Thread: psql \copy command runs as a transcation?

Hi,

Does the psql's \copy command run as a transaction? I think it does, but
somehow when I cancel (in a script) a running import, "seems" (I can't
seem to duplicate it on the cli though) like a few lines/rows gets
inserted anyway..

Ow Mun Heng <Ow.Mun.Heng@wdc.com> writes:
> Does the psql's \copy command run as a transaction?

Certainly.

> I think it does, but
> somehow when I cancel (in a script) a running import, "seems" (I can't
> seem to duplicate it on the cli though) like a few lines/rows gets
> inserted anyway..

Hmm.  Some client-side software is written to split an import into
multiple short copy commands, but I don't believe there's any such thing
in psql.  Are you sure those rows didn't come from someplace else?

            regards, tom lane

On Mon, 2007-08-27 at 18:41 -0400, Tom Lane wrote:
> Ow Mun Heng <Ow.Mun.Heng@wdc.com> writes:
> > Does the psql's \copy command run as a transaction?
>
> Certainly.
>
> > I think it does, but
> > somehow when I cancel (in a script) a running import, "seems" (I can't
> > seem to duplicate it on the cli though) like a few lines/rows gets
> > inserted anyway..
>
> Hmm.  Some client-side software is written to split an import into
> multiple short copy commands, but I don't believe there's any such thing
> in psql.  Are you sure those rows didn't come from someplace else?

nope.. the software is actually a perl script which does a system('psql
-U -d -c "\copy"') command.

Again... I've not been able to duplicate it yet.. so I was just asking
here to confirm correct behaviour of \copy.

Thanks