UPDATE
UPDATE — update rows of a table
Synopsis
[ WITH [ RECURSIVE ]with_query
[, ...] ]UPDATE [ ONLY ]table_name
[ * ] [ [ AS ]alias
] SET {column_name
= {expression
| DEFAULT } | (column_name
[, ...] ) = [ ROW ] ( {expression
| DEFAULT } [, ...] ) | (column_name
[, ...] ) = (sub-SELECT
) } [, ...] [ FROMfrom_item
[, ...] ] [ WHEREcondition
| WHERE CURRENT OFcursor_name
] [ RETURNING { * |output_expression
[ [ AS ]output_name
] } [, ...] ]
Description
UPDATE
changes the values of the specified columns in all rows that satisfy the condition. Only the columns to be modified need be mentioned in theSET
clause; columns not explicitly modified retain their previous values.
There are two ways to modify a table using information contained in other tables in the database: using sub-selects, or specifying additional tables in theFROM
clause. Which technique is more appropriate depends on the specific circumstances.
The optionalRETURNING
clause causesUPDATE
to compute and return value(s) based on each row actually updated. Any expression using the table's columns, and/or columns of other tables mentioned inFROM
, can be computed. The new (post-update) values of the table's columns are used. The syntax of theRETURNING
list is identical to that of the output list ofSELECT
.
You must have theUPDATE
privilege on the table, or at least on the column(s) that are listed to be updated. You must also have theSELECT
privilege on any column whose values are read in theexpressions
orcondition
.
Parameters
with_query
The
WITH
clause allows you to specify one or more subqueries that can be referenced by name in theUPDATE
query. SeeSection 7.8 andSELECT for details.table_name
The name (optionally schema-qualified) of the table to update. If
ONLY
is specified before the table name, matching rows are updated in the named table only. IfONLY
is not specified, matching rows are also updated in any tables inheriting from the named table. Optionally,*
can be specified after the table name to explicitly indicate that descendant tables are included.alias
A substitute name for the target table. When an alias is provided, it completely hides the actual name of the table. For example, given
UPDATE foo AS f
, the remainder of theUPDATE
statement must refer to this table asf
notfoo
.column_name
The name of a column in the table named by
table_name
. The column name can be qualified with a subfield name or array subscript, if needed. Do not include the table's name in the specification of a target column — for example,UPDATE table_name SET table_name.col = 1
is invalid.expression
An expression to assign to the column. The expression can use the old values of this and other columns in the table.
DEFAULT
Set the column to its default value (which will be NULL if no specific default expression has been assigned to it). An identity column will be set to a new value generated by the associated sequence. For a generated column, specifying this is permitted but merely specifies the normal behavior of computing the column from its generation expression.
sub-SELECT
A
SELECT
sub-query that produces as many output columns as are listed in the parenthesized column list preceding it. The sub-query must yield no more than one row when executed. If it yields one row, its column values are assigned to the target columns; if it yields no rows, NULL values are assigned to the target columns. The sub-query can refer to old values of the current row of the table being updated.from_item
A table expression allowing columns from other tables to appear in the
WHERE
condition and update expressions. This uses the same syntax as theFROM
clause of aSELECT
statement; for example, an alias for the table name can be specified. Do not repeat the target table as afrom_item
unless you intend a self-join (in which case it must appear with an alias in thefrom_item
).condition
An expression that returns a value of type
boolean
. Only rows for which this expression returnstrue
will be updated.cursor_name
The name of the cursor to use in a
WHERE CURRENT OF
condition. The row to be updated is the one most recently fetched from this cursor. The cursor must be a non-grouping query on theUPDATE
's target table. Note thatWHERE CURRENT OF
cannot be specified together with a Boolean condition. SeeDECLARE for more information about using cursors withWHERE CURRENT OF
.output_expression
An expression to be computed and returned by the
UPDATE
command after each row is updated. The expression can use any column names of the table named bytable_name
or table(s) listed inFROM
. Write*
to return all columns.output_name
A name to use for a returned column.
Outputs
On successful completion, anUPDATE
command returns a command tag of the form
UPDATEcount
Thecount
is the number of rows updated, including matched rows whose values did not change. Note that the number may be less than the number of rows that matched thecondition
when updates were suppressed by aBEFORE UPDATE
trigger. Ifcount
is 0, no rows were updated by the query (this is not considered an error).
If theUPDATE
command contains aRETURNING
clause, the result will be similar to that of aSELECT
statement containing the columns and values defined in theRETURNING
list, computed over the row(s) updated by the command.
Notes
When aFROM
clause is present, what essentially happens is that the target table is joined to the tables mentioned in thefrom_item
list, and each output row of the join represents an update operation for the target table. When usingFROM
you should ensure that the join produces at most one output row for each row to be modified. In other words, a target row shouldn't join to more than one row from the other table(s). If it does, then only one of the join rows will be used to update the target row, but which one will be used is not readily predictable.
Because of this indeterminacy, referencing other tables only within sub-selects is safer, though often harder to read and slower than using a join.
In the case of a partitioned table, updating a row might cause it to no longer satisfy the partition constraint of the containing partition. In that case, if there is some other partition in the partition tree for which this row satisfies its partition constraint, then the row is moved to that partition. If there is no such partition, an error will occur. Behind the scenes, the row movement is actually aDELETE
andINSERT
operation.
