Kotlin JDBC – Savepoints

The JDBC connection object has the ability to create SavePoint objects that are used to rollback a transaction to a specific point in time. One possible use case is providing users the ability to have “Undo” options while working in a database client program. Of course, we can also use SavePoints in Exception handlers or other areas of the program as needed.

SavePoints are used when the connection’s autoCommit property is set to false. We create a SavePoint like so

val bob = connection.setSavePoint("Bob") //Name is optional

Later on, we can pass the SavePoint to the rollback() method on the connection object.

connection.rollback(bob)

Once the connection is rollback to a SavePoint, any work performed on the conncetion after the SavePoint is lost.

Below is an example program that demonstrates using SavePoints.

pom.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <groupId>OCJP-DB</groupId>
    <artifactId>ocjpdb</artifactId>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>

    <properties>
        <kotlin.version>1.2.10</kotlin.version>
        <main.class>stonesoupprogramming.MainKt</main.class>
    </properties>

    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.apache.derby</groupId>
            <artifactId>derby</artifactId>
            <version>10.14.1.0</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
            <artifactId>kotlin-stdlib-jre8</artifactId>
            <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
            <artifactId>kotlin-test</artifactId>
            <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>

    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <sourceDirectory>src/main/kotlin</sourceDirectory>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
                <artifactId>kotlin-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>compile</id>
                        <phase>compile</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>compile</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                    <execution>
                        <id>test-compile</id>
                        <phase>test-compile</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>test-compile</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
                <configuration>
                    <jvmTarget>1.8</jvmTarget>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>2.6</version>
                <configuration>
                    <archive>
                        <manifest>
                            <addClasspath>true</addClasspath>
                            <mainClass>${main.class}</mainClass>
                        </manifest>
                    </archive>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
                <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>1.2.1</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <phase>test</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>java</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
                <configuration>
                    <mainClass>${main.class}</mainClass>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

</project>

Employees.kt

package stonesoupprogramming

import java.sql.Connection
import java.sql.DriverManager
import java.sql.ResultSet
import java.util.*

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    val properties = Properties()

    //Populate the properties file with user name and password
    with(properties) {
        put("user", "admin")
        put("password", "pw")
    }

    //Open a connection to the database
    DriverManager
            .getConnection("jdbc:derby:stonesoup;create=true", properties)
            .use { connection ->
                //Set autoCommit to false to manually manage transactions
                connection.autoCommit = false

                createOrTruncateTable(connection)

                //Create an updatable result set
                val rs = connection
                        .createStatement(ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE, ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE)
                        .executeQuery("SELECT * FROM BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")

                //Populate the table with data
                with(rs) {
                    moveToInsertRow()
                    updateInt("ID", 1);
                    updateString("NAME", "Bob")
                    insertRow()

                    val bob = connection.setSavepoint("Bob")

                    moveToInsertRow()
                    updateInt("ID", 2)
                    updateString("NAME", "Linda")
                    insertRow()

                    val linda = connection.setSavepoint("Linda")

                    moveToInsertRow()
                    updateInt("ID", 3)
                    updateString("NAME", "Tina")
                    insertRow()

                    val tina = connection.setSavepoint("Tina")

                    print("Enter Bob, Linda, or Tina => ")
                    val choice = readLine()

                    when (choice) {
                        "Bob" -> connection.rollback(bob)
                        "Linda" -> connection.rollback(linda)
                        "Tina" -> connection.rollback(tina)
                    }
                }
                //Commit the transaction
                connection.commit()


                //Read only queries are still transactions
                val rsq = connection
                        .createStatement()
                        .executeQuery("SELECT * FROM BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")
                with(rsq) {
                    while (next()) {
                        println("${getInt("ID")}\t${getString("NAME")}")
                    }
                }
                //So we need to commit this query also even though it doesn't change anything
                connection.commit()
            }
}

private fun createOrTruncateTable(connection: Connection) {
    val metaData = connection.metaData
    if (!metaData.getTables(null, "BURGERS", "EMPLOYEES", null).next()) {
        connection
                .createStatement()
                .executeUpdate("CREATE TABLE BURGERS.EMPLOYEES (ID INT PRIMARY KEY, NAME VARCHAR(255))")
    } else {
        connection
                .createStatement()
                .executeUpdate("TRUNCATE TABLE BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")
    }
    connection.commit()
}

Explanation

Our program begins by establishing a connection, preparing a table, and creating an updatable ResultSet. We start inserting into the table beginning on line 32. Line 38 is where we create our first SavePoint, after inserting Bob into the table. Once we have the bob SavePoint established, we move on and insert Linda. Linda also gets a SavePoint (line 45), followed by Tina (line 52).

The user is present with a choice on line 55. When they enter Bob, the connection is rolled back to Bob, meaning that neither Linda or Tina are inserted into the database. When the user picks Linda, the connection is rolled back to the linda SavePoint, meaning that Bob and Linda are inserted into the database, but not Tina. If Tina is picked, then all three employees are inserted into the database. Line 64 commits the transaction and the inserts are performed into the database.

