476 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
476 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
<!--
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doc/src/sgml/ref/update.sgml
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PostgreSQL documentation
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-->
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<refentry id="sql-update">
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<indexterm zone="sql-update">
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<primary>UPDATE</primary>
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</indexterm>
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<refmeta>
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<refentrytitle>UPDATE</refentrytitle>
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<manvolnum>7</manvolnum>
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<refmiscinfo>SQL - Language Statements</refmiscinfo>
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</refmeta>
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<refnamediv>
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<refname>UPDATE</refname>
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<refpurpose>update rows of a table</refpurpose>
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</refnamediv>
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<refsynopsisdiv>
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<synopsis>
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[ WITH [ RECURSIVE ] <replaceable class="parameter">with_query</replaceable> [, ...] ]
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UPDATE [ ONLY ] <replaceable class="parameter">table_name</replaceable> [ * ] [ [ AS ] <replaceable class="parameter">alias</replaceable> ]
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SET { <replaceable class="parameter">column_name</replaceable> = { <replaceable class="parameter">expression</replaceable> | DEFAULT } |
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( <replaceable class="parameter">column_name</replaceable> [, ...] ) = [ ROW ] ( { <replaceable class="parameter">expression</replaceable> | DEFAULT } [, ...] ) |
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( <replaceable class="parameter">column_name</replaceable> [, ...] ) = ( <replaceable class="parameter">sub-SELECT</replaceable> )
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} [, ...]
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[ FROM <replaceable class="parameter">from_item</replaceable> [, ...] ]
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[ WHERE <replaceable class="parameter">condition</replaceable> | WHERE CURRENT OF <replaceable class="parameter">cursor_name</replaceable> ]
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[ RETURNING * | <replaceable class="parameter">output_expression</replaceable> [ [ AS ] <replaceable class="parameter">output_name</replaceable> ] [, ...] ]
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</synopsis>
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</refsynopsisdiv>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Description</title>
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<para>
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<command>UPDATE</command> changes the values of the specified
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columns in all rows that satisfy the condition. Only the columns to
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be modified need be mentioned in the <literal>SET</literal> clause;
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columns not explicitly modified retain their previous values.
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</para>
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<para>
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There are two ways to modify a table using information contained in
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other tables in the database: using sub-selects, or specifying
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additional tables in the <literal>FROM</literal> clause. Which
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technique is more appropriate depends on the specific
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circumstances.
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</para>
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<para>
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The optional <literal>RETURNING</literal> clause causes <command>UPDATE</command>
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to compute and return value(s) based on each row actually updated.
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Any expression using the table's columns, and/or columns of other
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tables mentioned in <literal>FROM</literal>, can be computed.
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The new (post-update) values of the table's columns are used.
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The syntax of the <literal>RETURNING</literal> list is identical to that of the
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output list of <command>SELECT</command>.
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</para>
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<para>
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You must have the <literal>UPDATE</literal> privilege on the table,
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or at least on the column(s) that are listed to be updated.
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You must also have the <literal>SELECT</literal>
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privilege on any column whose values are read in the
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<replaceable class="parameter">expressions</replaceable> or
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<replaceable class="parameter">condition</replaceable>.
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</para>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Parameters</title>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">with_query</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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The <literal>WITH</literal> clause allows you to specify one or more
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subqueries that can be referenced by name in the <command>UPDATE</command>
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query. See <xref linkend="queries-with"/> and <xref linkend="sql-select"/>
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for details.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">table_name</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to update.
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If <literal>ONLY</literal> is specified before the table name, matching rows
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are updated in the named table only. If <literal>ONLY</literal> is not
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specified, matching rows are also updated in any tables inheriting from
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the named table. Optionally, <literal>*</literal> can be specified after the
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table name to explicitly indicate that descendant tables are included.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">alias</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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A substitute name for the target table. When an alias is
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provided, it completely hides the actual name of the table. For
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example, given <literal>UPDATE foo AS f</literal>, the remainder of the
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<command>UPDATE</command> statement must refer to this table as
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<literal>f</literal> not <literal>foo</literal>.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">column_name</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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The name of a column in the table named by <replaceable
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class="parameter">table_name</replaceable>.
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The column name can be qualified with a subfield name or array
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subscript, if needed. Do not include the table's name in the
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specification of a target column — for example,
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<literal>UPDATE table_name SET table_name.col = 1</literal> is invalid.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">expression</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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An expression to assign to the column. The expression can use the
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old values of this and other columns in the table.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><literal>DEFAULT</literal></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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Set the column to its default value (which will be NULL if no specific
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default expression has been assigned to it). An identity column will be
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set to a new value generated by the associated sequence. For a
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generated column, specifying this is permitted but merely specifies the
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normal behavior of computing the column from its generation expression.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">sub-SELECT</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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A <literal>SELECT</literal> sub-query that produces as many output columns
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as are listed in the parenthesized column list preceding it. The
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sub-query must yield no more than one row when executed. If it
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yields one row, its column values are assigned to the target columns;
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if it yields no rows, NULL values are assigned to the target columns.
