Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!voder!pyramid!infmx!cortesi
From: cortesi@informix.com (David Cortesi)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Transactions, logging, and Online
Message-ID: <1990Nov12.175230.14710@informix.com>
Date: 12 Nov 90 17:52:30 GMT
References: <5394@qip.UUCP>
Sender: news@informix.com (Usenet News)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.
Lines: 30

In article <5394@qip.UUCP> devin@qip.UUCP (Devin Wala) writes:
>
>We have run across an oddity in INFORMIX ONLINE.  
>
>1) We create a database with logging turned on.  So far so good.
>
	[and can then LOAD, INSERT, DELETE and UPDATE w/o using
	 BEGIN/COMMIT -- but cannot OPEN an update cursor w/o BEGIN]

This is intentional.  As it says on page 30 of the OnLine Programmer's
Manual,

	"If you are not using a MODE ANSI database, and if you
	do not explicitly use [BEGIN and COMMIT] each SQL statement
	is an implicit, or singleton transaction. Successful singleton
	transactions are automatically committed. Unsuccessful SQL
	statements are automatically rolled back."

The statements you report as working were all treated as singleton
tranactions.  When you put in explicit BEGIN, COMMIT and ROLLBACK
statements, you can define the bounds of transactions.  For example
if you want a series of DELETEs treated as a single transaction to
be committed or rolled back as a unit, you need to write BEGIN WORK
ahead of the first and COMMIT after the last.

Or if you prefer ANSI-compliant transaction management (explicit
BEGIN WORK not required; explicit COMMIT WORK required to end any
transaction) you can have that by setting up the database with
LOG MODE ANSI.  That is the meaning of the reference to MODE ANSI
in the above quote.