Transaction processing Transaction processing is information processing in computer science that is divided into individual, indivisible operations called ''transactions''. Each transaction must succeed or fail as a complete unit; it can never be only partially compl ...

is a way of

computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, ...

that divides work into individual, indivisible operations, called transactions. A transaction processing system (TPS) is a

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...

system, or software/ hardware combination, that supports transaction processing.

History

The first transaction processing system was

SABRE A sabre (French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as t ...

, made by IBM for

American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...

, which became operational in 1964. Designed to process up to 83,000 transactions a day, the system ran on two

IBM 7090 The IBM 7090 is a second-generation transistorized version of the earlier IBM 709 vacuum tube mainframe computer that was designed for "large-scale scientific and technological applications". The 7090 is the fourth member of the IBM 700/7000 se ...

computers. SABRE was migrated to

IBM System/360 The IBM System/360 (S/360) is a family of mainframe computer systems that was announced by IBM on April 7, 1964, and delivered between 1965 and 1978. It was the first family of computers designed to cover both commercial and scientific applic ...

computers in 1972, and became an IBM product first as '' Airline control Program (ACP)'' and later as '' Transaction Processing Facility (TPF)''. In addition to airlines TPF is used by large banks, credit card companies, and hotel chains. The

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...

NonStop system (formerly

Tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

NonStop) was a hardware and software system designed for ''Online Transaction Processing (OLTP)'' introduced in 1976. The systems were designed for transaction processing and provided an extreme level of availability and data integrity.

List of transaction processing systems

* IBM

Transaction Processing Facility Transaction Processing Facility (TPF) is an IBM real-time operating system for mainframe computers descended from the IBM System/360 family, including zSeries and System z9. TPF delivers fast, high-volume, high-throughput transaction processi ...

(TPF) – 1960. At Amity Unlike most other transaction processing systems TPF is a dedicated operating system for transaction processing on IBM System z mainframes. Originally Airline Control Program (ACP). *

IBM Information Management System The IBM Information Management System (IMS) is a joint hierarchical database and information management system that supports transaction processing. History IBM designed the IMS with Rockwell and Caterpillar starting in 1966 for the Apollo ...

(IMS) – 1966. A joint hierarchical database and information management system with extensive transaction processing capabilities. Runs on OS/360 and successors. * IBM Customer Information Control System (CICS) – 1969. A transaction manager designed for rapid, high-volume online processing, CICS originally used standard system datasets, but now has a connection to the

IBM Db2 Db2 is a family of data management products, including database servers, developed by IBM. It initially supported the relational model, but was extended to support object–relational features and non-relational structures like JSON a ...

relational database system. Runs on OS/360 and successors and DOS/360 and successors,

IBM AIX AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive, pronounced , "ay-eye-ex") is a series of proprietary Unix operating systems developed and sold by IBM for several of its computer platforms. Background Originally released for the IBM RT PC RISC ...

, VM, and

OS/2 OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 r ...

. Non-mainframe versions are called '' TXSeries''. *

Tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...

– 1980s. Transactions for Unix, Extended for Distributed Operations developed by

AT&T Corporation AT&T Corporation, originally the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is the subsidiary of AT&T Inc. that provides voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agen ...

, now owned by

Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation headquartered in Austin, Texas. In 2020, Oracle was the third-largest software company in the world by revenue and market capitalization. The company sells da ...

. Tuxedo is a cross-platform TPS. *

UNIVAC UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company an ...

Transaction Interface Package (TIP) – 1970s. A transaction processing monitor for

UNIVAC 1100/2200 series The UNIVAC 1100/2200 series is a series of compatible 36-bit computer systems, beginning with the UNIVAC 1107 in 1962, initially made by Sperry Rand. The series continues to be supported today by Unisys Corporation as the ClearPath Dorado Ser ...

computers. *

Burroughs Corporation The Burroughs Corporation was a major American manufacturer of business equipment. The company was founded in 1886 as the American Arithmometer Company. In 1986, it merged with Sperry UNIVAC to form Unisys. The company's history paralleled many ...

supported transaction processing capabilities in its MCP operating systems using GEMCOS (Generalized Message Control System of 1976). As of 2012

UNISYS Unisys Corporation is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. It provides digital workplace solutions, cloud, applications, and infrastructure solutions, ...

