“React Native Database: A Beginner’s Guide to SQLite Integration”

Unlock the Power of SQLite in Your React Native App

As a developer, you know how crucial it is to choose the right database for your mobile application. SQLite, a C-language library, is a popular choice for many platforms, including React Native. Its offline capabilities and ease of installation make it an attractive option for building robust and efficient apps.

Getting Started with SQLite and React Native

In this tutorial, we’ll explore how to integrate SQLite with a React Native application using the react-native-sqlite-storage library. We’ll build a simple to-do list app that demonstrates how to perform CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations using SQLite.

Prerequisites

Before we dive in, make sure you have a basic understanding of React, React Native, and TypeScript. We’ll also use a set of functional components and several hook APIs to achieve state management.

Setting Up React Native and TypeScript

Let’s start by creating a React Native app using TypeScript. You can clone the React application and work along as you read through this article. We’ll begin with the start branch.

Introducing SQLite to Your App

To connect with SQLite, we’ll use the react-native-sqlite-storage library. To install SQLite, run the following code in your terminal:


npm install react-native-sqlite-storage


Implementing a Datastore Service

Now that we have SQLite set up, let’s implement a datastore service. We’ll create a new file called db-service.ts where we can add all our db operations.

Creating a Table

To ensure our database schema is correctly initialized before performing data operations, we’ll use the CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS statement. This statement creates a table without causing an error if the table already exists.

Saving, Deleting, and Getting To-Do Items

Next, we’ll add methods to save, delete, and get our to-do items. We’ll use the INSERT OR REPLACE statement to manage data updates by either inserting a new record or updating the existing record if there is a conflict on a UNIQUE index or PRIMARY KEY.

Using the Db Service in App.tsx

Now that we have our db service set up, let’s use it in App.tsx. We’ll follow these four steps:

1. Update the ToDoItem component and the App Component to use the new ToDoItem type
2. Load data from SQLite
3. Save data to the db
4. Update deleted items in the db

Loading Data

To load the data in our application, we’ll use the useEffect and useCallback Hooks.

Adding and Deleting Items

To add a to-do item, we’ll run the following code:


const addItem = async (item: string) => {
await db.addTodoItem(item);
setData([...data, { id: Date.now(), value: item }]);
};


To delete a to-do item, we’ll run the following code:


const deleteItem = async (id: number) => {
await db.deleteTodoItem(id);
setData(data.filter((item) => item.id!== id));
};


Filtering Data with WHERE and Using Variables

If you’re interested in filtering query results from our to-do list, you can use the WHERE clause, which allows for filtering query results based on specific columns.

Handling Common SQLite Errors in React Native

One of the most common errors you might encounter when integrating SQLite with React Native is the better-sqlite3 command failed error. To resolve this error, ensure Node.js and npm on your machine are up to date.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve integrated SQLite with a React Native application using the react-native-sqlite-storage library. We’ve built a demo to-do app using TypeScript to demonstrate how SQLlite manages data and performs CRUD operations. Happy coding!

LogRocket: Instantly Recreate Issues in Your React Native Apps

LogRocket is a React Native monitoring solution that helps you reproduce issues instantly, prioritize bugs, and understand performance in your React Native apps. LogRocket also helps you increase conversion rates and product usage by showing you exactly how users are interacting with your app. Start proactively monitoring your React Native apps — try LogRocket for free.