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Transactions

Last updated on Friday, April 26, 2024.

 

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In the realm of computer science and software development, transactions refer to a unit of work performed within a database system that must be completed in its entirety to maintain data integrity, often involving multiple steps that need to be executed together as a single, atomic operation.

Understanding Transactions in Computer Science

In the realm of computer science, particularly in the field of software development, the concept of transactions plays a crucial role in ensuring data integrity and consistency within database systems.

What are Transactions?

A transaction refers to a unit of work performed within a database management system that must be completed in its entirety to maintain data integrity. It follows the ACID properties, which stand for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability.

The ACID Properties of Transactions

1. Atomicity: Transactions are atomic, meaning they are indivisible and must be executed entirely or not at all. If any part of the transaction fails, the entire transaction is rolled back to its original state.

2. Consistency: Transactions bring the database from one consistent state to another consistent state. The database must satisfy all constraints, triggers, and rules before and after each transaction.

3. Isolation: Transactions in a database system should operate independently of each other. Isolation ensures that the concurrent execution of transactions does not lead to undesirable outcomes, such as lost updates or dirty reads.

4. Durability: Once a transaction is committed, the changes made by the transaction are permanent and survive system failures. The system ensures that the committed transaction’s effects are never lost.

By adhering to these ACID properties, transactions help to maintain data reliability, prevent data corruption, and ensure that databases remain in a consistent state even in the face of failures.

 

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