ClearPath Enterprise Servers include Transaction Server, "an extremely flexible, high-performance message and application control system." *

Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ), using the trademark Digital, was a major American company in the computer industry from the 1960s to the 1990s. The company was co-founded by Ken Olsen and Harlan Anderson in 1957. Olsen was president un ...

(DEC) Application Control and Management System (ACMS) – 1985. "Provides an environment for creating and controlling online transaction processing (OLTP) applications on the VMS operating system." Runs on VAX/ VMS systems. *

(DEC) Message Control System (MCS-10) for

PDP-10 Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)'s PDP-10, later marketed as the DECsystem-10, is a mainframe computer family manufactured beginning in 1966 and discontinued in 1983. 1970s models and beyond were marketed under the DECsystem-10 name, espec ...

TOPS-10 TOPS-10 System (''Timesharing / Total Operating System-10'') is a discontinued operating system from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) for the PDP-10 (or DECsystem-10) mainframe computer family. Launched in 1967, TOPS-10 evolved from the earlie ...

systems. *

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

Multics Multics ("Multiplexed Information and Computing Service") is an influential early time-sharing operating system based on the concept of a single-level memory.Dennis M. Ritchie, "The Evolution of the Unix Time-sharing System", Communications of ...

Transaction Processing. Feature (TP) – 1979. * Transaction Management eXecutive (TMX) was

NCR Corporation NCR Corporation, previously known as National Cash Register, is an American software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and electronic products. It manufactures self-service kiosks, point-of-sale termin ...

's proprietary transaction processing system running on NCR Tower 5000-series systems. This system was used mainly by financial institutions in the 1980s and 1990s. * Hewlett-Packard NonStop system – 1976. NonStop is an integrated hardware and software system specifically designed for transaction processing. Originally from Tandem Computers. *

Transarc Transarc Corporation was a private Pittsburgh-based software company founded in 1989 by Jeffrey Eppinger, Michael L. Kazar, Alfred Spector, and Dean Thompson of Carnegie Mellon University. Transarc commercialized the Andrew File System (AFS), ...

Encina – 1991. Transarc was purchased by IBM in 1994. Encina was discontinued as a product and folded into IBM's '' TXSeries''. Encina support was discontinued in 2006.

Processing types

Transaction processing is distinct from and can be contrasted with other computer processing models, such as

batch processing Computerized batch processing is a method of running software programs called jobs in batches automatically. While users are required to submit the jobs, no other interaction by the user is required to process the batch. Batches may automatically ...

time-sharing In computing, time-sharing is the sharing of a computing resource among many users at the same time by means of multiprogramming and multi-tasking.DEC Timesharing (1965), by Peter Clark, The DEC Professional, Volume 1, Number 1 Its emergence ...

, and real-time processing.

Batch processing

Batch processing is execution of a series of programs (''jobs'') on a computer without manual intervention. Several transactions, called a ''batch'' are collected and processed at the same time. The results of each transaction are not immediately available when the transaction is being entered; there is a time delay.

Real-time processing

"Real time systems attempt to guarantee an appropriate response to a stimulus or request quickly enough to affect the conditions that caused the stimulus." Each transaction in realtime processing is unique; it is not part of a group of transactions.

Transaction processing

A Transaction Processing System (TPS) is a type of information system that collects, stores, modifies and retrieves the data transactions of an enterprise. Transaction processing systems also attempt to provide predictable response times to requests, although this is not as critical as for real-time systems. Rather than allowing the user to run arbitrary programs as time-sharing, transaction processing allows only predefined, structured transactions. Each transaction is usually short duration and the processing activity for each transaction is programmed in advance. ion processing systems.

Performance

Fast

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

with a rapid response time is critical. Transaction processing systems are usually measured by the number of transactions they can process in a given period of time.

