Akkarapon Phikulsri

Posted on Jan 8

Atomic Transaction Patterns C#

#architecture #csharp #dotnet #systemdesign

Pattern	Consistency	Scale	Complexity	Suitable For
Pessimistic Locking	Strong	Low	Low	Monoliths, legacy systems
Saga Pattern	Eventual	High	High	Microservices
CQRS	Eventual	High	High	Read-heavy systems, DDD
Mediator	Depends	Med	Medium	Coordinated command handling
Event Sourcing	Eventual	High	High	Auditable systems
Two-Phase Commit	Strong	Low	High	Cross-DB transactional ops
Outbox Pattern	Eventual	High	Medium	DB + messaging consistency

Two powerful transaction patterns for modern applications: AtomicService for ACID transactions and SagaPatternService for distributed transactions with eventual consistency.

🎯 Overview

This library offers two complementary approaches to handle transactions in both monolithic and distributed architectures:

Pattern	Use Case	Consistency	Scope	Recovery
AtomicService	Single service/database	Immediate (ACID)	Local operations	Transaction rollback
SagaPatternService	Multiple services	Eventual	Distributed operations	Compensating actions

✨ Features

🛡️ AtomicService (ACID Transactions)

Hierarchical Transactions - Parent-child transaction support
Enhanced Retry Logic - Configurable retry with exponential backoff
Performance Monitoring - Built-in metrics and correlation tracking
Multiple Isolation Levels - ReadCommitted, RepeatableRead, Serializable
Deadlock Detection - Smart handling of transient database errors
Flexible Configuration - Per-operation timeouts and retry policies

🌐 SagaPatternService (Distributed Transactions)

Compensating Actions - Automatic rollback through compensation
State Persistence - Durable saga state with resume capability
Step Orchestration - Sequential, conditional, and parallel execution
Error Recovery - Comprehensive error handling and retry strategies
Monitoring & Observability - Full saga lifecycle tracking
Integration Ready - Works seamlessly with AtomicService

🚀 Quick Start

Basic Setup

// Program.cs
using Persistence.Database;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);

// Configure AtomicService
builder.Services.Configure<AtomicServiceOptions>(options =>
{
    options.MaxRetryAttempts = 3;
    options.TransactionTimeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5);
    options.DefaultIsolationLevel = IsolationLevel.ReadCommitted;
});

// Configure SagaPatternService
builder.Services.Configure<SagaPatternOptions>(options =>
{
    options.StepTimeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5);
    options.MaxRetryAttempts = 3;
    options.EnableStateLogging = true;
});

// Register services
builder.Services.AddScoped<IAtomicService, AtomicService>();
builder.Services.AddScoped<ISagaStateStore, InMemorySagaStateStore>();
builder.Services.AddScoped<ISagaPatternService, SagaPatternService>();

var app = builder.Build();

📖 Usage Examples

AtomicService - Local ACID Transactions

public class OrderService
{
    private readonly IAtomicService _atomicService;

    // Simple atomic operation
    public async Task CreateOrderAsync(Order order)
    {
        await _atomicService.ExecuteAtomicallyAsync(async () =>
        {
            await _orderRepository.CreateAsync(order);
            await _auditRepository.LogAsync(order.Id, "OrderCreated");
            await _notificationService.SendConfirmationAsync(order.CustomerId);
        });
    }

    // Parent-child hierarchical transaction
    public async Task ProcessComplexOrderAsync(Order order)
    {
        await _atomicService.ExecuteAsParentAsync(async () =>
        {
            await CreateOrderAsync(order); // Child transaction
            await _paymentService.ProcessPaymentAsync(order.Payment); // Child transaction
            await _inventoryService.ReserveItemsAsync(order.Items); // Child transaction
        });
    }

    // With custom options
    public async Task ProcessCriticalOrderAsync(Order order)
    {
        var options = new AtomicOperationOptions
        {
            OperationName = "CriticalOrderProcessing",
            IsolationLevel = IsolationLevel.Serializable,
            Timeout = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(10),
            MaxRetryAttempts = 5
        };

        await _atomicService.ExecuteAtomicallyAsync(async () =>
        {
            // Critical business logic here
        }, options);
    }
}

SagaPatternService - Distributed Transactions

public class DistributedOrderService
{
    private readonly ISagaPatternService _sagaService;

    public async Task<SagaExecutionResult> ProcessDistributedOrderAsync(OrderRequest request)
    {
        var context = new OrderSagaContext(request);

        var steps = new List<ISagaStep<OrderSagaContext>>
        {
            // Step 1: Process Payment
            SagaStepBuilder.Create<OrderSagaContext>(
                "ProcessPayment", 1,
                executeAction: async (ctx, ct) =>
                {
                    var payment = await _paymentService.ChargeAsync(ctx.OrderRequest.Payment);
                    ctx.PaymentId = payment.Id;
                    return StepResult.Success;
                },
                compensateAction: async (ctx, ct) =>
                {
                    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(ctx.PaymentId))
                    {
                        await _paymentService.RefundAsync(ctx.PaymentId);
                    }
                    return StepResult.Success;
                }
            ),

