UNIT-5

Introduction of transaction, transaction processing and recovery, Concurrency control: Lock management,
specialized locking techniques, concurrency control without locking, Protection and Security Introduction
to: Distributed databases, Basic concepts of object oriented data base system.

Transaction
o The transaction is a set of logically related operation. It contains a group of tasks.
o A transaction is an action or series of actions. It is performed by a single user to perform
operations for accessing the contents of the database.

Example: Suppose an employee of bank transfers Rs 800 from X's account to Y's account. This
small transaction contains several low-level tasks:

X's Account

1. Open_Account(X)
2. Old_Balance = X.balance
3. New_Balance = Old_Balance - 800
4. X.balance = New_Balance
5. Close_Account(X)

Y's Account

1. Open_Account(Y)
2. Old_Balance = Y.balance
3. New_Balance = Old_Balance + 800
4. Y.balance = New_Balance
5. Close_Account(Y)

Operations of Transaction:
Following are the main operations of transaction:

Read(X): Read operation is used to read the value of X from the database and stores it in a buffer
in main memory.

Write(X): Write operation is used to write the value back to the database from the buffer.
 Let's take an example to debit transaction from an account which consists of following
operations:

1. 1. R(X);
2. 2. X = X - 500;
3. 3. W(X);

Let's assume the value of X before starting of the transaction is 4000.

o The first operation reads X's value from database and stores it in a buffer.
o The second operation will decrease the value of X by 500. So buffer will contain 3500.
o The third operation will write the buffer's value to the database. So X's final value will be 3500.

But it may be possible that because of the failure of hardware, software or power, etc. that
transaction may fail before finished all the operations in the set.

For example: If in the above transaction, the debit transaction fails after executing operation 2
then X's value will remain 4000 in the database which is not acceptable by the bank.

To solve this problem, we have two important operations:

Commit: It is used to save the work done permanently.

Rollback: It is used to undo the work done.

Transaction property
The transaction has the four properties. These are used to maintain consistency in a database,
before and after the transaction.

Property of Transaction
1. Atomicity
2. Consistency
3. Isolation
4. Durability

Atomicity
o It states that all operations of the transaction take place at once if not, the transaction is aborted.
 o There is no midway, i.e., the transaction cannot occur partially. Each transaction is treated as one
unit and either run to completion or is not executed at all.

Atomicity involves the following two operations:

Abort: If a transaction aborts then all the changes made are not visible.

Commit: If a transaction commits then all the changes made are visible.

Example: Let's assume that following transaction T consisting of T1 and T2. A consists of Rs
600 and B consists of Rs 300. Transfer Rs 100 from account A to account B.

T1 T2

Read(A) Read(B)
A:= A-100 Y:= Y+100
Write(A) Write(B)

After completion of the transaction, A consists of Rs 500 and B consists of Rs 400.

If the transaction T fails after the completion of transaction T1 but before completion of
transaction T2, then the amount will be deducted from A but not added to B. This shows the
inconsistent database state. In order to ensure correctness of database state, the transaction must
be executed in entirety.

Consistency
o The integrity constraints are maintained so that the database is consistent before and after the
transaction.
o The execution of a transaction will leave a database in either its prior stable state or a new stable
state.
o The consistent property of database states that every transaction sees a consistent database
instance.
o The transaction is used to transform the database from one consistent state to another consistent
state.

For example: The total amount must be maintained before or after the transaction.

1. Total before T occurs = 600+300=900

2. Total after T occurs= 500+400=900
Therefore, the database is consistent. In the case when T1 is completed but T2 fails, then
inconsistency will occur.

Isolation
o It shows that the data which is used at the time of execution of a transaction cannot be used by the
second transaction until the first one is completed.
o In isolation, if the transaction T1 is being executed and using the data item X, then that data item
can't be accessed by any other transaction T2 until the transaction T1 ends.
o The concurrency control subsystem of the DBMS enforced the isolation property.

Durability
o The durability property is used to indicate the performance of the database's consistent state. It
states that the transaction made the permanent changes.
o They cannot be lost by the erroneous operation of a faulty transaction or by the system failure.
When a transaction is completed, then the database reaches a state known as the consistent state.
That consistent state cannot be lost, even in the event of a system's failure.
o The recovery subsystem of the DBMS has the responsibility of Durability property.
States of Transaction
In a database, the transaction can be in one of the following states –

1. Active State –
When the instructions of the transaction are running then the transaction is in active
state. If all the ‘read and write’ operations are performed without any error then it
goes to the “partially committed state”; if any instruction fails, it goes to the “failed
state”.

2. Partially Committed –
After completion of all the read and write operation the changes are made in main
memory or local buffer. If the changes are made permanent on the DataBase then
the state will change to “committed state” and in case of failure it will go to the
“failed state”.

3. Failed State –
When any instruction of the transaction fails, it goes to the “failed state” or if failure
occurs in making a permanent change of data on Data Base.

4. Aborted State –
After having any type of failure the transaction goes from “failed state” to “aborted
state” and since in previous states, the changes are only made to local buffer or main
memory and hence these changes are deleted or rolled-back.
5. Committed State –
It is the state when the changes are made permanent on the Data Base and the
transaction is complete and therefore terminated in the “terminated state”.

6. Terminated State –
If there isn’t any roll-back or the transaction comes from the “committed state”, then
the system is consistent and ready for new transaction and the old transaction is
terminated.

Schedule
A series of operation from one transaction to another transaction is known as schedule. It is used to
preserve the order of the operation in each of the individual transaction.

1. Serial Schedule
The serial schedule is a type of schedule where one transaction is executed completely before
starting another transaction. In the serial schedule, when the first transaction completes its cycle,
then the next transaction is executed.

