SQLSTATE
Client programs calling an SQL database receive an indication about the success or failure of the call. This return code is named SQLSTATE. It consists of 5 byte.
Programs calling a database that conforms to the SQL standard receive an indication of the success or failure of the call. This return code - which is called SQLSTATE - consists of 5 bytes. They are divided into two parts: the first and second bytes contain a class and the following three a subclass. Each class belongs to one of four categories: "S" denotes "Success" (class 00), "W" denotes "Warning" (class 01), "N" denotes "No data" (class 02), and "X" denotes "Exception" (all other classes).
Real DBMSs are free to define additional values for SQLSTATE to handle those features that are beyond the standard. Such values must use one of the characters [I-Z] or [5-9] as the first byte of class (first byte of SQLSTATE) or subclass (third byte of SQLSTATE).
In addition to SQLSTATE, the SQL command GET DIAGNOSTICS offers more details about the last executed SQL command.
In very early versions of the SQL standard, the return code was called SQLCODE and used a different coding schema.
The following table lists the standard-conforming values - based on SQL:2011. The table's last column shows the part of the standard that defines the row.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “SQLSTATE” is client programs calling an SQL database receive an indication about the success or failure of the call. This return code is named SQLSTATE. It consists of 5 byte. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through SQLSTATE, Client and programs, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “client programs calling an SQL database receive an indication about the success or failure of the call. This return code is named SQLSTATE. It consists of 5 byte” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q56291527. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2011.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “SQLSTATE” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.