JTA is short for Java Transaction API. API’s or application programming interface are program specifications that basically allow the successful interaction of various software components. In the case of JTA, the components involved are the distributed transactions that need to interact with each other under the Java environment or platform. Specifically, JTA specifies the way distributed transactions are to access certain data or update the same using two or more computer network resources. With more than one computer resource, interaction between different components is essential and this is where the API functionality comes in for Java-based transactions.

In a typical Java distributed transaction setup, the Java Transaction API or JTA is the component that will specify how the various other components will interact with the transaction manager. The JTA basically ensures that all components or distributed transactions are able to communicate with the transaction manager and with each other. With distributed transactions needing to access some data from the network, the JTA also helps these components communicate with the computer network or resource manager. All these components are then supposed to work seamlessly and efficiently as one of them interacts with another. Aside from the resource manager and transaction manager, other components supported by JTA in a typical distributed transaction processing setup include the application itself, the server that it runs on and the resource adapter.

The Java Transaction API is said to be patterned from the X/Open XA architecture of the Java environment. Its major distinction is that it is able to identify the application server component and the application itself. JTA is also able to define at least two different application program interfaces in terms of creating a division between distributed transactions or the so-called transaction boundaries. Under the X/Open XA architecture, JTA requires a demarcation interface that is high level, a transaction manager interface that is also of high level, and basic Java mapping.