQL Server, and let’s teach you “how to fix incorrect syntax near ‘ ‘ in SQL Server.
Contents
- Why Do Your SQL Statements Have an Incorrect Syntax?
- – Typographical Error in Your SQL Statement
- – Misusing a Keyword or Reserved Words
- – SQL Statements Have Misplaced Punctuation Marks
- – An Unprintable Characters in Your SQL Statement
- How To Fix the Syntax Errors in Your SQL Statements?
- – Check for Typographical Error in Your SQL Statement
- – Avoid Using Reserved Words as Your Column Names
- – Use Punctuation Marks the Right Way
- – Use a Text Editor To Show the Unprintable Characters
- Conclusion
Why Do Your SQL Statements Have an Incorrect Syntax?
Your SQL statements have an incorrect syntax because of the following:
- You have a typographical error in your SQL statement
- You’re misusing a keyword or reserved words
- Your SQL statements have misplaced punctuation marks
- You have unprintable characters in your SQL statement
– Typographical Error in Your SQL Statement
Typographical errors are a common cause of the “incorrect syntax near ‘-‘. SQL date” error in SQL Server. These errors occur when there is a mistake in the way that the SQL statement is written, such as a misspelled keyword or a missing punctuation mark.
For example, given the following SQL code that will create a “Customers” table:
CustomerID INT PRIMARY KEY,
FirstName VARCHAR(50),
LastName VARCHAR(50),
Email VARCHAR(100),
Phone VARCHAR(20),
Address VARCHAR(200),
City VARCHAR(50),
State VARCHAR(50),
ZipCode VARCHAR(10)
);
INSERT INTO Customers (CustomerID, FirstName, LastName, Email, Phone, Address, City, State, ZipCode)
VALUES
(1, ‘John’, ‘Doe’, ‘johndoe@site.com’, ‘123-456-7890’, ‘123 Main St’, ‘New York’, ‘NY’, ‘10001’),
(2, ‘Jane’, ‘Doe’, ‘janedoe@site.com’, ‘123-456-7890’, ‘456 Elm St’, ‘Los Angeles’, ‘CA’, ‘90001’),
(3, ‘Bob’, ‘Smith’, ‘bobsmith@site.com’, ‘123-456-7890’, ‘789 Oak St’, ‘Chicago’, ‘IL’, ‘60601’),
(4, ‘Alice’, ‘Johnson’, ‘alicejohnson@site.com’, ‘123-456-7890’, ‘321 Pine St’, ‘Houston’, ‘TX’, ‘77001’);
The following SQL will result in a syntax error because there is a typographical error in the keyword “FORM” which should be “FROM”:
– Misusing a Keyword or Reserved Words
SQL Server has a list of reserved words that you cannot use as identifiers for tables, columns, or other objects. So, any attempt to use a reserved word as an identifier, can lead to the “incorrect syntax near ‘ ‘ in visual studio“.
For example, the following SQL statement will result in an error because “SELECT” and “TABLE” are reserved words that you cannot use as column names.
SELECT VARCHAR(15),
TABLE INT);
The following is another example, but this time, we typed the “FROM” keyword twice, and this will also cause an error.
SELECT FROM FROM Customers;
– SQL Statements Have Misplaced Punctuation Marks
A misplaced punctuation mark can cause the “incorrect syntax near ‘;’.” error in SQL Server, and this can happen when you’re trying to retrieve a record from a table.
For example, the following will result in a syntax error because the name that we’re retrieving contains quotes that cause the error. That’s because SQL will not understand how to parse the “SELECT” statement.
SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE Customers.FirstName = ‘O’Brien’
The same error will also occur in the following code and that’s because there we used a quote in the wrong way.
UPDATE Customers SET Lastname = ‘Doe’, ‘FirstName’ = ‘Jane’ WHERE CustomerID = 2;
– An Unprintable Characters in Your SQL Statement
In SQL Server, unprintable characters can cause the “incorrect syntax near ‘ ‘. in SQL Server 2019” error because they are mostly hidden, and they can alter the structure of an SQL statement. As a result, SQL Server cannot read and parse the statement correctly, so it returns a syntax error.
For example, in the following SQL, there is a Unicode character after the “e” in “Doe”, and it will cause the “incorrect syntax near” error. To confirm, copy the code, and run it against the “Customers” table that you created earlier.