For example: Suppose there are two transactions T1 and T2 which have some operations. If it
has no interleaving of operations, then there are the following two possible outcomes:

1. Execute all the operations of T1 which was followed by all the operations of T2.
2. Execute all the operations of T1 which was followed by all the operations of T2.

o In the given (a) figure, Schedule A shows the serial schedule where T1 followed by T2.
 o In the given (b) figure, Schedule B shows the serial schedule where T2 followed by T1.

2. Non-serial Schedule
o If interleaving of operations is allowed, then there will be non-serial schedule.
o It contains many possible orders in which the system can execute the individual operations of the
transactions.
o In the given figure (c) and (d), Schedule C and Schedule D are the non-serial schedules. It has
interleaving of operations.

3. Serializable schedule
o The serializability of schedules is used to find non-serial schedules that allow the transaction to
execute concurrently without interfering with one another.
o It identifies which schedules are correct when executions of the transaction have interleaving of
their operations.
o A non-serial schedule will be serializable if its result is equal to the result of its transactions
executed serially.
Here,

Schedule A and Schedule B are serial schedule.

Schedule C and Schedule D are Non-serial schedule.

Testing of Serializability
Serialization Graph is used to test the Serializability of a schedule.

Assume a schedule S. For S, we construct a graph known as precedence graph. This graph has a
pair G = (V, E), where V consists a set of vertices, and E consists a set of edges. The set of
vertices is used to contain all the transactions participating in the schedule. The set of edges is
used to contain all edges Ti ->Tj for which one of the three conditions holds:

1. Create a node Ti → Tj if Ti executes write (Q) before Tj executes read (Q).

2. Create a node Ti → Tj if Ti executes read (Q) before Tj executes write (Q).
3. Create a node Ti → Tj if Ti executes write (Q) before Tj executes write (Q).
 o If a precedence graph contains a single edge Ti → Tj, then all the instructions of Ti are executed
before the first instruction of Tj is executed.
o If a precedence graph for schedule S contains a cycle, then S is non-serializable. If the precedence
graph has no cycle, then S is known as serializable.

For example:
Explanation:

Read(A): In T1, no subsequent writes to A, so no new edges

Read(B): In T2, no subsequent writes to B, so no new edges
Read(C): In T3, no subsequent writes to C, so no new edges
Write(B): B is subsequently read by T3, so add edge T2 → T3
Write(C): C is subsequently read by T1, so add edge T3 → T1
Write(A): A is subsequently read by T2, so add edge T1 → T2
Write(A): In T2, no subsequent reads to A, so no new edges
Write(C): In T1, no subsequent reads to C, so no new edges
Write(B): In T3, no subsequent reads to B, so no new edges

Precedence graph for schedule S1:

The precedence graph for schedule S1 contains a cycle that's why Schedule S1 is non-
serializable.
Explanation:

Read(A): In T4,no subsequent writes to A, so no new edges

Read(C): In T4, no subsequent writes to C, so no new edges
Write(A): A is subsequently read by T5, so add edge T4 → T5
Read(B): In T5,no subsequent writes to B, so no new edges
Write(C): C is subsequently read by T6, so add edge T4 → T6
Write(B): A is subsequently read by T6, so add edge T5 → T6
Write(C): In T6, no subsequent reads to C, so no new edges
Write(A): In T5, no subsequent reads to A, so no new edges
Write(B): In T6, no subsequent reads to B, so no new edges
Precedence graph for schedule S2:

The precedence graph for schedule S2 contains no cycle that's why ScheduleS2 is serializable.

Conflict Serializable Schedule

o A schedule is called conflict serializability if after swapping of non-conflicting operations, it can
transform into a serial schedule.
o The schedule will be a conflict serializable if it is conflict equivalent to a serial schedule.

Conflicting Operations
The two operations become conflicting if all conditions satisfy:

1. Both belong to separate transactions.

2. They have the same data item.
3. They contain at least one write operation.

Example:
Swapping is possible only if S1 and S2 are logically equal.
Here, S1 = S2. That means it is non-conflict.

Here, S1 ≠ S2. That means it is conflict.

Conflict Equivalent
In the conflict equivalent, one can be transformed to another by swapping non-conflicting
operations. In the given example, S2 is conflict equivalent to S1 (S1 can be converted to S2 by
swapping non-conflicting operations).
Two schedules are said to be conflict equivalent if and only if:

1. They contain the same set of the transaction.

2. If each pair of conflict operations are ordered in the same way.

Example:

Schedule S2 is a serial schedule because, in this, all operations of T1 are performed before
starting any operation of T2. Schedule S1 can be transformed into a serial schedule by swapping
non-conflicting operations of S1.

After swapping of non-conflict operations, the schedule S1 becomes:

 T1 T2

Read(A)
Write(A)
Read(B)
Write(B)
Read(A)
Write(A)
Read(B)
Write(B)

Since, S1 is conflict serializable.

View Serializability
o A schedule will view serializable if it is view equivalent to a serial schedule.
o If a schedule is conflict serializable, then it will be view serializable.
o The view serializable which does not conflict serializable contains blind writes.

View Equivalent
Two schedules S1 and S2 are said to be view equivalent if they satisfy the following conditions:

1. Initial Read
An initial read of both schedules must be the same. Suppose two schedule S1 and S2. In schedule
S1, if a transaction T1 is reading the data item A, then in S2, transaction T1 should also read A.
Above two schedules are view equivalent because Initial read operation in S1 is done by T1 and
in S2 it is also done by T1.

2. Updated Read
In schedule S1, if Ti is reading A which is updated by Tj then in S2 also, Ti should read A which
is updated by Tj.

