PHP PDOStatement::errorInfo Method

last modified April 19, 2025

The PDOStatement::errorInfo method retrieves extended error information about the last operation performed by a PDOStatement object.

Basic Definition

PDOStatement::errorInfo returns an array of error information about the last operation performed by this statement handle. The array contains three fields.

Syntax: public PDOStatement::errorInfo(): array. The returned array contains SQLSTATE error code, driver-specific error code, and driver-specific error message.

Basic Usage Example

This shows how to use errorInfo after a failed SQL operation.

pdo_errorinfo_basic.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try {
    $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb', 'user', 'password');
    $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_SILENT);
    
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM non_existent_table');
    $stmt->execute();
    
    if ($stmt->errorCode() !== '00000') {
        $errorInfo = $stmt->errorInfo();
        echo "SQLSTATE: {$errorInfo[0]}\n";
        echo "Driver Code: {$errorInfo[1]}\n";
        echo "Error Message: {$errorInfo[2]}\n";
    }
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

This attempts to query a non-existent table. We use errorInfo to get detailed error information. The array contains SQLSTATE, driver code, and error message.

Error Handling with Prepared Statements

This demonstrates errorInfo with a prepared statement that fails.

pdo_errorinfo_prepared.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try {
    $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb', 'user', 'password');
    $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_SILENT);
    
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare('INSERT INTO users (invalid_column) VALUES (?)');
    $stmt->execute(['John Doe']);
    
    if ($stmt->errorCode() !== '00000') {
        $errorInfo = $stmt->errorInfo();
        echo "Error occurred:\n";
        print_r($errorInfo);
    }
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

This tries to insert into a non-existent column. errorInfo provides detailed error information. The array output shows all three error components.

Comparing errorInfo and errorCode

This shows the difference between errorInfo and errorCode methods.

pdo_errorinfo_vs_errorcode.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try {
    $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb', 'user', 'password');
    $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_SILENT);
    
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT invalid_column FROM users');
    $stmt->execute();
    
    echo "errorCode: " . $stmt->errorCode() . "\n";
    echo "errorInfo:\n";
    print_r($stmt->errorInfo());
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

This compares the simple error code with detailed error information. errorCode returns just the SQLSTATE while errorInfo provides complete error details.

Transaction Error Handling

This demonstrates using errorInfo within a transaction context.

pdo_errorinfo_transaction.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try {
    $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb', 'user', 'password');
    $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_SILENT);
    
    $pdo->beginTransaction();
    
    $stmt1 = $pdo->prepare('UPDATE accounts SET balance = balance - ? WHERE id = ?');
    $stmt1->execute([100, 1]);
    
    $stmt2 = $pdo->prepare('UPDATE invalid_table SET balance = balance + ? WHERE id = ?');
    $stmt2->execute([100, 2]);
    
    if ($stmt2->errorCode() !== '00000') {
        $errorInfo = $stmt2->errorInfo();
        echo "Transaction failed:\n";
        print_r($errorInfo);
        $pdo->rollBack();
    } else {
        $pdo->commit();
    }
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

This shows transaction error handling with errorInfo. The second statement fails due to invalid table. We roll back the transaction after checking the error.

Multiple Statement Error Handling

This demonstrates handling errors from multiple statements.

pdo_errorinfo_multiple.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

try {
    $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb', 'user', 'password');
    $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_SILENT);
    
    $statements = [
        'SELECT * FROM users',
        'SELECT * FROM non_existent_table',
        'SELECT invalid_column FROM users'
    ];
    
    foreach ($statements as $sql) {
        $stmt = $pdo->query($sql);
        if ($stmt->errorCode() !== '00000') {
            echo "Error in statement: $sql\n";
            print_r($stmt->errorInfo());
            echo "\n";
        }
    }
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

This executes multiple statements and checks each for errors. For failed statements, we output the SQL and error information using errorInfo.

Error Info with Different Database Drivers

This shows how errorInfo varies between different database drivers.

pdo_errorinfo_drivers.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

$configs = [
    'mysql' => 'mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb',
    'sqlite' => 'sqlite:/path/to/database.sqlite'
];

foreach ($configs as $driver => $dsn) {
    try {
        $pdo = new PDO($dsn, 'user', 'password');
        $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_SILENT);
        
        $stmt = $pdo->prepare('SELECT * FROM non_existent_table');
        $stmt->execute();
        
        echo "Driver: $driver\n";
        print_r($stmt->errorInfo());
        echo "\n";
    } catch (PDOException $e) {
        echo "Connection error ($driver): " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

This compares errorInfo output from MySQL and SQLite drivers. Each driver may provide different error codes and messages for the same error condition.

Custom Error Handling Wrapper

This creates a wrapper function for consistent error handling.

pdo_errorinfo_wrapper.php

<?php

declare(strict_types=1);

function executeStatement(PDO $pdo, string $sql, array $params = []): array {
    $stmt = $pdo->prepare($sql);
    $stmt->execute($params);
    
    if ($stmt->errorCode() !== '00000') {
        $errorInfo = $stmt->errorInfo();
        return [
            'success' => false,
            'error' => [
                'sqlstate' => $errorInfo[0],
                'code' => $errorInfo[1],
                'message' => $errorInfo[2]
            ]
        ];
    }
    
    return ['success' => true, 'data' => $stmt->fetchAll()];
}

try {
    $pdo = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=testdb', 'user', 'password');
    $pdo->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_SILENT);
    
    $result = executeStatement($pdo, 'SELECT * FROM non_existent_table');
    
    if (!$result['success']) {
        echo "Query failed:\n";
        print_r($result['error']);
    }
} catch (PDOException $e) {
    echo "Connection error: " . $e->getMessage();
}

This creates a reusable function that standardizes error handling. The function returns a consistent structure whether the query succeeds or fails, using errorInfo for detailed error reporting.

Best Practices

Check errorCode first: Before calling errorInfo, verify an error occurred.
Log complete errors: Store all three parts of errorInfo for debugging.
Use consistently: Apply the same error handling pattern throughout.
Combine with exceptions: Use errorInfo with exception handling.
Document error codes: Maintain documentation of common error codes.

Source

PHP PDOStatement::errorInfo Documentation

This tutorial covered the PDOStatement::errorInfo method with practical examples showing different error handling scenarios in database operations.

Author

My name is Jan Bodnar, and I am a passionate programmer with extensive programming experience. I have been writing programming articles since 2007. To date, I have authored over 1,400 articles and 8 e-books. I possess more than ten years of experience in teaching programming.

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