I am sorry, I forgot to mention I use MSSQL Server.

I have a requirement that specifies that I need to block the access of a process to some records that are used by another process. This can be easily done by adding a Locked(bit) column and a ProcessID(int) column. The problem appears later in the specification when it says that in the case a process dies the rows locked have to be unlocked. The same must apply if the process is blocked in some way. Another problem is the fact that the login with which these processes run does not have VIEW SERVER STATE permission (nor it can be given that permission) so I can't use sysprocesses view or sp_who procedure. Is there any way around this or another possible solution?