MsiOpenDatabaseA function (msiquery.h)

The MsiOpenDatabase function opens a database file for data access. This function returns a handle that should be closed using MsiCloseHandle.

Syntax

UINT MsiOpenDatabaseA(
  [in]  LPCSTR    szDatabasePath,
  [in]  LPCSTR    szPersist,
  [out] MSIHANDLE *phDatabase
);

Parameters

[in] szDatabasePath

Specifies the full path or relative path to the database file.

[in] szPersist

Receives the full path to the file or the persistence mode. You can use the szPersist parameter to direct the persistent output to a new file or to specify one of the following predefined persistence modes.

Value	Meaning
MSIDBOPEN_CREATEDIRECT	Create a new database, direct mode read/write.
MSIDBOPEN_CREATE	Create a new database, transact mode read/write.
MSIDBOPEN_DIRECT	Open a database direct read/write without transaction.
MSIDBOPEN_READONLY	Open a database read-only, no persistent changes.
MSIDBOPEN_TRANSACT	Open a database read/write in transaction mode.
MSIDBOPEN_PATCHFILE	Add this flag to indicate a patch file.

[out] phDatabase

Pointer to the location of the returned database handle.

Return value

The MsiOpenDatabase function returns the following values:

Remarks

To make and save changes to a database first open the database in transaction (MSIDBOPEN_TRANSACT), create (MSIDBOPEN_CREATE or MSIDBOPEN_CREATEDIRECT), or direct (MSIDBOPEN_DIRECT) mode. After making the changes, always call MsiDatabaseCommit before closing the database handle. MsiDatabaseCommit flushes all buffers.

Always call MsiDatabaseCommit on a database that has been opened in direct mode (MSIDBOPEN_DIRECT or MSIDBOPEN_CREATEDIRECT) before closing the database's handle. Failure to do this may corrupt the database.

Because MsiOpenDatabase initiates database access, it cannot be used with a running installation.

Note that it is recommended to use variables of type PMSIHANDLE because the installer closes PMSIHANDLE objects as they go out of scope, whereas you must close MSIHANDLE objects by calling MsiCloseHandle. For more information see Use PMSIHANDLE instead of HANDLE section in the Windows Installer Best Practices.

Note  When a database is opened as the output of another database, the summary information stream of the output database is actually a read-only mirror of the original database, and, thus, cannot be changed. Additionally, it is not persisted with the database. To create or modify the summary information for the output database, it must be closed and reopened.

 

If the function fails, you can obtain extended error information by using MsiGetLastErrorRecord.

Note

The msiquery.h header defines MsiOpenDatabase as an alias that automatically selects the ANSI or Unicode version of this function based on the definition of the UNICODE preprocessor constant. Mixing usage of the encoding-neutral alias with code that is not encoding-neutral can lead to mismatches that result in compilation or runtime errors. For more information, see Conventions for Function Prototypes.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows Installer 5.0 on Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7. Windows Installer 4.0 or Windows Installer 4.5 on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista. Windows Installer on Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP
Target Platform	Windows
Header	msiquery.h
Library	Msi.lib
DLL	Msi.dll

See also

A Database and Patch Example

General Database Access Functions