package DBIx::MySQLSequence; =pod =head1 NAME DBIx::MySQLSequence - Proper and correct (emulated) sequence support for MySQL =head1 SYNOPSIS # Get a handle to a new or existing sequence $dbh = DBI->connect( 'dbi:mysql:db:host', 'user', 'pass' ); $sequence = DBIx::MySQLSequence->new( $dbh, 'sequence_name' ); # Does the sequence already exist? if ( $sequence->exists ) { die "Sequence already exists"; } # Create the sequence unless ( $sequence->create ) { die "Failed to create sequence"; } # Get the next value off the sequence $id = $sequence->nextval; # Drop the sequence unless ( $sequence->drop ) { die "Failed to drop sequence"; } # Remove sequence emulation support entirely DBIx::MySQLSequence->remove_sequence_support( $dbh ); =head1 STATUS C is complete and has been used to real application, but does not have paranoidly thorough unit testing (yet). Please report any issues you encounter. =head1 DESCRIPTION The C package implements an emulation layer that provides "real" sequences on MySQL. The module works by creating a "sequence table", a single table where each record represents a single sequence, and performing some "magic" MySQL specific SQL to ensure the sequences will work correctly. =head2 What is a sequence? A sequence is a source of guarenteed unique numbers within a particular context. These may or may not be in order, and in fact in typical database systems they are rarely perfectly incremental. It is much more preferrable that they are strictly unique than that they are perfectly in order. In any case, DBIx::MySQLSequence does actually return sequence values in order, but this will probably change once caching is implemented. In short, this is AUTO_INCREMENT done right. Oracle, PostgreSQL and practically all other major database support sequences. MySQL does not. =head2 Why do I need sequences? Isn't AUTO_INCREMENT enough? MySQL provides its own AUTO_INCREMENT extention to SQL92 to implement incrementing values for primary keys. However, this is not a very nice way to do them. I won't get into the reasoning in depth here, but primarily there are huge advantages to be had by knowing the value you are going to use BEFORE you insert the record into the database. Additionally, if records with the highest value for the AUTO_INCREMENT are deleted, their values will (in some versions of MySQL) be re-used for the next record. This is B. =head2 DBIx::MySQLSequence Feature Summary - Sequence names are case insensitive. - Sequence names can be any string 1 to 32 chars in length. - Sequence names can include spaces and other control characters. - Sequence values use BIGINT fields, so the start, increment and current values can be any integer between -9223372036854775808 and 9223372036854775807. - The module is safe for multiple database users or connections. - The module is not transaction friendly. ( See below ) - The module is probably NOT thread safe. =head2 Transaction Safety Because the sequences are emulated through tables, they will have problems with transactions, if used inside the same database connection as your normal code. This is not normally a problem, since MySQL databases are not historically used for transaction based database work. If you are using transactions in MySQL, you can and should ensure have a seperate connection open to do additional statements outside the scope of the task the transaction is being used for. You should use that connection to get the sequence values. Any C methods called on a handle that isn't in an autocommit state will cause a fatal error. It is highly recommended that if you need to do transactions, you should consider looking at something ore robust that supports suequences properly. Most people running up against the limits and idiosyncracies of MySQL tend to be much more relaxed once they discover PostgreSQL. =head2 MySQL Permissions At the time the first sequence is created, you will need C permissions in the database. After this, you will need C, C and C on the sequence table. Should you want to remove sequence support completely, the C permission will also be needed. The default name for the sequence table is contained in the variable C<$DBIx::MySQLSequence::MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE>. =head1 INTERFACE The interface for C is very flexible, and largely inspired by the interface to C. It is somewhat simpler though, as we don't need or aren't capable of everything Oracle does. To quickly summarise the main methods. exists - Does a sequence exist create - Create a sequence drop - Drop a sequence reset - Resets the current value to the start value currval - Get the current value nextval - Get the next value errstr - Retrieve an error message should one occur remove_sequence_support - Removes the sequence table completely =head2 Hybrid Interface Most of the methods in C will act in a hybrid manner, allowing you to interact with an object or