sp_getapplock (Transact-SQL)
Applies to: 
SQL Server
Azure SQL Database
Azure SQL Managed Instance
Places a lock on an application resource.
Transact-SQL syntax conventions
Syntax
sp_getapplock
[ [ @Resource = ] N'Resource' ]
, [ @LockMode = ] 'LockMode'
[ , [ @LockOwner = ] 'LockOwner' ]
[ , [ @LockTimeout = ] LockTimeout ]
[ , [ @DbPrincipal = ] N'DbPrincipal' ]
[ ; ]
Arguments
[ @Resource = ] N'Resource'
A string specifying a name that identifies the lock resource. @Resource is nvarchar(255), with a default of NULL. If a resource string is longer than nvarchar(255), the value is truncated to nvarchar(255).
The application must ensure that the resource name is unique. The specified name is hashed internally into a value that can be stored in the SQL Server lock manager.
@Resource is binary-compared, and thus is case-sensitive regardless of the collation settings of the current database.
Note
After an application lock has been acquired, only the first 32 characters can be retrieved in plain text; the remainder will be hashed.
[ @LockMode = ] 'LockMode'
The lock mode to be obtained for a particular resource. @LockMode is varchar(32), with no default, and is one of the following values:
SharedUpdateIntentSharedIntentExclusiveExclusive
For more information, see lock modes.
[ @LockOwner = ] 'LockOwner'
The owner of the lock, which is the @LockOwner value when the lock was requested. @LockOwner is varchar(32), with a default of Transaction. The value can also be Session. When the @LockOwner value is Transaction, by default or specified explicitly, sp_getapplock must be executed from within a transaction.
[ @LockTimeout = ] LockTimeout
A lock time-out value in milliseconds. @LockTimeout is int, and the default value is the same as the value returned by @@LOCK_TIMEOUT. A value of -1 (default) indicates no time-out period (that is, wait forever). To indicate that a lock request should return a return code of -1 instead of waiting for the lock when the request can't be granted immediately, specify 0.
[ @DbPrincipal = ] N'DbPrincipal'
The user, role, or application role that's permissions to an object in a database. @DbPrincipal is sysname, with a default of public. The caller of the function must be a member of database_principal, dbo, or the db_owner fixed database role to call the function successfully. The default is public.
Return code values
>= 0 (success), or < 0 (failure).
| Value | Result |
|---|---|
0 |
The lock was successfully granted synchronously. |
1 |
The lock was granted successfully after waiting for other incompatible locks to be released. |
-1 |
The lock request timed out. |
-2 |
The lock request was canceled. |
-3 |
The lock request was chosen as a deadlock victim. |
-999 |
Indicates a parameter validation or other call error. |
Remarks
Locks placed on a resource are associated with either the current transaction or the current session. Locks associated with the current transaction are released when the transaction commits or rolls back. Locks associated with the session are released when the session is logged out. When the server shuts down for any reason, all locks are released.
The lock resource created by sp_getapplock is created in the current database for the session. Each lock resource is identified by the combined values of:
- The database ID of the database containing the lock resource.
- The database principal specified in the @DbPrincipal parameter.
- The lock name specified in the @Resource parameter.
Only a member of the database principal specified in the @DbPrincipal parameter can acquire application locks that specify that principal. Members of the dbo and db_owner roles are implicitly considered members of all roles.
Locks can be explicitly released with sp_releaseapplock. When an application calls sp_getapplock multiple times for the same lock resource, sp_releaseapplock must be called the same number of times to release the lock. When a lock is opened with the Transaction lock owner, that lock is released when the transaction is committed or rolled back.
If sp_getapplock is called multiple times for the same lock resource, but the lock mode that is specified in any of the requests isn't the same as the existing mode, the effect on the resource is a union of the two lock modes. In most cases, this means the lock mode is promoted to the stronger of the lock modes, the existing mode, or the newly requested mode. This stronger lock mode is held until the lock is ultimately released even if lock release calls occur before that time.
For example, in the following sequence of calls, the resource is held in Exclusive mode instead of in Shared mode.
USE AdventureWorks2022;
GO
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
DECLARE @result INT;
EXEC @result = sp_getapplock
@Resource = 'Form1',
@LockMode = 'Shared';
EXEC @result = sp_getapplock
@Resource = 'Form1',
@LockMode = 'Exclusive';
EXEC @result = sp_releaseapplock @Resource = 'Form1';
COMMIT TRANSACTION;
GO
A deadlock with an application lock doesn't roll back the transaction that requested the application lock. Any rollback that might be required as a result of the return value must be done manually. So, we recommend that error checking is included in the code, so that if certain values are returned (for example, -3), a ROLLBACK TRANSACTION or alternative action is initiated.
Here's an example:
USE AdventureWorks2022;
GO
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
DECLARE @result INT;
EXEC @result = sp_getapplock
@Resource = 'Form1',
@LockMode = 'Exclusive';
IF @result = -3
BEGIN
ROLLBACK TRANSACTION;
END
ELSE
BEGIN
EXEC @result = sp_releaseapplock @Resource = 'Form1';
COMMIT TRANSACTION;
END;
GO
SQL Server uses the current database ID to qualify the resource. Therefore, if sp_getapplock is executed, even with identical parameter values on different databases, the result is separate locks on separate resources.
Use the sys.dm_tran_locks dynamic management view or the sp_lock system stored procedure to examine lock information, or use SQL Server Profiler to monitor locks.
Permissions
Requires membership in the public role.
Examples
The following example places a shared lock, which is associated with the current transaction, on the resource Form1 in the AdventureWorks2022 database.
USE AdventureWorks2022;
GO
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
DECLARE @result INT;
EXEC @result = sp_getapplock
@Resource = 'Form1',
@LockMode = 'Shared';
COMMIT TRANSACTION;
GO
The following example specifies dbo as the database principal.
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
EXEC sp_getapplock
@DbPrincipal = 'dbo',
@Resource = 'AdventureWorks2022',
@LockMode = 'Shared';
COMMIT TRANSACTION;
GO