SQLite3 database file: PHP parsing library

SQLite3 is a popular serverless SQL engine, implemented as a library to be used within other applications. It keeps its databases as regular disk files.

Every database file is segmented into pages. First page (starting at the very beginning) is special: it contains a file-global header which specifies some data relevant to proper parsing (i.e. format versions, size of page, etc). After the header, normal contents of the first page follow.

Each page would be of some type, and generally, they would be reached via the links starting from the first page. First page type (root_page) is always "btree_page".

File extension

["sqlite", "db", "db3", "sqlite3"]

KS implementation details

License: CC0-1.0

References

This page hosts a formal specification of SQLite3 database file using Kaitai Struct. This specification can be automatically translated into a variety of programming languages to get a parsing library.

PHP source code to parse SQLite3 database file

Sqlite3.php

<?php
// This is a generated file! Please edit source .ksy file and use kaitai-struct-compiler to rebuild

/**
 * SQLite3 is a popular serverless SQL engine, implemented as a library
 * to be used within other applications. It keeps its databases as
 * regular disk files.
 * 
 * Every database file is segmented into pages. First page (starting at
 * the very beginning) is special: it contains a file-global header
 * which specifies some data relevant to proper parsing (i.e. format
 * versions, size of page, etc). After the header, normal contents of
 * the first page follow.
 * 
 * Each page would be of some type, and generally, they would be
 * reached via the links starting from the first page. First page type
 * (`root_page`) is always "btree_page".
 */

namespace {
    class Sqlite3 extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Kaitai\Struct\Struct $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_magic = $this->_io->readBytes(16);
            if (!($this->magic() == "\x53\x51\x4C\x69\x74\x65\x20\x66\x6F\x72\x6D\x61\x74\x20\x33\x00")) {
                throw new \Kaitai\Struct\Error\ValidationNotEqualError("\x53\x51\x4C\x69\x74\x65\x20\x66\x6F\x72\x6D\x61\x74\x20\x33\x00", $this->magic(), $this->_io(), "/seq/0");
            }
            $this->_m_lenPageMod = $this->_io->readU2be();
            $this->_m_writeVersion = $this->_io->readU1();
            $this->_m_readVersion = $this->_io->readU1();
            $this->_m_reservedSpace = $this->_io->readU1();
            $this->_m_maxPayloadFrac = $this->_io->readU1();
            $this->_m_minPayloadFrac = $this->_io->readU1();
            $this->_m_leafPayloadFrac = $this->_io->readU1();
            $this->_m_fileChangeCounter = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_numPages = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_firstFreelistTrunkPage = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_numFreelistPages = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_schemaCookie = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_schemaFormat = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_defPageCacheSize = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_largestRootPage = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_textEncoding = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_userVersion = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_isIncrementalVacuum = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_applicationId = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_reserved = $this->_io->readBytes(20);
            $this->_m_versionValidFor = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_sqliteVersionNumber = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_rootPage = new \Sqlite3\BtreePage($this->_io, $this, $this->_root);
        }
        protected $_m_lenPage;
        public function lenPage() {
            if ($this->_m_lenPage !== null)
                return $this->_m_lenPage;
            $this->_m_lenPage = ($this->lenPageMod() == 1 ? 65536 : $this->lenPageMod());
            return $this->_m_lenPage;
        }
        protected $_m_magic;
        protected $_m_lenPageMod;
        protected $_m_writeVersion;
        protected $_m_readVersion;
        protected $_m_reservedSpace;
        protected $_m_maxPayloadFrac;
        protected $_m_minPayloadFrac;
        protected $_m_leafPayloadFrac;
        protected $_m_fileChangeCounter;
        protected $_m_numPages;
        protected $_m_firstFreelistTrunkPage;
        protected $_m_numFreelistPages;
        protected $_m_schemaCookie;
        protected $_m_schemaFormat;
        protected $_m_defPageCacheSize;
        protected $_m_largestRootPage;
        protected $_m_textEncoding;
        protected $_m_userVersion;
        protected $_m_isIncrementalVacuum;
        protected $_m_applicationId;
        protected $_m_reserved;
        protected $_m_versionValidFor;
        protected $_m_sqliteVersionNumber;
        protected $_m_rootPage;
        public function magic() { return $this->_m_magic; }

