.NET Architecture & System Design Interview Question #77

What does ACID mean in database systems?

Transactions, CQRS, Event Sourcing & Distributed Consistency Mid-Level Intermediate

Quick Interview Answer

ACID stands for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability. Atomicity means a transaction's changes succeed as a unit. Consistency means valid database rules are preserved. Isolation controls how concurrent transactions interact. Durability means committed changes survive expected failures.

Detailed Explanation

ACID stands for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability. Atomicity means a transaction's changes succeed as a unit. Consistency means valid database rules are preserved. Isolation controls how concurrent transactions interact. Durability means committed changes survive expected failures.

ACID describes transaction guarantees, but the exact isolation and durability behavior depends on the database configuration and technology.

Code Example

A = Atomicity
C = Consistency
I = Isolation
D = Durability