Showing papers on "Database transaction published in 1984"

The Organization of Production: Evidence from the Aerospace Industry

Abstract: THE interface between successive stages of production is frequently governed by contractual agreements, and the efficiency of such arrangements has been the subject of considerable attention in the economic literature. But production is organized administratively within firms as well as contractually between them, and given the practical limitations of bureaucratic organization, the relevant question can be seen to be not merely whether contractual deficiencies exist but how severe such deficiencies may be relative to the alternative costs of organizing production internally. The important issue from an institutional choice perspective thus becomes how the particular details of a transaction affect the differential efficiency of alternative organizational forms. Recent theoretical work has sought to identify such relationships.' In particular, the choice between internal and external organization and, in the event of the latter, the choice of contract terms have been related to several critical parameters of the transaction. This paper presents some

Going Private: Minority Freezeouts and Stockholder Wealth.

Abstract: GJOING private restructures corporate ownership by replacing the entire public stock interest with full equity ownership by an incumbent management group. In many going-private transactions, or minority freezeouts as they are frequently called, current managers have majority control of the public corporation and obtain complete equity ownership of the surviving private corporation. In some cases, managers share subsequent equity ownership with outside private investors who help finance the acquisition of publicly held stock. The reorganization of corporate ownership is effected through a variety of legal vehicles, a common example of which is a cash-out merger of the public firm into a shell corporation created expressly for the transaction and wholly owned by the management group. Managerial conflicts of interest in going-private transactions are widely believed to result in "unfair" treatment of public stockholders (hence the

Vertical partitioning algorithms for database design

Abstract: This paper addresses the vertical partitioning of a set of logical records or a relation into fragments. The rationale behind vertical partitioning is to produce fragments, groups of attribute columns, that “closely match” the requirements of transactions.Vertical partitioning is applied in three contexts: a database stored on devices of a single type, a database stored in different memory levels, and a distributed database. In a two-level memory hierarchy, most transactions should be processed using the fragments in primary memory. In distributed databases, fragment allocation should maximize the amount of local transaction processing.Fragments may be nonoverlapping or overlapping. A two-phase approach for the determination of fragments is proposed; in the first phase, the design is driven by empirical objective functions which do not require specific cost information. The second phase performs cost optimization by incorporating the knowledge of a specific application environment. The algorithms presented in this paper have been implemented, and examples of their actual use are shown.

On-line and off-line transaction security system using a code generated from a transaction parameter and a random number

Abstract: A security system is disclosed for use in an electronic funds transfer environment. The system includes a central processor and a portable transaction device. During initiation, the central processor generates a sequence of transaction numbers and associated random numbers. This data is supplied to and stored in the portable transaction device. In operation, the next available random number is determined and combined with a transaction parameter to generate a security code. The security code may be verified immediately or during the check clearing cycle at the central processor. In the preferred embodiment, in the on-line operation, the selection of the ramdom number is altered by a random offset number further enhancing security.

Banking/brokerage computer interface system

Abstract: Apparatus is provided for interfacing a banking system and a brokerage system having a number of brokerage offices. Clients having both a brokerage and a banking account transact both brokerage and banking activities from the brokerage office. Automatic transaction processing within and between the banking and brokerage systems is created in response to a client transaction activity originated at a brokerage office.

System for handling transactions including a portable personal terminal

Abstract: A system including a portable personal terminal which may be used for handling a wide variety of financial, shopping, and other transactions. The personal terminal is credit-card sized, is intelligent, includes a plurality of transaction totals and is constructed to be user-friendly. An interface module is used to couple the terminal to other systems for on-line uses.

Optimism and consistency in partitioned distributed database systems

Abstract: A protocol for transaction processing during partition failures is presented which guarantees mutual consistency between copies of data-items after repair is completed. The protocol is “optimistic” in that transactions are processed without restrictions during failure; conflicts are then detected at repair time using a precedence graph, and are resolved by backing out transactions according to some backout strategy. The resulting database state then corresponds to a serial execution of some subset of transactions run during the failure. Results from simulation and probabilistic modeling show that the optimistic protocol is a reasonable alternative in many cases. Conditions under which the protocol performs well are noted, and suggestions are made as to how performance can be improved. In particular, a backout strategy is presented which takes into account individual transaction costs and attempts to minimize total backout cost. Although the problem of choosing transactions to minimize total backout cost is, in general, NP-complete, the backout strategy is efficient and produces very good results.