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Kotlin JDBC – Rollback Transactions

JDBC has the ability rollback transactions. This example shows how to rollback a transaction in the case of an exception. Exception rollbacks are a common pattern because in many cases, committing a transaction after an error can leave the database in an inconsistent state. Let’s take a look at a short example of how to rollback a transaction.

connection.autoCommit = false

createOrTruncateTable(connection)

//Create an updatable result set
val rs = connection
         .createStatement(ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE, ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE)
         .executeQuery("SELECT * FROM BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")

try {
    /* Lines 32-46 omitted */

    //Commit the previous transaction (lines 32-46)
    connection.commit()

    //Now let's do an insert but have it fail
    with(rs){
        moveToInsertRow()

        updateInt("ID", 3)
        updateString("NAME", "Tina")

        insertRow()
    }
    throw Exception("Simulated")
} catch (e: Exception){
    println("Caught simulated exception. Rolling back...")

    //We can rollback the current transaction. Tina will never
    //get inserted into the database
    connection.rollback()
}

The above code fragement uses an expanded try-catch block. At the start of the code fragement, turn off autoCommit on the connection object and create an updatable ResultSet that let’s us insert rows into the database table. There is an ommitted portion of code that inserts some rows into the database.

Then we commit the first transaction. So far so good. The rows are entered cleanly into the database. Then our example continues by inserting another record into the table. Rather than committing the transaction, we instead throw an Exception to act as if something went wrong with the insertion.

The catch block found at the end of the code fragement shows what to do when an exception is thrown in the middle of a transaction. In our example, we notify the user that we are rolling back the changes. Then we call rollback() on the connection object. Rollback() resets the transaction and the program can act as if the last transaction never happened.

Complete Example

Below is a complete Kotlin program that shows the demonstration code in its entirety.

pom.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <groupId>OCJP-DB</groupId>
    <artifactId>ocjpdb</artifactId>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>

    <properties>
        <kotlin.version>1.2.10</kotlin.version>
        <main.class>stonesoupprogramming.MainKt</main.class>
    </properties>

    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.apache.derby</groupId>
            <artifactId>derby</artifactId>
            <version>10.14.1.0</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
            <artifactId>kotlin-stdlib-jre8</artifactId>
            <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
            <artifactId>kotlin-test</artifactId>
            <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>

    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <sourceDirectory>src/main/kotlin</sourceDirectory>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
                <artifactId>kotlin-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>compile</id>
                        <phase>compile</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>compile</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                    <execution>
                        <id>test-compile</id>
                        <phase>test-compile</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>test-compile</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
                <configuration>
                    <jvmTarget>1.8</jvmTarget>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>2.6</version>
                <configuration>
                    <archive>
                        <manifest>
                            <addClasspath>true</addClasspath>
                            <mainClass>${main.class}</mainClass>
                        </manifest>
                    </archive>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
                <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>1.2.1</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <phase>test</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>java</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
                <configuration>
                    <mainClass>${main.class}</mainClass>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

</project>

Employees.kt

package stonesoupprogramming

import java.sql.Connection
import java.sql.DriverManager
import java.sql.ResultSet
import java.util.*

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    val properties = Properties()

    //Populate the properties file with user name and password
    with(properties) {
        put("user", "admin")
        put("password", "pw")
    }

    //Open a connection to the database
    DriverManager
            .getConnection("jdbc:derby:stonesoup;create=true", properties)
            .use { connection ->
                //Set autoCommit to false to manually manage transactions
                connection.autoCommit = false

                createOrTruncateTable(connection)

                //Create an updatable result set
                val rs = connection
                        .createStatement(ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE, ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE)
                        .executeQuery("SELECT * FROM BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")

                try{
                    //Populate the table with data
                    with(rs) {
                        moveToInsertRow()

                        updateInt("ID", 1);
                        updateString("NAME", "Bob")

                        insertRow()
                        moveToInsertRow()

                        updateInt("ID", 2)
                        updateString("NAME", "Linda")

                        insertRow()
                    }
                    //Commit the transaction
                    connection.commit()

                    //Now let's do an insert but have it fail
                    with(rs){
                        moveToInsertRow()

                        updateInt("ID", 3)
                        updateString("NAME", "Tina")

                        insertRow()
                    }
                    throw Exception("Simulated")

                } catch (e: Exception){
                    println("Caught simulated exception. Rolling back...")

                    //We can rollback the current transaction. Tina will never
                    //get inserted into the database
                    connection.rollback()
                }


                //Read only queries are still transactions
                val rsq = connection
                        .createStatement()
                        .executeQuery("SELECT * FROM BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")
                with(rsq) {
                    while (next()) {
                        println("${getInt("ID")}\t${getString("NAME")}")
                    }
                }
                //So we need to commit this query also even though it doesn't change anything
                connection.commit()
            }
}

private fun createOrTruncateTable(connection: Connection) {
    val metaData = connection.metaData
    if (!metaData.getTables(null, "BURGERS", "EMPLOYEES", null).next()) {
        connection
                .createStatement()
                .executeUpdate("CREATE TABLE BURGERS.EMPLOYEES (ID INT PRIMARY KEY, NAME VARCHAR(255))")
    } else {
        connection
                .createStatement()
                .executeUpdate("TRUNCATE TABLE BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")
    }
    connection.commit()
}

Kotlin JDBC – Transactions

There are plenty of situations where databases need to execute a series of SQL statements together to maintain the integrity of the data. In such situations, either all of the statements must succeed or none of them must succeed. Bank accounts are a good example.

