Re: alternative to using a sequence

snacktime <snacktime(at)gmail(dot)com> writes:

> I have an application that processes financial transactions. Each of
> these transactions needs to be sent with a sequence number. It starts
> at 1 and resets to 1 once it hits 8000. I'm trying to think of the
> most elegant solution without having to create a sequence for each
> user (there are hundreds). There is a table that holds the
> configuration parameters for each merchant, so a field in that table
> to hold the sequence number would be ideal. In the past I've used
> sequences as well as just a field which I query then update. Any
> other ideas?

Take a look at http://www.varlena.com/GeneralBits/

There are some ideas there. Of course, gapless sequences perform a bit worse
than sequences. There was this discussion here on the ML last week as well,
so in the archives you'll find even more things to think.

--
Jorge Godoy <jgodoy(at)gmail(dot)com>