Merge branch 'develop' into partial-logging

1 files changed, 21 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/src/docs/transactions.dox b/src/docs/transactions.dox
index 8b57152cf52..bbbd2d52296 100644
--- a/src/docs/transactions.dox
+++ b/src/docs/transactions.dox
@@ -127,4 +127,25 @@ re-configured on a per-session basis:
 
 @snippet ex_all.c session isolation re-configuration
 
+@section transaction_named_snapshots Named Snapshots
+
+Applications can create named snapshots by calling WT_SESSION::snapshot
+with a configuration that includes <code>"name=foo"</code>.
+This configuration creates a new named snapshot, as if a snapshot isolation
+transaction were started at the time of the WT_SESSION::snapshot call.
+
+Subsequent transactions can be started "as of" that snapshot by calling
+WT_SESSION::begin_transaction with a configuration that includes
+<code>snapshot=foo</code>.  That transaction will run at snapshot isolation
+as if the transaction started at the time of the WT_SESSION::snapshot
+call that created the snapshot.
+
+Named snapshots keep data pinned in cache as if a real transaction were
+running for the time that the named transaction is active.  The resources
+associated with named snapshots should be released by calling
+WT_SESSION::snapshot with a configuration that includes
+<code>"drop="</code>. See WT_SESSION::snapshot documentation for details of
+the semantics supported by the drop configuration.
+
+Named snapshots are not durable: they do not survive WT_CONNECTION::close.
  */