Above two schedules are not view equal because, in S1, T3 is reading A updated by T2 and in
S2, T3 is reading A updated by T1.

3. Final Write
A final write must be the same between both the schedules. In schedule S1, if a transaction T1
updates A at last then in S2, final writes operations should also be done by T1.
 Above two schedules is view equal because Final write operation in S1 is done by T3 and in S2,
the final write operation is also done by T3.

Example:

Schedule S

With 3 transactions, the total number of possible schedule

1. = 3! = 6
2. S1 = <T1 T2 T3>
3. S2 = <T1 T3 T2>
4. S3 = <T2 T3 T1>
5. S4 = <T2 T1 T3>
6. S5 = <T3 T1 T2>
7. S6 = <T3 T2 T1>

Taking first schedule S1:

 Schedule S1

Step 1: final updation on data items

In both schedules S and S1, there is no read except the initial read that's why we don't need to
check that condition.

Step 2: Initial Read

The initial read operation in S is done by T1 and in S1, it is also done by T1.

Step 3: Final Write

The final write operation in S is done by T3 and in S1, it is also done by T3. So, S and S1 are
view Equivalent.

The first schedule S1 satisfies all three conditions, so we don't need to check another schedule.

Hence, view equivalent serial schedule is:

1. T1 → T2 → T3

2.Recoverability of Schedule
3. Sometimes a transaction may not execute completely due to a software issue, system
crash or hardware failure. In that case, the failed transaction has to be rollback. But some
other transaction may also have used value produced by the failed transaction. So we also
have to rollback those transactions.
4.

5. The above table 1 shows a schedule which has two transactions. T1 reads and writes the
value of A and that value is read and written by T2. T2 commits but later on, T1 fails.
Due to the failure, we have to rollback T1. T2 should also be rollback because it reads the
value written by T1, but T2 can't be rollback because it already committed. So this type
of schedule is known as irrecoverable schedule.
6. Irrecoverable schedule: The schedule will be irrecoverable if Tj reads the updated value
of Ti and Tj committed before Ti commit.
7.

8. The above table 2 shows a schedule with two transactions. Transaction T1 reads and
writes A, and that value is read and written by transaction T2. But later on, T1 fails. Due
to this, we have to rollback T1. T2 should be rollback because T2 has read the value
written by T1. As it has not committed before T1 commits so we can rollback transaction
T2 as well. So it is recoverable with cascade rollback.
9. Recoverable with cascading rollback: The schedule will be recoverable with cascading
rollback if Tj reads the updated value of Ti. Commit of Tj is delayed till commit of Ti.
 10.

11. The above Table 3 shows a schedule with two transactions. Transaction T1 reads and
write A and commits, and that value is read and written by T2. So this is a cascade less
recoverable schedule.

Failure Classification
To find that where the problem has occurred, we generalize a failure into the following
categories:

1. Transaction failure
2. System crash
3. Disk failure

1. Transaction failure
The transaction failure occurs when it fails to execute or when it reaches a point from
where it can't go any further. If a few transaction or process is hurt, then this is called as
transaction failure.

Reasons for a transaction failure could be -

1. Logical errors: If a transaction cannot complete due to some code error or an internal
error condition, then the logical error occurs.
2. Syntax error: It occurs where the DBMS itself terminates an active transaction because
the database system is not able to execute it. For example, The system aborts an active
transaction, in case of deadlock or resource unavailability.
 2. System Crash
o System failure can occur due to power failure or other hardware or software
failure. Example: Operating system error.

Fail-stop assumption: In the system crash, non-volatile storage is assumed not to

be corrupted.

3. Disk Failure
o It occurs where hard-disk drives or storage drives used to fail frequently. It was a
common problem in the early days of technology evolution.
o Disk failure occurs due to the formation of bad sectors, disk head crash, and
unreachability to the disk or any other failure, which destroy all or part of disk storage.

Log-Based Recovery
o The log is a sequence of records. Log of each transaction is maintained in some stable storage so
that if any failure occurs, then it can be recovered from there.
o If any operation is performed on the database, then it will be recorded in the log.
o But the process of storing the logs should be done before the actual transaction is applied in the
database.

Let's assume there is a transaction to modify the City of a student. The following logs are written
for this transaction.

o When the transaction is initiated, then it writes 'start' log.

1. <Tn, Start>
o When the transaction modifies the City from 'Noida' to 'Bangalore', then another log is written to
the file.

1. <Tn, City, 'Noida', 'Bangalore' >

o When the transaction is finished, then it writes another log to indicate the end of the transaction.

1. <Tn, Commit>

There are two approaches to modify the database:

1. Deferred database modification:
o The deferred modification technique occurs if the transaction does not modify the database until
it has committed.
o In this method, all the logs are created and stored in the stable storage, and the database is
updated when a transaction commits.

2. Immediate database modification:

o The Immediate modification technique occurs if database modification occurs while the
transaction is still active.
o In this technique, the database is modified immediately after every operation. It follows an actual
database modification.

Recovery using Log records

When the system is crashed, then the system consults the log to find which transactions need to
be undone and which need to be redone.

1. If the log contains the record <Ti, Start> and <Ti, Commit> or <Ti, Commit>, then the
Transaction Ti needs to be redone.
2. If log contains record<Tn, Start> but does not contain the record either <Ti, commit> or <Ti,
abort>, then the Transaction Ti needs to be undone.