            // Step 2: Reserve Inventory
            SagaStepBuilder.Create<OrderSagaContext>(
                "ReserveInventory", 2,
                executeAction: async (ctx, ct) =>
                {
                    var reservation = await _inventoryService.ReserveAsync(ctx.OrderRequest.Items);
                    ctx.ReservationId = reservation.Id;
                    return StepResult.Success;
                },
                compensateAction: async (ctx, ct) =>
                {
                    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(ctx.ReservationId))
                    {
                        await _inventoryService.ReleaseAsync(ctx.ReservationId);
                    }
                    return StepResult.Success;
                }
            ),

            // Step 3: Schedule Shipping
            SagaStepBuilder.Create<OrderSagaContext>(
                "ScheduleShipping", 3,
                executeAction: async (ctx, ct) =>
                {
                    var shipping = await _shippingService.ScheduleAsync(ctx.OrderRequest);
                    ctx.Data["ShippingId"] = shipping.Id;
                    return StepResult.Success;
                },
                compensateAction: async (ctx, ct) =>
                {
                    if (ctx.Data.TryGetValue("ShippingId", out var shippingId))
                    {
                        await _shippingService.CancelAsync(shippingId.ToString()!);
                    }
                    return StepResult.Success;
                }
            )
        };

        return await _sagaService.ExecuteSagaAsync(context, steps);
    }
}

Hybrid Approach - Best of Both Worlds

public class HybridOrderService
{
    public async Task<StepResult> ProcessOrderDataAsync(OrderContext context, CancellationToken ct)
    {
        // Use AtomicService for local consistency within saga steps
        await _atomicService.ExecuteAtomicallyAsync(async () =>
        {
            // Local ACID operations within the distributed saga step
            await _orderRepository.CreateAsync(context.Order);
            await _auditRepository.LogAsync(context.Order.Id, "OrderCreated");
            await _customerRepository.UpdateOrderCountAsync(context.Order.CustomerId);
        }, new AtomicOperationOptions
        {
            OperationName = "SagaStep.LocalOrderData",
            CorrelationData = new Dictionary<string, object>
            {
                ["SagaId"] = context.SagaId,
                ["OrderId"] = context.Order.Id
            }
        });

        return StepResult.Success;
    }
}

🎯 When to Use Which Pattern

Use AtomicService When:

✅ Single service operations - All operations within one service/database
✅ Need immediate consistency - ACID properties required
✅ Traditional database transactions - Relational database operations
✅ Parent-child service relationships - Hierarchical transaction coordination
✅ Short-lived operations - Transactions that complete quickly

Use Saga Pattern When:

✅ Multiple microservices involved - Cross-service coordination needed
✅ External API integrations - Third-party services in the flow
✅ Long-running business processes - Operations that take significant time
✅ Need eventual consistency - Can tolerate temporary inconsistency
✅ Distributed architecture - Services across different databases/systems

Use Both Together When:

🚀 Each saga step needs local ACID guarantees - Best of both worlds
🚀 Distributed coordination with local consistency - Hybrid approach
🚀 Complex business processes - Spanning multiple services with local data integrity

🏗️ Architecture Overview

graph TB
    A[Client Request] --> B{Transaction Type?}

    B -->|Local Operations| C[AtomicService]
    B -->|Distributed Operations| D[SagaPatternService]
    B -->|Hybrid| E[Both Services]

    C --> C1[Transaction Scope]
    C --> C2[Retry Logic]
    C --> C3[Performance Monitoring]

    D --> D1[Saga Steps]
    D --> D2[Compensation Actions]
    D --> D3[State Persistence]

    E --> E1[Saga Orchestration]
    E1 --> E2[Step 1: AtomicService]
    E1 --> E3[Step 2: AtomicService]
    E1 --> E4[Step N: AtomicService]

    C1 --> F[Database]
    D3 --> G[Saga State Store]
    E2 --> F
    E3 --> F
    E4 --> F

📊 Performance Characteristics

Pattern	Latency	Throughput	Consistency	Complexity	Scalability
AtomicService	Low	High	Strong	Low	Vertical
SagaPattern	Medium	Medium	Eventual	Medium	Horizontal
Hybrid	Medium	High	Mixed	High	Both

📚 Documentation

Core Documentation

AtomicService Usage Guide - Comprehensive guide for ACID transactions
Saga Pattern Usage Guide - Complete saga implementation guide
API Reference - Full API documentation
Configuration Guide - Setup and configuration options

Examples & Tutorials

E-commerce Order Processing - Real-world e-commerce example
Banking Transfers - Financial transaction examples
Microservices Integration - Cross-service coordination
Performance Optimization - High-throughput scenarios

Advanced Topics

Error Handling Strategies - Comprehensive error management
Monitoring & Observability - Metrics and logging
Testing Strategies - Unit and integration testing
Production Deployment - Production considerations

