Cannot simply use PostgreSQL table name ("relation does not exist")

Question

I'm trying to run the following PHP script to do a simple database query:

$db_host = "localhost";
$db_name = "showfinder";
$username = "user";
$password = "password";
$dbconn = pg_connect("host=$db_host dbname=$db_name user=$username password=$password")
    or die('Could not connect: ' . pg_last_error());

$query = 'SELECT * FROM sf_bands LIMIT 10';
$result = pg_query($query) or die('Query failed: ' . pg_last_error());

This produces the following error:

Query failed: ERROR: relation "sf_bands" does not exist

In all the examples I can find where someone gets an error stating the relation does not exist, it's because they use uppercase letters in their table name. My table name does not have uppercase letters. Is there a way to query my table without including the database name, i.e. showfinder.sf_bands?

Answer 1

I had problems with this and this is the story (sad but true) :

1. If your table name is all lower case like : accounts The following will work OK: select * from AcCounTs and it will work fine

2. If your table name is all lower case like : accounts The following will fail: select * from "AcCounTs"

3. If your table name is mixed case like : Accounts The following will fail: select * from accounts

4. If your table name is mixed case like : Accounts The following will work OK: select * from "Accounts"

I dont like remembering useless stuff like this but you have to ;)

Answer 2

This error may occur if the user does not have rights to the table. For example.

In psql, impersonate to the user your program is using with \c postgres (replacing postgres with your $username.). Repeat the SELECT in psql to see if the problem is authorization.

Answer 3

postgres doesn't like its name casing to be capitalized, you either use an underscore to separate the names or you make all of them lowercase, and the database engine won't be able to locate the name.

Answer 4

This error means that you're not referencing the table name correctly. One common reason is that the table is defined with a mixed-case spelling, and you're trying to query it with all lower-case.

In other words, the following fails:

CREATE TABLE "SF_Bands" ( ... );

SELECT * FROM sf_bands;  -- ERROR!

Use double-quotes to delimit identifiers so you can use the specific mixed-case spelling as the table is defined.

SELECT * FROM "SF_Bands";

---

Re your comment, you can add a schema to the "search_path" so that when you reference a table name without qualifying its schema, the query will match that table name by checked each schema in order. Just like PATH in the shell or include_path in PHP, etc. You can check your current schema search path:

SHOW search_path
  "$user",public

You can change your schema search path:

SET search_path TO showfinder,public;

Read more about the search_path here: https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/ddl-schemas.html#DDL-SCHEMAS-PATH

Answer 5

I tried every good answer ( upvote > 10) but not works.

I met this problem in pgAdmin4.

so my solution is quite simple:

1. find the target table / scheme.

2. mouse right click, and click: query-tool

3. in this new query tool window, you can run your SQL without specifying set search_path to <SCHEMA_NAME>;

   

4. you can see the result:

   

Answer 6

I'd suggest checking if you run the migrations or if the table exists in the database.

Answer 7

Make sure that Table name doesn't contain any trailing whitespaces

Answer 8

In addition to Bill Karwin's answer =>

Yes, you should surround the table name with double quotes. However, be aware that most probably php will not allow you to just write simply:

$query = "SELECT * FROM "SF_Bands"";

Instead, you should use single quotes while surrounding the query as sav said.

$query = 'SELECT * FROM "SF_Bands"';

Answer 9

It might be silly for a few, but in my case - once I created the table I could able to query the table on the same session, but if I relogin with new session table does not exits.

Then I used commit just after creating the table and now I could able to find and query the table in the new session as well. Like this:

select * from my_schema.my_tbl;

Hope this would help a few.

Answer 10

I had the same issue as above and I am using PostgreSQL 10.5. I tried everything as above but nothing seems to be working.

Then I closed the pgadmin and opened a session for the PSQL terminal. Logged into the PSQL and connected to the database and schema respectively :

\c <DATABASE_NAME>;
set search_path to <SCHEMA_NAME>;

Then, restarted the pgadmin console and then I was able to work without issue in the query-tool of the pagadmin.

Answer 11

If a table name contains underscores or upper case, you need to surround it in double-quotes.

SELECT * from "Table_Name";

Answer 12

Easiest workaround is Just change the table name and all column names to lowercase and your issue will be resolved.

For example:

• Change Table_Name to table_name and
• Change ColumnName to columnname

Answer 13

You have to add the schema first e.g.

SELECT * FROM place.user_place;

If you don't want to add that in all queries then try this:

SET search_path TO place;

Now it will works:

SELECT * FROM user_place;

Answer 14

You must write schema name and table name in qutotation mark. As below:

select * from "schemaName"."tableName";

Answer 15

This is realy helpfull

SET search_path TO schema,public;

I digged this issues more, and found out about how to set this "search_path" by defoult for a new user in current database.

Open DataBase Properties then open Sheet "Variables" and simply add this variable for your user with actual value.

So now your user will get this schema_name by defoult and you could use tableName without schemaName.

Answer 16

I had a similar problem on OSX but tried to play around with double and single quotes. For your case, you could try something like this

$query = 'SELECT * FROM "sf_bands"'; // NOTE: double quotes on "sf_Bands"

Answer 17

Put the dbname parameter in your connection string. It works for me while everything else failed.

Also when doing the select, specify the your_schema.your_table like this:

select * from my_schema.your_table

Answer 18

For me the problem was, that I had used a query to that particular table while Django was initialized. Of course it will then throw an error, because those tables did not exist. In my case, it was a get_or_create method within a admin.py file, that was executed whenever the software ran any kind of operation (in this case the migration). Hope that helps someone.

Answer 19

Postgres process query different from other RDMS. Put schema name in double quote before your table name like this, "SCHEMA_NAME"."SF_Bands"