On the Design and Specification of Database Transactions

Abstract: A complete design and specification of database transactions must include both structural and behavioural properties. Structure deals with states and static properties while behaviour concerns state transitions and dynamic properties. Database design techniques emphasize the importance of behaviour but seldom provide for modelling and integrating behaviour and structure.

Procedures and problems in the office

Abstract: Clerical workers in an office scheduled for the installation of an office information system were interviewed regarding the social and technical organization of their work. The interviews were designed to disclose some of the actual practices involved in accomplishing procedural tasks. An analysis of the interview responses focusses on three requirements of procedural work: (1) the application of general guidelines to the problems of particular cases, (2) the co‐ordination of actions and revisions with other participants in a transaction, both within the office and outside, and (3) accomodation to the practical exigencies of handling paper documents. The conclusion suggests some broad implications of these issues of procedural work in a traditional office environment for the design of office information systems.

A database cache for high performance and fast restart in database systems

Abstract: Performance in database systems is strongly influenced by buffer management and transaction recovery methods. This paper presents the principles of the database cache, which replaces the traditional buffer. In comparison to buffer management, cache management is more carefully coordinated with transaction management, and integrates transaction recovery. High throughput ofsmall- and medium-sized transactions is achieved by fast commit processing and low database traffic. Very fast handling of transaction failures and short restart time after system failure are guaranteed in such an environment. Very long retrieval and update transactions are also supported.

A Transaction Mechanism for Engineering Design Databases

Abstract: One primary difference between transactions in an engineering design environment and those in conventional business applications is that an engineering transaction typically lasts a much longer time. Existing proposals for supporting the long-lived engineering transactions are all based on the public/private database architecture, in which a transaction checks out design objects from the public database, modifies them, and checks them into the public database for use by other transactions. However, the design environment which these proposals model is a very rigid one which does not allow a team of designers to complete a complex design involving numerous design objects by passing incomplete objects back and forth among them in a controlled manner. In this paper we present a model of engineering transactions which attempts to resolve this shortcoming as well as satisfying the constraints imposed by the engineering design environment. The model augments existing models by refining the notion of checkout environment which a transaction sees and coupling it with the notion of nested transactions. The model is then extended to a practical mechanism for supporting a complex engineering design environment by imposing the view that a long-lived engineering transaction is really a sequence of conventional short-lived transactions.

Integration of Time Versions into a Relational Database System

Abstract: New application areas for database systems, such as office automation and CAD/CAM will require to support not only access to the current data, as is done in current database systems, but also to previous instances of the data (versions). This means that time version support is needed. This paper presents the design considerations for a database system currently under implementation, that integrates time version support as a normal database function. It is shown that many subtle issues, such as choice of a suitable timestamp, how to store history data in a compact form, how to integrate version management into update processing, recovery, concurrency control, etc., have to be considered together to obtain an optimal design.

Dealer Bid‐Ask Quotes and Transaction Prices: An Empirical Study of Some AMEX Options

Abstract: This paper, utilizing dealer's “trading book” information, presents some empirical evidence supporting the validity of a dealer pricing model. It shows that much of the transaction prices variation may be explained by the specialist's optimal determination of his bid and ask quotes. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the dealer's bid-ask spread is an important explanatory variable in the observed transaction return. Finally, it indicates that the dealer's inventory level may affect his quotes and thus the transaction prices and order arrivals. The paper provides insights into the relationship between transaction prices and equilibrium prices, which will permit more extensive use of transaction data in empirical investigations. It also provides a better understanding of optimal dealer pricing strategies, suggesting that the proposed empirical model may be used to evaluate a dealer's trading performance.