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The sub-query can refer to old values of the current row of the table
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being updated.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">from_item</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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A table expression allowing columns from other tables to appear in
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the <literal>WHERE</literal> condition and update expressions. This
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uses the same syntax as the <link
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linkend="sql-from"><literal>FROM</literal></link> clause of
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a <command>SELECT</command> statement;
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for example, an alias for the table name can be specified. Do not
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repeat the target table as a <replaceable>from_item</replaceable>
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unless you intend a self-join (in which case it must appear with
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an alias in the <replaceable>from_item</replaceable>).
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">condition</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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An expression that returns a value of type <type>boolean</type>.
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Only rows for which this expression returns <literal>true</literal>
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will be updated.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">cursor_name</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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The name of the cursor to use in a <literal>WHERE CURRENT OF</literal>
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condition. The row to be updated is the one most recently fetched
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from this cursor. The cursor must be a non-grouping
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query on the <command>UPDATE</command>'s target table.
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Note that <literal>WHERE CURRENT OF</literal> cannot be
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specified together with a Boolean condition. See
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<xref linkend="sql-declare"/>
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for more information about using cursors with
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<literal>WHERE CURRENT OF</literal>.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">output_expression</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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An expression to be computed and returned by the <command>UPDATE</command>
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command after each row is updated. The expression can use any
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column names of the table named by <replaceable class="parameter">table_name</replaceable>
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or table(s) listed in <literal>FROM</literal>.
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Write <literal>*</literal> to return all columns.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><replaceable class="parameter">output_name</replaceable></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>
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A name to use for a returned column.
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</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Outputs</title>
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<para>
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On successful completion, an <command>UPDATE</command> command returns a command
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tag of the form
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<screen>
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UPDATE <replaceable class="parameter">count</replaceable>
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</screen>
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The <replaceable class="parameter">count</replaceable> is the number
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of rows updated, including matched rows whose values did not change.
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Note that the number may be less than the number of rows that matched
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the <replaceable class="parameter">condition</replaceable> when
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updates were suppressed by a <literal>BEFORE UPDATE</literal> trigger. If
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<replaceable class="parameter">count</replaceable> is 0, no rows were
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updated by the query (this is not considered an error).
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</para>
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<para>
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If the <command>UPDATE</command> command contains a <literal>RETURNING</literal>
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clause, the result will be similar to that of a <command>SELECT</command>
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statement containing the columns and values defined in the
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<literal>RETURNING</literal> list, computed over the row(s) updated by the
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command.
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</para>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Notes</title>
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<para>
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When a <literal>FROM</literal> clause is present, what essentially happens
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is that the target table is joined to the tables mentioned in the
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<replaceable>from_item</replaceable> list, and each output row of the join
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represents an update operation for the target table. When using
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<literal>FROM</literal> you should ensure that the join
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produces at most one output row for each row to be modified. In
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other words, a target row shouldn't join to more than one row from
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the other table(s). If it does, then only one of the join rows
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will be used to update the target row, but which one will be used
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is not readily predictable.
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</para>
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<para>
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Because of this indeterminacy, referencing other tables only within
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sub-selects is safer, though often harder to read and slower than
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using a join.
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</para>
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<para>
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In the case of a partitioned table, updating a row might cause it to no
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longer satisfy the partition constraint of the containing partition. In that
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case, if there is some other partition in the partition tree for which this
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row satisfies its partition constraint, then the row is moved to that
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partition. If there is no such partition, an error will occur. Behind the
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scenes, the row movement is actually a <command>DELETE</command> and
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<command>INSERT</command> operation.
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</para>
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<para>
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There is a possibility that a concurrent <command>UPDATE</command> or
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<command>DELETE</command> on the row being moved will get a serialization
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failure error. Suppose session 1 is performing an <command>UPDATE</command>
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on a partition key, and meanwhile a concurrent session 2 for which this
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row is visible performs an <command>UPDATE</command> or
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<command>DELETE</command> operation on this row. In such case,
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session 2's <command>UPDATE</command> or <command>DELETE</command> will
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detect the row movement and raise a serialization failure error (which
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always returns with an SQLSTATE code '40001'). Applications may wish to
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retry the transaction if this occurs. In the usual case where the table
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is not partitioned, or where there is no row movement, session 2 would
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have identified the newly updated row and carried out the
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<command>UPDATE</command>/<command>DELETE</command> on this new row
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version.
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</para>
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<para>
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Note that while rows can be moved from local partitions to a foreign-table
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partition (provided the foreign data wrapper supports tuple routing), they
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cannot be moved from a foreign-table partition to another partition.
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</para>
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<para>
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An attempt of moving a row from one partition to another will fail if a
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foreign key is found to directly reference an ancestor of the source
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partition that is not the same as the ancestor that's mentioned in the
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<command>UPDATE</command> query.
