In Clean Architecture, the use of transactions is a critical aspect that ensures data consistency and integrity across multiple operations. The placement and management of transactions can vary depending on the specific implementation and the complexity of the application. Here are some key points to consider:
Transaction Management in Clean Architecture
Use Case Layer:
Primary Location: Transactions are often managed in the Use Case layer because this layer orchestrates the business logic and can determine when a transaction should start and end.
Advantages: This approach keeps the business logic aware of the transactional context without exposing the details of the database operations. It allows the use case to handle multiple repository calls within a single transaction, ensuring atomicity.
Example: In a use case where a user is onboarded, the use case might start a transaction, create a user, create a tenant, and then commit the transaction if all operations succeed. If any operation fails, the transaction is rolled back to maintain data consistency[9][12].
Repository Layer:
Alternative Approach: Some implementations prefer to handle transactions within the repository layer. This can be done by passing a transaction context to repository methods.
Advantages: This approach encapsulates transaction management within the data access layer, making the use case layer simpler and more focused on business logic.
Example: Each repository method can accept a transaction object and perform operations within that transaction. This is useful when the repository methods need to be reused across different use cases[1][6].
Unit of Work Pattern:
Pattern Usage: The Unit of Work pattern is another common approach where a single unit of work manages the transaction across multiple repositories.
Advantages: This pattern ensures that all repository operations within a use case are part of the same transaction. It simplifies transaction management by centralizing it in one place.
Example: A Unit of Work class can start a transaction, pass the transaction context to repositories, and commit or roll back the transaction based on the success or failure of the operations[4][12].
Challenges and Considerations:
Cross-Service Transactions: Handling transactions across multiple services can be complex. Techniques like the SAGA pattern can be used for distributed transactions, where each service manages its own local transactio...