WHERE LastName = ‘Doe’•
How To Fix the Syntax Errors in Your SQL Statements?
To fix the syntax errors in your SQL statements, you can:
- Check for a typographical error in your SQL statement
- Avoid using reserved words as your column names
- Use punctuation marks the right way
- Use a text editor to show the unprintable characters
– Check for Typographical Error in Your SQL Statement
Your first routine when you see the “incorrect syntax near” error is to check your SQL statements for typographical errors.
For example, the following code is a previous example that resulted in the error:
The next SQL is the correct version of the statement, and the fix is to change “FORM” to “FROM”. This will make it a valid SQL that the SQL server will parse without throwing a syntax error.
– Avoid Using Reserved Words as Your Column Names
Another way to prevent the incorrect syntax error in SQL Server is to avoid using reserved words as your column names. It’s recommended to use descriptive names that will make maintenance easy for you and other developers in the future.
However, if you need a reserved word as a column name, there is a way to do that.
For reference, the following is a previous example that’s trying to create the BIKE_TWO table in SQL Server:
SELECT VARCHAR(15),
TABLE INT);
The SQL code contains two reserved names; “SELECT” and “TABLE” that SQL Server will not allow. To fix this, you can place square brackets around them, and the code will run fine:
[SELECT] VARCHAR(15),
[TABLE] INT);
– Use Punctuation Marks the Right Way
Using punctuation the right way in SQL Server will prevent the “incorrect syntax near ‘.’. SQL Server stored procedure“. That’s because the server will understand your SQL queries and return a result (if applicable). For a start, have a look at the following SQL that we showed you earlier:
SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE Customers.FirstName = ‘O’Brien’
The customer’s first name has quotes that we used directly in the query, and this led to an error.
The fix is to use another punctuation mark before the “B” in Brien, and this will tell SQL Server that “O” and “Brien” are two separate words in quotes. This will allow it to parse the statement without throwing a syntax error.
SELECT * FROM Customers WHERE Customers.Name = ‘O”Brien’
Another example is the following SQL statement that we also showed you earlier, but we did not mention what caused the error. Observe the code for a second time, and you will see that we used quotes around a table name. This is wrong and that’s why the SQL Server shows a syntax error.
–This is wrong.
UPDATE Customers SET Lastname = ‘Doe’, ‘FirstName’ = ‘Janee’ WHERE CustomerID = 2;
The solution is to remove the quotes from the “FirstName” column, and this cements the concept of using punctuation marks the right way.
— This is correct
UPDATE Customers SET Lastname = ‘Gonzalez’, FirstName = ‘Jonathan’ WHERE CustomerID = 2;
– Use a Text Editor To Show the Unprintable Characters
Using a text editor is the ultimate tool to solve the “incorrect syntax near ‘ ‘. in C#” error when your code has no syntax error and yet, SQL Server says otherwise.
If you’re in such a situation, do the following:
- Download Notepad++ from their official website and install it on your computer.
- Open Notepad++, and click on “New file”
- Ensure the value of the “Encoding” menu is “Encode in UTF-8”. If it’s not there, set it.
- Copy your SQL statements that are failing in SQL Server, and paste them in Notepad++.
- Click the “Encoding” menu again, and change it to “Encode in ANSI”.
- Check your text again, and you’ll see the “invincible character”.
- Delete it, and run your code in SQL Server again. It should work.
Meanwhile, if you can’t get Notepad++, you can paste the SQL in an online tool like “SQLiteonline”, and you’ll see the invincible characters immediately.
Conclusion
This article explained the causes of the “incorrect syntax near” error in SQL Server, and five methods that can fix it for you, depending on your use case. From everything that we’ve talked about, and what you’ve learned so far, remember the following:
- Typographical errors and misuse of reserved keywords are the two major causes of the “incorrect syntax near” error in SQL Server.
- Misplaced punctuation marks and unprintable characters can also cause a syntax error in SQL Server.
- The top solution for the “incorrect syntax near” in SQL Server is to check for typographical errors, and use punctuation marks the right way.
- If all solutions fail to solve the incorrect syntax in your SQL statements, paste the SQL in Notepad++, and enable “Encoding in ANSI”.
Right now, the incorrect syntax should be resolved in your SQL code. Take care of yourself, and always run correct and valid SQL statements on your SQL server.
