In database systems, locks are mechanisms used to control concurrent access to data, ensuring data integrity and consistency. Two common types of locks are Exclusive Locks and Update Locks. Here is a detailed explanation of the differences between them:
Exclusive Lock (X Lock)
Purpose: An Exclusive Lock is used when a transaction needs to modify data. It ensures that no other transaction can read or write the locked data until the lock is released.
Behavior: When an Exclusive Lock is placed on a data item (such as a row or a table), no other transaction can acquire any type of lock (shared, update, or another exclusive lock) on that data item. This guarantees that the transaction holding the exclusive lock has complete control over the data.
Usage: Exclusive Locks are typically used for operations that modify data, such as INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements.
Lock Duration: The lock is held until the transaction that acquired it is completed (committed or rolled back) [1][2][4][5][6][8][9].
Update Lock (U Lock)
Purpose: An Update Lock is used to prevent deadlocks during the process of updating data. It is a hybrid lock that allows a transaction to read data with the intention of updating it later.
Behavior: An Update Lock can be acquired on a data item that already has a Shared Lock, but it prevents other transactions from acquiring additional Update or Exclusive Locks on the same data item. This allows the transaction to read the data while ensuring that it can later convert the Update Lock to an Exclusive Lock for modification.
Usage: Update Locks are typically used in scenarios where a transaction needs to read data before updating it. For example, when a SELECT ... FOR UPDATE statement is issued, an Update Lock is placed on the selected rows.
Lock Conversion: If the transaction decides to update the data, the Update Lock is converted to an Exclusive Lock. This conversion ensures that no other transaction can interfere with the update process.
Deadlock Prevention: By using Update Locks, the system can avoid deadlocks that might occur if multiple transactions simultaneously try to convert Shared Locks to Exclusive Locks [1][2][3][10][11][13][15][1...
