To improve handling of autocommit off mode, I am proposing a change in
our next release.  Right now, if you pass multiple queries in the same
string to the backend:

	psql -c 'INSERT INTO test VALUES (1);INSERT INTO test VALUES (2);" template1

the query is considered to be a single transaction.  (Of course, this
doesn't make a lot of sense, but historically, this is how PostgreSQL
has behaved.)  This causes confusion with autocommit off (and probably
confuses users too):

	psql -c 'SET autocommit TO off;SELECT 1;COMMIT" template1

Right now, this will generate an error because of the hack used to get
everything in a single transaction.  In our next release, this will work
fine, and sending multiple queries in a single string will be treated as
though each command was issued singly.  If you need the old behavior,
you need to use  BEGIN/COMMIT around you query:

  psql -c  'BEGIN; INSERT INTO test VALUES (1);INSERT INTO test VALUES (2);COMMIT;" template1

(Psql already automatically breaks up queries passed on stdin.) 

Is this OK with everyone?

-- 
  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://candle.pha.pa.us
  pgman@candle.pha.pa.us               |  (610) 359-1001
  +  If your life is a hard drive,     |  13 Roberts Road
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Wed, 19 Mar 2003 16:01:59 -0500 (EST)
Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us>
Change for multiple queries in a string