I searched for the word "active" in the
JTA specification. It appears twelve times, and only within
section 3.8 (on the
TransactionScoped annotation). That section also says: "It is not intended that the term “active” as defined here in relation to the TransactionScoped annotation should also apply to its use in relation to transaction context, lifecycle, etc. mentioned elsewhere in this specification." However, surprisingly, it does not actually appear anywhere else in the specification.
In the javadoc for Transaction, "inactive" appears five times ("active" appears zero), but is never defined.
In the javadoc for TransactionManager, "active" does not appear.
In the javadoc for TransactionSynchronizationRegistry, "active" appears seven times, but is never defined.
In the javadoc for UserTransaction, "active" does not appear.
Finally and obviously there is a Status.STATUS_ACTIVE field, and its javadoc says "A transaction is associated with the target object and it is in the active state."