Signals that you want to use the lock mechanisms of SQL for consistency in data retrieval and update. Read/write is the default transaction. Use the read/write transaction mode when you need to: o Insert, update, or delete data o Retrieve data that is guaranteed to be correct at the moment of retrieval o Use SQL data definition statements When you are reading a row in a read/write transaction, no other user can update that row. Under some circumstances, SQL may lock rows that you are not explicitly reading. o If your query is scanning a table without using an index, SQL locks all the rows in the record stream to maintain isolation level serializable. o If your query uses indexes, SQL may lock part of an index, which has the effect of locking several rows.