        /**
         * The database page size in bytes. Must be a power of two between
         * 512 and 32768 inclusive, or the value 1 representing a page size
         * of 65536.
         */
        public function lenPageMod() { return $this->_m_lenPageMod; }
        public function writeVersion() { return $this->_m_writeVersion; }
        public function readVersion() { return $this->_m_readVersion; }

        /**
         * Bytes of unused "reserved" space at the end of each page. Usually 0.
         */
        public function reservedSpace() { return $this->_m_reservedSpace; }

        /**
         * Maximum embedded payload fraction. Must be 64.
         */
        public function maxPayloadFrac() { return $this->_m_maxPayloadFrac; }

        /**
         * Minimum embedded payload fraction. Must be 32.
         */
        public function minPayloadFrac() { return $this->_m_minPayloadFrac; }

        /**
         * Leaf payload fraction. Must be 32.
         */
        public function leafPayloadFrac() { return $this->_m_leafPayloadFrac; }
        public function fileChangeCounter() { return $this->_m_fileChangeCounter; }

        /**
         * Size of the database file in pages. The "in-header database size".
         */
        public function numPages() { return $this->_m_numPages; }

        /**
         * Page number of the first freelist trunk page.
         */
        public function firstFreelistTrunkPage() { return $this->_m_firstFreelistTrunkPage; }

        /**
         * Total number of freelist pages.
         */
        public function numFreelistPages() { return $this->_m_numFreelistPages; }
        public function schemaCookie() { return $this->_m_schemaCookie; }

        /**
         * The schema format number. Supported schema formats are 1, 2, 3, and 4.
         */
        public function schemaFormat() { return $this->_m_schemaFormat; }

        /**
         * Default page cache size.
         */
        public function defPageCacheSize() { return $this->_m_defPageCacheSize; }

        /**
         * The page number of the largest root b-tree page when in auto-vacuum or incremental-vacuum modes, or zero otherwise.
         */
        public function largestRootPage() { return $this->_m_largestRootPage; }

        /**
         * The database text encoding. A value of 1 means UTF-8. A value of 2 means UTF-16le. A value of 3 means UTF-16be.
         */
        public function textEncoding() { return $this->_m_textEncoding; }

        /**
         * The "user version" as read and set by the user_version pragma.
         */
        public function userVersion() { return $this->_m_userVersion; }

        /**
         * True (non-zero) for incremental-vacuum mode. False (zero) otherwise.
         */
        public function isIncrementalVacuum() { return $this->_m_isIncrementalVacuum; }

