Does CASCADE Delete execute as transaction?

Question

I want to perform cascade delete for some tables in my database, but I'm interested in what happens in case there's a failure when deleting something. Will everything rollback?

Answer 1

In general¹, yes, cascade deletes are done in the same transaction (or subtransaction) as your original delete. You should read the documentation of your SQL server, though.

¹ The exception is if you're using a database that doesn't support transactions, like MySQL with MyISAM tables.

Answer 2

Cascade deletes are indeed atomic, they would be of little use without that property. It is in the documentation.

Answer 3

It's worth pointing out that any cascading event should be atomic (i.e. with in a transaction). But, as Joel Coehoorn points out, check the documentation for your database.