Fifty Years of Transaction Processing Research (extended)
Philip A. Bernstein (Microsoft Research)
TL;DR
This paper reviews the history, ongoing relevance, and future prospects of transaction processing research over the past fifty years, including personal insights and historical context.
Contribution
It provides a historical overview and personal perspective on transaction processing research, highlighting its continued importance and future directions.
Findings
Transaction research has persisted for over fifty years.
The field remains relevant despite perceptions of being solved.
Future challenges and directions are discussed.
Abstract
In this short paper, I recount some early history of transaction research (including some of my own), explain why transaction research continues to this day (even though it seems to be a solved problem), and speculate about its future. This is an extended version of the paper that appeared in the Companion of the 2025 International Conference on Management of Data (SIGMOD-Companion '25).
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