A financial transaction processing system is disclosed, wherein substantial processing
efficiencies are provided with, additionally, a substantial decrease in the size
of the executable code. Each transaction processed by the transaction processing
system is described by a transaction data descriptor that includes a series of
subtransaction data descriptions of actions that can be performed independently
of one another. Thus, complex transaction processing logic is substantially removed
from the executable code, and instead such transaction data descriptors are processed
interpretatively. Moreover, the independence of the subtransactions allows the
subtransactions of a transaction to be processed in parallel when performed on
a multiprocessor computer. Additionally, the transaction processing system provides
account balancing enhancements in that there are control columns in various data
tables that are automatically updated during transaction processing so that by
comparing control column totals, an indication of the integrity of current financial
records is provided. Additionally, the transaction processing system provides full
auditability in that any changes to financial data can be traced for any effective
period of time into the past so that auditors can periodically perform a full audit
of the financial transaction data retained by the transaction processing system.
