Re: 'Official' definition of ACID compliance?

From: Richard_D_Levine(at)raytheon(dot)com
To: Russ Brown <pickscrape(at)gmail(dot)com>
Cc: pgsql-general(at)postgresql(dot)org, pgsql-general-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org
Subject: Re: 'Official' definition of ACID compliance?
Date: 2006-01-05 22:07:52
Message-ID: OF1BA6E61E.62DA9957-ON052570ED.00790964-052570ED.00799224@ftw.us.ray.com
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pgsql-general-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org wrote on 01/05/2006 04:00:37 PM:

> On Thu, 5 Jan 2006 15:11:49 -0500
> Jaime Casanova <systemguards(at)gmail(dot)com> wrote:
>
> > On 1/5/06, Richard_D_Levine(at)raytheon(dot)com
> > <Richard_D_Levine(at)raytheon(dot)com> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > pgsql-general-owner(at)postgresql(dot)org wrote on 01/05/2006 01:59:52 PM:
> > > <snip>
> > > > so the problem is that MySQL _forces_ a consistent state but in
> > > > the process it violates the integrity of the data
> > > >
> > > That is a contradiction in terms. Data integrity is a requirement
> > > of database consistency.
> > >
> > >
> >
> > maybe, but it seems what happen in MySQL... because it forces a
> > consistent state (one the fullfill the rules and constraints of the
> > database) but when doing it it breaks or silently change your data...
> >
> > so the data can be saved because it's legal data but not correct
> > data... then it is consistent to the machine but not for you...
> >
>
> See, this is why I was looking for some sort of 'official' definition
> of the term, to remove the ambiguity introduced by individual
> interpretation. :)
>
> Anyone know who came up with the term in the first place?

Two Points: Russ is right, nobody has answered his question. One link is a
Wikipedia entry, and the other a college student's fulfillment of an
assignment (excellent work, but not authoritative, unless there's a
bibliography that I missed containing an authoritative source.)

Second, if the integer that overflowed was a foreign key, would you agree
that consistency has been destroyed? Answer yes.

Another point: not all database constraints are coded in the database, but
are upheld by the application using the database. If that application's
SQL malfunctions without a rollback, consistency is shot.

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