PHP PDO::commit() Method: Usage and Examples

Commits all changes in the current transaction.

The objective is to understand the behavior and operational limits, not only the method name.

What It Does

Commits all changes in the current transaction.

Syntax and Return Value

PDO::commit(): mixed

The return value and exceptional cases depend on the call described here: Calling commit outside an active transaction throws PDOException in modern PHP.

Example 1: Basic Use

This self-contained SQLite example uses in-memory demo data; it requires the pdo_sqlite driver.

<?php
$pdo = new PDO('sqlite::memory:', null, null, [PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION]);
$pdo->exec('CREATE TABLE products (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT NOT NULL, price INTEGER NOT NULL, active INTEGER)');
$pdo->exec("INSERT INTO products (id,name,price,active) VALUES (1,'Desk',120,1),(2,'Lamp',35,1),(3,'Chair',85,0)");
$pdo->beginTransaction();
$pdo->exec("UPDATE products SET price = price + 48 WHERE id = 1");
$pdo->commit();
echo $pdo->inTransaction() ? "active" : "committed";

Example 2: A Second Scenario

This self-contained SQLite example uses in-memory demo data; it requires the pdo_sqlite driver.

<?php
$pdo = new PDO('sqlite::memory:', null, null, [PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION]);
$pdo->exec('CREATE TABLE products (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT NOT NULL, price INTEGER NOT NULL, active INTEGER)');
$pdo->exec("INSERT INTO products (id,name,price,active) VALUES (1,'Desk',120,1),(2,'Lamp',35,1),(3,'Chair',85,0)");
$pdo->beginTransaction();
$pdo->exec("UPDATE products SET price = price + 62 WHERE id = 2");
$pdo->commit();
echo $pdo->inTransaction() ? "active" : "committed";

Example 3: Practical Checks

This self-contained SQLite example uses in-memory demo data; it requires the pdo_sqlite driver.

<?php
$pdo = new PDO('sqlite::memory:', null, null, [PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION]);
$pdo->exec('CREATE TABLE products (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TEXT NOT NULL, price INTEGER NOT NULL, active INTEGER)');
$pdo->exec("INSERT INTO products (id,name,price,active) VALUES (1,'Desk',120,1),(2,'Lamp',35,1),(3,'Chair',85,0)");
$pdo->beginTransaction();
$pdo->exec("UPDATE products SET price = price + 79 WHERE id = 3");
$pdo->commit();
echo $pdo->inTransaction() ? "active" : "committed";

Important Behavior and Edge Cases

Calling commit outside an active transaction throws PDOException in modern PHP.

For production use, also account for error handling, data validation, resource limits and environment-specific driver behavior.

Comparison with Related Approaches

Common Beginner Mistakes

Key Takeaways

• Commits all changes in the current transaction.
• Calling commit outside an active transaction throws PDOException in modern PHP.
• rollBack undoes changes still pending in the active transaction.

Choose this API or pattern when its exact semantics match your task, and verify the result against the database driver and runtime used by your application.