CoSc2072 : Advanced Database systems

Chapter Three:
Introduction to Transaction
Processing Concepts and Theory

Department of Computer Science

College of Engineering and
Technology
Chapter Outline
1 Introduction to Transaction Processing
2 Transaction and System Concepts
3 Desirable Properties of Transactions
4 Characterizing Schedules based on Recoverability
5 Characterizing Schedules based on Serializability
6 Transaction Support in SQL
1 Introduction to Transaction Processing (1)
• Single-User System:
• At most one user at a time can use the system.
• Multiuser System:
• Many users can access the system concurrently.
• Concurrency
• Interleaved processing:
• Concurrent execution of processes is interleaved in a single CPU
• Parallel processing:
• Processes are concurrently executed in multiple CPUs.
Introduction to Transaction Processing (2)

• A Transaction:
• Logical unit of database processing that includes one or more access operations (read -
retrieval, write - insert or update, delete).
• A transaction (set of operations) may be stand-alone specified in a high level
language like SQL submitted interactively, or may be embedded within a
program.
• Transaction boundaries:
• Begin and End transaction.
• An application program may contain several transactions separated by the Begin
and End transaction boundaries.
Introduction to Transaction Processing (3)

SIMPLE MODEL OF A DATABASE (for purposes of discussing transactions):

• A database is a collection of named data items
• Granularity of data - Data granularity is the level of detail considered in a model
• Basic operations are read and write

• read_item(X): Reads a database item named X into a program variable. To

simplify our notation, we assume that the program variable is also named X.
• write_item(X): Writes the value of program variable X into the database item
named X.
Introduction to Transaction Processing (4)

READ AND WRITE OPERATIONS:

• Basic unit of data transfer from the disk to the computer main memory is one
block. In general, a data item (what is read or written) will be the field of some
record in the database, although it may be a larger unit such as a record or even a
whole block.
• read_item(X) command includes the following steps:
• Find the address of the disk block that contains item X.
• Copy that disk block into a buffer in main memory (if that disk block is not already in
some main memory buffer).
• Copy item X from the buffer to the program variable named X.
Introduction to Transaction Processing (5)

READ AND WRITE OPERATIONS (contd.):

• write_item(X) command includes the following steps:
• Find the address of the disk block that contains item X.
• Copy that disk block into a buffer in main memory (if that disk block is not already in
some main memory buffer).
• Copy item X from the program variable named X into its correct location in the buffer.
• Store the updated block from the buffer back to disk (either immediately or at some later
point in time).
Two sample transactions
• FIGURE 3.2Two sample transactions:
• (a) Transaction T1
• (b) Transaction T2
Introduction to Transaction Processing (6)

Why Concurrency Control is needed?

Some Problems may occur when concurrent execution is uncontrolled.
• The Lost Update Problem
• This occurs when two transactions that access the same database items have their operations
interleaved in a way that makes the value of some database item incorrect.
• The Temporary Update (or Dirty Read) Problem
• This occurs when one transaction updates a database item and then the transaction fails for some
reason but, the updated item is accessed by another transaction before it is changed back to its
original value.
• The Incorrect Summary Problem
• If one transaction is calculating an aggregate summary function on a number of records while
other transactions are updating some of these records, the aggregate function may calculate some
values before they are updated and others after they are updated.
A. The lost update problem.
A. The lost update problem (Cont…)
• Suppose we have table:
A. The lost update problem (Cont…)
• Now consider a scenario where a user arrives and initiates the process of buying a
laptop. This will initiate a transaction. Let’s call this transaction, transaction 1.
• At the same time another user logs into the system and initiates a transaction, let’s
call this transaction 2.
• Transaction 1 reads the items in stock for laptops which is 12. A little later
transaction 2 reads the value for ItemsinStock for laptops which will still be 12 at
this point of time. Transaction 2 then sells three laptops, shortly before
transaction 1 sells 2 items.
• Transaction 2 will then complete its execution first and update ItemsinStock to 9
since it sold three of the 12 laptops. Transaction 1 commits itself. Since
transaction 1 sold two items, it updates ItemsinStock to 10.
B. The temporary update problem.

