How We Fix PostgreSQL Error 42601?

by Sijin George | Sep 12, 2019

Syntax errors are quite common while coding. But, things go for a toss when it results in website errors. PostgreSQL error 42601 also occurs due to syntax errors in the database queries.

At Bobcares, we often get requests from PostgreSQL users to fix errors as part of our Server Management Services. Today, let’s check PostgreSQL error in detail and see how our Support Engineers fix it for the customers.

What Causes Error 42601 in PostgreSQL?

PostgreSQL is an advanced database engine. It is popular for its extensive features and ability to handle complex database situations. Applications like Instagram, Facebook, Apple, etc rely on the PostgreSQL database.

PostgreSQL error codes consist of five characters. The first two characters denote the class of errors. And the remaining three characters indicate a specific condition within that class. Here, 42 in 42601 represent the class “Syntax Error or Access Rule Violation“.

In short, this error mainly occurs due to the syntax errors in the queries executed. A typical error shows up as:

Here, the syntax error has occurred in position 119 near the value “parents” in the query. Some other common causes of the error includes:

Syntax mistakes can occur when single (‘) or double (“) quotation marks are not properly closed.
SQL keywords used wrongly or out of order can result in a syntax error.
Omitting essential commas between columns or values, as well as introducing additional commas, can lead to problems.
In complex queries, mismatched or missing parenthesis might result in syntactic issues.
Using operators inappropriately, such as missing logical operators (AND, OR) or using them in the incorrect location.
Simple typos in SQL commands can cause syntax issues.

How We Fix the Error?

Now let’s see how our PostgreSQL engineers resolve this error efficiently. Recently, one of our customers contacted us with this error. He tried to run the following code,

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION prc_tst_bulk(sql text)
RETURNS TABLE (name text, rowcount integer) AS
$$
BEGIN
WITH m_ty_person AS (return query execute sql)
select name, count(*) from m_ty_person where name like '%a%' group by name
union
select name, count(*) from m_ty_person where gender = 1 group by name;
END
$$ LANGUAGE plpgsql;

But, this ended up in PostgreSQL error 42601. And he got the following error message,

ERROR: syntax error at or near "return"
LINE 5: WITH m_ty_person AS (return query execute sql)

Our PostgreSQL Engineers checked the issue and found out the syntax error. The statement in Line 5 was a mix of plain and dynamic SQL. In general, the PostgreSQL query should be either fully dynamic or plain. Therefore, we changed the code as,

RETURN QUERY EXECUTE '
WITH m_ty_person AS (' || sql || $x$)
SELECT name, count(*)::int FROM m_ty_person WHERE name LIKE '%a%' GROUP BY name
UNION
SELECT name, count(*)::int FROM m_ty_person WHERE gender = 1 GROUP BY name$x$;

This resolved the error 42601, and the code worked fine.

Other Troubleshooting Tips

1, Identify the source of the error: Run SELECT * FROM pg_stat_activity WHERE state = ‘42601’; to find the problematic query.

2. Analyze the query: Use EXPLAIN ANALYZE to understand the execution plan and potential issues.

3. Fix the query: Ensure correct syntax, proper parameter usage, and check for matched quotes and parentheses.

4. Re-run the query: Execute the fixed query to confirm the error is resolved.

5. Monitor for future errors: Keep an eye on the database for any recurring PostgreSQL 42601 errors by using SQL formatting tools and real-time syntax checking in the IDE.

[Need more assistance to solve PostgreSQL error 42601?- We’ll help you.]

Conclusion

In short, PostgreSQL error 42601 occurs due to the syntax errors in the code. Today, in this write-up, we have discussed how our Support Engineers fixed this error for our customers.

