Note: Many topics at this site are reduced versions of the text in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications." Search results will not be as extensive as a search of the book's CD-ROM.

A transaction is a discrete unit of work that is typically part of a business transaction. An OLTP (online transaction processing) system operates in real time to collect and process transaction- related data and post changes to shared databases and other files. In online transaction processing, transactions are executed immediately, as opposed to batch processing, in which a batch of transactions is stored over a period of time and then executed later. Due to the speed of today's systems, batch processing is no longer necessary in most environments. The results of an OLTP are immediately available in the database, assuming that transactions complete. The most common examples of OLTPs are airline reservation systems and banking transactions systems.

This topic continues in "The Encyclopedia of Networking and Telecommunications" with a discussion of the following:

• Types of transactions
• Rolling back transactions
• Transaction monitors
• "ACID" requirements in transaction environments
• Two-phase commit
• Transaction processing environments
• Microsoft Transaction Server
• Internet transaction-processing support
• TIP (Transaction Internet Protocol)

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