MySQL: Transactions vs Locking Tables

Question

I\'m a bit confused with transactions vs locking tables to ensure database integrity and make sure a SELECT and UPDATE remain in sync and no other connection interferes with

Answer 1

I'd use a

START TRANSACTION WITH CONSISTENT SNAPSHOT;

to begin with, and a

COMMIT;

to end with.

Anything you do in between is isolated from the others users of your database if your storage engine supports transactions (which is InnoDB).