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</para>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Examples</title>
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<para>
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Change the word <literal>Drama</literal> to <literal>Dramatic</literal> in the
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column <structfield>kind</structfield> of the table <structname>films</structname>:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE films SET kind = 'Dramatic' WHERE kind = 'Drama';
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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Adjust temperature entries and reset precipitation to its default
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value in one row of the table <structname>weather</structname>:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE weather SET temp_lo = temp_lo+1, temp_hi = temp_lo+15, prcp = DEFAULT
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WHERE city = 'San Francisco' AND date = '2003-07-03';
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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Perform the same operation and return the updated entries:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE weather SET temp_lo = temp_lo+1, temp_hi = temp_lo+15, prcp = DEFAULT
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WHERE city = 'San Francisco' AND date = '2003-07-03'
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RETURNING temp_lo, temp_hi, prcp;
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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Use the alternative column-list syntax to do the same update:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE weather SET (temp_lo, temp_hi, prcp) = (temp_lo+1, temp_lo+15, DEFAULT)
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WHERE city = 'San Francisco' AND date = '2003-07-03';
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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Increment the sales count of the salesperson who manages the
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account for Acme Corporation, using the <literal>FROM</literal>
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clause syntax:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE employees SET sales_count = sales_count + 1 FROM accounts
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WHERE accounts.name = 'Acme Corporation'
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AND employees.id = accounts.sales_person;
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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Perform the same operation, using a sub-select in the
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<literal>WHERE</literal> clause:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE employees SET sales_count = sales_count + 1 WHERE id =
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(SELECT sales_person FROM accounts WHERE name = 'Acme Corporation');
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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Update contact names in an accounts table to match the currently assigned
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salespeople:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE accounts SET (contact_first_name, contact_last_name) =
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(SELECT first_name, last_name FROM employees
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WHERE employees.id = accounts.sales_person);
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</programlisting>
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A similar result could be accomplished with a join:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE accounts SET contact_first_name = first_name,
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contact_last_name = last_name
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FROM employees WHERE employees.id = accounts.sales_person;
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</programlisting>
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However, the second query may give unexpected results
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if <structname>employees</structname>.<structfield>id</structfield> is not a unique key, whereas
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the first query is guaranteed to raise an error if there are multiple
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<structfield>id</structfield> matches. Also, if there is no match for a particular
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<structname>accounts</structname>.<structfield>sales_person</structfield> entry, the first query
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will set the corresponding name fields to NULL, whereas the second query
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will not update that row at all.
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</para>
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<para>
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Update statistics in a summary table to match the current data:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE summary s SET (sum_x, sum_y, avg_x, avg_y) =
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(SELECT sum(x), sum(y), avg(x), avg(y) FROM data d
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WHERE d.group_id = s.group_id);
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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Attempt to insert a new stock item along with the quantity of stock. If
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the item already exists, instead update the stock count of the existing
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item. To do this without failing the entire transaction, use savepoints:
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<programlisting>
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BEGIN;
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-- other operations
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SAVEPOINT sp1;
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INSERT INTO wines VALUES('Chateau Lafite 2003', '24');
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-- Assume the above fails because of a unique key violation,
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-- so now we issue these commands:
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ROLLBACK TO sp1;
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UPDATE wines SET stock = stock + 24 WHERE winename = 'Chateau Lafite 2003';
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-- continue with other operations, and eventually
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COMMIT;
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</programlisting>
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</para>
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<para>
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Change the <structfield>kind</structfield> column of the table
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<structname>films</structname> in the row on which the cursor
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<literal>c_films</literal> is currently positioned:
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<programlisting>
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UPDATE films SET kind = 'Dramatic' WHERE CURRENT OF c_films;
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</programlisting></para>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Compatibility</title>
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<para>
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This command conforms to the <acronym>SQL</acronym> standard, except
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that the <literal>FROM</literal> and <literal>RETURNING</literal> clauses
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are <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> extensions, as is the ability
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to use <literal>WITH</literal> with <command>UPDATE</command>.
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</para>
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<para>
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Some other database systems offer a <literal>FROM</literal> option in which
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the target table is supposed to be listed again within <literal>FROM</literal>.
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That is not how <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> interprets
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<literal>FROM</literal>. Be careful when porting applications that use this
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extension.
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</para>
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<para>
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According to the standard, the source value for a parenthesized sub-list of
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target column names can be any row-valued expression yielding the correct
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number of columns. <productname>PostgreSQL</productname> only allows the
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source value to be a <link linkend="sql-syntax-row-constructors">row
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constructor</link> or a sub-<literal>SELECT</literal>. An individual column's
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updated value can be specified as <literal>DEFAULT</literal> in the
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row-constructor case, but not inside a sub-<literal>SELECT</literal>.
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</para>
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</refsect1>
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</refentry>
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