Container-Managed Transactions
In an enterprise bean with container-managed transactions, the EJB container sets the boundaries of the transactions. You can use container-managed transactions with any type of enterprise bean: session, entity, or message-driven. Container-managed transactions simplify development because the enterprise bean code does not explicitly mark the transaction's boundaries. The code does not include statements that begin and end the transaction.
Typically, the container begins a transaction immediately before an enterprise bean method starts. It commits the transaction just before the method exits. Each method can be associated with a single transaction. Nested or multiple transactions are not allowed within a method.
Container-managed transactions do not require all methods to be associated with transactions. When deploying a bean, you specify which of the bean's methods are associated with transactions by setting the transaction attributes.
Transaction Attributes
A transaction attribute controls the scope of a transaction. Figure 30-1 illustrates why controlling the scope is important. In the diagram,
method-A
begins a transaction and then invokesmethod-B
ofBean-2
. Whenmethod-B
executes, does it run within the scope of the transaction started bymethod-A
, or does it execute with a new transaction? The answer depends on the transaction attribute ofmethod-B
.Figure 30-1 Transaction Scope
A transaction attribute can have one of the following values:
Required
RequiresNew
Mandatory
NotSupported
Supports
Never
Required
If the client is running within a transaction and invokes the enterprise bean's method, the method executes within the client's transaction. If the client is not associated with a transaction, the container starts a new transaction before running the method.
The
Required
attribute will work for most transactions. Therefore, you may want to use it as a default, at least in the early phases of development. Because transaction attributes are declarative, you can easily change them later.RequiresNew
If the client is running within a transaction and invokes the enterprise bean's method, the container takes the following steps:
- Suspends the client's transaction
- Starts a new transaction
- Delegates the call to the method
- Resumes the client's transaction after the method completes
If the client is not associated with a transaction, the container starts a new transaction before running the method.
You should use the
RequiresNew
attribute when you want to ensure that the method always runs within a new transaction.Mandatory
If the client is running within a transaction and invokes the enterprise bean's method, the method executes within the client's transaction. If the client is not associated with a transaction, the container throws the
TransactionRequiredException
.Use the
Mandatory
attribute if the enterprise bean's method must use the transaction of the client.NotSupported
If the client is running within a transaction and invokes the enterprise bean's method, the container suspends the client's transaction before invoking the method. After the method has completed, the container resumes the client's transaction.
If the client is not associated with a transaction, the container does not start a new transaction before running the method.
Use the
NotSupported
attribute for methods that don't need transactions. Because transactions involve overhead, this attribute may improve performance.Supports
If the client is running within a transaction and invokes the enterprise bean's method, the method executes within the client's transaction. If the client is not associated with a transaction, the container does not start a new transaction before running the method.
Because the transactional behavior of the method may vary, you should use the
Supports
attribute with caution.Never
If the client is running within a transaction and invokes the enterprise bean's method, the container throws a
RemoteException
. If the client is not associated with a transaction, the container does not start a new transaction before running the method.Summary of Transaction Attributes
Table 30-1 summarizes the effects of the transaction attributes. Both the T1 and the T2 transactions are controlled by the container. A T1 transaction is associated with the client that calls a method in the enterprise bean. In most cases, the client is another enterprise bean. A T2 transaction is started by the container just before the method executes.
In the last column of Table 30-1, the word None means that the business method does not execute within a transaction controlled by the container. However, the database calls in such a business method might be controlled by the transaction manager of the DBMS.
Setting Transaction Attributes
Because transaction attributes are stored in the deployment descriptor, they can be changed during several phases of J2EE application development: enterprise bean creation, application assembly, and deployment. However, it is the responsibility of an enterprise bean developer to specify the attributes when creating the bean. The attributes should be modified only by an application developer who is assembling components into larger applications. Do not expect the person deploying the J2EE application to specify the transaction attributes.
