The concept of transaction originates from database research. It is a key technology to ensure the reliabilityand consistency of information. The flat transaction model is not suitable to current complex and distributed applica-tions since it lacks the semantic support for complex applications. In this paper, we survey two approaches to solvethe problems of the flat transaction model: extended transaction models and transactional workflows. We then pre-sent the transaction specifications and major commercial products of transaction processing technologies. Finally, weprospect the trend of these technologies.
Application server provides a platform that helps users to create,deploy,execute,integrate and maintainmulti-tier enterprise applications. This paper analyzes a variety of implementation strategies of application servers,th eh gives evaluating features for J2EE application server and compares the 4 representative products.