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Discover how to resolve the issue of `sqflite` database data loss when upgrading your Flutter app on iOS devices. Learn the steps to ensure that user data is preserved across app versions.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/62829179/ asked by the user 'Hiloliddin Jaloliddinzoda' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/10855045/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/62845264/ provided by the user 'Ajay' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/2868455/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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How to Prevent sqflite Database Data Loss During iOS App Upgrades in Flutter

If you've been developing applications with Flutter and using sqflite for data persistence, you might have encountered a frustrating issue: database data loss after upgrading your app on iOS devices. This can be particularly concerning, especially if you have a significant amount of user data that you need to retain. In this post, we'll examine why this happens and how to solve it effectively to ensure that user data is not lost during app upgrades.

Understanding the Problem

In the case presented, the developer noticed that their app, built entirely with Flutter, is losing all of its sqflite database data after an upgrade on iOS devices. However, this is not an issue on Android devices. The app utilizes the following packages for data persistence:

sqflite: ^1.3.1

path_provider: ^1.6.11

The primary concern here is to identify why the database data path changes during app upgrades on iOS and to ensure that user data remains intact.

Analyzing the Current Initialization Code

The initial implementation of the database was done using the getApplicationDocumentsDirectory() method to obtain the storage path for both iOS and Android. Here's the relevant portion of the code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Potential Issue

The key issue lies in using getApplicationDocumentsDirectory(), which might produce different paths especially after an app upgrade. The iOS file system might treat this directory differently which could lead to the database becoming inaccessible, effectively resulting in data loss.

Proposed Solution

To rectify this issue, the recommended approach is to use getDatabasesPath() instead of getApplicationDocumentsDirectory(). This method ensures that the database is stored in a consistent location recognized by the OS, thus preventing changes in the path during upgrades. Here's how to modify your code:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Why This Works

Persistent Path: By using getDatabasesPath(), you ensure that the database file is created in a designated database directory rather than a general documents directory, which is less stable during upgrades.

Consistency Across Upgrades: This approach maintains a consistent path for your database, allowing the app to locate and access it correctly even after an upgrade.

Conclusion

By making the simple change to your database initialization method, you can effectively prevent data loss during iOS app upgrades. It's imperative to ensure that the paths used for storing important data like databases are stable and do not vary with app updates. This will ultimately enhance user experience by retaining critical user data.

If you're facing this issue, try updating your database initialization code as illustrated. It's a small tweak, but it can make a significant difference in data persistence for your Flutter iOS applications.



Feel free to share your thoughts or ask further questions in the comments below! Happy coding!