pg_dbms_lock

Extension to add Oracle DBMS_LOCK full compatibility to PostgreSQL

Overview

PackageVersionCategoryLicenseLanguage
pg_dbms_lock1.0SIMPostgreSQLSQL
IDExtensionBinLibLoadCreateTrustRelocSchema
9250pg_dbms_lockNoYesNoYesNoNo-
Relatedorafce session_variable pg_dbms_metadata pg_dbms_job oracle_fdw pgtt pg_statement_rollback mysql_fdw

Version

TypeRepoVersionPG VerPackageDeps
EXTPGDG1.01817161514pg_dbms_lock-
RPMPGDG1.01817161514pg_dbms_lock_$v-
OS / PGPG18PG17PG16PG15PG14
el8.x86_64
el8.aarch64
el9.x86_64
el9.aarch64
el10.x86_64
el10.aarch64
PGDG 1.0
PGDG 1.0
PGDG 1.0
PGDG 1.0
PGDG 1.0
d12.x86_64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
d12.aarch64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
d13.x86_64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
d13.aarch64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
u22.x86_64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
u22.aarch64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
u24.x86_64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS
u24.aarch64PGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISSPGDG MISS

Install

You can install pg_dbms_lock directly. First, make sure the PGDG repository is added and enabled:

pig repo add pgdg -u          # Add PGDG repo and update cache

Install the extension using pig or apt/yum/dnf:

pig install pg_dbms_lock;          # Install for current active PG version
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_lock -v 18  # PG 18
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_lock -v 17  # PG 17
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_lock -v 16  # PG 16
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_lock -v 15  # PG 15
pig ext install -y pg_dbms_lock -v 14  # PG 14
dnf install -y pg_dbms_lock_18       # PG 18
dnf install -y pg_dbms_lock_17       # PG 17
dnf install -y pg_dbms_lock_16       # PG 16
dnf install -y pg_dbms_lock_15       # PG 15
dnf install -y pg_dbms_lock_14       # PG 14

Create Extension:

CREATE EXTENSION pg_dbms_lock;

Usage

pg_dbms_lock: Extension to add Oracle DBMS_LOCK full compatibility to PostgreSQL

Uses PostgreSQL advisory locks to emulate Oracle DBMS_LOCK behavior.

Enabling

CREATE EXTENSION pg_dbms_lock;

ALLOCATE_UNIQUE

Allocate a unique lock identifier for a named lock:

DO $$
DECLARE
    lockhandle varchar;
BEGIN
    CALL dbms_lock.allocate_unique(
        lockname => 'printer_lock',
        lockhandle => lockhandle
    );
    RAISE NOTICE 'Handle: %', lockhandle;
END;
$$;

REQUEST

Request a lock with a specific mode (Exclusive=6, Shared=4):

DO $$
DECLARE
    lock_res int;
BEGIN
    lock_res := dbms_lock.request(
        id => 123,
        lockmode => 6,           -- Exclusive
        timeout => 300,
        release_on_commit => false
    );
    IF lock_res <> 0 THEN
        RAISE EXCEPTION 'Lock request failed: %', lock_res;
    END IF;
END;
$$;

Return values: 0=Success, 1=Timeout, 3=Parameter error, 4=Already own lock, 5=Illegal handle.

RELEASE

Explicitly release a previously acquired lock:

DO $$
DECLARE
    lock_res int;
BEGIN
    lock_res := dbms_lock.release(id => 123);
    IF lock_res <> 0 THEN
        RAISE EXCEPTION 'Release failed: %', lock_res;
    END IF;
END;
$$;

SLEEP

Suspend the session for a given duration:

CALL dbms_lock.sleep(0.70);  -- sleep 0.7 seconds

Complete Example

DO $$
DECLARE
    lock_res int;
    printer_lockhandle varchar;
BEGIN
    CALL dbms_lock.allocate_unique('printer_lock', printer_lockhandle);
    lock_res := dbms_lock.request(lockhandle => printer_lockhandle, lockmode => 6, timeout => 5);
    IF lock_res <> 0 THEN
        RAISE EXCEPTION 'REQUEST failed: %', lock_res;
    END IF;
    -- do exclusive work here
    lock_res := dbms_lock.release(lockhandle => printer_lockhandle);
END;
$$;

Last Modified 2026-03-12: add pg extension catalog (95749bf)