By default, if you do not have a JTA transaction in place, each SQL Repository operation that affects the state of a repository item creates and commits a transaction around the operation. This is generally not the most efficient way to handle repository item updates. It is generally most efficient to ensure that all of the method calls in creating or updating a repository item are performed in a single transaction. ATG offers several different techniques for transaction demarcation that you can use to group repository method calls into a single transaction. You can use transaction demarcation in a Java Server Page using the Transaction servlet bean. You can demarcate a transaction programmatically. These are described in detail in the Transaction Management chapter of the ATG Platform Programming Guide. You can also use ATG’s Repository Form Handler and TransactionalFormHandler classes to improve the transactional behavior and performance of repository operations. Refer to the ATG Platform Programming Guide and ATG Repository Guide for more information.