A methodology for database system performance evaluation

Abstract: This paper presents a methodology for evaluating the performance of database management systems and database machines in a multiuser environment. Three main factors that affect transaction throughput in a multiuser environment are identified: multiprogramming level, degree of data sharing among simultaneously executing transactions, and transaction mix. We demonstrate that only four basic query types are needed to construct a benchmark that will evaluate the performance of a system under a wide variety of workloads. Finally, we present the results of applying our techniques to the Britton-Lee IDM 500 database machine

Architectural Issues of Transaction Management in Multi-Layered Systems

Abstract: The internal structure of current data b;lse systems is ideally characterized by a hierarchy of multiple layers. Each layer offers certain specific objects and operations on its interface. Within this framework we investigate the transaction management aspects I It is shown that the System R kind of concurrency control can be generalized and an appropriate recovery method can be found by introducing a type of open nested transactions which are strongly tied to architectural layers. Especially. our approach includes application-specific levels on top of a data base kernel system. Up to now, most of the preprocessor solutions for so-called “non-standard” applications that have been proposed simply ignore aspects of concurrency control and recovery. We sketch different possibilities to realize transaction management in such a layered environment. 1, lntrodution and RB Two different directions of evolution in data base systems may be observed. On the one hand, the performance for commercial applications should be increased still further (/Ba83/) . On the other hand, data base systems of the next generation are expected to support so-called ‘non-standard” applications such as CAD or office automation ( /HR83b/, /SchP82/) . Permiwion to copy without fee all or part of this material is gmnted provided that the cop&s ore not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the VLDB copyright not&e and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Very Large Dora Bose Endowment. To copy otherwlrc. or to republish, requires a fee and/or special permission from the Endowment. 7 hese two objectives, although different, have something in common. To achieve them It does nor suffice to modify single system components locally, rather the overall architecture of data base systems is affected (/Kie83/. /LSch83/). An important part of the architectural considerations is concerned with transaction management ( /Ba83/, /PrS83/) . Ideally we can look at the structure of modern data base systems as a hierarchy of ‘virtual machines’. Each such ‘machine’ is characterized by the objects and operations which are available at its interface. These are In turn implemented with the help of objects and operations of the layer one lower. Such a multi-layered architecture is described In /HR83a/. A variant of it forms the background df a data base kernel system which we plan to implement (/PSSW84/). One special design feature is that we use a single data model. the so-called NF2-relational model, to describe conceptual as well as internal data structures in a uniform way (/SohS83/). In this model NF2-tuples are the basis of complex structured objects which appear on both the storage structure and access path level and, In the context of “non-standard’ applications. at the user interface. The layered architecture of the projected data base kernel system Is roughly described in the following figure 1. Proceodlngr of the Tenth Intomatlonal Confarenoa on Vary Larga Data Bases. Slngapora, August, 1964

Interconnecting Heterogeneous Database Management Systems

Abstract: It is pointed out that there is still a great need for the development of improved communication between remote, heterogeneous database management systems (DBMS). Problems regarding the effective communication between distributed DBMSs are primarily related to significant differences between local data managers, local data models and representations, and local transaction managers. A system of interconnected DBMSs which exhibit such differences is called a network of distributed, heterogeneous DBMSs. In order to achieve effective interconnection of remote, heterogeneous DBMSs, the users must have uniform, integrated access to the different DBMs. The present investigation is mainly concerned with an analysis of the existing approaches to interconnecting heterogeneous DBMSs, taking into account four experimental DBMS projects.

Transaction terminal with simplified data entry

Abstract: In a transaction terminal, a credit card reader (2) is used not only to enter data from cards of customers, but a special card (20) is used to place the terminal in supervisory modes in at least one of which it will accept data from further special cards (24, 26 28) which are used to input data used in the transaction mode, particularly alphanumeric data for printing on transaction slips The terminal has a customer accessible auxiliary keyboard (30 32) which may be used for data entry, at a location remote from the main unit, allowing for point of sale data entry, including private entry of a customer's Personal Identification Number, either to validate a transaction or during selection of a PIN for encryption by the terminal

Automatic bank note transaction system

Abstract: An automatic bank note transaction system according to the present invention is provided with a center CPU and a plurality of automatic bank note transaction apparatuses. The plurality of bank note transaction apparatuses is divided into a plurality of groups, and the system comprises a remaining bill monitor for producing data indicating from whcih apparatus of a group surplus bills are to be removed and which apparatus of the given group is to be replenished with the surplus bills.

