MySQL: Lock Tables and threads.

[Anon]

I need to lock tables (have to) on Mysql database (which is being accessed by a tons of users all the time) for the duration of
several mixed types of queries including deletes,insert and update executed from PHP

Will Lock Tables work from PHP ?

What makes me unsure is this,
mysql docs.."LOCK TABLES locks tables for the current thread"

Does this means CPU thread (like in multi-threaded OS) ? Then Linux is multi-threaded
and could execute php.exe on a different
threads in which case LOCK TABLES becomes pretty useless.

[brandonschnell]

it means lock as little as you can and as fast as you can. consider transactions which can reduce the need for locks on tables.

locking (read/write lock) the entire table prevents other users from accessing the table until the query is finished and the lock is release.

[[deleted]]

When MySQL says it locks for a thread, it means that it creates a lock on the table and gives ownership of that lock to the thread that issued it.

Anyway, like Brandon said: lock as little as possible, for the shortest possible time.
A lock will block all other queries, no just the insert/update ones.

Look at transactions in MySQL, or even better; look at postgreSQL, which is better all-round.