directly with the class (statically). For example, the following two code fragments are equivalent. # Instantiation and Object Method $sequence = DBIx::MySQLSequence->new( $dbh, 'sequence_name' ); $sequence->create( $start_value ); # Static Method DBIx::MySQLSequence->create( $dbh, 'sequence_name', $start_value ); As demonstated here, when calling a method statically, you should prepend a L database handle and sequence name to the method's arguments. Note: C can ONLY be called as a static method. =head1 METHODS =cut use 5.005; use strict; use Params::Util '_ARRAY0', '_INSTANCE'; use DBI (); use vars qw{$VERSION $errstr $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE}; BEGIN { $VERSION = '1.04'; # Class-level error string $errstr = ''; $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE = "_sequences"; } ##################################################################### # Constructor and Accessors =pod =head2 new $dbh, $name The C constructor creates a handle to a new or existing sequence. It is passed as arguments a valid autocommit state MySQL DBI handle, and the name of the sequence. Returns a new DBIx::MySQLSequence object, or undef on error. =cut sub new { my $class = shift; my $dbh = shift or return $class->_error( "Missing database handle argument" ); my $name = shift or return $class->_error( "Missing sequence name argument" ); # Check that it is a mysql database handle unless ( _INSTANCE($dbh, 'DBI::db') ) { return $class->_error( "The database handle argument is not a DBI database handle" ); } unless ( $dbh->{Driver}->{Name} eq 'mysql' ) { return $class->_error( "The database handle argument is not a MySQL database" ); } # Create the object my $self = bless { dbh => $dbh, name => $name, }, $class; # Check that the database is in auto-commit mode. # See notes in POD below on why this module doesn't work with transactions. $class->_autocommit_error unless $self->dbh->{AutoCommit}; $self; } =pod =head2 dbh The C object method returns the L handle of the database the object is using. =cut sub dbh { $_[0]->{dbh} } =pod =head2 name The C object method returns the sequence name for the handle =cut sub name { $_[0]->{name} } ##################################################################### # DBIx::MySQLSequence Methods =pod =head2 exists Static Syntax: Cexists( $dbh, $name );> Examines the database to determine if a sequence exists in the database. Returns true if the sequence exists. Returns false if the sequence does not exists, or sequence support has not been created in the database. =cut sub exists { my $self = ref $_[0] ? shift : $_[0]->new( @_ ) or return undef; # Does the sequence table exist? my $rv = $self->_sequence_table_exists; return $rv unless $rv; # Is the sequence entry in the table $self->_sequence_exists; } =pod =head2 create [ $start ][, $increment ] Static Syntax: Ccreate( $dbh, $name [, $start ][, $increment ] );> Creates a sequence in the database. The create method takes optional arguments of the value you want to sequence to start at, and the amount you want the value to increment ( or decrement ) by. For example C<$sequence->create( 10, 5 )> The above would create a new sequence whose value starts at 10, and increments by 5 each time a value is returned. If not passed, the default is a starting value of 1, and an increment of 1. These are the defaults typically used by databases internally. If called as an object method, returns a true if the sequence is created, or undef if an error occurs, or the sequence already exists. If called as a static method, it will return a new handle to the created sequence, or undef if an error occurs, or the sequence already exists. You can use this as a sort of alternate constructor. Ccreate( $dbh, $name, 5 );> DBIx::MySQLSequence will work quite happily without the sequence table existing. It will be automatically created for you the first time that you create a sequence. Please note that this will mean that you need CREATE and INSERT permissions when you create the first sequence. Once the first sequence is created, you will only need INSERT permissions. DBIx::MySQLSequence will not check for permissions for you, as the MySQL process for checking permissions is a bit too involved, so you will most likely only find out about this when the SQL statement fails. You should check that you have CREATE permissions before you start using the database. =cut sub create { my $self = ref $_[0] ? shift : $_[0]->new( @_ ) or return undef; # Does the sequence table exist? my $rv = $self->_sequence_table_exists; return undef unless defined $rv; unless ( $rv ) { # Create the sequence table $rv = $self->_create_sequence_table or return undef; } # Add the sequence to the table $rv = $self->_create_sequence( $_[3], $_[4] ); $rv ? ref $self ? 