Transactional NTFS

Transactional NTFS (abbreviated TxF[1]) is a component introduced in Windows Vista and present in later versions of the Microsoft Windows operating system that brings the concept of atomic transactions to the NTFS file system, allowing Windows application developers to write file-output routines that are guaranteed to either succeed completely or to fail completely.[2] Major operating system components, including System Restore, Task Scheduler, and Windows Update, rely on TxF for stability.[1] During the development of Windows Vista, WinFS also relied on TxF for storing files.[3]

Due to its complexity and various nuances which developers need to consider as part of application development, Microsoft has deprecated TxF and stated that it may be removed in a future version of Windows.[4] Microsoft has strongly recommended that developers investigate using the alternatives rather than adopting the Transactional NTFS API platform which may not be available in future versions of Windows.[2]

  1. ^ a b Olson, Jason (2007). "Enhance Your Apps With File System Transactions". MSDN Magazine. Microsoft. Archived from the original on August 30, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  2. ^ a b Microsoft. "Alternatives to using Transactional NTFS". MSDN. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  3. ^ "NTFS Beta Chat Transcript (July 12, 2006)". TechNet. Microsoft. September 20, 2006. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  4. ^ "About Transactional NTFS". Microsoft. May 30, 2018. Retrieved 2019-10-27. Microsoft strongly recommends developers utilize alternative means to achieve your application s needs. Many scenarios that TxF was developed for can be achieved through simpler and more readily available techniques. Furthermore, TxF may not be available in future versions of Microsoft Windows.