What Is the Meaning of Transaction-Processing System?

The term transaction-processing system is used to describe computer applications that require concurrent access to distributed data in order to perform operations on that data. Transaction-processing systems are widely used in banking, finance and electronic commerce.

Definition

• A transaction is a group of operations that is essentially treated as a single operation. A transaction cannot complete partially and either succeeds or fails as a whole.

Purpose

• The purpose of a transaction-processing system is to maintain the integrity of the data that is being processed. If one of the steps that make up a transaction fails, the whole transaction fails and the data is "rolled back" to the same state as before the transaction started.

Example

• An example of a "real-time" transaction is an ATM withdrawal of a sum of money from a bank account. The transaction must be processed and the account balance updated as quickly as possible, to allow the customer and the financial institution holding the account to keep track of funds.