Checkpoint
o The checkpoint is a type of mechanism where all the previous logs are removed from the system
and permanently stored in the storage disk.
o The checkpoint is like a bookmark. While the execution of the transaction, such checkpoints are
marked, and the transaction is executed then using the steps of the transaction, the log files will
be created.
o When it reaches to the checkpoint, then the transaction will be updated into the database, and till
that point, the entire log file will be removed from the file. Then the log file is updated with the
new step of transaction till next checkpoint and so on.
o The checkpoint is used to declare a point before which the DBMS was in the consistent state, and
all transactions were committed.
Recovery using Checkpoint
In the following manner, a recovery system recovers the database from this failure:

o The recovery system reads log files from the end to start. It reads log files from T4 to T1.
o Recovery system maintains two lists, a redo-list, and an undo-list.
o The transaction is put into redo state if the recovery system sees a log with <Tn, Start> and <Tn,
Commit> or just <Tn, Commit>. In the redo-list and their previous list, all the transactions are
removed and then redone before saving their logs.
o For example: In the log file, transaction T2 and T3 will have <Tn, Start> and <Tn, Commit>. The
T1 transaction will have only <Tn, commit> in the log file. That's why the transaction is
committed after the checkpoint is crossed. Hence it puts T1, T2 and T3 transaction into redo list.
o The transaction is put into undo state if the recovery system sees a log with <Tn, Start> but no
commit or abort log found. In the undo-list, all the transactions are undone, and their logs are
removed.
o For example: Transaction T4 will have <Tn, Start>. So T4 will be put into undo list since this
transaction is not yet complete and failed amid.

Deadlock in DBMS
A deadlock is a condition where two or more transactions are waiting indefinitely for one
another to give up locks. Deadlock is said to be one of the most feared complications in DBMS
as no task ever gets finished and is in waiting state forever.

For example: In the student table, transaction T1 holds a lock on some rows and needs to update
some rows in the grade table. Simultaneously, transaction T2 holds locks on some rows in the
grade table and needs to update the rows in the Student table held by Transaction T1.

Now, the main problem arises. Now Transaction T1 is waiting for T2 to release its lock and
similarly, transaction T2 is waiting for T1 to release its lock. All activities come to a halt state
and remain at a standstill. It will remain in a standstill until the DBMS detects the deadlock and
aborts one of the transactions.

Deadlock Avoidance
o When a database is stuck in a deadlock state, then it is better to avoid the database rather than
aborting or restating the database. This is a waste of time and resource.
o Deadlock avoidance mechanism is used to detect any deadlock situation in advance. A method
like "wait for graph" is used for detecting the deadlock situation but this method is suitable only
for the smaller database. For the larger database, deadlock prevention method can be used.
Deadlock Detection
In a database, when a transaction waits indefinitely to obtain a lock, then the DBMS should
detect whether the transaction is involved in a deadlock or not. The lock manager maintains a
Wait for the graph to detect the deadlock cycle in the database.

Wait for Graph

o This is the suitable method for deadlock detection. In this method, a graph is created based on the
transaction and their lock. If the created graph has a cycle or closed loop, then there is a deadlock.
o The wait for the graph is maintained by the system for every transaction which is waiting for
some data held by the others. The system keeps checking the graph if there is any cycle in the
graph.

The wait for a graph for the above scenario is shown below:

Deadlock Prevention
o Deadlock prevention method is suitable for a large database. If the resources are allocated in such
a way that deadlock never occurs, then the deadlock can be prevented.
 o The Database management system analyzes the operations of the transaction whether they can
create a deadlock situation or not. If they do, then the DBMS never allowed that transaction to be
executed.

Wait-Die scheme
In this scheme, if a transaction requests for a resource which is already held with a conflicting
lock by another transaction then the DBMS simply checks the timestamp of both transactions. It
allows the older transaction to wait until the resource is available for execution.

Let's assume there are two transactions Ti and Tj and let TS(T) is a timestamp of any transaction
T. If T2 holds a lock by some other transaction and T1 is requesting for resources held by T2
then the following actions are performed by DBMS:

1. Check if TS(Ti) < TS(Tj) - If Ti is the older transaction and Tj has held some resource, then Ti is
allowed to wait until the data-item is available for execution. That means if the older transaction
is waiting for a resource which is locked by the younger transaction, then the older transaction is
allowed to wait for resource until it is available.
2. Check if TS(Ti) < TS(Tj) - If Ti is older transaction and has held some resource and if Tj is
waiting for it, then Tj is killed and restarted later with the random delay but with the same
timestamp.

Wound wait scheme

o In wound wait scheme, if the older transaction requests for a resource which is held by the
younger transaction, then older transaction forces younger one to kill the transaction and release
the resource. After the minute delay, the younger transaction is restarted but with the same
timestamp.
o If the older transaction has held a resource which is requested by the Younger transaction, then
the younger transaction is asked to wait until older releases it.

DBMS Concurrency Control

Concurrency Control is the management procedure that is required for controlling concurrent
execution of the operations that take place on a database.

But before knowing about concurrency control, we should know about concurrent execution.
Concurrent Execution in DBMS
o In a multi-user system, multiple users can access and use the same database at one time, which is
known as the concurrent execution of the database. It means that the same database is executed
simultaneously on a multi-user system by different users.
o While working on the database transactions, there occurs the requirement of using the database
by multiple users for performing different operations, and in that case, concurrent execution of
the database is performed.
o The thing is that the simultaneous execution that is performed should be done in an interleaved
manner, and no operation should affect the other executing operations, thus maintaining the
consistency of the database. Thus, on making the concurrent execution of the transaction
operations, there occur several challenging problems that need to be solved.

Problems with Concurrent Execution

In a database transaction, the two main operations are READ and WRITE operations. So, there is
a need to manage these two operations in the concurrent execution of the transactions as if these
operations are not performed in an interleaved manner, and the data may become inconsistent.
So, the following problems occur with the Concurrent Execution of the operations:

Problem 1: Lost Update Problems (W - W Conflict)

The problem occurs when two different database transactions perform the read/write operations
on the same database items in an interleaved manner (i.e., concurrent execution) that makes the
values of the items incorrect hence making the database inconsistent.

