Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 Unleashed, Second Edition

Defining Transactions

You can carry out transaction processing with Microsoft SQL Server in three ways:

• AutoCommit—Every Transact-SQL statement is its own transaction and automatically commits when it finishes. This is the default mode in which SQL Server operates.

• Explicit—This approach provides programmatic control of the transaction using the BEGIN TRAN and COMMIT/ROLLBACK TRAN/WORK commands.

• Implicit—SQL Server is placed into a mode of operation in which issuing certain SQL commands automatically starts a transaction. The developer must finish the transaction by explicitly issuing the COMMIT/ROLLBACK TRAN/WORK commands.

Each of these methods is discussed in the following sections.

NOTE The terms for explicit and implicit transactions can be ...