I can't find out what's wrong with my sql syntax

Question

Mysql Syntax Error

Help. I can't find out why I keep getting the error java.sql:SQLSyntaxException; You have an error in your SQL syntax, check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near 'by)values ('19','Bob','Marquez'.'Secretary'......) at line 1 Here is my sql query with the code.

String value = lbl_emp.getText();

try{

    String sql= "insert into thepayroll 
                    (emp_id, first_name, last_name, job_title, basic_salary, 
                    rate, overtime, overtime_hrs, "+ 
                    "a_vale, bonus, a_other, a_reason, total_allowance, sss, 
                    pagibig, philhealth, d_vale, absence, d_other, " + 
                "d_reason, total_deduction, total_salary, by) 
            values (?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,?,'"+value+"')";
    
    pst = conn.prepareStatement(sql); 
    
    pst.setString(1,txt_empid.getText());
        pst.setString(2,txt_firstname.getText());
        pst.setString(3,txt_lastname.getText());
        pst.setString(4,txt_job.getText());
        pst.setString(5,txt_salary.getText());
        pst.setString(6,txt_drate.getText());
        pst.setString(7,lbl_overtime.getText());
        pst.setString(8,txt_overtime.getText());
        pst.setString(9,lbl_avale.getText());
        pst.setString(10,txt_bonus.getText());
        pst.setString(11,txt_aother.getText());
        pst.setString(12,txt_areason.getText());
        pst.setString(13,lbl_atotal.getText());
        pst.setString(14,txt_sss.getText());
        pst.setString(15,txt_pagibig.getText());
        pst.setString(16,txt_philhealth.getText());
        pst.setString(17,txt_dvale.getText());
        pst.setString(18,lbl_absence.getText());
        pst.setString(19,lbl_dother.getText());
        pst.setString(20,txt_dreason.getText());
        pst.setString(21,lbl_dtotal.getText());
        pst.setString(22,lbl_stotal.getText());
                    
        pst.execute();
        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,"Data is saved successfully");

    } catch (Exception e){
            
        JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,e);
    } finally {
        try{
            rs.close();
            pst.close();
                    
        }catch(Exception e){
            JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(null,e);
        }
    }
}

Answer 1

BY is a reserved keyword in MySQL . In other words, it has importance in the SQL parser, so using it as a column identifier confuses MySQL's parser.

To use a reserved keyword as a column identifier, you must delimit it in back-ticks:

INSERT INTO thepayroll (..., `by`) VALUES (...)

You need to do this with all reserved keywords. See the link I gave above. If the keyword in that documentation page has "(R)" next to it, it's a reserved keyword and must be delimited.

An alternative is to name your columns something else, so they don't conflict with any reserved keywords.