What is Database Transaction

  • A database transaction is a fundamental concept in the field of database management systems (DBMS) that ensures the integrity, consistency, and reliability of data within a database.
  • It represents a logical unit of work that is performed as a single, indivisible operation, even if it involves multiple individual tasks or actions.
  • The concept of transactions is crucial to maintain the accuracy and reliability of data in a multi-user and concurrent environment.
A transaction typically follows the ACID properties:
  • Atomicity: This property ensures that a transaction is treated as a single, indivisible unit of work. It means that either all the operations within a transaction are completed successfully, or none of them are. If any part of the transaction fails, the entire transaction is rolled back, and the database returns to its previous state.
  • Consistency: This property ensures that a transaction brings the database from one consistent state to another. In other words, the database should follow predefined rules and constraints before and after the transaction to maintain data integrity.
  • Isolation: Isolation ensures that the operations within a transaction are isolated from the operations of other concurrent transactions. This prevents interference between transactions that could lead to incorrect results or data corruption. Isolation levels define the degree of separation between transactions.
  • Durability: Once a transaction is successfully completed, its changes are permanently stored in the database. This ensures that even in the event of system failures or crashes, the data remains intact and recoverable.
  • Transactions are used to manage complex operations that involve multiple steps or data changes, such as transferring funds between bank accounts or updating inventory levels. By providing these properties, database transactions guarantee data integrity and reliability, even in high-concurrency environments with many users simultaneously accessing and modifying the data.

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