Applications of finite differencing to database integrity control and query/transaction optimization

Abstract: Koenig and Paige have presented a view maintenance strategy based on finite differencing for explicitly storing the values of database views, and updating these values whenever parameters on which they depend are modified Examples were given that illustrated how this view maintenance strategy could be used to monitor integrity constraints In this paper, we extend that idea to demonstrate how a DBMS can automatically define its own views that will be maintained efficiently by differencing Based on this approach, we define a new class of deferred integrity constraints that can be monitored efficiently In particular we show that the computational cost of each block of constraint monitoring code introduced within the original unmonitored code is bounded by a constant It is also shown how this approach provides a simple and unified solution to the problem of integrity control and query/ transaction optimization

Transaction safety system for falsely indicating successful completion of illegal transaction

Abstract: A transaction device, having an input portion, and a processing device, having a client file, which is located at a processing center, are connected by a telephone line for processing data input on the transaction device The transaction device sends an alarm signal when a transaction is carried out under duress via the transaction device The updating of the client file is prevented when the alarm signal is received at the processing center and a false funds received processing text is sent to the transation device indicating that the client file was updated

Design Transaction Management

Abstract: A design transaction is a sequence of operations mapping a consistent version of an object into a new version. We describe a mechanism, based on version checkout and change files, that supports controlled sharing and is resilient to crashes in a network of workstations and database servers.

Nested Transactions with Multiple Commit Points: An Approach to the Structuring of Advanced Database Applications

Abstract: A new type of transactions for higher level applfcation programing in systems with databases is introduced. These so-called 'nested transactions with multiple commit points' support operations over multiple applications either atomically, fndependent, or in a combination of both. Furthermore, it is strictly distinguished between transactions as units of work and transactions as a part of so-called 'conaft spheres' and 'backout spheres', which provides more generality and flexibility than existing models.

Simplifying distributed database systems design by using a broadcast network

Abstract: Atomic broadcast and failure detection are powerful primitives for distributed database systems In the distributed database system LAMBDA, they are provided as network primitives In this paper, we show how atomic broadcast and failure detection simplify transaction commitment, concurrency control, and crash recovery Specifically, we give a simple two-phase non-blocking commit protocol, whereas three phases are required in a point-to-point network We also give a simplified read-one/write-all update algorithm for replicated data and an easily implemented log-based recovery algorithm providing uninterrupted transaction processingThe benefits of performing the atomic broadcast and failure detection at the network level are also discussed Performing these functions at the network level not only simplifies database protocols but also better utilizes the broadcast network fewer messages are transmitted Comparisons between LAMBDA and existing distributed database systems are also made

Automatic transaction system

Abstract: The present invention relates to an automatic transaction system for performing transactions with an automatic transaction apparatus, by using identification cards (hereinafter referred to as "ID cards") for an automatic teller system, a credit card system or other various maintenance systems. At least one integrated circuit (hereinafter referred to as "IC") is built in an ID card, a program for practicing such processings as editing, ciphering, operation and checking of data necessary for determining whether or not a transaction should be made is stored in the IC, a center apparatus is connected to the automatic transaction apparatus, transaction data files for customers are contained in the center apparatus, a predetermined program processing of data corresponding to the ID card, which are contained in the center apparatus, is carried out, whether or not a transaction should be made is judged by the center apparatus based on the result of the program processing, and the result of the judgement is transmitted to the automatic transaction apparatus.

A simple analysis of exclusive and shared lock contention in a database system

Abstract: We consider a probabilistic model of locking in a database system in which an arriving transaction is blocked and lost when its lock requests conflict with the locks held by currently executing transactions. Both exclusive and shared locks are considered. We derive a simple asymptotic expression for the probability of blocking which is exact to order 1/N where N is the number of lockable items in the database. This expression reduces to one recently derived by Mitra and Weinberger for the special case where all locks are exclusive.