In many cases, a customer may have a savings account and a checking account. If a customer moves money from the savings account into the checking account, then two updates are required on two tables. If the update only succeeds on the savings account but fails on the checking account, then the customer’s money will disappear. That is less than ideal for the customer, so either both the checking and savings account tables must update, or the entire operation must fail.

Grouping SQL statements together is known as a transaction. We can manually manage our transactions in JDBC by setting the autoCommit property to false on the connection object. After we set autoCommit to false, we have to make sure to call commit() on the connection object after each transaction. Below is a simple Kotlin program that demonstrates transactions.

pom.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <groupId>OCJP-DB</groupId>
    <artifactId>ocjpdb</artifactId>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>

    <properties>
        <kotlin.version>1.2.10</kotlin.version>
        <main.class>stonesoupprogramming.MainKt</main.class>
    </properties>

    <dependencies>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.apache.derby</groupId>
            <artifactId>derby</artifactId>
            <version>10.14.1.0</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
            <artifactId>kotlin-stdlib-jre8</artifactId>
            <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
        </dependency>
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
            <artifactId>kotlin-test</artifactId>
            <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>

    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <sourceDirectory>src/main/kotlin</sourceDirectory>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
                <artifactId>kotlin-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>compile</id>
                        <phase>compile</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>compile</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                    <execution>
                        <id>test-compile</id>
                        <phase>test-compile</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>test-compile</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
                <configuration>
                    <jvmTarget>1.8</jvmTarget>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>2.6</version>
                <configuration>
                    <archive>
                        <manifest>
                            <addClasspath>true</addClasspath>
                            <mainClass>${main.class}</mainClass>
                        </manifest>
                    </archive>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
                <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>1.2.1</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <phase>test</phase>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>java</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
                <configuration>
                    <mainClass>${main.class}</mainClass>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

</project>

Employees.kt

package stonesoupprogramming

import java.sql.Connection
import java.sql.DriverManager
import java.sql.ResultSet
import java.util.*

fun main(args: Array<String>) {
    val properties = Properties()

    //Populate the properties file with user name and password
    with(properties) {
        put("user", "admin")
        put("password", "pw")
    }

    //Open a connection to the database
    DriverManager
            .getConnection("jdbc:derby:stonesoup;create=true", properties)
            .use { connection ->
                //Set autoCommit to false to manually manage transactions
                connection.autoCommit = false

                createOrTruncateTable(connection)

                //Create an updatable result set
                val rs = connection
                        .createStatement(ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE, ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE)
                        .executeQuery("SELECT * FROM BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")

                //Populate the table with data
                with(rs) {
                    moveToInsertRow()

                    updateInt("ID", 1);
                    updateString("NAME", "Bob")

                    insertRow()
                    moveToInsertRow()

                    updateInt("ID", 2)
                    updateString("NAME", "Linda")

                    insertRow()
                }
                //Commit the transation
                connection.commit()

                //Read only queries are still transactions
                val rsq = connection
                        .createStatement()
                        .executeQuery("SELECT * FROM BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")
                with(rsq) {
                    while (next()) {
                        println("${getInt("ID")}\t${getString("NAME")}")
                    }
                }
                //So we need to commit this query also even though it doesn't change anything
                connection.commit()
            }
}

private fun createOrTruncateTable(connection: Connection) {
    val metaData = connection.metaData
    if (!metaData.getTables(null, "BURGERS", "EMPLOYEES", null).next()) {
        connection
                .createStatement()
                .executeUpdate("CREATE TABLE BURGERS.EMPLOYEES (ID INT PRIMARY KEY, NAME VARCHAR(255))")
    } else {
        connection
                .createStatement()
                .executeUpdate("TRUNCATE TABLE BURGERS.EMPLOYEES")
    }
    connection.commit()
}

Let’s begin with the explanation. We start by connecting to the database (lines 12-20), then we set the connection’s autoCommit property to false (line 22). From this point on, we are responsible for managing our database transactions. Lines 63-75 create a table for us to work on in the database. It will either make a brand new table, or truncate an existing one.

We populate our table with data on lines 27-45 by creating an updatable ResultSet object and using it’s update methods. The ResultSet will prepare SQL insert statements. However, none of the rows get inserted into the database until line 47 when we call commit() on the connection object.

It’s worth noting that we have to call commit() on read only transactions also. So on lines 50-57, we read from the database to verify the inserts were performed. However, notice that on line 59, we still call commit() even though we haven’t actually changed anything. This is because the underlying database still considers a read only statement to be a transaction.

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