How can I solve the issue of “literal doesn’t match format string”?

In the context of SQL, if you are getting the error message “literal doesn’t match format string” during the process of formatting a string by using a method like “format()”, then this could be raised due to a mismatch between the placeholders and the values provided for substitution.

Here is the example given:-

Suppose you have a string format like the following:-

Incorrect usage leading to “literal doesn’t match format string” error

  SELECT FORMAT(‘User {} is {}’, ‘John’, ‘active’);

This error would occur due to because there is only one placeholder {} in the string format, however, you are trying to pass the two values for formatting the string.

To resolve this particular issue ensure that the number of placeholders should be equal to the number of values.

Correct usage with the appropriate number of placeholders and values

  SELECT FORMAT(‘User {} is {}’, ‘John’, ‘active’);

OR

  SELECT FORMAT(‘User {} is {} and works in {} department’, ‘John’, ‘active’, ‘Sales’);

This would resolve your particular issue of “literal match with format string” by aligning the number of placeholders and the number of values.