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Fixing the Error «Incorrect Syntax Near ‘,’.»
The error «Incorrect Syntax Near ‘,'» appears while running a query on a table in SQL Server Management Studio. This error usually occurs when there is a typo in the query, or when the query that is being run is incorrect.
Steps to Fix
- Check the columns in the table to ensure that the column names being used in the query are correct.
- Verify if any columns have brackets around them, if there are not any, add them and try running the query.
- Check for reserved words being used as part of the query and make sure that if there are any, the query is enclosed in brackets.
- Check for any extra white spaces in the query and remove them.
- Check the query for any typos and correct them
- Ensure that all the column names used in the query are all on the same side i.e. need to be enclosed with the same brackets.
- Make sure that all the data types of the columns used in the query match up.
- Check the order of the query and reorder it, if necessary.
Further Resources
For further resources on how to fix this error, refer to the following links:
- Stackoverflow
FAQs
#####Q: What is the error «Incorrect Syntax Near ‘,'» ?
A: The error “Incorrect Syntax Near ‘,'» is a relational database error that appears while running a query on a table in SQL Server Management Studio.
#####Q: What causes this error?
A: This error occurs when there’s a typo in the query, or when the query being run is incorrect.
#####Q: How can I fix this error?
A: You can fix this error by checking the columns in the table to ensure that the column names being used in the query are correct, verifying if any columns have brackets around them, checking for reserved words in the query, removing any extra white spaces in the query, checking for any typos, making sure all columns in the query are on the same side, making sure all data type of the columns used in the query match up, and reordering the query.
#####Q: What resources can I refer to for more information on how to fix this error?
A: You can refer to the following links for more information on how to fix this error:
- Stackoverflow
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Question
-
Can someone please tell me what normally causes this error message? I can’t even tell what line or what page is producing the error.
I’m trying to update information in SQL via an ASP.NET control — in my SET command I’m not currently including all columns in the statement (just testing to see if one column updates correctly first); could that be causing this
error, or is it something else?Thanks,
Matt
Description:
An unhandled exception occurred during the execution of the current web request. Please review the stack trace for more information about the error and where it originated in the code.Exception Details: System.Data.SqlClient.SqlException: Incorrect syntax near ‘,’.
Source Error:
Server Error in ‘/www.mywebsite.com’ Application.
Incorrect syntax near ‘,’.
An unhandled exception was generated during the execution of the current web request. Information regarding the origin and location of the exception can be identified using the exception stack trace below.
Stack Trace:
[SqlException (0x80131904): Incorrect syntax near ','.] System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection) +2032870 System.Data.SqlClient.SqlInternalConnection.OnError(SqlException exception, Boolean breakConnection) +5037992 System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.ThrowExceptionAndWarning() +234 System.Data.SqlClient.TdsParser.Run(RunBehavior runBehavior, SqlCommand cmdHandler, SqlDataReader dataStream, BulkCopySimpleResultSet bulkCopyHandler, TdsParserStateObject stateObj) +2275 System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.FinishExecuteReader(SqlDataReader ds, RunBehavior runBehavior, String resetOptionsString) +215 System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReaderTds(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, Boolean async) +987 System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.RunExecuteReader(CommandBehavior cmdBehavior, RunBehavior runBehavior, Boolean returnStream, String method, DbAsyncResult result) +162 System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.InternalExecuteNonQuery(DbAsyncResult result, String methodName, Boolean sendToPipe) +178 System.Data.SqlClient.SqlCommand.ExecuteNonQuery() +137 System.Web.UI.WebControls.SqlDataSourceView.ExecuteDbCommand(DbCommand command, DataSourceOperation operation) +394 System.Web.UI.WebControls.SqlDataSourceView.ExecuteUpdate(IDictionary keys, IDictionary values, IDictionary oldValues) +697 System.Web.UI.DataSourceView.Update(IDictionary keys, IDictionary