I really needed this functionality in PostgreSQL. A common use for autonomous transactions is error logging. I want to log sqlerrm in a function and raise an exception so the calling application knows there is an error and I have it logged to a table.
I figured out a way to "hack" an autonomous transaction by using a dblink in a function and here is a simple example: create or replace function fn_log_error(p_function varchar, p_location int, p_error varchar) returns void as $$ declare v_sql varchar; v_return varchar; v_error varchar; begin perform dblink_connect('connection_name', 'dbname=...'); v_sql := 'insert into error_log (function_name, location, error_message, error_time) values (''' || p_function_name || ''', ' || p_location || ', ''' || p_error || ''', clock_timestamp())'; select * from dblink_exec('connection_name', v_sql, false) into v_return; --get the error message select * from dblink_error_message('connection_name') into v_error; if position('ERROR' in v_error) > 0 or position('WARNING' in v_error) > 0 then raise exception '%', v_error; end if; perform dblink_disconnect('connection_name'); exception when others then perform dblink_disconnect('connection_name'); raise exception '(%)', sqlerrm; end; $$ language 'plpgsql' security definer; I thought I would share and it works rather well. Maybe someone could enhance this concept to include it with the core database to provide autonomous transactions. Jon