The javax.ejb.TransactionAttribute annotation (@TransactionAttribute) can be applied to a bean class or it's methods.
Usage of the @TransactionAttribute requires you to specify on of six different transaction attribute types defined via the javax.ejb.TransactionAttributeType enum.
- TransactionAttributeType.MANDATORY
- TransactionAttributeType.REQUIRED
- TransactionAttributeType.REQUIRES_NEW
- TransactionAttributeType.SUPPORTS
- TransactionAttributeType.NOT_SUPPORTED
- TransactionAttributeType.NEVER
Attribute Types summary
A simplistic way to visualize the transaction attributes is as follows.
|
Failing |
Correcting |
No Change |
|---|---|---|---|
Transacted |
MANDATORY |
REQUIRED, REQUIRES_NEW |
SUPPORTS |
Not Transacted |
NEVER |
NOT_SUPPORTED |
SUPPORTS |
MANDATORY
A MANDATORY method is guaranteed to always be executed in a transaction. However, it's the caller's job to take care of suppling the transaction. If the caller attempts to invoke the method outside of a transaction, then the container will block the call and throw them an exception.
REQUIRED
A REQUIRED method is guaranteed to always be executed in a transaction. If the caller attempts to invoke the method outside of a transaction, the container will start a transaction, execute the method, then commit the transaction.
REQUIRES_NEW
A REQUIRES_NEW method is guaranteed to always be executed in a transaction. If the caller attempts to invoke the method inside or outside of a transaction, the container will still start a transaction, execute the method, then commit the transaction. Any transaction the caller may have in progress will be suspended before the method execution then resumed afterward.
NEVER
A NEVER method is guaranteed to never be executed in a transaction. However, it's the caller's job to ensure there is no transaction. If the caller attempts to invoke the method inside of a transaction, then the container will block the call and throw them an exception.
NOT_SUPPORTED
A NOT_SUPPORTED method is guaranteed to never be executed in a transaction. If the caller attempts to invoke the method inside of a transaction, the container will suspend the caller's transaction, execute the method, then resume the caller's transaction.
SUPPORTS
A SUPPORTS method is guaranteed to adopt the exact transactional state of the caller. These methods can be invoked by caller's inside or outside of a transaction. The container will do nothing to change that state.