Using semantic knowledge for transaction processing in a distributed database

This paper investigates how the semantic knowledge of an application can be used in a distributed database to process transactions efficiently and to avoid some of the delays associated with failures. The main idea is to allow nonserializable schedules which preserve consistency and which are acceptable to the system users. To produce such schedules, the transaction processing mechanism receives semantic information from the users in the form of transaction semantic types, a division of transactions into steps, compatibility sets, and countersteps. Using these notions, we propose a mechanism which allows users to exploit their semantic knowledge in an organized fashion. The strengths and weaknesses of this approach are discussed.