NB: The value of item X that is read by T2 is called dirty data because it has been created by a
transaction that has not completed and committed yet;
C. The incorrect summary problem.
C. The incorrect summary problem (cont…)
• Consider the schedule S1 given below, in which, transaction T1
transfers money from account A to account B and in the mean
time, transaction T2 calculates the sum of 3 accounts namely, A,
B, and C. The third column shows the account balances and
calculated values after every instruction is executed.
C. The incorrect summary problem (cont…)
•Transaction T2 reads the value of account A after A is updated and reads
B before B is updated. [The portion that violates in T2 is highlighted in
green color]. Hence, the aggregate operation is end up with an
inconsistent result.
•If all the instructions in T1 are executed before T2 starts, then A will be
950, B will be 1050 and average value will be 1000.
•But, due to this interleaved execution, the final value of A is 950, B is
1050, and average is 983.33 which is wrong.
•This problem is called as Inconsistent analysis or Incorrect
summary problem.
Introduction to Transaction Processing (12)
Why recovery is needed?
(What causes a Transaction to fail)
1. A computer failure (system crash):
A hardware or software error occurs in the computer system during transaction
execution.
If the hardware crashes, the contents of the computer’s internal memory may be lost.
2. A transaction or system error:
Some operation in the transaction may cause it to fail, such as integer overflow or
division by zero.
Transaction failure may also occur because of erroneous parameter values or because of
a logical programming error.
In addition, the user may interrupt the transaction during its execution.
Introduction to Transaction Processing (13)
Why recovery is needed? (Contd.):
(What causes a Transaction to fail)
3. Local errors or exception conditions detected by the transaction:
Certain conditions necessitate cancellation of the transaction. For example, data for the
transaction may not be found.
 A condition, such as insufficient account balance in a banking database, may cause a
transaction, such as a fund withdrawal from that account, to be canceled.
A programmed abort in the transaction causes it to fail.
4. Concurrency control enforcement:
The concurrency control method may decide to abort the transaction, to be restarted
later, because it
 violates serializability or
 because several transactions are in a state of deadlock
Introduction to Transaction Processing (14)
Why recovery is needed (contd.):
(What causes a Transaction to fail)
5. Disk failure:
Some disk blocks may lose their data because of a read or write malfunction or because
of a disk read/write head crash. This may happen during a read or a write operation of
the transaction.
A head crash is a hard-disk failure that occurs when a read–write head of a 
hard disk drive makes contact with its rotating platter, slashing its surface and
permanently damaging its magnetic media. 
6. Physical problems and catastrophes:
This refers to an endless list of problems that includes power or air-conditioning failure,
fire, theft, sabotage, overwriting disks or tapes by mistake, and mounting of a wrong
tape by the operator.
2 Transaction and System Concepts (1)

• A transaction is an atomic unit of work that is either completed in its

entirety or not done at all.
• For recovery purposes, the system needs to keep track of when the
transaction starts, terminates, and commits or aborts.
• Transaction states:
• Active state
• Partially committed state
• Committed state
• Failed state
• Terminated State
Transaction and System Concepts (2)

Recovery manager keeps track of the following operations:

• begin_transaction: This marks the beginning of transaction execution.
• read or write: These specify read or write operations on the database items that are
executed as part of a transaction.
• end_transaction: This specifies that read and write transaction operations have ended
and marks the end limit of transaction execution.
• At this point it may be necessary to check whether the changes introduced by the
transaction can be permanently applied to the database or whether the transaction has
to be aborted because it violates concurrency control or for some other reason.
Transaction and System Concepts (3)

• Recovery manager keeps track of the following operations (cont):

