DatabasePool

A DatabasePool grants concurrent accesses to an SQLite database.

Database Information

Initializer

  • Opens the SQLite database at path path.

    let dbPool = try DatabasePool(path: "/path/to/database.sqlite")
    

    Database connections get closed when the database pool gets deallocated.

    Throws

    A DatabaseError whenever an SQLite error occurs.

Memory management

  • Frees as much memory as possible, by disposing non-essential memory from the writer connection, and closing all reader connections.

    This method is synchronous, and blocks the current thread until all database accesses are completed.

    Warning

    This method can prevent concurrent reads from executing, until it returns. Prefer releaseMemoryEventually() if you intend to keep on using the database while releasing memory.
  • Eventually frees as much memory as possible, by disposing non-essential memory from the writer connection, and closing all reader connections.

    Unlike releaseMemory(), this method does not prevent concurrent database accesses when it is executing. But it does not notify when non-essential memory has been freed.

Interrupting Database Operations

Reading from Database

  • Asynchronously executes a read-only function in a protected dispatch queue.

    This method must be called from a writing dispatch queue, outside of any transaction. You’ll get a fatal error otherwise.

    The value function is guaranteed to see the database in the last committed state at the moment this method is called. Eventual concurrent database updates are not visible from the function.

    This method returns as soon as the isolation guarantees described above are established.

    In the example below, the number of players is fetched concurrently with the player insertion. Yet the future is guaranteed to return zero:

    try writer.asyncWriteWithoutTransaction { db in
        // Delete all players
        try Player.deleteAll()
    
        // Count players concurrently
        writer.asyncConcurrentRead { dbResult in
            do {
                let db = try dbResult.get()
                // Guaranteed to be zero
                let count = try Player.fetchCount(db)
            } catch {
                // Handle error
            }
        }
    
        // Insert a player
        try Player(...).insert(db)
    }
    
  • Invalidates open read-only SQLite connections.

    After this method is called, read-only database access methods will use new SQLite connections.

    Eventual concurrent read-only accesses are not invalidated: they will proceed until completion.

Writing in Database

  • Synchronously executes database updates in a protected dispatch queue, wrapped inside a transaction, and returns the result.

    If the updates throws an error, the transaction is rollbacked and the error is rethrown. If the updates return .rollback, the transaction is also rollbacked, but no error is thrown.

    Eventual concurrent database updates are postponed until the transaction has completed.

    Eventual concurrent reads are guaranteed to not see any partial updates of the database until the transaction has completed.

    This method is not reentrant.

    try dbPool.writeInTransaction { db in
        db.execute(...)
        return .commit
    }
    

    Throws

    The error thrown by the updates, or by the wrapping transaction.
  • Asynchronously executes database updates in a protected dispatch queue, outside of any transaction.

    Eventual concurrent reads may see partial updates unless you wrap them in a transaction.

Snapshots

  • Creates a database snapshot.

    The snapshot sees an unchanging database content, as it existed at the moment it was created.

    When you want to control the latest committed changes seen by a snapshot, create it from the pool’s writer protected dispatch queue:

    let snapshot1 = try dbPool.write { db -> DatabaseSnapshot in
        try Player.deleteAll()
        return try dbPool.makeSnapshot()
    }
    // <- Other threads may modify the database here
    let snapshot2 = try dbPool.makeSnapshot()
    
    try snapshot1.read { db in
        // Guaranteed to be zero
        try Player.fetchCount(db)
    }
    
    try snapshot2.read { db in
        // Could be anything
        try Player.fetchCount(db)
    }
    

    It is forbidden to create a snapshot from the writer protected dispatch queue when a transaction is opened, though, because it is likely a programmer error:

    try dbPool.write { db in
        try db.inTransaction {
            try Player.deleteAll()
            // fatal error: makeSnapshot() must not be called from inside a transaction
            let snapshot = try dbPool.makeSnapshot()
            return .commit
        }
    }
    

    To avoid this fatal error, create the snapshot before or after the transaction:

    try dbPool.writeWithoutTransaction { db in
        // OK
        let snapshot = try dbPool.makeSnapshot()
    
        try db.inTransaction {
            try Player.deleteAll()
            return .commit
        }
    
        // OK
        let snapshot = try dbPool.makeSnapshot()
    }
    

    You can create as many snapshots as you need, regardless of the maximum number of reader connections in the pool.

    For more information, read about “snapshot isolation” at https://sqlite.org/isolation.html