        /**
         * The "Application ID" set by PRAGMA application_id.
         */
        public function applicationId() { return $this->_m_applicationId; }
        public function reserved() { return $this->_m_reserved; }
        public function versionValidFor() { return $this->_m_versionValidFor; }
        public function sqliteVersionNumber() { return $this->_m_sqliteVersionNumber; }
        public function rootPage() { return $this->_m_rootPage; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class Serial extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Kaitai\Struct\Struct $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_code = new \VlqBase128Be($this->_io);
        }
        protected $_m_isBlob;
        public function isBlob() {
            if ($this->_m_isBlob !== null)
                return $this->_m_isBlob;
            $this->_m_isBlob =  (($this->code()->value() >= 12) && (\Kaitai\Struct\Stream::mod($this->code()->value(), 2) == 0)) ;
            return $this->_m_isBlob;
        }
        protected $_m_isString;
        public function isString() {
            if ($this->_m_isString !== null)
                return $this->_m_isString;
            $this->_m_isString =  (($this->code()->value() >= 13) && (\Kaitai\Struct\Stream::mod($this->code()->value(), 2) == 1)) ;
            return $this->_m_isString;
        }
        protected $_m_lenContent;
        public function lenContent() {
            if ($this->_m_lenContent !== null)
                return $this->_m_lenContent;
            if ($this->code()->value() >= 12) {
                $this->_m_lenContent = intval(($this->code()->value() - 12) / 2);
            }
            return $this->_m_lenContent;
        }
        protected $_m_code;
        public function code() { return $this->_m_code; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class BtreePage extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Sqlite3 $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_pageType = $this->_io->readU1();
            $this->_m_firstFreeblock = $this->_io->readU2be();
            $this->_m_numCells = $this->_io->readU2be();
            $this->_m_ofsCells = $this->_io->readU2be();
            $this->_m_numFragFreeBytes = $this->_io->readU1();
            if ( (($this->pageType() == 2) || ($this->pageType() == 5)) ) {
                $this->_m_rightPtr = $this->_io->readU4be();
            }
            $this->_m_cells = [];
            $n = $this->numCells();
            for ($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++) {
                $this->_m_cells[] = new \Sqlite3\RefCell($this->_io, $this, $this->_root);
            }
        }
        protected $_m_pageType;
        protected $_m_firstFreeblock;
        protected $_m_numCells;
        protected $_m_ofsCells;
        protected $_m_numFragFreeBytes;
        protected $_m_rightPtr;
        protected $_m_cells;
        public function pageType() { return $this->_m_pageType; }
        public function firstFreeblock() { return $this->_m_firstFreeblock; }
        public function numCells() { return $this->_m_numCells; }
        public function ofsCells() { return $this->_m_ofsCells; }
        public function numFragFreeBytes() { return $this->_m_numFragFreeBytes; }
        public function rightPtr() { return $this->_m_rightPtr; }
        public function cells() { return $this->_m_cells; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class CellIndexLeaf extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Sqlite3\RefCell $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_lenPayload = new \VlqBase128Be($this->_io);
            $this->_m__raw_payload = $this->_io->readBytes($this->lenPayload()->value());
            $_io__raw_payload = new \Kaitai\Struct\Stream($this->_m__raw_payload);
            $this->_m_payload = new \Sqlite3\CellPayload($_io__raw_payload, $this, $this->_root);
        }
        protected $_m_lenPayload;
        protected $_m_payload;
        protected $_m__raw_payload;
        public function lenPayload() { return $this->_m_lenPayload; }
        public function payload() { return $this->_m_payload; }
        public function _raw_payload() { return $this->_m__raw_payload; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class Serials extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Sqlite3\CellPayload $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_entries = [];
            $i = 0;
            while (!$this->_io->isEof()) {
                $this->_m_entries[] = new \VlqBase128Be($this->_io);
                $i++;
            }
        }
        protected $_m_entries;
        public function entries() { return $this->_m_entries; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class CellTableLeaf extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Sqlite3\RefCell $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_lenPayload = new \VlqBase128Be($this->_io);
            $this->_m_rowId = new \VlqBase128Be($this->_io);
            $this->_m__raw_payload = $this->_io->readBytes($this->lenPayload()->value());
            $_io__raw_payload = new \Kaitai\Struct\Stream($this->_m__raw_payload);
            $this->_m_payload = new \Sqlite3\CellPayload($_io__raw_payload, $this, $this->_root);
        }
        protected $_m_lenPayload;
        protected $_m_rowId;
        protected $_m_payload;
        protected $_m__raw_payload;
        public function lenPayload() { return $this->_m_lenPayload; }
        public function rowId() { return $this->_m_rowId; }
        public function payload() { return $this->_m_payload; }
        public function _raw_payload() { return $this->_m__raw_payload; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class CellPayload extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Kaitai\Struct\Struct $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_lenHeaderAndLen = new \VlqBase128Be($this->_io);
            $this->_m__raw_columnSerials = $this->_io->readBytes(($this->lenHeaderAndLen()->value() - 1));
            $_io__raw_columnSerials = new \Kaitai\Struct\Stream($this->_m__raw_columnSerials);
            $this->_m_columnSerials = new \Sqlite3\Serials($_io__raw_columnSerials, $this, $this->_root);
            $this->_m_columnContents = [];
            $n = count($this->columnSerials()->entries());
            for ($i = 0; $i < $n; $i++) {
                $this->_m_columnContents[] = new \Sqlite3\ColumnContent($this->columnSerials()->entries()[$i], $this->_io, $this, $this->_root);
            }
        }
        protected $_m_lenHeaderAndLen;
        protected $_m_columnSerials;
        protected $_m_columnContents;
        protected $_m__raw_columnSerials;
        public function lenHeaderAndLen() { return $this->_m_lenHeaderAndLen; }
        public function columnSerials() { return $this->_m_columnSerials; }
        public function columnContents() { return $this->_m_columnContents; }
        public function _raw_columnSerials() { return $this->_m__raw_columnSerials; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class CellTableInterior extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Sqlite3\RefCell $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_leftChildPage = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_rowId = new \VlqBase128Be($this->_io);
        }
        protected $_m_leftChildPage;
        protected $_m_rowId;
        public function leftChildPage() { return $this->_m_leftChildPage; }
        public function rowId() { return $this->_m_rowId; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class CellIndexInterior extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Sqlite3\RefCell $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_leftChildPage = $this->_io->readU4be();
            $this->_m_lenPayload = new \VlqBase128Be($this->_io);
            $this->_m__raw_payload = $this->_io->readBytes($this->lenPayload()->value());
            $_io__raw_payload = new \Kaitai\Struct\Stream($this->_m__raw_payload);
            $this->_m_payload = new \Sqlite3\CellPayload($_io__raw_payload, $this, $this->_root);
        }
        protected $_m_leftChildPage;
        protected $_m_lenPayload;
        protected $_m_payload;
        protected $_m__raw_payload;
        public function leftChildPage() { return $this->_m_leftChildPage; }
        public function lenPayload() { return $this->_m_lenPayload; }
        public function payload() { return $this->_m_payload; }
        public function _raw_payload() { return $this->_m__raw_payload; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class ColumnContent extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Struct $ser, \Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Sqlite3\CellPayload $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_m_ser = $ser;
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            if ( (($this->serialType()->code()->value() >= 1) && ($this->serialType()->code()->value() <= 6)) ) {
                switch ($this->serialType()->code()->value()) {
                    case 4:
                        $this->_m_asInt = $this->_io->readU4be();
                        break;
                    case 6:
                        $this->_m_asInt = $this->_io->readU8be();
                        break;
                    case 1:
                        $this->_m_asInt = $this->_io->readU1();
                        break;
                    case 3:
                        $this->_m_asInt = $this->_io->readBitsIntBe(24);
                        break;
                    case 5:
                        $this->_m_asInt = $this->_io->readBitsIntBe(48);
                        break;
                    case 2:
                        $this->_m_asInt = $this->_io->readU2be();
                        break;
                }
            }
            if ($this->serialType()->code()->value() == 7) {
                $this->_m_asFloat = $this->_io->readF8be();
            }
            if ($this->serialType()->isBlob()) {
                $this->_m_asBlob = $this->_io->readBytes($this->serialType()->lenContent());
            }
            $this->_m_asStr = \Kaitai\Struct\Stream::bytesToStr($this->_io->readBytes($this->serialType()->lenContent()), "UTF-8");
        }
        protected $_m_serialType;
        public function serialType() {
            if ($this->_m_serialType !== null)
                return $this->_m_serialType;
            $this->_m_serialType = $this->ser();
            return $this->_m_serialType;
        }
        protected $_m_asInt;
        protected $_m_asFloat;
        protected $_m_asBlob;
        protected $_m_asStr;
        protected $_m_ser;
        public function asInt() { return $this->_m_asInt; }
        public function asFloat() { return $this->_m_asFloat; }
        public function asBlob() { return $this->_m_asBlob; }
        public function asStr() { return $this->_m_asStr; }
        public function ser() { return $this->_m_ser; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class RefCell extends \Kaitai\Struct\Struct {
        public function __construct(\Kaitai\Struct\Stream $_io, \Sqlite3\BtreePage $_parent = null, \Sqlite3 $_root = null) {
            parent::__construct($_io, $_parent, $_root);
            $this->_read();
        }