values, IDictionary oldValues, DataSourceViewOperationCallback callback) +95 System.Web.UI.WebControls.FormView.HandleUpdate(String commandArg, Boolean causesValidation) +1154 System.Web.UI.WebControls.FormView.HandleEvent(EventArgs e, Boolean causesValidation, String validationGroup) +408 System.Web.UI.WebControls.FormView.OnBubbleEvent(Object source, EventArgs e) +95 System.Web.UI.Control.RaiseBubbleEvent(Object source, EventArgs args) +37 System.Web.UI.WebControls.FormViewRow.OnBubbleEvent(Object source, EventArgs e) +112 System.Web.UI.Control.RaiseBubbleEvent(Object source, EventArgs args) +37 System.Web.UI.WebControls.LinkButton.OnCommand(CommandEventArgs e) +118 System.Web.UI.WebControls.LinkButton.RaisePostBackEvent(String eventArgument) +169 System.Web.UI.WebControls.LinkButton.System.Web.UI.IPostBackEventHandler.RaisePostBackEvent(String eventArgument) +9 System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(IPostBackEventHandler sourceControl, String eventArgument) +13 System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(NameValueCollection postData) +176 System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +5563
Version Information: Microsoft .NET Framework Version:4.0.21006; ASP.NET Version:4.0.21006.1
Answers
-
With help from MS tech support, I was able to resolve the issue by revising the BindFormView method (the Update code per all the comments here was fine—problem was rooted in the very last line where the BindFormView code is called)…In case it helps someone
else, here is the BindFormView code that enabled me to successfully use FormView to display and update images in MS SQL:Private Sub BindFormView() ' Get the connection string from Web.config. Using conn As New SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings("MyDatabaseConnectionString").ToString()) ' Create a DataSet object. Dim dsPerson As New DataSet() ' Create a SELECT query. Dim strSelectCmd As String = "SELECT UserId,UserName,Age FROM Advertisements Where UserId=@UserId" ' Create a SqlDataAdapter object Dim da As New SqlDataAdapter() Dim selectCMD As SqlCommand = New SqlCommand(strSelectCmd, conn) da.SelectCommand = selectCMD selectCMD.Parameters.Add("@UserId", SqlDbType.UniqueIdentifier) Dim currentUser As MembershipUser = Membership.GetUser() If currentUser IsNot Nothing Then ' Determine the currently logged on user's UserId value Dim currentUserId As Guid = CType(currentUser.ProviderUserKey, Guid) ' Assign the currently logged on user's UserId to the @UserId parameter selectCMD.Parameters("@UserId").Value = currentUserId Else selectCMD.Parameters("@UserId").Value = Guid.Empty End If ' Open the connection conn.Open() ' Fill the DataTable named "Advertisements" in DataSet with the rows ' returned by the query. Dim dsAdvertisements As DataSet = New DataSet() da.Fill(dsAdvertisements, "Advertisements") ' Bind the FormView control. AdvertisementForm.DataSource = dsAdvertisements AdvertisementForm.DataBind() End Using End Sub
-
Marked as answer by
Monday, July 5, 2010 11:26 PM
-
Marked as answer by
Hi friends, in this post, we will be discussing about how you can resolve the SQL Server CTE Error: Incorrect syntax near ‘)’.
What are Common Table Expressions (CTEs)?
In SQL Server and more specifically in T-SQL, a CTE is a temporary named result set, from which you can then select records. CTEs are temporary objects and are not stored on disk.
CTEs vs Views
Even though CTEs might sound similar to database views, there is one major difference: views are database objects that are stored physically on disk but CTEs, as mentioned above, are just temporary objects and thus they are not stored on disk.
Let’s Reproduce the Incorrect syntax near ‘)’ error
Now, about the Incorrect syntax near ‘)’ error, let’s see a relevant example, via which we can reproduce the error.
With the below T-SQL script, I’m trying to define a CTE in SQL Server:
WITH cte_Customers AS ( SELECT * FROM dbo.tblCustomers WHERE id>2 )
However, when I try to execute the above script, I will get the error message:
Msg 102, Level 15, State 1, Line 6
Incorrect syntax near ‘)’.
How to Resolve the Issue
Resolving the above issue, is very easy.
The key thing to remember when defining a CTE in SQL Server, is that in its definition, you must always include a SELECT, DELETE, INSERT or UPDATE statement, that references one or more columns returned by the CTE.
So, by continuing our example, in order to make the definition of the CTE valid, I can include for instance, a SELECT statement.
Let’s see the new example:
WITH cte_Customers AS ( SELECT * FROM dbo.tblCustomers WHERE id>2 ) SELECT * FROM cte_Customers
Now, if I execute the above script, I can see that my CTE works without errors.
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