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The primary purpose of Transaction Processing is to protect the integrity of your data. This is particularly important if you are updating multiple files in one transaction. Earlier in this chapter, we used the example of an invoicing system, where we are updating a customer file, an invoice master and detail file, and an inventory file. We want either the entire invoice process to complete, or none of it. A partially entered invoice is not acceptable.
If an update error occurs, an error flag is set. If you try to use Commit() to commit this transaction, an error code will be returned and the transaction will be aborted.
If an update error occurs we typically have two choices: abandon the entire transaction, or go back to a savepoint and try again. The choice is yours, and the correct choice may depend on what error occurred and how you can correct it.
Abort
To abandon the entire transaction you will use the Abort() function. This will throw away all update actions that occurred since the initial Begin() call. You can start another transaction, or take some corrective action.
RestoreSavePoint
If you have been setting savepoints with the SetSavePoint() function, you can back up to an appropriate place in your transaction with the RestoreSavePoint() function. This allows you to go back part way into the transaction and then continue on, without throwing everything away.
