The @Transactional annotations from javax.transaction (part of the Java Transaction API – JTA, now part of Jakarta EE) and org.springframework.transaction.annotation (from the Spring Framework) both serve the same fundamental purpose: to declaratively manage transaction boundaries in Java applications. However, they originate from different ecosystems and have distinct characteristics and ideal use cases.

Here’s a breakdown of their differences:

1. Origin and Ecosystem

javax.transaction.Transactional

• This annotation is part of the Java Transaction API (JTA), which is a standard Java API for managing transactions.
• It is typically used in Java EE (now Jakarta EE) application servers (like WildFly, GlassFish, WebSphere, WebLogic).
• It’s designed to interact with a JTA-compliant Transaction Manager, which is usually provided by the application server.
• Primarily focuses on global/distributed transactions, where a single transaction might span multiple transactional resources (e.g., multiple databases, a database and a JMS queue).

org.springframework.transaction.annotation.Transactional

• This annotation is part of the Spring Framework, a popular lightweight framework for building enterprise Java applications.
• It’s the cornerstone of Spring’s declarative transaction management.
• Spring’s transaction abstraction layer can work with various underlying transaction managers, including:
  • Local transaction managers: For single resource transactions (e.g., JDBC, JPA/Hibernate using a single data source). This is its most common use.
  • JTA transaction managers: Spring can integrate with JTA for distributed transactions, but it provides its own abstraction over JTA’s more verbose API.

2. Configuration and Flexibility

javax.transaction.Transactional

• Less flexible in terms of direct configuration within the annotation. Its behavior is largely dictated by the underlying JTA transaction manager and Java EE container configuration.
• Primarily has a value attribute which typically maps to JTA’s TxType (e.g., REQUIRED, REQUIRES_NEW).
• Relies on the application server to provide and manage the transaction infrastructure.

org.springframework.transaction.annotation.Transactional

Highly flexible and configurable. It offers a rich set of attributes to precisely control transaction behavior:

• propagation: Defines how transactional methods participate in or create new transactions (e.g., REQUIRED, REQUIRES_NEW, SUPPORTS, NOT_SUPPORTED, MANDATORY, NEVER, NESTED). Spring’s NESTED propagation type is a significant addition.
• isolation: Specifies the transaction isolation level (e.g., READ_COMMITTED, REPEATABLE_READ, SERIALIZABLE).
• readOnly: A hint to the underlying persistence provider that the transaction is read-only, which can enable optimizations.
• timeout: Sets a timeout for the transaction.
• rollbackFor / noRollbackFor: Customizes the rollback rules based on specific exception types (by default, Spring rolls back on unchecked exceptions).

3. When to Use Which

Use javax.transaction.Transactional when:

• You are developing in a full Java EE / Jakarta EE environment (e.g., deploying on an application server like WildFly, WebLogic, GlassFish).
• Your application explicitly requires distributed transactions across multiple transactional resources (e.g., updating two different databases in a single atomic transaction).
• You want to adhere strictly to Java EE standards and minimize framework-specific dependencies.

Use org.springframework.transaction.annotation.Transactional when:

• You are building an application based on the Spring Framework (including Spring Boot). This is the default and recommended choice in Spring applications.
• Your application primarily deals with local transactions (single data source).
• You need fine-grained control over transaction behavior (propagation, isolation, rollback rules, timeouts).
• You value the simplicity and abstraction that Spring’s transaction management provides over direct JTA usage.

4. Interoperability and Potential Issues

• Mixing the two is generally discouraged. While Spring can support the javax.transaction.Transactional annotation, using both inconsistently within the same application can lead to unexpected behavior, confusion, or even runtime errors (e.g., “Protocol violation” errors in certain environments).
• Stick to one consistently. If you are in a Spring application, always use org.springframework.transaction.annotation.Transactional. If you are in a pure Java EE environment, use javax.transaction.Transactional.