Online Transaction Processing
Online Transaction Processing ( OLTP), online transaction processing, and real-time transaction processing, refers to a usage paradigm of database systems and business applications in the processing of transactions directly and promptly, without significant time delay occurs.
Counterpart is batch processing, in which collected all business transactions and in - are processed batch runs - often at night, free from the online mode. The name comes from the 1960er/1970er-Jahren because the data (and often programs ) were doing before as punch cards and have been read and processed as stacks. With this designation, the aspect plays a role that the tasks can only be executed (as in the hole deck ) one by one, while during the same time many different business operations in OLTP.
The technical focus is on the OLTP transaction security for parallel requests and changes, to minimize the response time to inquiries and at the highest possible throughput ( number of transactions per unit time). The efficiency of OLTP systems is the appropriate choice of hardware (database server, network components such as LAN and WAN ) and software ( database management system ) dependent. By observing the transaction criteria ( ACID) is to ensure that the consistency of the database ( can also be a plurality of distributed nowadays ) is maintained and data are never stored incomplete or inconsistent.
OLTP database systems typically store the transactions of a business process in the highest of detail that is required for the operational activities of the company. Based on the concept OLTP also encountered the term Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), which deals with the aggregation, processing and analysis of operational data for a longer period.
Application
The classic application of OLTP is the computerized implementation of the business processes of companies that make up the operational daily business. This task is performed, among others, so-called ERP systems. Here the master data, such as personnel or inventory and business operations such as purchasing, sales, space booking, bank accounts, etc. are handled. Modern enterprises are largely dependent on the existence and accuracy of such data, as it explains all resources such as personnel, finance, goods and / or services are mapped up to date with the business activities caused by the current changes. Therefore, such applications are considered mission critical.
Database systems have the task to backup all data so that there can be no loss of data and the data in it at any time here - remain consistent - even after a partial loss. This requirement is exacerbated when using systems that can be implemented on distributed databases since the 1990s, on different servers and / or different - run places - worldwide over WAN connected.
Other applications include content management, knowledge databases, web shops, directory services, etc.