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16 Comments

Joe on 2019-12-05 at 09:28

SELECT * FROM long_term_prediction_anomaly WHERE + “‘Timestamp'” + ‘”BETWEEN ‘” +
2019-12-05 09:10:00+ ‘”AND'” + 2019-12-06 09:10:00 + “‘;”)
Reply
- Sijin George on 2020-04-18 at 11:39
  
  Hello Joe,
  Do you still get PostgreSQL errors? If you need help, we’ll be happy to talk to you on chat (click on the icon at right-bottom).
  Reply
  - Владимир on 2022-04-01 at 02:31
    
    У меня ошибка drop table exists “companiya”;
    
    CREATE TABLE “companiya” (
    “compania_id” int4 NOT NULL,
    “fio vladelca” text NOT NULL,
    “name” text NOT NULL,
    “id_operator” int4 NOT NULL,
    “id_uslugi” int4 NOT NULL,
    “id_reklama” int4 NOT NULL,
    “id_tex-specialist” int4 NOT NULL,
    “id_filial” int4 NOT NULL,
    CONSTRAINT “_copy_8” PRIMARY KEY (“compania_id”)
    );
    
    CREATE TABLE “filial” (
    “id_filial” int4 NOT NULL,
    “street” text NOT NULL,
    “house” int4 NOT NULL,
    “city” text NOT NULL,
    CONSTRAINT “_copy_5” PRIMARY KEY (“id_filial”)
    );
    
    CREATE TABLE “login” (
    “id_name” int4 NOT NULL,
    “name” char(20) NOT NULL,
    “pass” char(20) NOT NULL,
    PRIMARY KEY (“id_name”)
    );
    
    CREATE TABLE “operator” (
    “id_operator” int4 NOT NULL,
    “obrabotka obrasheniya” int4 NOT NULL,
    “konsultirovanie” text NOT NULL,
    “grafick work” date NOT NULL,
    CONSTRAINT “_copy_2” PRIMARY KEY (“id_operator”)
    );
    
    CREATE TABLE “polsovateli” (
    “id_user” int4 NOT NULL,
    “id_companiya” int4 NOT NULL,
    “id_obrasheniya” int4 NOT NULL,
    “id_oshibka” int4 NOT NULL,
    CONSTRAINT “_copy_6” PRIMARY KEY (“id_user”)
    );
    
    CREATE TABLE “reklama” (
    “id_reklama” int4 NOT NULL,
    “tele-marketing” text NOT NULL,
    “soc-seti” text NOT NULL,
    “mobile” int4 NOT NULL,
    CONSTRAINT “_copy_3” PRIMARY KEY (“id_reklama”)
    );
    
    CREATE TABLE “tex-specialist” (
    “id_tex-specialist” int4 NOT NULL,
    “grafik” date NOT NULL,
    “zarplata” int4 NOT NULL,
    “ispravlenie oshibok” int4 NOT NULL,
    CONSTRAINT “_copy_7” PRIMARY KEY (“id_tex-specialist”)
    );
    
    CREATE TABLE “uslugi” (
    “id_uslugi” int4 NOT NULL,
    “vostanavlenia parola” int4 NOT NULL,
    “poterya acaunta” int4 NOT NULL,
    CONSTRAINT “_copy_4” PRIMARY KEY (“id_uslugi”)
    );
    
    ALTER TABLE “companiya” ADD CONSTRAINT “fk_companiya_operator_1” FOREIGN KEY (“id_operator”) REFERENCES “operator” (“id_operator”);
    ALTER TABLE “companiya” ADD CONSTRAINT “fk_companiya_uslugi_1” FOREIGN KEY (“id_uslugi”) REFERENCES “uslugi” (“id_uslugi”);
    ALTER TABLE “companiya” ADD CONSTRAINT “fk_companiya_filial_1” FOREIGN KEY (“id_filial”) REFERENCES “filial” (“id_filial”);
    ALTER TABLE “companiya” ADD CONSTRAINT “fk_companiya_reklama_1” FOREIGN KEY (“id_reklama”) REFERENCES “reklama” (“id_reklama”);
    ALTER TABLE “companiya” ADD CONSTRAINT “fk_companiya_tex-specialist_1” FOREIGN KEY (“id_tex-specialist”) REFERENCES “tex-specialist” (“id_tex-specialist”);
    ALTER TABLE “polsovateli” ADD CONSTRAINT “fk_polsovateli_companiya_1” FOREIGN KEY (“id_companiya”) REFERENCES “companiya” (“compania_id”);
    
