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Asked: 2026-05-27T06:41:32+00:00

I have an SQLiteDatabase helper, which returns a cursor with just the name column

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I have an SQLiteDatabase helper, which returns a cursor with just the name column from a database:

public Cursor getNames() {
    Cursor cursor = db.query(TABLE_NAME, new String[] {NAME}, null, null, null, null, null);
    return cursor;
}

I am trying to bind this cursor to a simple ListView contained in the Layout:

<ListView
    android:id="@android:id/list"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="wrap_content" >
</ListView>

The java:

 Cursor cursor = db.getNames();
    startManagingCursor(cursor);

    ListAdapter adapter = new SimpleCursorAdapter (
            this,
            android.R.layout.simple_list_item_1,
            cursor,
            new String[] {constants.NAME},
            new int[] {android.R.id.text1}
            );

    setListAdapter(adapter);

I’ve followed every tutorial I can find but the app still stops unexpectedly. Please tell me what I’m doing wrong!

Here’s the LOGCAT trace, hope thats what you needed:

12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413): FATAL EXCEPTION: main
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413): java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{george.frost.YourCarbDatabase/com.android.CarbCount.Search}: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: column '_id' does not exist
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1659)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.app.ActivityThread.handleLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1675)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.app.ActivityThread.access$1500(ActivityThread.java:121)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.app.ActivityThread$H.handleMessage(ActivityThread.java:943)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:99)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:130)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:3701)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invokeNative(Native Method)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:507)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:866)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:624)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413): Caused by: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: column '_id' does not exist
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.database.AbstractCursor.getColumnIndexOrThrow(AbstractCursor.java:314)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.widget.CursorAdapter.init(CursorAdapter.java:111)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.widget.CursorAdapter.<init>(CursorAdapter.java:90)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.widget.ResourceCursorAdapter.<init>(ResourceCursorAdapter.java:47)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.widget.SimpleCursorAdapter.<init>(SimpleCursorAdapter.java:84)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at com.android.CarbCount.Search.onCreate(Search.java:42)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.app.Instrumentation.callActivityOnCreate(Instrumentation.java:1047)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    at android.app.ActivityThread.performLaunchActivity(ActivityThread.java:1623)
12-03 17:18:41.557: E/AndroidRuntime(30413):    ... 11 more
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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    The startManagingCursor()-method is deprecated. You should use the Loader API instead. If you’re targeting devices with an API-Level lower then 11, you’ll want to use the compatibility library.

    Since it seams that you simply want to load some data from your SQLiteDatabase, you don’t need to create a ContentProvider but can extend Loader. An example and more information on this can be found here: CursorLoader usage without ContentProvider

    Also, if your Activity only shows a ListView, you might want to switch to a ListActivity, since it makes binding data and getting ID’s (for example) easier for you.

    Since you posted your LogCat:

    The problem is, that the SimpleCursorAdapter-class needs a column named _id to get an ID on every row of data from your Database. More information on that problem can be found here: Android column '_id' does not exist?

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