What are the different types of ACID properties and how do they ensure data integrity?
The ACID properties are a set of four properties that ensure the reliability and consistency of transactions in a database management system (DBMS). The ACID properties are:
Atomicity: Atomicity ensures that a transaction is treated as a single, indivisible unit of work. Either all of the operations within the transaction are completed successfully, or none of them are.
Consistency: Consistency ensures that a transaction leaves the database in a consistent state, regardless of the state the database was in before the transaction began.
Isolation: Isolation ensures that concurrent transactions cannot interfere with each other. Each transaction sees the database as if it is the only transaction that is running.
Durability: Durability ensures that the changes made by a committed transaction are permanent, even if there is a system failure.
The ACID properties are ensured by the DBMS through a variety of mechanisms, such as locking, logging, and checkpoints.
Locking: Locking prevents other transactions from modifying data that is being modified by a transaction. This ensures that isolation is maintained.
Logging: Logging records all of the changes made by a transaction. This allows the DBMS to undo the changes made by a transaction if it fails, or to redo the changes if they are lost due to a system failure. This ensures that durability is maintained.
Checkpoints: Checkpoints periodically flush the contents of the database buffer to the disk. This ensures that the changes made by committed transactions are permanent, even if there is a system failure.
The ACID properties are essential for maintaining the integrity of data in a database. By ensuring that transactions are atomic, consistent, isolated, and durable, the ACID properties help to prevent data corruption and ensure that the database is always in a reliable state.
Here are some examples of how the ACID properties are used to ensure data integrity:
Atomicity: When you transfer money from one bank account to another, the ACID properties ensure that either all of the money is transferred successfully, or none of it is transferred. This prevents the possibility of one account having too much money and the other account having too little money.
Consistency: When you book a flight online, the ACID properties ensure that either your booking is confirmed and your seat is reserved, or your booking is not confirmed and your seat is not reserved. This prevents the possibility of multiple people booking the same seat on the same flight.
Isolation: When two people are shopping online at the same time, the ACID properties ensure that each person sees the same prices and product availability, even if the other person is adding items to their cart or checking out. This prevents the possibility of one person seeing a different price than the other person for the same product.
Durability: When you save a document to a cloud storage service, the ACID properties ensure that the document is saved permanently, even if there is a power outage or network outage. This prevents the possibility of losing your work.
The ACID properties are an essential part of any database management system. By understanding how the ACID properties work, you can be confident that your data is safe and secure.