Table 30-1 Transaction Attributes and Scope Transaction Attribute Client's Transaction Business Method's TransactionRequired
None T2 T1 T1RequiresNew
None T2 T1 T2Mandatory
None error T1 T1NotSupported
None None T1 NoneSupports
None None T1 T1Never
None None T1 ErrorYou can specify the transaction attributes for the entire enterprise bean or for individual methods. If you've specified one attribute for a method and another for the bean, the attribute for the method takes precedence. When you specify attributes for individual methods, the requirements differ with the type of bean. Session beans need the attributes defined for business methods but do not allow them for the
create
methods. Entity beans require transaction attributes for the business,create
,remove
, and finder methods. Message-driven beans require transaction attributes (eitherRequired
orNotSupported
) for theonMessage
method.Rolling Back a Container-Managed Transaction
There are two ways to roll back a container-managed transaction. First, if a system exception is thrown, the container will automatically roll back the transaction. Second, by invoking the
setRollbackOnly
method of theEJBContext
interface, the bean method instructs the container to roll back the transaction. If the bean throws an application exception, the rollback is not automatic but can be initiated by a call tosetRollbackOnly
. For a description of system and application exceptions, see deploytool Tips for Entity Beans with Bean-Managed Persistence.The source code for the following example is in the
<
INSTALL
>/j2eetutorial14/examples/ejb/bank
directory.The
transferToSaving
method of theBankBean
example illustrates thesetRollbackOnly
method. If a negative checking balance occurs,transferToSaving
invokessetRollBackOnly
and throws an application exception (InsufficientBalanceException
). TheupdateChecking
andupdateSaving
methods update database tables. If the updates fail, these methods throw anSQLException
and thetransferToSaving
method throws anEJBException
. Because theEJBException
is a system exception, it causes the container to automatically roll back the transaction. Here is the code for thetransferToSaving
method:public void transferToSaving(double amount) throws InsufficientBalanceException { checkingBalance -= amount; savingBalance += amount; try { updateChecking(checkingBalance); if (checkingBalance < 0.00) { context.setRollbackOnly(); throw new InsufficientBalanceException(); } updateSaving(savingBalance); } catch (SQLException ex) { throw new EJBException ("Transaction failed due to SQLException: " + ex.getMessage()); } }When the container rolls back a transaction, it always undoes the changes to data made by SQL calls within the transaction. However, only in entity beans will the container undo changes made to instance variables. (It does so by automatically invoking the entity bean's
ejbLoad
method, which loads the instance variables from the database.) When a rollback occurs, a session bean must explicitly reset any instance variables changed within the transaction. The easiest way to reset a session bean's instance variables is by implementing theSessionSynchronization
interface.Synchronizing a Session Bean's Instance Variables
The
SessionSynchronization
interface, which is optional, allows you to synchronize the instance variables with their corresponding values in the database. The container invokes theSessionSynchronization
methods--afterBegin
,beforeCompletion
, andafterCompletion
--at each of the main stages of a transaction.The
afterBegin
method informs the instance that a new transaction has begun. The container invokesafterBegin
immediately before it invokes the business method. TheafterBegin
method is a good place to load the instance variables from the database. TheBankBean
class, for example, loads thecheckingBalance
andsavingBalance
variables in theafterBegin
method:public void afterBegin() { System.out.println("afterBegin()"); try { checkingBalance = selectChecking(); savingBalance = selectSaving(); } catch (SQLException ex) { throw new EJBException("afterBegin Exception: " + ex.getMessage()); } }The container invokes the
beforeCompletion
method after the business method has finished, but just before the transaction commits. ThebeforeCompletion
method is the last opportunity for the session bean to roll back the transaction (by callingsetRollbackOnly
). If it hasn't already updated the database with the values of the instance variables, the session bean can do so in thebeforeCompletion
method.The
afterCompletion
method indicates that the transaction has completed. It has a singleboolean
parameter whose value istrue
if the transaction was committed andfalse
if it was rolled back. If a rollback occurred, the session bean can refresh its instance variables from the database in theafterCompletion
method:public void afterCompletion(boolean committed) { System.out.println("afterCompletion: " + committed); if (committed == false) { try { checkingBalance = selectChecking(); savingBalance = selectSaving(); } catch (SQLException ex) { throw new EJBException("afterCompletion SQLException: " + ex.getMessage()); } } }Compiling the BankBean Example
To compile the classes and interfaces in the
BankBean
example, follow these steps:
- In a terminal window, go to this directory:
<
INSTALL
>/j2eetutorial14/examples/ejb/bank/
- Create the database tables and data by typing
asant create-db_common
Note: Application Server 8.2 includes a copy of the open source Derby database server. Application Server 8.0/8.1 includes the PointBase database server. If you are using Application Server 8.0/8.1, either follow the instructions in the J2EE Tutorial at
http://java.sun.com/j2ee/1.4/docs/tutorial-update6/doc/index.html
that works with Application Server 8.0/8.1 or upgrade to Application Server 8.2 (seehttp://java.sun.com/j2ee/1.4/download.html#appserv
to download).