There is a possibility that a concurrentUPDATE
orDELETE
on the row being moved will get a serialization failure error. Suppose session 1 is performing anUPDATE
on a partition key, and meanwhile a concurrent session 2 for which this row is visible performs anUPDATE
orDELETE
operation on this row. In such case, session 2'sUPDATE
orDELETE
will detect the row movement and raise a serialization failure error (which always returns with an SQLSTATE code '40001'). Applications may wish to retry the transaction if this occurs. In the usual case where the table is not partitioned, or where there is no row movement, session 2 would have identified the newly updated row and carried out theUPDATE
/DELETE
on this new row version.
Note that while rows can be moved from local partitions to a foreign-table partition (provided the foreign data wrapper supports tuple routing), they cannot be moved from a foreign-table partition to another partition.
An attempt of moving a row from one partition to another will fail if a foreign key is found to directly reference an ancestor of the source partition that is not the same as the ancestor that's mentioned in theUPDATE
query.
Examples
Change the wordDrama
toDramatic
in the columnkind
of the tablefilms
:
UPDATE films SET kind = 'Dramatic' WHERE kind = 'Drama';
Adjust temperature entries and reset precipitation to its default value in one row of the tableweather
:
UPDATE weather SET temp_lo = temp_lo+1, temp_hi = temp_lo+15, prcp = DEFAULT WHERE city = 'San Francisco' AND date = '2003-07-03';
Perform the same operation and return the updated entries:
UPDATE weather SET temp_lo = temp_lo+1, temp_hi = temp_lo+15, prcp = DEFAULT WHERE city = 'San Francisco' AND date = '2003-07-03' RETURNING temp_lo, temp_hi, prcp;
Use the alternative column-list syntax to do the same update:
UPDATE weather SET (temp_lo, temp_hi, prcp) = (temp_lo+1, temp_lo+15, DEFAULT) WHERE city = 'San Francisco' AND date = '2003-07-03';
Increment the sales count of the salesperson who manages the account for Acme Corporation, using theFROM
clause syntax:
UPDATE employees SET sales_count = sales_count + 1 FROM accounts WHERE accounts.name = 'Acme Corporation' AND employees.id = accounts.sales_person;
Perform the same operation, using a sub-select in theWHERE
clause:
UPDATE employees SET sales_count = sales_count + 1 WHERE id = (SELECT sales_person FROM accounts WHERE name = 'Acme Corporation');
Update contact names in an accounts table to match the currently assigned salespeople:
UPDATE accounts SET (contact_first_name, contact_last_name) = (SELECT first_name, last_name FROM employees WHERE employees.id = accounts.sales_person);
A similar result could be accomplished with a join:
UPDATE accounts SET contact_first_name = first_name, contact_last_name = last_name FROM employees WHERE employees.id = accounts.sales_person;
However, the second query may give unexpected results ifemployees
.id
is not a unique key, whereas the first query is guaranteed to raise an error if there are multipleid
matches. Also, if there is no match for a particularaccounts
.sales_person
entry, the first query will set the corresponding name fields to NULL, whereas the second query will not update that row at all.
Update statistics in a summary table to match the current data:
UPDATE summary s SET (sum_x, sum_y, avg_x, avg_y) = (SELECT sum(x), sum(y), avg(x), avg(y) FROM data d WHERE d.group_id = s.group_id);
Attempt to insert a new stock item along with the quantity of stock. If the item already exists, instead update the stock count of the existing item. To do this without failing the entire transaction, use savepoints:
BEGIN;-- other operationsSAVEPOINT sp1;INSERT INTO wines VALUES('Chateau Lafite 2003', '24');-- Assume the above fails because of a unique key violation,-- so now we issue these commands:ROLLBACK TO sp1;UPDATE wines SET stock = stock + 24 WHERE winename = 'Chateau Lafite 2003';-- continue with other operations, and eventuallyCOMMIT;
Change thekind
column of the tablefilms
in the row on which the cursorc_films
is currently positioned:
UPDATE films SET kind = 'Dramatic' WHERE CURRENT OF c_films;
Updates affecting many rows can have negative effects on system performance, such as table bloat, increased replica lag, and increased lock contention. In such situations it can make sense to perform the operation in smaller batches, possibly with aVACUUM
operation on the table between batches. While there is noLIMIT
clause forUPDATE
, it is possible to get a similar effect through the use of aCommon Table Expression and a self-join. With the standardPostgres Pro table access method, a self-join on the system columnctid is very efficient:
WITH exceeded_max_retries AS ( SELECT w.ctid FROM work_item AS w WHERE w.status = 'active' AND w.num_retries > 10 ORDER BY w.retry_timestamp FOR UPDATE LIMIT 5000)UPDATE work_item SET status = 'failed' FROM exceeded_max_retries AS emr WHERE work_item.ctid = emr.ctid;
This command will need to be repeated until no rows remain to be updated. Use of anORDER BY
clause allows the command to prioritize which rows will be updated; it can also prevent deadlock with other update operations if they use the same ordering. If lock contention is a concern, thenSKIP LOCKED
can be added to theCTE to prevent multiple commands from updating the same row. However, then a finalUPDATE
withoutSKIP LOCKED
orLIMIT
will be needed to ensure that no matching rows were overlooked.
Compatibility
This command conforms to theSQL standard, except that the Some other database systems offer a According to the standard, the source value for a parenthesized sub-list of target column names can be any row-valued expression yielding the correct number of columns.Postgres Pro only allows the source value to be arow constructor or a sub-FROM
andRETURNING
clauses arePostgres Pro extensions, as is the ability to useWITH
withUPDATE
.FROM
option in which the target table is supposed to be listed again withinFROM
. That is not howPostgres Pro interpretsFROM
. Be careful when porting applications that use this extension.SELECT
. An individual column's updated value can be specified asDEFAULT
in the row-constructor case, but not inside a sub-SELECT
.