• commit_transaction: This signals a successful end of the transaction so that
any changes (updates) executed by the transaction can be safely committed
to the database and will not be undone.
• rollback (or abort): This signals that the transaction has ended
unsuccessfully, so that any changes or effects that the transaction may have
applied to the database must be undone.
Transaction and System Concepts (4)

• Recovery techniques use the following operators:

• undo: Similar to rollback except that it applies to a single operation rather
than to a whole transaction.
• redo: This specifies that certain transaction operations must be redone to
ensure that all the operations of a committed transaction have been applied
successfully to the database.
State transition diagram illustrating the states
for transaction execution
Transaction and System Concepts (6)

• The System Log

• Log or Journal: The log keeps track of all transaction operations that affect the
values of database items.
• This information may be needed to permit recovery from transaction failures.
• The log is kept on disk, so it is not affected by any type of failure except for disk or
catastrophic failure.
• In addition, the log is periodically backed up to archival storage (tape) to guard against
such catastrophic failures.
Transaction and System Concepts (7)

• The System Log (cont):

• T in the following discussion refers to a unique transaction-id that is generated
automatically by the system and is used to identify each transaction:
• Types of log record:
• [start_transaction,T]: Records that transaction T has started execution.
• [write_item,T,X,old_value,new_value]: Records that transaction T has changed the value
of database item X from old_value to new_value.
• [read_item,T,X]: Records that transaction T has read the value of database item X.
• [commit,T]: Records that transaction T has completed successfully, and affirms that its
effect can be committed (recorded permanently) to the database.
• [abort,T]: Records that transaction T has been aborted.
Transaction and System Concepts (8)

• The System Log (cont):

• Protocols for recovery that avoid cascading rollbacks do not require that read
operations be written to the system log, whereas other protocols require
these entries for recovery.
• Strict protocols require simpler write entries that do not include new_value .
Transaction and System Concepts (9)

Recovery using log records:

• If the system crashes, we can recover to a consistent database state by
examining the log
1. Because the log contains a record of every write operation that changes the value of
some database item, it is possible to undo the effect of these write operations of a
transaction T by tracing backward through the log and resetting all items changed by a
write operation of T to their old_values.
2. We can also redo the effect of the write operations of a transaction T by tracing
forward through the log and setting all items changed by a write operation of T (that
did not get done permanently) to their new_values.
Transaction and System Concepts (10)

Commit Point of a Transaction:

• Definition of a Commit Point:
• A transaction T reaches its commit point when all its operations that access the database
have been executed successfully and the effect of all the transaction operations on the
database has been recorded in the log.
• Beyond the commit point, the transaction is said to be committed, and its effect is
assumed to be permanently recorded in the database.
• The transaction then writes an entry [commit,T] into the log.
• Roll Back of transactions:
• Needed for transactions that have a [start_transaction,T] entry into the log but no
commit entry [commit,T] into the log.
Transaction and System Concepts (11)

Commit Point of a Transaction (cont):

• Redoing transactions:
• Transactions that have written their commit entry in the log must also have recorded all their
write operations in the log; otherwise they would not be committed, so their effect on the
database can be redone from the log entries. (Notice that the log file must be kept on disk.
• At the time of a system crash, only the log entries that have been written back to disk are
considered in the recovery process because the contents of main memory may be lost.)
• Force writing a log:
• Before a transaction reaches its commit point, any portion of the log that has not been
written to the disk yet must now be written to the disk.
• This process is called force-writing the log file before committing a transaction.
3 Desirable Properties of Transactions (1)

