In computer programming, a transaction usually means a sequence of information exchange and related work (such as database updating) that is treated as a unit for the purposes of satisfying a request and for ensuring database integrity. For a transaction to be completed and database changes to made permanent, a transaction has to be completed in its entirety. A typical transaction is a catalog merchandise order phoned in by a customer and entered into a computer by a customer representative. The order transaction involves checking an inventory database, confirming that the item is available, placing the order, and confirming that the order has been placed and the expected time of shipment. If we view this as a single transaction, then all of the steps must be completed before the transaction is successful and the database is actually changed to reflect the new order. If something happens before the transaction is successfully completed, any changes to the database must be kept track of so that they can be undone.

A program that manages or oversees the sequence of events that are part of a transaction is sometimes called a transaction monitor. Transactions are supported by SQL, the standard database user and programming interface. When a transaction completes successfully, database changes are said to be committed; when a transaction does not complete, changes are rolled back. In IBM's CICS product, a transaction is a unit of application data processing that results from a particular type of transaction request. In CICS, an instance of a particular transaction request by a computer operator or user is called a task.

Less frequently and in other computer contexts, a transaction may have a different meaning. For example, in IBM mainframe operating system batch processing, a transaction is a job or a job step.

Trans*ac"tion (?), n. [L. transactio, fr. transigere, transactum, to drive through, carry through, accomplish, transact; trans across, over + agere to drive; cf. F. transaction. See Act, Agent.]

1.

The doing or performing of any business; management of any affair; performance.

2.

That which is done; an affair; as, the transactions on the exchange.

3. CivilLaw

An adjustment of a dispute between parties by mutual agreement.

Transaction of a society, the published record of what it has done or accomplished.

Syn. -- Proceeding; action; process. -- Transaction, Proceeding. A transaction is something already done and completed; a proceeding is either something which is now going on, or, if ended, is still contemplated with reference to its progress or successive stages.

⇒ " We the word proceeding in application to an affray in the street, and the word transaction to some commercial negotiation that has been carried on between certain persons. The proceeding marks the manner of proceeding, as when we speak of the proceedings in a court of law. The transaction marks the business transacted; as, the transactions on the Exchange."

Crabb.

 

© Webster 1913.

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