The present subject matter relates to the field of sub-dispatching application servers. In particular, the present subject matter relates to operation of transaction servers as sub-dispatching application servers that carry out their own task dispatching on operating system threads.
A transaction server is a component that is used in implementing transactions. A transaction involves multiple steps which must be completed atomically. For example, when paying someone from a bank, the system must guarantee that the money is taken from one account and paid into another person's account. Both actions must occur in order for the transaction to have taken place.
In the case of a transaction failing, it may then be “backed out” (or “rolled back”), which will mean that the system reverses all the actions that happened during the partial completion of the transaction.
A transaction server consists of a system providing the safety described above, and an environment where programs may be written to make use of these features. It will also have various connection protocols to allow it to connect to the databases involved, and to the front end software.