Peek and lock using queue partitioning

A queue management system may store a queue of messages in a main queue. When a message is processed by an application, the message may be moved to a subqueue. In the subqueue, the message may be locked from other applications. After processing the message, the application may delete the message from the subqueue and complete the action required. If the application fails to respond in a timely manner, the message may be moved from the subqueue to the main queue and released for another application to service the message. If the application responds after the time out period, a fault may occur when the application attempts to delete the message from the subqueue. Such an arrangement allows a "peek and lock" functionality to be implemented using a subqueue.