For example:

Consider the below diagram where two transactions T X and TY, are performed on the same
account A where the balance of account A is $300.
 o At time t1, transaction TX reads the value of account A, i.e., $300 (only read).
o At time t2, transaction TX deducts $50 from account A that becomes $250 (only deducted and not
updated/write).
o Alternately, at time t3, transaction TY reads the value of account A that will be $300 only because
TX didn't update the value yet.
o At time t4, transaction TY adds $100 to account A that becomes $400 (only added but not
updated/write).
o At time t6, transaction TX writes the value of account A that will be updated as $250 only, as
TY didn't update the value yet.
o Similarly, at time t7, transaction T Y writes the values of account A, so it will write as done at time
t4 that will be $400. It means the value written by TX is lost, i.e., $250 is lost.

Hence data becomes incorrect, and database sets to inconsistent.

Dirty Read Problems (W-R Conflict)

The dirty read problem occurs when one transaction updates an item of the database, and
somehow the transaction fails, and before the data gets rollback, the updated database item is
accessed by another transaction. There comes the Read-Write Conflict between both
transactions.

For example:

Consider two transactions TX and TY in the below diagram performing read/write operations on
account A where the available balance in account A is $300:

o At time t1, transaction TX reads the value of account A, i.e., $300.

o At time t2, transaction TX adds $50 to account A that becomes $350.
o At time t3, transaction TX writes the updated value in account A, i.e., $350.
o Then at time t4, transaction TY reads account A that will be read as $350.
o Then at time t5, transaction TX rollbacks due to server problem, and the value changes back to
$300 (as initially).
o But the value for account A remains $350 for transaction T Y as committed, which is the dirty read
and therefore known as the Dirty Read Problem.

Unrepeatable Read Problem (W-R Conflict)

Also known as Inconsistent Retrievals Problem that occurs when in a transaction, two different
values are read for the same database item.
For example:

Consider two transactions, TX and TY, performing the read/write operations on account A, having
an available balance = $300. The diagram is shown below:

o At time t1, transaction TX reads the value from account A, i.e., $300.
o At time t2, transaction TY reads the value from account A, i.e., $300.
o At time t3, transaction TY updates the value of account A by adding $100 to the available balance,
and then it becomes $400.
o At time t4, transaction TY writes the updated value, i.e., $400.
o After that, at time t5, transaction TX reads the available value of account A, and that will be read
as $400.
o It means that within the same transaction T X, it reads two different values of account A, i.e., $ 300
initially, and after updation made by transaction T Y, it reads $400. It is an unrepeatable read and
is therefore known as the Unrepeatable read problem.

Thus, in order to maintain consistency in the database and avoid such problems that take place in
concurrent execution, management is needed, and that is where the concept of Concurrency
Control comes into role.
Concurrency Control
Concurrency Control is the working concept that is required for controlling and managing the
concurrent execution of database operations and thus avoiding the inconsistencies in the
database. Thus, for maintaining the concurrency of the database, we have the concurrency
control protocols.

Concurrency Control Protocols

The concurrency control protocols ensure the atomicity, consistency, isolation,
durability and serializability of the concurrent execution of the database transactions. Therefore,
these protocols are categorized as:

o Lock Based Concurrency Control Protocol

o Time Stamp Concurrency Control Protocol
o Validation Based Concurrency Control Protocol

We will understand and discuss each protocol one by one in our next sections.

Lock-Based Protocol
In this type of protocol, any transaction cannot read or write data until it acquires an appropriate
lock on it. There are two types of lock:

1. Shared lock:

o It is also known as a Read-only lock. In a shared lock, the data item can only read by the
transaction.
o It can be shared between the transactions because when the transaction holds a lock, then it can't
update the data on the data item.

2. Exclusive lock:

o In the exclusive lock, the data item can be both reads as well as written by the transaction.
o This lock is exclusive, and in this lock, multiple transactions do not modify the same data
simultaneously.
There are four types of lock protocols available:
1. Simplistic lock protocol
It is the simplest way of locking the data while transaction. Simplistic lock-based protocols allow
all the transactions to get the lock on the data before insert or delete or update on it. It will
unlock the data item after completing the transaction.

2. Pre-claiming Lock Protocol

o Pre-claiming Lock Protocols evaluate the transaction to list all the data items on which they need
locks.
o Before initiating an execution of the transaction, it requests DBMS for all the lock on all those
data items.
o If all the locks are granted then this protocol allows the transaction to begin. When the transaction
is completed then it releases all the lock.
o If all the locks are not granted then this protocol allows the transaction to rolls back and waits
until all the locks are granted.

3. Two-phase locking (2PL)

o The two-phase locking protocol divides the execution phase of the transaction into three parts.
o In the first part, when the execution of the transaction starts, it seeks permission for the lock it
requires.
 o In the second part, the transaction acquires all the locks. The third phase is started as soon as the
transaction releases its first lock.
o In the third phase, the transaction cannot demand any new locks. It only releases the acquired
locks.

There are two phases of 2PL:

Growing phase: In the growing phase, a new lock on the data item may be acquired by the
transaction, but none can be released.

Shrinking phase: In the shrinking phase, existing lock held by the transaction may be released,
but no new locks can be acquired.

In the below example, if lock conversion is allowed then the following phase can happen:

1. Upgrading of lock (from S(a) to X (a)) is allowed in growing phase.

2. Downgrading of lock (from X(a) to S(a)) must be done in shrinking phase.

Example:
The following way shows how unlocking and locking work with 2-PL.