1 : $self : undef; } =pod =head2 drop Static Syntax: Cdrop( $dbh, $name );> The C method will drop a sequence from the database. It returns true on success, or undef on error. Please note that when the last sequence is removed, the module will NOT remove the sequence table. This is done in case you are operating on a database, and do not have CREATE permissions. In this situation, the module would not be able to re-create the sequence table should it need to. To remove the sequence table completely, see the C method. =cut sub drop { my $self = ref $_[0] ? shift : $_[0]->new( @_ ) or return undef; # Does the sequence table exist? my $rv = $self->_sequence_table_exists or return undef; # Remove the sequence from the table $self->_drop_sequence; } =pod =head2 reset Static Syntax: Creset( $dbh, $name );> The C method will return the sequence to the state it was in when it was originally created. Unlike Oracle, we do not need to drop and re-create the sequence in order to do this. Returns true on success, or undef on error. =cut sub reset { my $self = ref $_[0] ? shift : $_[0]->new( @_ ) or return undef; # Does the sequence exist? my $rv = $self->_sequence_exists; return undef unless defined $rv; return $self->_error( "Sequence '$self->{self}' does not exist" ) unless $rv; # Set its value to the start value $self->_db_void( qq{update $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE set sequence_value = sequence_start - sequence_increment where sequence_name = ?}, [ $self->{name} ] ); } =pod =head2 currval Static Syntax: Ccurrval( $dbh, $name );> The C method retrieves the current value of a sequence from the database. The value that this returns is currently unreliable, but SHOULD match the last value returned from the sequence. Returns the sequence value, or undef on error. =cut sub currval { my $self = ref $_[0] ? shift : $_[0]->new( @_ ) or return undef; # Assume the sequence table exists, as we will return an error # if the table doesn't exist OR if the record does not exist. my $rv = $self->_db_value( qq{select sequence_value from $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE where sequence_name = ?}, [ lc $self->{name} ] ); $rv ? $$rv : undef; } =pod =head2 nextval Static Syntax: Cnextval( $dbh, $name );> The C method retrieves the next value of a sequence from the database. Returns the next value, or undef on error. =cut sub nextval { my $self = ref $_[0] ? shift : $_[0]->new( @_ ) or return undef; # Assume the sequence table exists, as we will return an error # if the table doesn't exist OR if the record does not exist. # Increment the sequence my $rv = $self->_db_void( qq{update $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE set sequence_value = last_insert_id(sequence_value + sequence_increment) where sequence_name = ?}, [ lc $self->{name} ] ) or return undef; # Get the next value my $value = $self->_db_value( "select last_insert_id()" ); $value ? $$value : undef; } =pod =head2 remove_sequence_support The C method is a static only method that is used to remove sequence support completely from a database, should you no longer need it. Effectively, this just deletes the sequence table. Once you have removed sequence support, any existing sequence object will most likely throw errors should you try to use them. =cut sub remove_sequence_support { my $class = shift; # Make sure we are called as a static method if ( ref $class ) { return $class->_error( "remove_sequence_support cannot be called as an object method" ); } my $dbh = shift or return $class->_error( "Missing database handle argument" ); # Cheat a little to actually become an object, so the handle # provisioning in _execute works my $self = bless \{ dbh => $dbh, name => undef }, $class; $self->_drop_sequence_table; } BEGIN { *removeSequenceSupport = *remove_sequence_support; } ##################################################################### # Support Methods # Does the sequence table exist sub _sequence_table_exists { my $self = shift; # Get the list of tables my $tables = $self->_db_list( 'show tables' ); return undef unless defined $tables; return 0 unless $tables; foreach ( @$tables ) { # Found the table return 1 if $_ eq $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE; } 0; } # Does a single sequence exist within the sequence table sub _sequence_exists { my $self = shift; # Try to find the record my $rv = $self->_db_value( qq{select count(*) from $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE where sequence_name = ?}, [ lc $self->{name} ] ); return undef unless defined $rv; (ref $rv && $$rv) ? 1 : 0; } # Create the sequence table sub _create_sequence_table { my $self = shift; $self->_db_void( qq{create table $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE ( sequence_name char(32) not null primary key, sequence_start bigint not null default 1, sequence_increment bigint not null default 1, sequence_value bigint not null default 1 )} ); } # Drop the sequence table sub _drop_sequence_table { my $self = shift; $self->_db_void( qq{drop table $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE} ); } # Add a single sequence to the table sub _create_sequence { my $self = shift; my $start = defined $_[0] && $_[0] =~ /^-?