Chris Gamache <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > I have a program that claims a row for itself
> my $processid = $$; > my $sql_update = <<EOS; > UPDATE fifo > set status=$processid > WHERE id = (SELECT min(id) FROM fifo WHERE status=0); > EOS > The problem occurrs when two of the processes grab the exact same row at the > exact same instant. Probably the best fix is to do it this way: BEGIN; LOCK TABLE fifo IN EXCLUSIVE MODE; UPDATE ... as above ... COMMIT; The exclusive lock will ensure that only one process claims a row at a time (while not preventing concurrent SELECTs from the table). This way you don't need to worry about retrying. regards, tom lane ---------------------------(end of broadcast)--------------------------- TIP 6: Have you searched our list archives? http://archives.postgresql.org