Scope Rules for Handlers
A stored program may include handlers to be invoked when certain conditions occur within the program. The applicability of each handler depends on its location within the program definition and on the condition or conditions that it handles:
- A handler declared in a
BEGIN ... ENDblock is in scope only for the SQL statements following the handler declarations in the block. If the handler itself raises a condition, it cannot handle that condition, nor can any other handlers declared in the block. In the following example, handlersH1andH2are in scope for conditions raised by statementsstmt1andstmt2. But neitherH1norH2are in scope for conditions raised in the body ofH1orH2.BEGIN -- outer block DECLARE EXIT HANDLER FOR ...; -- handler H1 DECLARE EXIT HANDLER FOR ...; -- handler H2
stmt1;stmt2; END; - A handler is in scope only for the block in which it is declared, and cannot be activated for conditions occurring outside that block. In the following example, handler
H1is in scope forstmt1in the inner block, but not forstmt2in the outer block:BEGIN -- outer block BEGIN -- inner block DECLARE EXIT HANDLER FOR ...; -- handler H1
stmt1; END;stmt2; END; - A handler can be specific or general. A specific handler is for a MariaDB error code,
SQLSTATEvalue, or condition name. A general handler is for a condition in theSQLWARNING,SQLEXCEPTION, orNOT FOUNDclass. Condition specificity is related to condition precedence, as described later.
Multiple handlers can be declared in different scopes and with different specificities. For example, there might be a specific MariaDB error code handler in an outer block, and a general SQLWARNING handler in an inner block. Or there might be handlers for a specific MariaDB error code and the general SQLWARNING class in the same block.
Whether a handler is activated depends not only on its own scope and condition value, but on what other handlers are present. When a condition occurs in a stored program, the server searches for applicable handlers in the current scope (current BEGIN ... END block). If there are no applicable handlers, the search continues outward with the handlers in each successive containing scope (block). When the server finds one or more applicable handlers at a given scope, it chooses among them based on condition precedence:
- A MariaDB error code handler takes precedence over an
SQLSTATEvalue handler. - An
SQLSTATEvalue handler takes precedence over generalSQLWARNING,SQLEXCEPTION, orNOT FOUNDhandlers. - An
SQLEXCEPTIONhandler takes precedence over anSQLWARNINGhandler. - The precedence of
NOT FOUNDdepends on how the condition is raised:- Normally, a condition in the
NOT FOUNDclass can be handled by anSQLWARNINGorNOT FOUNDhandler, with theSQLWARNINGhandler taking precedence if both are present. Normal occurrence ofNOT FOUNDtakes place when a cursor used to fetch a set of rows reaches the end of the data set, or for instances ofSELECT ... INTOsuch that thevar_listWHEREclause finds no rows. - If a
NOT FOUNDcondition is raised by aSIGNAL(orRESIGNAL) statement, the condition can be handled by aNOT FOUNDhandler but not anSQLWARNINGhandler.
- Normally, a condition in the
- It is possible to have several applicable handlers with the same precedence. For example, a statement could generate multiple warnings with different error codes, for each of which an error-specific handler exists. In this case, the choice of which handler the server activates is indeterminate, and may change depending on the circumstances under which the condition occurs.
One implication of the handler selection rules is that if multiple applicable handlers occur in different scopes, handlers with the most local scope take precedence over handlers in outer scopes, even over those for more specific conditions.
If there is no appropriate handler when a condition occurs, the action taken depends on the class of the condition:
- For
SQLEXCEPTIONconditions, the stored program terminates at the statement that raised the condition, as if there were anEXIThandler. If the program was called by another stored program, the calling program handles the condition using the handler selection rules applied to its own handlers. - For
SQLWARNINGconditions, the program continues executing, as if there were aCONTINUEhandler. - For
NOT FOUNDconditions, if the condition was raised normally, the action isCONTINUE. If it was raised bySIGNALorRESIGNAL, the action isEXIT.
The following examples demonstrate how MariaDB applies the handler selection rules.
This procedure contains two handlers, one for the specific SQLSTATE value ('42S02') that occurs for attempts to drop a nonexistent table, and one for the general SQLEXCEPTION class:
CREATE PROCEDURE p1() BEGIN DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER FOR SQLSTATE '42S02' SELECT 'SQLSTATE handler was activated' AS msg; DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER FOR SQLEXCEPTION SELECT 'SQLEXCEPTION handler was activated' AS msg; DROP TABLE test.t; END;
Both handlers are declared in the same block and have the same scope. However, SQLSTATE handlers take precedence over SQLEXCEPTION handlers, so if the table t is nonexistent, the DROP TABLE statement raises a condition that activates the SQLSTATE handler:
mysql> CALL p1();
+--------------------------------+
| msg |
+--------------------------------+
| SQLSTATE handler was activated |
+--------------------------------+
This procedure contains the same two handlers. But this time, the DROP TABLE statement and SQLEXCEPTION handler are in an inner block relative to the SQLSTATE handler:
CREATE PROCEDURE p2() BEGIN -- outer block DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER FOR SQLSTATE '42S02' SELECT 'SQLSTATE handler was activated' AS msg; BEGIN -- inner block DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER FOR SQLEXCEPTION SELECT 'SQLEXCEPTION handler was activated' AS msg; DROP TABLE test.t; -- occurs within inner block END; END;
In this case, the handler that is more local to where the condition occurs takes precedence. The SQLEXCEPTION handler activates, even though it is more general than the SQLSTATE handler:
mysql> CALL p2();
+------------------------------------+
| msg |
+------------------------------------+
| SQLEXCEPTION handler was activated |
+------------------------------------+
In this procedure, one of the handlers is declared in a block inner to the scope of the DROP TABLE statement:
CREATE PROCEDURE p3() BEGIN -- outer block DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER FOR SQLEXCEPTION SELECT 'SQLEXCEPTION handler was activated' AS msg; BEGIN -- inner block DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER FOR SQLSTATE '42S02' SELECT 'SQLSTATE handler was activated' AS msg; END; DROP TABLE test.t; -- occurs within outer block END;
Only the SQLEXCEPTION handler applies because the other one is not in scope for the condition raised by the DROP TABLE:
mysql> CALL p3();
+------------------------------------+
| msg |
+------------------------------------+
| SQLEXCEPTION handler was activated |
+------------------------------------+
In this procedure, both handlers are declared in a block inner to the scope of the DROP TABLE statement:
CREATE PROCEDURE p4() BEGIN -- outer block BEGIN -- inner block DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER FOR SQLEXCEPTION SELECT 'SQLEXCEPTION handler was activated' AS msg; DECLARE CONTINUE HANDLER FOR SQLSTATE '42S02' SELECT 'SQLSTATE handler was activated' AS msg; END; DROP TABLE test.t; -- occurs within outer block END;
Neither handler applies because they are not in scope for the DROP TABLE. The condition raised by the statement goes unhandled and terminates the procedure with an error: