Java Connection setSavepoint Method with Example

When working with databases in Java, there are scenarios where you might want to perform complex transactions involving multiple steps. To maintain control and flexibility during such operations, Savepoints come into play. The setSavepoint() method in the java.sql.Connection interface allows you to create a savepoint within a transaction, providing a mechanism to roll back to a specific point if needed.

What is Savepoint?

A Savepoint is a marker within a database transaction. It enables partial rollbacks, meaning you can undo a subset of changes made during a transaction without affecting the entire operation. This is particularly useful in scenarios where some steps of a transaction might fail, but others should still be committed.

Steps to Set a Savepoint in a Database

Below is a structured process to use the setSavepoint() method ?

Register the Driver

Use the registerDriver() method of the DriverManager class to register the JDBC driver for your database.

DriverManager.registerDriver(new com.mysql.jdbc.Driver());

Establish the Connection

Connect to the database using the getConnection() method of the DriverManager class.

String url = "jdbc:mysql://localhost/mydatabase";
Connection con = DriverManager.getConnection(url, "root", "password");

Disable Auto-Commit

Turn off auto-commit mode to manually manage the transaction.

con.setAutoCommit(false);

Set a Savepoint

Create a savepoint using the setSavepoint() method.
Without a name:

Savepoint savePoint = con.setSavepoint();

Savepoint savePoint = con.setSavepoint("MySavePoint");

Let us create a table with name MyPlayers in MySQL database using CREATE statement as shown below ?

CREATE TABLE MyPlayers(
   ID INT,
   First_Name VARCHAR(255),
   Last_Name VARCHAR(255),
   Date_Of_Birth date,
   Place_Of_Birth VARCHAR(255),
   Country VARCHAR(255),
   PRIMARY KEY (ID)
);

Now, we will insert 7 records in MyPlayers table using INSERT statements ?

insert into MyPlayers values(1, 'Shikhar', 'Dhawan', DATE('1981-12-05'), 'Delhi', 'India');
insert into MyPlayers values(2, 'Jonathan', 'Trott', DATE('1981-04-22'), 'CapeTown', 'SouthAfrica');
insert into MyPlayers values(3, 'Kumara', 'Sangakkara', DATE('1977-10-27'), 'Matale', 'Srilanka');
insert into MyPlayers values(4, 'Virat', 'Kohli', DATE('1988-11-05'), 'Delhi', 'India');
insert into MyPlayers values(5, 'Rohit', 'Sharma', DATE('1987-04-30'), 'Nagpur', 'India');
insert into MyPlayers values(6, 'Ravindra', 'Jadeja', DATE('1988-12-06'), 'Nagpur', 'India');
insert into MyPlayers values(7, 'James', 'Anderson', DATE('1982-06-30'), 'Burnley', 'England');

Java Connection setSavepoint() method

The following JDBC program demonstrates the setSavepoint() method of the Connection interface. Here, we inserted a new record in the Myplayers table. Set the Savepoint, delete the previously inserted record rolled back to the created save point, and display the contents of the table