ACID properties:
• Atomicity: A transaction is an atomic unit of processing; it is either performed in its entirety or
not performed at all.
• Consistency preservation: A correct execution of the transaction must take the database from
one consistent state to another.
• Isolation: A transaction should not make its updates visible to other transactions until it is
committed; this property, when enforced strictly, solves the temporary update problem and
makes cascading rollbacks of transactions unnecessary.
• Durability or permanency: Once a transaction changes the database and the changes are
committed, these changes must never be lost because of subsequent failure.
4 Characterizing Schedules based on
Recoverability (1)
• Transaction schedule or history:
• When transactions are executing concurrently in an interleaved fashion, the order of
execution of operations from the various transactions forms what is known as a
transaction schedule (or history).
• A schedule (or history) S of n transactions T1, T2, …, Tn:
• It is an ordering of the operations of the transactions subject to the constraint that, for
each transaction Ti that participates in S, the operations of T1 in S must appear in the
same order in which they occur in T1.
• Note, however, that operations from other transactions Tj can be interleaved with the
operations of Ti in S.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Recoverability (2)
Schedules classified on recoverability:
• Recoverable schedule:
• One where no transaction needs to be rolled back.
• A schedule S is recoverable if no transaction T in S commits until all
transactions T’ that have written an item that T reads have
committed.
• Cascadeless schedule:
• One where every transaction reads only the items that are written
by committed transactions.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Recoverability (3)
Schedules classified on recoverability (contd.):
• Schedules requiring cascaded rollback:
• A schedule in which uncommitted transactions that read an
item from a failed transaction must be rolled back.
• Strict Schedules:
• A schedule in which a transaction can neither read nor write an item X until
the last transaction that wrote X has committed.
• It is important to note that any strict schedule is also cascadeless, and any
cascadeless schedule is also recoverable.
5 Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (1)
• Serial schedule:
• A schedule S is serial if, for every transaction T participating in the schedule,
all the operations of T are executed consecutively in the schedule.
• Otherwise, the schedule is called nonserial schedule.
• Serializable schedule:
• A schedule S is serializable if it is equivalent to some serial schedule of the
same n transactions.
• The concept of serializability of schedules is used to identify which
schedules are correct when transaction executions have interleaving of their
operations in the schedules.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (2)
• Result equivalent:
• Two schedules are called result equivalent if they produce the same final
state of the database.
• Conflict equivalent:
• Two schedules are said to be conflict equivalent if the order of any two
conflicting operations is the same in both schedules.
• Conflict serializable:
• A schedule S is said to be conflict serializable if it is conflict equivalent to
some serial schedule S’.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (3)
• Being serializable is not the same as being serial
• Being serializable implies that the schedule is a correct schedule.
• It will leave the database in a consistent state.
• The interleaving is appropriate and will result in a state as if the transactions
were serially executed, yet will achieve efficiency due to concurrent
execution.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (4)
• Serializability is hard to check.
• Interleaving of operations occurs in an operating system through some
scheduler
• Difficult to determine beforehand how the operations in a schedule will be
interleaved.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (5)
Practical approach:
• Come up with methods (protocols) to ensure serializability.
• It’s not possible to determine when a schedule begins and when it
ends.
• Hence, we reduce the problem of checking the whole schedule to checking
only a committed project of the schedule (i.e. operations from only the
committed transactions.)
• Current approach used in most DBMSs:
• Use of locks with two phase locking
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (6)
• View equivalence:
• A less restrictive definition of equivalence of schedules