- Type the following command to build the enterprise bean's classes and interfaces:
asant build
Packaging the BankBean Example
The
BankBean
session bean uses container-managed transactions. These steps assume that you are familiar with the steps needed to create and deploy an enterprise application usingdeploytool
, as described in Chapter 24.Creating the J2EE Application
Create a new application named
BankApp
in:<INSTALL
>/j2eetutorial14/examples/ejb/bank/Packaging the Enterprise Bean
- Create a new enterprise bean in
BankApp
by selecting FileRight ArrowNewRight ArrowEnterprise Bean.- In the EJB JAR screen:
- Select Create New JAR Module in Application.
- Enter
BankJAR
under JAR Name.- Click Edit.
- Navigate to
<
INSTALL
>/j2eetutorial14/examples/ejb/bank/build/
.- Select
Bank.class
,BankBean.class
,BankHome.class
, andInsufficientBalanceException.class
.- Click Add.
- Click OK.
- Click Next.
- In the General screen:
- Select
BankBean
under Enterprise Bean Class.- Enter
BankBean
under Enterprise Bean Name.- Select Stateful Session under Enterprise Bean Type.
- Select
BankHome
under Remote Home Interface.- Select
Bank
under Remote Interface.- Select Next.
- Click Finish.
- Select
BankBean
indeploytool
's tree.- In the Resource Ref's tab:
- Click Add.
- Set the Coded Name to
jdbc/BankDB
.- Set the JNDI Name to
jdbc/ejbTutorialDB
.- In the Transactions tab:
- Select Container-Managed under Transaction Management.
- Verify that
getCheckingBalance()
,getSavingBalance()
, andtransferToSaving()
have theRequired
transaction attribute.Packaging the Application Client
- Create a new application client in
BankApp
by selecting FileRight ArrowNewRight ArrowApplication Client.- In the JAR File Contents screen:
- Select
BankApp
under Create New AppClient Module in Application.- Enter
BankClient
under AppClient Name.- Click Edit.
- Navigate to
<
INSTALL
>/j2eetutorial14/examples/ejb/bank/build/
.- Select
BankClient.class
.- Click Add.
- Click OK.
- Click Next.
- In the General screen:
- Select
BankClient
under Main Class.- Select
(Use container-managed authentication)
under Callback Handler Class.- Click Next.
- Click Finish.
Specifying the Application Client's Enterprise Bean Reference
When it invokes the
lookup
method,BankClient
refers to the home of an enterprise bean:Object objref = initial.lookup("java:comp/env/ejb/SimpleBank");You specify this reference as follows:
- In the tree, select
BankClient
.- Select the EJB Refs tab.
- Click Add.
- In the Coded Name field, enter
ejb/SimpleBank
.- In the EJB Type field, select
Session
.- In the Interfaces field, select
Remote
.- In the Home Interface field, enter
BankHome
.- In the Local/Remote Interface field, enter
Bank
.- Click OK.
- Select the line you just added.
- Under Sun-specific Settings for
ejb/SimpleBank
, select JNDI Name.- In the JNDI Name field select,
BankBean
.- Select FileRight ArrowSave.
Deploying the J2EE Application
- Select
BankApp
indeploytool
.- Select ToolsRight ArrowDeploy.
- Under Connection Settings, enter the user name and password for the Application Server.
- Tell
deploytool
to create a JAR file that contains the client stubs:
- Check the Return Client JAR box.
- In the field below the checkbox, enter
<
INSTALL
>/j2eetutorial14/examples/ejb/bank/
.- Click OK.
- In the Distribute Module dialog box, click Close when the deployment completes successfully.
Running the Application Client
- In a terminal window, go to the
<INSTALL>
/j2eetutorial14/
directory.
examples/ejb/bank/- Type the following command:
appclient -client BankAppClient.jar
In the terminal window, the client displays these lines:
checking: 60.0 saving: 540.0Methods Not Allowed in Container-Managed Transactions
You should not invoke any method that might interfere with the transaction boundaries set by the container. The list of prohibited methods follows:
- The
commit
,setAutoCommit
, androllback
methods ofjava.sql.Connection
- The
getUserTransaction
method ofjavax.ejb.EJBContext
- Any method of
javax.transaction.UserTransaction
You can, however, use these methods to set boundaries in bean-managed transactions.