    ERROR: ОШИБКА: ошибка синтаксиса (примерное положение: “”companiya””)
    LINE 1: drop table exists “companiya”;
    ^
    
    SQL-состояние: 42601
    Символ: 19
    Reply
    - Hiba Razak on 2022-07-14 at 10:06
      
      Hi,
      
      Our Experts can help you with the issue, we’ll be happy to talk to you on chat.
      Reply
  - ISRAA AHMED on 2022-06-06 at 00:29
    
    I still have the same error
    Copy data to ‘C:\Users\ALFAFA\Desktop\db.csv’ WITH DELIMITER ‘,’ CSV HEADER;
    
    ERROR: syntax error at or near “Copy”
    LINE 3: Copy data to ‘C:\Users\ALFAFA\Desktop\db.csv’ WITH DELIMITER…
    ^
    SQL state: 42601
    Character: 43
    Reply
    - Syam S on 2022-06-21 at 17:13
      
      Please contact our support team via live chat.
      Reply
- Bontle on 2023-02-16 at 17:00
  
  I am getting syntax error for line 5. SQL state:42601
  Reply
  - Hiba Razak on 2023-02-22 at 19:57
    
    Hi,
    Our experts can help you with the issue.we will be happy to talk to you through our live chat(click on the icon at right-bottom).
    Reply
Paulo on 2022-07-24 at 04:33

Update * from Autos WHERE Marca IN (‘Chevrolet’,’Toyota’);

ERROR: error de sintaxis en o cerca de «*»
LINE 1: Update * from Autos WHERE Marca IN (‘Chevrolet’,’Toyota’);
^
SQL state: 42601
Character: 8
Reply
- Hiba Razak on 2022-07-25 at 09:22
  
  Hi,
  Please contact our support team via live chat.
  Reply
Soumya Asthana on 2022-08-18 at 16:46

SELECT 1 FROM (SELECT GREG_DTE, RANK () OVER (ORDER BY GREG_DTE)
RANK FROM FT_T_CADP P WHERE GREG_DTE >= (SELECT ((date_trunc(‘MONTH’, sysdate()) + INTERVAL ‘1 MONTH – 1 day’)::date) FROM DUAL) its giving SQL Error [42601]: ERROR: subquery in FROM must have an alias
Hint: For example, FROM (SELECT …) [AS] foo.
Position: 15 .. How do we provide a alais in Postgres?
Reply
- Hiba Razak on 2022-08-22 at 17:02
  
  Hi,
  
  Our Experts can help you with the issue, we’ll be happy to talk to you on chat (click on the icon at right-bottom).
  Reply
Vilde Handeland on 2023-02-09 at 18:23

CREATE TABLE Bil
(
BILNR integer NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
Eier NVARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
Adresse varchar(50),
EPost varchar(50),
TlfNr integer
);

ERROR: syntax error at or near “(”
LINE 4: Eier NVARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,
^
SQL state: 42601
Character: 72
Reply
- Hiba Razak on 2023-03-16 at 16:17
  
  Hi,
  Please contact our support through live chat(click on the icon at right-bottom).
  Reply
David on 2023-06-08 at 14:09

I am currently getting a ‘42601’ error whenever I create a CTE

Example of the query –

with WH as
(
select *
from warehouse
order by event_datetime desc
),
days as
(
select onhandquantity, event_datetime,
(event_datetime – interval ’90 DAY’) as day90,
(event_datetime – interval ‘180 DAY’) as day180,
(event_datetime – interval ‘270 DAY’) as day270,
(event_datetime – interval ‘365 DAY’) as day365
from WH
limit 1
)
Reply
- Hiba Razak on 2023-06-13 at 16:55
  
  Hello David,
  Please contact our support team through live chat (click on the icon at right-bottom).
  Reply