The client supports multiple modes for transactions:
"write" is a read-write transaction, started with BEGIN IMMEDIATE. This transaction mode supports
both read statements (SELECT) and write statements (INSERT, UPDATE, CREATE TABLE, etc). The libSQL
server cannot process multiple write transactions concurrently, so if there is another write transaction
already started, our transaction will wait in a queue before it can begin.
"read" is a read-only transaction, started with BEGIN TRANSACTION READONLY (a libSQL extension). This
transaction mode supports only reads (SELECT) and will not accept write statements. The libSQL server can
handle multiple read transactions at the same time, so we don't need to wait for other transactions to
complete. A read-only transaction can also be executed on a local replica, so it provides lower latency.
"deferred" is a transaction started with BEGIN DEFERRED, which starts as a read transaction, but the
first write statement will try to upgrade it to a write transaction. However, this upgrade may fail if
there already is a write transaction executing on the server, so you should be ready to handle these
failures.
If your transaction includes only read statements, "read" is always preferred over "deferred" or
"write", because "read" transactions can be executed more efficiently and don't block other
transactions.
If your transaction includes both read and write statements, you should be using the "write" mode most of
the time. Use the "deferred" mode only if you prefer to fail the write transaction instead of waiting for
the previous write transactions to complete.
Transaction mode.
The client supports multiple modes for transactions:
"write"is a read-write transaction, started withBEGIN IMMEDIATE. This transaction mode supports both read statements (SELECT) and write statements (INSERT,UPDATE,CREATE TABLE, etc). The libSQL server cannot process multiple write transactions concurrently, so if there is another write transaction already started, our transaction will wait in a queue before it can begin."read"is a read-only transaction, started withBEGIN TRANSACTION READONLY(a libSQL extension). This transaction mode supports only reads (SELECT) and will not accept write statements. The libSQL server can handle multiple read transactions at the same time, so we don't need to wait for other transactions to complete. A read-only transaction can also be executed on a local replica, so it provides lower latency."deferred"is a transaction started withBEGIN DEFERRED, which starts as a read transaction, but the first write statement will try to upgrade it to a write transaction. However, this upgrade may fail if there already is a write transaction executing on the server, so you should be ready to handle these failures.If your transaction includes only read statements,
"read"is always preferred over"deferred"or"write", because"read"transactions can be executed more efficiently and don't block other transactions.If your transaction includes both read and write statements, you should be using the
"write"mode most of the time. Use the"deferred"mode only if you prefer to fail the write transaction instead of waiting for the previous write transactions to complete.