Continuous availability

The system must be available during the time period when the users are entering transactions. Many organizations rely heavily on their TPS; a breakdown will disrupt operations or even stop the business.

Data integrity

The system must be able to handle hardware or software problems without corrupting data. Multiple users must be protected from attempting to change the same piece of data at the same time, for example two operators cannot sell the same seat on an airplane.

Ease of use

Often users of transaction processing systems are casual users. The system should be simple for them to understand, protect them from data-entry errors as much as possible, and allow them to easily correct their errors.

Modular growth

The system should be capable of growth at incremental costs, rather than requiring a complete replacement. It should be possible to add, replace, or update hardware and software components without shutting down the system.

Types of transaction processing

Processing in a batch

Transactions may be collected and processed as in batch processing. Transactions will be collected and later updated as a batch when it's convenient or economical to process them. Historically, this was the most common method as the

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology syste ...

did not exist to allow real-time processing.

Processing in real-time

This is the immediate processing of data. It provides instant confirmation of a transaction. It may involve a large number of users who are simultaneously performing transactions which change data. Because of advances in technology (such as the increase in the speed of

data transmission Data transmission and data reception or, more broadly, data communication or digital communications is the transfer and reception of data in the form of a digital bitstream or a digitized analog signal transmitted over a point-to-point or ...

and larger bandwidth), real-time updating is possible.

Databases for transaction processing

A database is an organized collection of data. Databases offer fast retrieval times for non-structured requests as in a typical transaction processing application. Databases for transaction processing may be constructed using hierarchical, network, or relational structures. * Hierarchical structure: organizes data in a series of levels. Its top-to-bottom-like structure consists of nodes and branches; each child node has branches and is only linked to one higher level parent node. * Network structure: network structures also organizes data using nodes and branches. But, unlike hierarchical, each child node can be linked to multiple, higher parent nodes. * Relational structure: a relational database organizes its data in a series of related tables. This gives flexibility as relationships between the tables are built. The following features are desirable in a database system used in transaction processing systems: * Good data placement: The database should be designed to access patterns of data from many simultaneous users. * Short transactions: Short transactions enables quick processing. This avoids concurrency and paces the systems. * Real-time backup:

Backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", ...

should be scheduled between low times of activity to prevent lag of the server. * High normalization: This lowers redundant information to increase the speed and improve concurrency, this also improves backups. * Archiving of historical data: Uncommonly used data are moved into other databases or backed up tables. This keeps tables small and also improves backup times. * Good hardware configuration: Hardware must be able to handle many users and provide quick response times.

Backup procedures

Since business organizations have become very dependent on transaction processing, a breakdown may disrupt the business' regular routine and stop its operation for a certain amount of time. In order to prevent data loss and minimize disruptions there have to be well-designed

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", ...

and recovery procedures. The recovery process can rebuild the system when it goes down.

Types of back-up procedures

There are two main types of back-up procedures: grandfather-father-son and partial backups:

Grandfather-father-son

This procedure involves taking complete backups of all data at regular intervals daily, weekly, monthly, or whatever is appropriate. Multiple generations of backup are retained, often three which gives rise to the name. The most recent backup is the son, the previous the father, and the oldest backup is the grandfather. This method is commonly used for a ''batch transaction processing system'' with a

magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magnet ...

. If the system fails during a batch run, the master file is recreated by restoring the son backup and then restarting the batch. However, if the son backup fails, is corrupted or destroyed, then the previous generation of backup (the father) is used. Likewise, if that fails, then the generation of backup previous to the father (i.e. the grandfather) is required. Of course the older the generation, the more the data may be out of date. Organize only of records that have changed. For example, a full backup could be performed weekly, and partial backups taken nightly. Recovery using this scheme involves restoring the last full backup and then restoring all partial backups in order to produce an up-to-date database. This process is quicker than taking only complete backups, at the expense of longer recovery time.

Advantages

* Batch or real-time processing available. * Reduction in processing time, lead time and order cycle time. * Reduction in inventory, personnel and ordering costs. * Increase in productivity and customer satisfaction.