WS-AtomicTransaction

There are multiple atomic transactions within most classical transactions. For example, when a consumer makes a retail purchase using a credit card, several steps are involved: ringing up the sale, swiping the card through a reader, verifying the validity of the account associated with the card, ensuring that the account has sufficient available credit and producing a receipt. Each of these components is an atomic transaction. In combination, they constitute a classical transaction.

WS-AT defines how transactions are carried out based on WS-Coordination and WS-Transaction, companion specifications for information exchange in business processes. There are three agreement protocols involved: completion, volatile two-phase commit (2PC), and durable 2PC. The completion protocol initiates the process that can ultimately lead to 2PC. Volatile 2PC applies to resources subject to frequent change, such as data stored in RAM (random-access memory). Durable 2PC applies to more permanent resources such as databases that may be stored on a hard disk or other non-volatile media. The ultimate result of an atomic transaction is either a "commit" (successful completion) or an "abort" (failure to complete).

The WS-AtomicTransaction specification is an activity of the Web Service Interoperability Organization (WS-I Organization), an industry-wide effort devoted to standardizing the ways in which Web services are requested and delivered.

Learn more about WS-TX

Do you have something to add to this definition? Let us know. Send your comments to techterms@whatis.com

More resources from around the web: - IBM explains WS-AtomicTransaction operations using a practical example. - WS-AtomicTransaction and related specifications can be downloaded from the Microsoft Developer Network Web site. - The WS-I Organization maintains an official home page.

FILE EXTENSION AND FILE FORMAT LIST File Extension and File Format List: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

RELATED CONTENT OASIS approves WS-Transaction 1.1 Web Services Transaction (WS-Transaction) version 1.1, which describes an extensible framework for providing protocols that coordinate the actions of... Handling Web services transactions In this tip, Daniel Rubio addresses many of the issues and approaches to working with transactions in the context of Web services. Iona's Newcomer on ESBs, XML and Web services standards, part 2 Iona CTO Eric Newcomer digs into the key elements that need to emerge from open source ESBs, where standards are headed in 2006 and how XML needs to...

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary WS-Policy  (SearchSOA.com) WS-Policy is an abbreviation for the Web Services Policy specifications, members of the core Web Services architecture specifications... (Continued) WSTx (Web Services Transactions)  (SearchSOA.com) WSTx (Web Services Transaction) is a set of XML markup specifications designed to permit the use of open, standard protocols for secure, reliable...