import java.sql.Connection;
import java.sql.Date;
import java.sql.DriverManager;
import java.sql.PreparedStatement;
import java.sql.ResultSet;
import java.sql.SQLException;
import java.sql.Savepoint;
import java.sql.Statement;
public class Connection_setSavepoint {
   public static void main(String args[]) throws SQLException {
      //Registering the Driver
      DriverManager.registerDriver(new com.mysql.jdbc.Driver());
      //Getting the connection
      String url = "jdbc:mysql://localhost/mydatabase";
      Connection con = DriverManager.getConnection(url, "root", "password");
      System.out.println("Connection established......");
      //Setting the auto commit false
      con.setAutoCommit(false);
      //Creating a Statement object
      Statement stmt = con.createStatement(ResultSet.TYPE_SCROLL_SENSITIVE, ResultSet.CONCUR_UPDATABLE);
      //Retrieving the data
      ResultSet rs = stmt.executeQuery("select * from MyPlayers");
      System.out.println("Contents of the table initially");
      while(rs.next()) {
         System.out.print("ID: "+rs.getString("ID")+", ");
         System.out.print("First_Name: "+rs.getString("First_Name")+", ");
         System.out.print("Last_Name: "+rs.getString("Last_Name")+", ");
         System.out.print("Date_Of_Birth: "+rs.getString("Date_Of_Birth")+", ");
         System.out.print("Place_Of_Birth: "+rs.getString("Place_Of_Birth")+", ");
         System.out.print("Country: "+rs.getString("Country"));
         System.out.println("");
      }
      PreparedStatement pstmt = con.prepareStatement("INSERT INTO MyPlayers VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)");
      pstmt.setInt(1, 8);
      pstmt.setString(2, "Ishant");
      pstmt.setString(3, "Sharma");
      pstmt.setDate(4, new Date(904694400000L));
      pstmt.setString(5, "Delhi");
      pstmt.setString(6, "India");
      pstmt.executeUpdate();
      //Setting the save point
      Savepoint savePoint = con.setSavepoint("MysavePoint");
      //Deleting the record
      stmt.execute("Delete from MyPlayers where id = 8");
      //Rolling back to the save point
      con.rollback(savePoint);
      //Contents of the table after the roll-back
      System.out.println("Contents of the table");
      rs = stmt.executeQuery("select * from MyPlayers");
      while(rs.next()) {
         System.out.print("ID: "+rs.getString("ID")+", ");
         System.out.print("First_Name: "+rs.getString("First_Name")+", ");
         System.out.print("Last_Name: "+rs.getString("Last_Name")+", ");
         System.out.print("Date_Of_Birth: "+rs.getString("Date_Of_Birth")+", ");
         System.out.print("Place_Of_Birth: "+rs.getString("Place_Of_Birth")+", ");
         System.out.print("Country: "+rs.getString("Country"));
         System.out.println("");
      }
   }
}

Now, you can observe the new record created before the save point in the result though we have deleted it.

All the changes done past the save point will be reverted if we rollback to a particular save point.

Since we have deleted the 8th record after setting the save point, this delete is reverted at the time of roll back.

Output

Connection established......
Contents of the table initially
ID: 1, First_Name: Shikhar, Last_Name: Dhawan, Date_Of_Birth: 1981-12-05, Place_Of_Birth: Delhi, Country: India
ID: 2, First_Name: Jonathan, Last_Name: Trott, Date_Of_Birth: 1981-04-22, Place_Of_Birth: CapeTown, Country: SouthAfrica
ID: 3, First_Name: Kumara, Last_Name: Sangakkara, Date_Of_Birth: 1977-10-27, Place_Of_Birth: Matale, Country: Srilanka
ID: 4, First_Name: Virat, Last_Name: Kohli, Date_Of_Birth: 1988-11-05, Place_Of_Birth: Mumbai, Country: India
ID: 5, First_Name: Rohit, Last_Name: Sharma, Date_Of_Birth: 1987-04-30, Place_Of_Birth: Nagpur, Country: India
ID: 6, First_Name: Ravindra, Last_Name: Jadeja, Date_Of_Birth: 1988-12-06, Place_Of_Birth: Nagpur, Country: India
ID: 7, First_Name: James, Last_Name: Anderson, Date_Of_Birth: 1982-06-30, Place_Of_Birth: Burnley , Country: England
Contents of the table after rollback
ID: 1, First_Name: Shikhar, Last_Name: Dhawan, Date_Of_Birth: 1981-12-05, Place_Of_Birth: Delhi, Country: India
ID: 2, First_Name: Jonathan, Last_Name: Trott, Date_Of_Birth: 1981-04-22, Place_Of_Birth: CapeTown, Country: SouthAfrica
ID: 3, First_Name: Kumara, Last_Name: Sangakkara, Date_Of_Birth: 1977-10-27, Place_Of_Birth: Matale, Country: Srilanka
ID: 4, First_Name: Virat, Last_Name: Kohli, Date_Of_Birth: 1988-11-05, Place_Of_Birth: Mumbai, Country: India
ID: 5, First_Name: Rohit, Last_Name: Sharma, Date_Of_Birth: 1987-04-30, Place_Of_Birth: Nagpur, Country: India
ID: 6, First_Name: Ravindra, Last_Name: Jadeja, Date_Of_Birth: 1988-12-06, Place_Of_Birth: Nagpur, Country: India
ID: 7, First_Name: James, Last_Name: Anderson, Date_Of_Birth: 1982-06-30, Place_Of_Birth: Burnley , Country: England
ID: 8, First_Name: Ishant, Last_Name: Sharma, Date_Of_Birth: 1998-09-02, Place_Of_Birth: Delhi, Country: India