Transaction T1:

o Growing phase: from step 1-3

o Shrinking phase: from step 5-7
o Lock point: at 3

Transaction T2:

o Growing phase: from step 2-6

o Shrinking phase: from step 8-9
o Lock point: at 6
4. Strict Two-phase locking (Strict-2PL)
o The first phase of Strict-2PL is similar to 2PL. In the first phase, after acquiring all the locks, the
transaction continues to execute normally.
o The only difference between 2PL and strict 2PL is that Strict-2PL does not release a lock after
using it.
o Strict-2PL waits until the whole transaction to commit, and then it releases all the locks at a time.
o Strict-2PL protocol does not have shrinking phase of lock release.

It does not have cascading abort as 2PL does.

Timestamp Ordering Protocol

o The Timestamp Ordering Protocol is used to order the transactions based on their Timestamps.
The order of transaction is nothing but the ascending order of the transaction creation.
o The priority of the older transaction is higher that's why it executes first. To determine the
timestamp of the transaction, this protocol uses system time or logical counter.
o The lock-based protocol is used to manage the order between conflicting pairs among
transactions at the execution time. But Timestamp based protocols start working as soon as a
transaction is created.
o Let's assume there are two transactions T1 and T2. Suppose the transaction T1 has entered the
system at 007 times and transaction T2 has entered the system at 009 times. T1 has the higher
priority, so it executes first as it is entered the system first.
 o The timestamp ordering protocol also maintains the timestamp of last 'read' and 'write' operation
on a data.

Basic Timestamp ordering protocol works as follows:

1. Check the following condition whenever a transaction Ti issues a Read (X) operation:

o If W_TS(X) >TS(Ti) then the operation is rejected.

o If W_TS(X) <= TS(Ti) then the operation is executed.
o Timestamps of all the data items are updated.

2. Check the following condition whenever a transaction Ti issues a Write(X) operation:

o If TS(Ti) < R_TS(X) then the operation is rejected.

o If TS(Ti) < W_TS(X) then the operation is rejected and Ti is rolled back otherwise the operation
is executed.

Where,

TS(TI) denotes the timestamp of the transaction Ti.

R_TS(X) denotes the Read time-stamp of data-item X.

W_TS(X) denotes the Write time-stamp of data-item X.

Advantages and Disadvantages of TO protocol:

o TO protocol ensures serializability since the precedence graph is as follows:

o TS protocol ensures freedom from deadlock that means no transaction ever waits.
 o But the schedule may not be recoverable and may not even be cascade- free.

Validation Based Protocol

Validation phase is also known as optimistic concurrency control technique. In the validation
based protocol, the transaction is executed in the following three phases:

1. Read phase: In this phase, the transaction T is read and executed. It is used to read the
value of various data items and stores them in temporary local variables. It can perform
all the write operations on temporary variables without an update to the actual database.
2. Validation phase: In this phase, the temporary variable value will be validated against the
actual data to see if it violates the serializability.
3. Write phase: If the validation of the transaction is validated, then the temporary results
are written to the database or system otherwise the transaction is rolled back.

Here each phase has the following different timestamps:

Start(Ti): It contains the time when Ti started its execution.

Validation (Ti): It contains the time when Ti finishes its read phase and starts its validation
phase.

Finish(Ti): It contains the time when Ti finishes its write phase.

o This protocol is used to determine the time stamp for the transaction for serialization
using the time stamp of the validation phase, as it is the actual phase which determines if
the transaction will commit or rollback.
o Hence TS(T) = validation(T).
o The serializability is determined during the validation process. It can't be decided in
advance.
o While executing the transaction, it ensures a greater degree of concurrency and also less
number of conflicts.
o Thus it contains transactions which have less number of rollbacks.

Thomas write Rule

Thomas Write Rule provides the guarantee of serializability order for the protocol. It improves
the Basic Timestamp Ordering Algorithm.

The basic Thomas write rules are as follows:

o If TS(T) < R_TS(X) then transaction T is aborted and rolled back, and operation is
rejected.
o If TS(T) < W_TS(X) then don't execute the W_item(X) operation of the transaction and
continue processing.
o If neither condition 1 nor condition 2 occurs, then allowed to execute the WRITE
operation by transaction Ti and set W_TS(X) to TS(T).

If we use the Thomas write rule then some serializable schedule can be permitted that does not
conflict serializable as illustrate by the schedule in a given figure:

Figure: A Serializable Schedule that is not Conflict Serializable

In the above figure, T1's read and precedes T1's write of the same data item. This schedule does
not conflict serializable.

Thomas write rule checks that T2's write is never seen by any transaction. If we delete the write
operation in transaction T2, then conflict serializable schedule can be obtained which is shown in
below figure.
Figure: A Conflict Serializable Schedule

Multiple Granularity
Let's start by understanding the meaning of granularity.

Granularity: It is the size of data item allowed to lock.

Multiple Granularity:
o It can be defined as hierarchically breaking up the database into blocks which can be locked.
o The Multiple Granularity protocol enhances concurrency and reduces lock overhead.
o It maintains the track of what to lock and how to lock.
o It makes easy to decide either to lock a data item or to unlock a data item. This type of hierarchy
can be graphically represented as a tree.

For example: Consider a tree which has four levels of nodes.

o The first level or higher level shows the entire database.

o The second level represents a node of type area. The higher level database consists of exactly
these areas.
o The area consists of children nodes which are known as files. No file can be present in more than
one area.
o Finally, each file contains child nodes known as records. The file has exactly those records that
are its child nodes. No records represent in more than one file.
o Hence, the levels of the tree starting from the top level are as follows:

1. Database
2. Area
3. File
4. Record
In this example, the highest level shows the entire database. The levels below are file, record,
and fields.