Working Couples in Small Business

Abstract: BARTERING: A CREATIVE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE INTRODUCTION Prior to the evolution of money as a medium of exchange, transactions necessarily involved an exchange of what one had for what one needed or wanted. These exchanges, or "barters," were simple purchase and sale transactions as we know them today. The only difference was that in the absence of money, goods and services were exchanged for other goods and services rather than cash. The purpose of this article is to discuss selective aspects of bartering as it is used as a legal, organized marketing tool within the United States. The term "bartering" is defined as the exchange between parties of goods and services of equal value. This discussion is intended to provide insight into an often overlooked way of transacting business. Bartering is not suggested as a substitute for cash transactions, but as a supplemental means of doing business. Proponents of barter insist that they hold no vendetta against money, which is an absolute necessity in our society, at least for such things as tips, public telephones, vending machines, and, of course, taxes. They do, however, believe that bartering is firmly entrenched as a legitimate and valuable means of effecting economic exchange. It is estimated, for example, that 65 percent of all companies on the New York Stock Exchange now engage in some form of barter. In a recent issue of Forbes magazine, it was stated that "barter is now a fast-growing technique among Forbes 500 firms." Along the same lines, the chief executive officer of a relatively new, multi-million dollar bartering frim was quoted as saying, "In the next ten years the barter economy, through trade exchanges, will be firmly established as the economic system of the future." And, according to the real estate division director of another bartering firm, "Barter is an idea whose time has come--again. We suggest that brokers continue to look for cash in their transactions but consider barter, too." The resurgence of barter has, however, prompted others to question its importance to the economy. For example, Professor George Dalton of Northwestern University writes: Barter . . . has never been a quantitatively important or dominant model of transaction in any past or present economic system about which we have hard information.... Barter occurs very widely in past and present economic systems, but always as minor, infrequent, or emergency transactions employed for special reasons by barterers who know of alternative and more important ways of transacting. In the same vein, a senior writer at Inc. magazine writes: . . . Barter has earned its place. Like the world's oldest profession, the world's oldest way of doing business will always be with us. It seems unlikely that barter can continue to make inroads into the dollar economy much beyond its present level. These comments notwithstanding, the number of commercial firms that arrange barters in the United States has increased from about 40 to more than 250 over the last five years, and most appear to be quite successful. WHO BARTERS, AND FOR WHAT? The governments of France, Germany, Japan, and other countries have bartered for centuries. More recently, the United States government has been involved in some barter transactions. Some U.S. corporate giants have also become involved in bartering, as evidenced by the successful $12 million electronic toys-for-advertising deal that Mattel, Inc., made in order to avoid a $12 million writeoff. The equally well-known Pepsi-Cola-syrup-for-Russian-vodka transaction is another example of corporate leadership and ingenuity. Xerox executed one of the largest domestic barter transactions in September of 1981 when it offered approximately two million dollars' worth of computers and copiers for trading. Companies such as Xerox, Pan Am, Continental Airlines, National Semi-conductor, Chrysler, Shell Oil, and others have all been involved in barter transactions in recent years. …

Managing distributed databases in partitioned networks

Abstract: A distributed database (DDB) is subject to network partitioning; that is, failures may leave sites disconnected. If a DDB with replicated data becomes partitioned, its sites must either suspend activity until the failure is repaired or modify their activities to maintain serializability in spite of the partitioning. Adaptations are either conservative, and guarantee that all activity will be serializable, or optimistic, and may require some transactions to be backed out to establish serializability when the failure is repaired. We consider conservative strategies to be composed of class assignment rules, which allocate transaction classes to partitions, conflict resolution rules, which ensure that the assignments will be serializable, and version assignment rules, which specify the versions of data-items that are read by specific transactions. We show how to extend previously proposed rules for class assignment, that resolving conflicts optimally is NP-complete, and how to assign old versions of data-items to transactions in ways that increase the number of transactions that can be run. We also show how to modify these techniques for use as a concurrency control method in non-partitioned systems to reduce communication overhead. Optimistic strategies do not restrict the transactions that can be run during partitioning, but may require that transactions be backed out when partitions are reconnected. We show that doing this optimally is NP-complete, as are several subproblems. We describe an approximation method for solving the problem with a better than O(n) error bound. We also consider relaxing various constraints of our model. A probabilistic model for predicting the level of conflict is presented and then modified to encompass extensions such as partial database replication.

Transaction Management in Engineering Databases

Abstract: The assumptions and procedures of engineering design are fundamentally different from those of business applications and result in quite different needs with regard to database system requirements. One important difference is in the assumptions regarding integrity. In business, it is assumed that a database has complete integrity during all quiescent periods. In engineering design, in contrast, integrity does not exist for a database until design is almost complete. In a previous paper, we developed a revised definition of transaction that explicitly allows partial integrity. A management scheme, called entity state transaction management, was proposed that deals with both the partial ordering of transactions and the contention for shared information resources. The extension of this technique for application to large engineering problems is explored in this paper, with the development of a significant example.