事务介绍

Introduction to Transactions

A transaction is a logical, atomic unit of work that contains one or more SQL statements. A transaction groups SQL statements so that they are either all committed, which means they are applied to the database, or all rolled back, which means they are undone from the database. Oracle Database assigns every transaction a unique identifier called a transaction ID.

All Oracle transactions comply with the basic properties of a database transaction, known as ACID properties. ACID is an acronym for the following:

• Atomicity （原子性）
  

  All tasks of a transaction are performed or none of them are. There are no partial transactions. For example, if a transaction starts updating 100 rows, but the system fails after 20 updates, then the database rolls back the changes to these 20 rows.

• Consistency （一致性）
  

  The transaction takes the database from one consistent state to another consistent state. For example, in a banking transaction that debits a savings account and credits a checking account, a failure must not cause the database to credit only one account, which would lead to inconsistent data.

• Isolation （隔离性）
  

  The effect of a transaction is not visible to other transactions until the transaction is committed. For example, one user updating the hr.employees table does not see the uncommitted changes to employees made concurrently by another user. Thus, it appears to users as if transactions are executing serially.

• Durability （持久性）
  

  Changes made by committed transactions are permanent. After a transaction completes, the database ensures through its recovery mechanisms that changes from the transaction are not lost.

The use of transactions is one of the most important ways that a database management system differs from a file system.

--事务的使用是数据库管理系统和文件系统区别最大的一个方面

Sample Transaction: Account Debit and Credit （事务实例：转账）

To illustrate the concept of a transaction, consider a banking database. When a customer transfers money from a savings account to a checking account, the transaction must consist of three separate operations:

• Decrement the savings account

• Increment the checking account

• Record the transaction in the transaction journal

Oracle Database must allow for two situations. If all three SQL statements maintain the accounts in proper balance, then the effects of the transaction can be applied to the database. However, if a problem such as insufficient funds, invalid account number, or a hardware failure prevents one or two of the statements in the transaction from completing, then the database must roll back the entire transaction so that the balance of all accounts is correct.

Figure 10-1 illustrates a banking transaction. The first statement subtracts $500 from savings account 3209. The second statement adds $500 to checking account 3208. The third statement inserts a record of the transfer into the journal table. The final statement commits the transaction.

Figure 10-1 A Banking Transaction

Description of "Figure 10-1 A Banking Transaction"

Structure of a Transaction

A database transaction consists of one or more statements. Specifically, a transaction consists of one of the following:

• One or more data manipulation language (DML) statements that together constitute an atomic change to the database

• One data definition language (DDL) statement

A transaction has a beginning and an end.

Beginning of a Transaction

A transaction begins when the first executable SQL statement is encountered. An executable SQL statement is a SQL statement that generates calls to a database instance, including DML and DDL statements and the SET TRANSACTION statement.

When a transaction begins, Oracle Database assigns the transaction to an available undo data segment to record the undo entries for the new transaction. A transaction ID is not allocated until an undo segment and transaction table slot are allocated, which occurs during the first DML statement. A transaction ID is unique to a transaction and represents the undo segment number, slot, and sequence number.

The following example execute an UPDATE statement to begin a transaction and queries V$TRANSACTION for details about the transaction:

SQL> UPDATE hr.employees SET salary=salary; 

107 rows updated.
 
SQL> SELECT XID AS "txn id", XIDUSN AS "undo seg", XIDSLOT AS "slot", 
  2  XIDSQN AS "seq", STATUS AS "txn status"
  3  FROM V$TRANSACTION;
 
txn id             undo seg       slot        seq txn status
---------------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------------
0600060037000000          6          6         55 ACTIVE

End of a Transaction

A transaction ends when any of the following actions occurs:

• A user issues a COMMIT or ROLLBACK statement without a SAVEPOINT clause.

  In a commit, a user explicitly or implicitly requested that the changes in the transaction be made permanent. Changes made by the transaction are permanent and visible to other users only after a transaction commits. The transaction shown in Figure 10-1 ends with a commit.

• A user runs a DDL command such as CREATE, DROP, RENAME, or ALTER.

  The database issues an implicit COMMIT statement before and after every DDL statement. If the current transaction contains DML statements, then Oracle Database first commits the transaction and then runs and commits the DDL statement as a new, single-statement transaction.

• A user exits normally from most Oracle Database utilities and tools, causing the current transaction to be implicitly committed. The commit behavior when a user disconnects is application-dependent and configurable.

  Note:

  Applications should always explicitly commit or undo transactions before program termination.

• A client process terminates abnormally, causing the transaction to be implicitly rolled back using metadata stored in the transaction table and the undo segment.