There are three additional lock modes with multiple granularity:

Intention Mode Lock

Intention-shared (IS): It contains explicit locking at a lower level of the tree but only with shared
locks.

Intention-Exclusive (IX): It contains explicit locking at a lower level with exclusive or shared
locks.

Shared & Intention-Exclusive (SIX): In this lock, the node is locked in shared mode, and some
node is locked in exclusive mode by the same transaction.
Compatibility Matrix with Intention Lock Modes: The below table describes the compatibility
matrix for these lock modes:

It uses the intention lock modes to ensure serializability. It requires that if a transaction attempts
to lock a node, then that node must follow these protocols:

o Transaction T1 should follow the lock-compatibility matrix.

o Transaction T1 firstly locks the root of the tree. It can lock it in any mode.
o If T1 currently has the parent of the node locked in either IX or IS mode, then the transaction T1
will lock a node in S or IS mode only.
o If T1 currently has the parent of the node locked in either IX or SIX modes, then the transaction
T1 will lock a node in X, SIX, or IX mode only.
o If T1 has not previously unlocked any node only, then the Transaction T1 can lock a node.
o If T1 currently has none of the children of the node-locked only, then Transaction T1 will unlock
a node.

Observe that in multiple-granularity, the locks are acquired in top-down order, and locks must be
released in bottom-up order.

o If transaction T1 reads record R a9 in file Fa, then transaction T1 needs to lock the database, area
A1 and file Fa in IX mode. Finally, it needs to lock Ra2 in S mode.
o If transaction T2 modifies record R a9 in file Fa, then it can do so after locking the database, area
A1 and file Fa in IX mode. Finally, it needs to lock the Ra9 in X mode.
o If transaction T3 reads all the records in file F a, then transaction T3 needs to lock the database,
and area A in IS mode. At last, it needs to lock Fa in S mode.
o If transaction T4 reads the entire database, then T4 needs to lock the database in S mode.
Recovery with Concurrent Transaction
o Whenever more than one transaction is being executed, then the interleaved of logs
occur. During recovery, it would become difficult for the recovery system to backtrack
all logs and then start recovering.
o To ease this situation, 'checkpoint' concept is used by most DBMS.

As we have discussed checkpoint in Transaction Processing Concept of this tutorial, so you can
go through the concepts again to make things more clear.

OODBMS stands for Object Oriented Database Management System. In ODBMS data
is encapsulated and represented in the form of objects. It relates the concept of object-
oriented programming with database systems. ODBMS grew out of research during the
early 1970s as database support for graph-structured objects. In comparison with
RDBMS, where data is stored in tables with rows and columns, ODBMS stores
information as objects.
Characteristics
 Easy to link with programming language: The programming language and the
database schema use the same type definitions, so developers may not need to learn
a new database query language.
 No need for user defined keys: Object Database Management Systems have an
automatically generated OID associated with each of the objects.
 Easy modeling: ODBMS can easily model real-world objects, hence, are suitable for
applications with complex data.
 Can store non-textual data ODBMS can also store audio, video and image data.
Advantages
 Speed: Access to data can be faster because an object can be retrieved directly
without a search, by following pointers.
 Improved performance:These systems are most suitable for applications that use
object oriented programming.
 Extensibility:Unlike traditional RDBMS where the basic-datatypes are hardcoded,
when using ODBMS the user can encode any kind of data-structures to hold the
data.
 Data consistency: When ODBMS is integrated with an object-based application,
there is much greater consistency between the database and the programming
language since both use the same model of representation for the data. This helps
avoid the impedance mismatch.
 Capability of handling variety of data: Unlike other database management systems,
ODBMS can also store nn textual data like-: images, videos and audios
Disadvantages
 No universal standards: There is no universally agreed standards of operating
ODBMS This is the most significant drawback as the user is free to manipulate data
model as he wants which can be an issue when handling enormous amounts of data.
 No security features:Since use of ODBMS is very limited, there are not adequate
security features to store production-grade data.
 Exponential increase in complexity:ODBMS become very complex very fast. When
there is a lot of data and a lot of relations between data, managing and optimising
ODBMS becomes difficult.
 Scalability: Unable to support large systems.
 Query optimization is challenging: Optimizing ODBMS queries requires complete
information about the data like-: type and size of data. This compromises the data-
encapsulation feature that ODBMS had to offer.

 The ODBMS which is an abbreviation for object-oriented database management

system is the data model in which data is stored in form of objects, which are
instances of classes. These classes and objects together make an object-oriented
data model.
  Components of Object-Oriented Data Model:
The OODBMS is based on three major components, namely: Object structure,
Object classes, and Object identity. These are explained below.

 1. Object Structure:
The structure of an object refers to the properties that an object is made up of.
These properties of an object are referred to as an attribute. Thus, an object is a
real-world entity with certain attributes that makes up the object structure. Also,
an object encapsulates the data code into a single unit which in turn provides data
abstraction by hiding the implementation details from the user.
 The object structure is further composed of three types of components:
Messages, Methods, and Variables. These are explained below.

1. Messages –
A message provides an interface or acts as a communication medium between an
object and the outside world. A message can be of two types:
 Read-only message: If the invoked method does not change the value of a
variable, then the invoking message is said to be a read-only message.
 Update message: If the invoked method changes the value of a variable, then the
invoking message is said to be an update message.

2. Methods –
When a message is passed then the body of code that is executed is known as a
method. Whenever a method is executed, it returns a value as output. A method can
be of two types:
 Read-only method: When the value of a variable is not affected by a method,
then it is known as the read-only method.
 Update-method: When the value of a variable change by a method, then it is
known as an update method.