        private function _read() {
            $this->_m_ofsBody = $this->_io->readU2be();
        }
        protected $_m_body;
        public function body() {
            if ($this->_m_body !== null)
                return $this->_m_body;
            $_pos = $this->_io->pos();
            $this->_io->seek($this->ofsBody());
            switch ($this->_parent()->pageType()) {
                case 13:
                    $this->_m_body = new \Sqlite3\CellTableLeaf($this->_io, $this, $this->_root);
                    break;
                case 5:
                    $this->_m_body = new \Sqlite3\CellTableInterior($this->_io, $this, $this->_root);
                    break;
                case 10:
                    $this->_m_body = new \Sqlite3\CellIndexLeaf($this->_io, $this, $this->_root);
                    break;
                case 2:
                    $this->_m_body = new \Sqlite3\CellIndexInterior($this->_io, $this, $this->_root);
                    break;
            }
            $this->_io->seek($_pos);
            return $this->_m_body;
        }
        protected $_m_ofsBody;
        public function ofsBody() { return $this->_m_ofsBody; }
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class Versions {
        const LEGACY = 1;
        const WAL = 2;
    }
}

namespace Sqlite3 {
    class Encodings {
        const UTF_8 = 1;
        const UTF_16LE = 2;
        const UTF_16BE = 3;
    }
}