Jeff Janes <jeff.ja...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I want to update some data in unique column.  Some of the updates
> would conflict if applied to eligible rows, and for now I want to
> skip those updates, applying only one of a set of conflicting
> ones.
>
> create table foo (x text unique);
> insert into foo values ('aac'),('aad'),('aae');
>
> update foo a set x=substr(x,1,2) where x!=substr(x,1,2)
>   and not exists (select 1 from foo b where b.x=substr(a.x,1,2));
>
> ERROR:  duplicate key value violates unique constraint "foo_x_key"
> DETAIL:  Key (x)=(aa) already exists.
>
> Is there a way to phrase this in a single statement so it will do
> what I want, updating one row and leaving two unchanged?

update foo a
  set x = f2.x2
  from (
         select distinct on (substr(x,1,2))
             x, substr(x,1,2) as x2
           from foo
           order by substr(x,1,2), x
       ) f2
  where a.x = f2.x
    and not exists (select * from foo b where b.x = a.x)
;

The exists test is only there to cover any conflicting rows that
may exist before the statement starts; if you know there are none,
it could be omitted.

--
Kevin Grittner
EDB: http://www.enterprisedb.com
The Enterprise PostgreSQL Company


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