3. Variables –
It stores the data of an object. The data stored in the variables makes the object
distinguishable from one another.

2. Object Classes:
An object which is a real-world entity is an instance of a class. Hence first we need to
define a class and then the objects are made which differ in the values they store but
share the same class definition. The objects in turn correspond to various messages and
variables stored in them.
Example –
class CLERK
 { //variables
char name;
string address;
int id;
int salary;

//Messages
char get_name();
string get_address();
int annual_salary();
};
In the above example, we can see, CLERK is a class that holds the object variables and
messages.
An OODBMS also supports inheritance in an extensive manner as in a database there
may be many classes with similar methods, variables and messages. Thus, the concept
of the class hierarchy is maintained to depict the similarities among various classes.
The concept of encapsulation that is the data or information hiding is also supported by
an object-oriented data model. And this data model also provides the facility of abstract
data types apart from the built-in data types like char, int, float. ADT’s are the user-
defined data types that hold the values within them and can also have methods attached
to them.
Thus, OODBMS provides numerous facilities to its users, both built-in and user-
defined. It incorporates the properties of an object-oriented data model with a database
management system, and supports the concept of programming paradigms like classes
and objects along with the support for other concepts like encapsulation, inheritance,
and the user-defined ADT’s (abstract data types).

DISTRIBUTED DATABASE MANAGEMENT SYATEM:

A distributed database is basically a database that is not limited to one system, it is

spread over different sites, i.e, on multiple computers or over a network of computers.
A distributed database system is located on various sites that don’t share physical
components. This may be required when a particular database needs to be accessed by
various users globally. It needs to be managed such that for the users it looks like one
single database.
Features
 It is used to create, retrieve, update and delete distributed databases.
 It synchronizes the database periodically and provides access mechanisms by the virtue of
which the distribution becomes transparent to the users.
 It ensures that the data modified at any site is universally updated.
 It is used in application areas where large volumes of data are processed and accessed by
numerous users simultaneously.
 It is designed for heterogeneous database platforms.
 It maintains confidentiality and data integrity of the databases.

Advantages of Distributed Databases

Following are the advantages of distributed databases over centralized databases.
Modular Development − If the system needs to be expanded to new locations or new units, in
centralized database systems, the action requires substantial efforts and disruption in the existing
functioning. However, in distributed databases, the work simply requires adding new computers
and local data to the new site and finally connecting them to the distributed system, with no
interruption in current functions.
More Reliable − In case of database failures, the total system of centralized databases comes to a
halt. However, in distributed systems, when a component fails, the functioning of the system
continues may be at a reduced performance. Hence DDBMS is more reliable.
Better Response − If data is distributed in an efficient manner, then user requests can be met
from local data itself, thus providing faster response. On the other hand, in centralized systems,
all queries have to pass through the central computer for processing, which increases the
response time.
Lower Communication Cost − In distributed database systems, if data is located locally where it
is mostly used, then the communication costs for data manipulation can be minimized. This is
not feasible in centralized systems.

Disadvantages of Distributed Databases

 Need for complex and expensive software − DDBMS demands complex and often
expensive software to provide data transparency and co-ordination across the several
sites.
 Processing overhead − Even simple operations may require a large number of
communications and additional calculations to provide uniformity in data across the sites.
 Data integrity − The need for updating data in multiple sites pose problems of data
integrity.
 Overheads for improper data distribution − Responsiveness of queries is largely
dependent upon proper data distribution. Improper data distribution often leads to very
slow response to user requests.
Types:
1. Homogeneous Database:
In a homogeneous database, all different sites store database identically. The operating
system, database management system, and the data structures used – all are the same at
all sites. Hence, they’re easy to manage.
2. Heterogeneous Database:
In a heterogeneous distributed database, different sites can use different schema and
software that can lead to problems in query processing and transactions. Also, a
particular site might be completely unaware of the other sites. Different computers may
use a different operating system, different database application. They may even use
different data models for the database. Hence, translations are required for different
sites to communicate.

Distributed Data Storage :

There are 2 ways in which data can be stored on different sites. These are:
1. Replication –
In this approach, the entire relationship is stored redundantly at 2 or more sites. If the
entire database is available at all sites, it is a fully redundant database. Hence, in
replication, systems maintain copies of data.
This is advantageous as it increases the availability of data at different sites. Also, now
query requests can be processed in parallel.
However, it has certain disadvantages as well. Data needs to be constantly updated. Any
change made at one site needs to be recorded at every site that relation is stored or else
it may lead to inconsistency. This is a lot of overhead. Also, concurrency control
becomes way more complex as concurrent access now needs to be checked over a
number of sites.
2. Fragmentation –
In this approach, the relations are fragmented (i.e., they’re divided into smaller parts)
and each of the fragments is stored in different sites where they’re required. It must be
made sure that the fragments are such that they can be used to reconstruct the original
relation (i.e, there isn’t any loss of data).
Fragmentation is advantageous as it doesn’t create copies of data, consistency is not a
problem.

Fragmentation of relations can be done in two ways:

 Horizontal fragmentation – Splitting by rows –

The relation is fragmented into groups of tuples so that each tuple is assigned to at
least one fragment.
 Vertical fragmentation – Splitting by columns –
The schema of the relation is divided into smaller schemas. Each fragment must
contain a common candidate key so as to ensure a lossless join.
In certain cases, an approach that is hybrid of fragmentation and replication is used.
Applications of Distributed Database:
 It is used in Corporate Management Information System.
 It is used in multimedia applications.
 Used in Military’s control system, Hotel chains etc.
 It is also used in manufacturing control system.