How does WCF handle transactions?

Question

ICSM Computer · Answer

WCF handles transactions using the System.Transactions namespace and provides built-in support to coordinate operations across multiple service calls or resource managers (e.g., databases, message queues).
How WCF Supports Transactions
WCF allows service operations to participate in transactions using:Declarative attributes ([OperationBehavior])Automatic transaction flow via bindingsAmbient transactions (TransactionScope)
Key Attributes and Properties
1. [OperationBehavior(TransactionScopeRequired = true, TransactionAutoComplete = true)]
TransactionScopeRequired = true: Enlists the operation in a transaction.TransactionAutoComplete = true: Automatically commits if no exceptions occur.
[OperationBehavior(TransactionScopeRequired = true, TransactionAutoComplete = true)]
public void SubmitOrder()
{
    // This operation will automatically participate in a transaction
}
2. [ServiceBehavior(TransactionIsolationLevel = ..., TransactionTimeout = ...)]
Configures service-wide transaction settings.
[ServiceBehavior(TransactionIsolationLevel = IsolationLevel.ReadCommitted, TransactionTimeout = "00:02:00")]
public class MyService : IMyService
{
    // All operations will follow this transaction config
}
3. Transaction Flow via Bindings
To allow the client to flow a transaction to the service, enable
TransactionFlow = true in both:
The binding (e.g., wsHttpBinding)The operation via [TransactionFlow(TransactionFlowOption.Allowed)]
[ServiceContract]
public interface IMyService
{
    [OperationContract]
    [TransactionFlow(TransactionFlowOption.Allowed)]
    void SubmitData();
}
On the binding:
andlt;wsHttpBindingandgt;
  andlt;binding name="TransactionalBinding" transactionFlow="true"/andgt;
andlt;/wsHttpBindingandgt;
Transaction Flow Example
using (TransactionScope scope = new TransactionScope())
{
    serviceClient.SubmitData();   // service must allow transaction flow
    // other transactional operations...
    scope.Complete(); // commits all
}
Supported Bindings for Transactions
Binding
Supports Transactions?
Transaction Flow?
wsHttpBinding
Yes
Yes
netTcpBinding
Yes
Yes
basicHttpBinding
No
No
Summary
Feature
Description
Declarative transaction
Via [OperationBehavior]
Ambient transaction
Via TransactionScope
Binding-level support
Must use transaction-aware bindings (NetTcp, WSHttp)
Flow from client
Via [TransactionFlow] and transactionFlow="true"
and

interview

How does WCF handle transactions?

ICSM Computer

Can you answer this question?

1 Answers

How WCF Supports Transactions

Key Attributes and Properties

1. `[OperationBehavior(TransactionScopeRequired = true, TransactionAutoComplete = true)]`

2. `[ServiceBehavior(TransactionIsolationLevel = ..., TransactionTimeout = ...)]`

3. Transaction Flow via Bindings

Transaction Flow Example

Supported Bindings for Transactions

Summary

Liked By

Binding	Supports Transactions?	Transaction Flow?
`wsHttpBinding`	Yes	Yes
`netTcpBinding`	Yes	Yes
`basicHttpBinding`	No	No

Feature	Description
Declarative transaction	Via `[OperationBehavior]`
Ambient transaction	Via `TransactionScope`
Binding-level support	Must use transaction-aware bindings (`NetTcp`, `WSHttp`)
Flow from client	Via `[TransactionFlow]` and `transactionFlow="true"`