\d+$/ ? shift : 1; my $increment = defined $_[0] && $_[0] =~ /^-?\d+$/ ? shift : 1; # Assume the sequence table exists $self->_db_void( qq{insert into $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE ( sequence_name, sequence_start, sequence_increment, sequence_value ) values ( ?, $start, $increment, $start - $increment )}, [ lc $self->{name} ] ); } # Remove a single sequence from the table sub _drop_sequence { my $self = shift; # Assume the sequence table exists $self->_db_void( qq{delete from $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE where sequence_name = ?}, [ lc $self->{name} ] ); } # Get the entire record hash for a sequence sub _get_sequence_details { my $self = shift; # Pull the entire record my $record = $self->_db_record( qq{select * FROM $MYSQL_SEQUENCE_TABLE where sequence_name = ?}, [ lc $self->{name} ] ); return undef unless defined $record; $record or $self->_error( "Sequence '$self->{name}' does not exist" ); } ##################################################################### # Database Methods use constant FORMAT_VOID => 0; use constant FORMAT_VALUE => 1; use constant FORMAT_LIST => 2; use constant FORMAT_RECORD => 3; sub _db_void { my ($self, $sql, $arguments) = @_; $self->_execute( $sql, $arguments || [], FORMAT_VOID ); } sub _db_value { my ($self, $sql, $arguments) = @_; $self->_execute( $sql, $arguments || [], FORMAT_VALUE ); } sub _db_list { my ($self, $sql, $arguments) = @_; $self->_execute( $sql, $arguments || [], FORMAT_LIST ); } sub _db_record { my ($self, $sql, $arguments) = @_; $self->_execute( $sql, $arguments || [], FORMAT_RECORD ); } sub _execute { my $self = shift; my $sql = shift; my $arguments = shift; my $rformat = shift; unless ( _ARRAY0($arguments) ) { return $self->_error( "Arguments list is not an array reference" ); } # Make sure we have a connection, # and arn't in a transaction. return $self->_error( "Database connection missing" ) unless $self->{dbh}; $self->_autocommit_error unless $self->{dbh}->{AutoCommit}; # Create the statement handle using the sql my $sth = $self->{dbh}->prepare( $sql ); return $self->_error( "SQL error during prepare: " . $self->{dbh}->errstr ) unless $sth; # Looks good. Execute the statement my $result = $sth->execute( @$arguments); unless ( $result ) { $self->_error( "SQL error during execute: " . $sth->errstr ); $sth->finish; return undef; } # Format the response data my $data; if ( $rformat == FORMAT_VOID ) { # It worked, return true $data = 1; } elsif ( $rformat == FORMAT_VALUE ) { # Get a single value my $rv = $sth->fetch; $data = $rv ? \$rv->[ 0 ] : 0; } elsif ( $rformat == FORMAT_LIST ) { # Get a list my ($rv, @list) = (); push @list, $rv->[ 0 ] while $rv = $sth->fetch; $data = scalar @list ? \@list : 0; } elsif ( $rformat == FORMAT_RECORD ) { # Get a single hash reference my $rv = $sth->fetchrow_hashref( 'NAME_lc' ); $data = $rv ? $rv : 0; } else { $sth->finish; $self->_error( "Statement executed successfully, but return format is invalid" ); } # Finish and return $sth->finish; $data; } ##################################################################### # Error handling # Set an error string and return sub _error { my $either = shift; if ( ref $either ) { $either->{_errstr} = shift; } else { $errstr = shift; } undef; } # This module will not work inside a transaction. # This is a fatal error. sub _autocommit_error { die "You cannot use DBIx::MySQLSequence inside a transaction. See the documentation for details."; } =pod =head2 errstr Static Syntax: Cerrstr;> When an error occurs ( usually indicated by a method return value of C ), the C method is used to retrieve any error message that may be available. Any error message specific to a object method will be available from that object using. C<$sequence->errstr;> If you use a static method, or one of the above object method in its static form, you should retrieve the error message from the class statically, using Cerrstr;> =cut sub errstr { my $either = shift; ref $either ? $either->{_errstr} : $errstr; } 1; =pod =head1 TO DO - More testing, but then there's ALWAYS more testing to do In Oracle, sequence values are cached server side. We can emulate this by creating a DBIx::MySQLSequence::Cache object to do caching client side, for when people want to get a lot of sequence values without having to go back to the server all the time. This would be a good thing. It would make things MUCH faster. =head1 AUTHORS Adam Kennedy Eadamk@cpan.orgE Patches are welcome =head1 SEE ALSO DBIx::OracleSequence =head1 COPYRIGHT Copyright 2002, 2007 Adam Kennedy. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself. The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included with this module. =cut