🛠️ Configuration Options

AtomicService Configuration

public class AtomicServiceOptions
{
    public int MaxRetryAttempts { get; set; } = 3;
    public TimeSpan BaseRetryDelay { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(100);
    public TimeSpan TransactionTimeout { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5);
    public IsolationLevel DefaultIsolationLevel { get; set; } = IsolationLevel.ReadCommitted;
    public bool EnablePerformanceLogging { get; set; } = true;
    public bool EnableDistributedTransactions { get; set; } = false;
}

SagaPatternService Configuration

public class SagaPatternOptions
{
    public TimeSpan StepTimeout { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(5);
    public TimeSpan CompensationTimeout { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromMinutes(10);
    public int MaxRetryAttempts { get; set; } = 3;
    public TimeSpan RetryDelay { get; set; } = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1);
    public bool EnableStateLogging { get; set; } = true;
    public bool EnableCompensationLogging { get; set; } = true;
}

🔍 Monitoring & Observability

Both services provide comprehensive monitoring capabilities:

Built-in Metrics

Transaction success/failure rates
Operation duration and performance
Retry attempt tracking
Compensation execution monitoring
Resource usage statistics

Logging Integration

Structured logging with correlation IDs
Performance logging for optimization
Error tracking with context
Saga state change events

Health Checks

// Built-in health checks
services.AddHealthChecks()
    .AddCheck<AtomicServiceHealthCheck>("atomic-service")
    .AddCheck<SagaPatternHealthCheck>("saga-pattern");

🧪 Testing

Unit Testing

[Test]
public async Task AtomicService_Should_Rollback_On_Exception()
{
    // Arrange
    var mockRepository = new Mock<IRepository>();
    mockRepository.Setup(x => x.SaveAsync(It.IsAny<Entity>()))
              .ThrowsAsync(new InvalidOperationException());

    // Act & Assert
    await Assert.ThrowsAsync<InvalidOperationException>(() =>
        _atomicService.ExecuteAtomicallyAsync(async () =>
        {
            await mockRepository.Object.SaveAsync(new Entity());
        }));

    // Verify rollback occurred
    mockRepository.Verify(x => x.SaveAsync(It.IsAny<Entity>()), Times.Once);
}

Integration Testing

[Test]
public async Task SagaPattern_Should_Compensate_On_Step_Failure()
{
    // Arrange
    var context = new TestSagaContext();
    var steps = CreateTestStepsWithFailure();

    // Act
    var result = await _sagaService.ExecuteSagaAsync(context, steps);

    // Assert
    Assert.That(result.FinalStatus, Is.EqualTo(SagaStatus.Compensated));
    Assert.That(context.CompensatedSteps.Count, Is.GreaterThan(0));
}

Reference

akkaraponph / iamatomic

Atomic Hanlding C# | Consistency within a single transaction scope

🔚 Summary Table Of Data Consistency Handling

Pattern	Consistency	Scale	Complexity	Suitable For
Pessimistic Locking	Strong	Low	Low	Monoliths, legacy systems
Saga Pattern	Eventual	High	High	Microservices
CQRS	Eventual	High	High	Read-heavy systems, DDD
Mediator	Depends	Med	Medium	Coordinated command handling
Event Sourcing	Eventual	High	High	Auditable systems
Two-Phase Commit	Strong	Low	High	Cross-DB transactional ops
Outbox Pattern	Eventual	High	Medium	DB + messaging consistency

🔄 I Am Atomic Transaction Patterns

Two powerful transaction patterns for modern applications: AtomicService for ACID transactions and SagaPatternService for distributed transactions with eventual consistency.

🎯 Overview

This library offers two complementary approaches to handle transactions in both monolithic and distributed architectures:

Pattern	Use Case	Consistency	Scope	Recovery
AtomicService	Single service/database	Immediate (ACID)	Local operations	Transaction rollback
SagaPatternService	Multiple services	Eventual	Distributed operations	Compensating actions

DEV Community

Atomic Transaction Patterns C#

🎯 Overview

✨ Features

🛡️ AtomicService (ACID Transactions)

🌐 SagaPatternService (Distributed Transactions)

🚀 Quick Start

Basic Setup

📖 Usage Examples

AtomicService - Local ACID Transactions

SagaPatternService - Distributed Transactions

Hybrid Approach - Best of Both Worlds

🎯 When to Use Which Pattern

Use AtomicService When:

Use Saga Pattern When:

Use Both Together When:

🏗️ Architecture Overview

📊 Performance Characteristics

📚 Documentation

Core Documentation

Examples & Tutorials

Advanced Topics

🛠️ Configuration Options

AtomicService Configuration

SagaPatternService Configuration

🔍 Monitoring & Observability

Built-in Metrics

Logging Integration

Health Checks

🧪 Testing

Unit Testing

Integration Testing

akkaraponph / iamatomic

Atomic Hanlding C# | Consistency within a single transaction scope

🔚 Summary Table Of Data Consistency Handling

🔄 I Am Atomic Transaction Patterns

🎯 Overview

✨ Features

🛡️ AtomicService (ACID Transactions)

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