Transaction not always created

[tvuotila]

Transaction table row is not created if the transaction values is empty. I would argue that transaction should always be created in order to tie related activity table rows together. The current implementation is really explicit about not creating the row, thus I would like to know if there is some reason for it.

postgresql-audit/postgresql_audit/base.py

Lines 304 to 315 in 824c4f9

	values = convert_callables(self.get_transaction_values())
	if values:
	values['native_transaction_id'] = sa.func.txid_current()
	values['issued_at'] = sa.text("now() AT TIME ZONE 'UTC'")
	stmt = (
	insert(table)
	.values(**values)
	.on_conflict_do_nothing(
	constraint='transaction_unique_native_tx_id'
	)
	)
	session.execute(stmt)

[tommy-gilligan]

i'm a mere postgresql-audit user (not a dev on this project) but i'm not convinced the transaction table is good/necessary. i think it's fine for attribution to live on activity table rows. i'm curious what the rational is for a separate transaction table other than reducing duplication slightly.

[tvuotila]

Two use cases, where I have found the transaction table useful. 1. Reverting all changes user has done during a transaction. 2. Grouping activities when displaying them to users.

Neither of these need the transaction table, but the table helps. Without the transaction table, grouping activities that happened during the same transaction would require grouping by native_transaction_id and issued_at. (#114 would help here by making the native_transaction_id unique.)

I also think the reducing duplication is a valid reason. We are talking about a relational database, not document database.

However, I can think of use cases where the transaction table is completely unnecessary and harmful. I would like the inclusion of transaction table to be configurable.

[tommy-gilligan]

Wow! Honestly I feel like my earlier comment was haphazard and kind of a mess. It definitely did not deserve the kind, well considered response that you just gave! Thank you so much, this really clears things up for me.