• View serializability:
• Definition of serializability based on view equivalence.
• A schedule is view serializable if it is view equivalent to a serial schedule.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (7)
• Two schedules are said to be view equivalent if the following three conditions
hold:
1. The same set of transactions participates in S and S’, and S and S’ include the same
operations of those transactions.
2. For any operation Ri(X) of Ti in S, if the value of X read by the operation has been
written by an operation Wj(X) of Tj (or if it is the original value of X before the
schedule started), the same condition must hold for the value of X read by operation
Ri(X) of Ti in S’.
3. If the operation Wk(Y) of Tk is the last operation to write item Y in S, then Wk(Y) of Tk
must also be the last operation to write item Y in S’.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (8)
• The idea behind view equivalence is that, as long as each read
operation of a transaction reads the result of the same write operation
in both schedules, the write operations of each transaction must
produce the same results.
• “The view”: the read operations are said to see the same view in both
schedules.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (9)
• Relationship between view and conflict equivalence:
• The two are same under constrained write assumption which assumes that if
T writes X, it is constrained by the value of X it read; i.e., new X = f(old X)
• Conflict serializability is stricter than view serializability. With unconstrained
write (or blind write), a schedule that is view serializable is not necessarily
conflict serializable.
• Any conflict serializable schedule is also view serializable, but not vice versa.
Relationship between view and conflict
equivalence:
•The definitions of conflict serializability and view serializability are
similar if a condition known as the constrained write assumption (or
no blind writes) holds on all transactions in the schedule.
•This condition states that any write operation wi(X) in Ti is preceded
by a ri(X) in Ti and that the value written by wi(X) in Ti depends only
on the value of X read by ri(X).
•A blind write is a write operation in a transaction T on an item X that
is not dependent on the old value of X, so it is not preceded by a read
of X in the transaction T.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (10)
• Relationship between view and conflict equivalence (cont):
• Consider the following schedule of three transactions
• T1: r1(X), w1(X); T2: w2(X); and T3: w3(X):
• Schedule Sa: r1(X); w2(X); w1(X); w3(X); c1; c2; c3;

• In Sa, the operations w2(X) and w3(X) are blind writes, since T2 and T3 do not
read the value of X.
• Sa is view serializable, since it is view equivalent to the serial schedule T1, T2, T3.
• However, Sa is not conflict serializable, since it is not conflict equivalent to any serial
schedule.
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (11)
Testing for conflict serializability: Algorithm :
• Looks at only read_Item (X) and write_Item (X) operations
• Constructs a precedence graph (serialization graph) - a graph with directed
edges
• An edge is created from Ti to Tj if one of the operations in Ti appears before
a conflicting operation in Tj
• The schedule is serializable if and only if the precedence graph has no cycles.
Constructing the Precedence Graphs
• FIGURE 17.7 Constructing the precedence graphs for schedules A and D from Figure 17.5 to
test for conflict serializability.
• (a) Precedence graph for serial schedule A.
• (b) Precedence graph for serial schedule B.
• (c) Precedence graph for schedule C (not serializable).
• (d) Precedence graph for schedule D (serializable, equivalent to schedule A).

Slide 17- 47
Another example of serializability Testing
Another Example of Serializability Testing
Another Example of Serializability Testing
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (14)
Other Types of Equivalence of Schedules
• Under special semantic constraints, schedules that are otherwise not
conflict serializable may work correctly.
• Using commutative operations of addition and subtraction (which can be
done in any order) certain non-serializable transactions may work correctly
Characterizing Schedules based on
Serializability (15)
Other Types of Equivalence of Schedules (contd.)
• Example: bank credit / debit transactions on a given item are separable and
commutative.
• Consider the following schedule S for the two transactions:
• Sh : r1(X); w1(X); r2(Y); w2(Y); r1(Y); w1(Y); r2(X); w2(X);
• Using conflict serializability, it is not serializable.
• However, if it came from a (read,update, write) sequence as follows:
• r1(X); X := X – 10; w1(X); r2(Y); Y := Y – 20;r1(Y);
• Y := Y + 10; w1(Y); r2(X); X := X + 20; (X);
• Sequence explanation: debit, debit, credit, credit.
• It is a correct schedule for the given semantics
6 Transaction Support in SQL2 (1)
• A single SQL statement is always considered to be atomic.
• Either the statement completes execution without error or it fails and leaves
the database unchanged.
• With SQL, there is no explicit Begin Transaction statement.
• Transaction initiation is done implicitly when particular SQL statements are
encountered.
• Every transaction must have an explicit end statement, which is
either a COMMIT or ROLLBACK.
The End!