After one transaction ends, the next executable SQL statement automatically starts the following transaction. The following example executes an UPDATE to start a transaction, ends the transaction with a ROLLBACK statement, and then executes an UPDATE to start a new transaction (note that the transaction IDs are different):

SQL> UPDATE hr.employees SET salary=salary; 
107 rows updated.
 
SQL> SELECT XID, STATUS FROM V$TRANSACTION;
 
XID              STATUS
---------------- ----------------
0800090033000000 ACTIVE
 
SQL> ROLLBACK;
 
Rollback complete.
 
SQL> SELECT XID FROM V$TRANSACTION;
 
no rows selected
 
SQL> UPDATE hr.employees SET last_name=last_name;
 
107 rows updated.
 
SQL> SELECT XID, STATUS FROM V$TRANSACTION;
 
XID              STATUS
---------------- ----------------
0900050033000000 ACTIVE

Overview of Transaction Control

Transaction control is the management of changes made by DML statements and the grouping of DML statements into transactions. In general, application designers are concerned with transaction control so that work is accomplished in logical units and data is kept consistent.

Transaction control involves using the following statements, as described in "Transaction Control Statements":

• The COMMIT statement ends the current transaction and makes all changes performed in the transaction permanent. COMMIT also erases all savepoints in the transaction and releases transaction locks.

• The ROLLBACK statement reverses the work done in the current transaction; it causes all data changes since the last COMMIT or ROLLBACK to be discarded. The ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT statement undoes the changes since the last savepoint but does not end the entire transaction.

• The SAVEPOINT statement identifies a point in a transaction to which you can later roll back.

The session in Table 10-1 illustrates the basic concepts of transaction control.

Table 10-1 Transaction Control

Time	Session	Explanation
t0	COMMIT;	This statement ends any existing transaction in the session.
t1	SET TRANSACTION NAME 'sal_update';	This statement begins a transaction and names it sal_update.
t2	UPDATE employees SET salary = 7000 WHERE last_name = 'Banda';	This statement updates the salary for Banda to 7000.
t3	SAVEPOINT after_banda_sal;	This statement creates a savepoint named after_banda_sal, enabling changes in this transaction to be rolled back to this point.
t4	UPDATE employees SET salary = 12000 WHERE last_name = 'Greene';	This statement updates the salary for Greene to 12000.
t5	SAVEPOINT after_greene_sal;	This statement creates a savepoint named after_greene_sal, enabling changes in this transaction to be rolled back to this point.
t6	ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT after_banda_sal;	This statement rolls back the transaction to t3, undoing the update to Greene's salary at t4. The sal_update transaction has not ended.
t7	UPDATE employees SET salary = 11000 WHERE last_name = 'Greene';	This statement updates the salary for Greene to 11000 in transaction sal_update.
t8	ROLLBACK;	This statement rolls back all changes in transaction sal_update, ending the transaction.
t9	SET TRANSACTION NAME 'sal_update2';	This statement begins a new transaction in the session and names it sal_update2.
t10	UPDATE employees SET salary = 7050 WHERE last_name = 'Banda';	This statement updates the salary for Banda to 7050.
t11	UPDATE employees SET salary = 10950 WHERE last_name = 'Greene';	This statement updates the salary for Greene to 10950.
t12	COMMIT;	This statement commits all changes made in transaction sal_update2, ending the transaction. The commit guarantees that the changes are saved in the online redo log files.

Rollback to Savepoint

A rollback to a savepoint in an uncommitted transaction means undoing any changes made after the specified savepoint, but it does not mean a rollback of the transaction itself. When a transaction is rolled back to a savepoint, as when the ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT after_banda_sal is run in Table 10-1, the following occurs:

1. Oracle Database rolls back only the statements run after the savepoint.

   In Table 10-1, the ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT causes the UPDATE for Greene to be rolled back, but not the UPDATE for Banda.

2. Oracle Database preserves the savepoint specified in the ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT statement, but all subsequent savepoints are lost.

   In Table 10-1, the ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT causes the after_greene_sal savepoint to be lost.

3. Oracle Database releases all table and row locks acquired after the specified savepoint but retains all data locks acquired previous to the savepoint.

n the scenario shown in Table 10-2, session 1 rolls back to a savepoint created before it executed a DML statement. However, session 2 is still blocked because it is waiting for the session 1 transaction to complete.

Table 10-2 Rollback to Savepoint Example

Time	Session 1	Session 2	Session 3	Explanation
t0	UPDATE employees SET salary = 7000 WHERE last_name = 'Banda';			Session 1 begins a transaction. The session places an exclusive lock on the Banda row (TX) and a subexclusive table lock (SX) on the table.
t1	SAVEPOINT after_banda_sal;			Session 1 creates a savepoint named after_banda_sal.
t2	UPDATE employees SET salary = 12000 WHERE last_name = 'Greene';			Session 1 locks the Greene row.
t3		UPDATE employees SET salary = 14000 WHERE last_name = 'Greene';		Session 2 attempts to update the Greene row, but fails to acquire a lock because session 1 has a lock on this row. No transaction has begun in session 2.
t4	ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT after_banda_sal;			Session 1 rolls back the update to the salary for Greene, which releases the row lock for Greene. The table lock acquired at t0 is not released. At this point, session 2 is still blocked by session 1 because session 2 enqueues on the session 1 transaction, which has not yet completed.
t5			UPDATE employees SET salary = 11000 WHERE last_name = 'Greene';	The Greene row is currently unlocked, so session 3 acquires a lock for an update to the Greene row. This statement begins a transaction in session 3.
t6	COMMIT;			Session 1 commits, ending its transaction. Session 2 is now enqueued for its update to the Greene row behind the transaction in session 3.

Rollback of Transactions

A rollback of an uncommitted transaction undoes any changes to data that have been performed by SQL statements within the transaction. After a transaction has been rolled back, the effects of the work done in the transaction no longer exist.

In rolling back an entire transaction, without referencing any savepoints, Oracle Database performs the following actions:

• Undoes all changes made by all the SQL statements in the transaction by using the corresponding undo segments

  The transaction table entry for every active transaction contains a pointer to all the undo data (in reverse order of application) for the transaction. The database reads the data from the undo segment, reverses the operation, and then marks the undo entry as applied. Thus, if a transaction inserts a row, then a rollback deletes it. If a transaction updates a row, then a rollback reverses the update. If a transaction deletes a row, then a rollback reinserts it. In Table 10-1, the ROLLBACK reverses the updates to the salaries of Greene and Banda.

• Releases all the locks of data held by the transaction

• Erases all savepoints in the transaction

  In Table 10-1, the ROLLBACK deletes the savepoint after_banda_sal. The after_greene_sal savepoint was removed by the ROLLBACK TO SAVEPOINT statement.

• Ends the transaction

  In Table 10-1, the ROLLBACK leaves the database in the same state as it was after the initial COMMIT was executed.

The duration of a rollback is a function of the amount of data modified.

See Also:

"Undo Segments"

Committing Transactions

A commit ends the current transaction and makes permanent all changes performed in the transaction. In Table 10-1, a second transaction begins with sal_update2 and ends with an explicit COMMIT statement. The changes that resulted from the two UPDATE statements are now made permanent.

When a transaction commits, the following actions occur:

• A system change number (SCN) is generated for the COMMIT.

  The internal transaction table for the associated undo tablespace records that the transaction has committed. The corresponding unique SCN of the transaction is assigned and recorded in the transaction table. See "Serializable Isolation Level".

• The log writer (LGWR) process writes remaining redo log entries in the redo log buffers to the online redo log and writes the transaction SCN to the online redo log. This atomic event constitutes the commit of the transaction.

• Oracle Database releases locks held on rows and tables.

  Users who were enqueued waiting on locks held by the uncommitted transaction are allowed to proceed with their work.

• Oracle Database deletes savepoints.

  In Table 10-1, no savepoints existed in the sal_update transaction so no savepoints were erased.

• Oracle Database performs a commit cleanout.

  If modified blocks containing data from the committed transaction are still in the SGA, and if no other session is modifying them, then the database removes lock-related transaction information from the blocks. Ideally, the COMMIT cleans out the blocks so that a subsequent SELECT does not have to perform this task.

  Note:

  Because a block cleanout generates redo, a query may generate redo and thus cause blocks to be written during the next checkpoint.

• Oracle Database marks the transaction complete.

After a transaction commits, users can view the changes.

Typically, a commit is a fast operation, regardless of the transaction size. The speed of a commit does not increase with the size of the data modified in the transaction. The lengthiest part of the commit is the physical disk I/O performed by LGWR. However, the amount of time spent by LGWR is reduced because it has been incrementally writing the contents of the redo log buffer in the background.

The default behavior is for LGWR to write redo to the online redo log synchronously and for transactions to wait for the buffered redo to be on disk before returning a commit to the user. However, for lower transaction commit latency, application developers can specify that redo be written asynchronously so that transactions need not wait for the redo to be on disk and can return from the COMMIT call immediately.