ACID transactions

ACID transactions refers to database inserts, updates, and deletions that have four characteristics:

• Atomicity - each statement in a transaction (to read, write, update, or delete date) is treated as a single unit; that is, either the entire statement is executed, or none of it is executed
• Consistency - transactions only update tables in predefined, predictable ways
• Isolation - when multiple users are reading and writing from the same table at once, their transactions don’t interfere with each other
• Durability - changes to data will be saved, even in a system failure

The use of ACID transactions ensures data reliability and integrity. ACID transactions prevent data from falling into an inconsistent state because an operation has partially completed. 

Data lakes often do not support ACID transactions. Data warehouses and data lakehouses do support ACID transactions. (This is one of the defining characteristics of the data lakehouse vs. the data lake.) 

Related terms: data lake; data lakehouse 

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On the Onehouse website: 

• Apache Hudi vs Delta Lake vs Apache Iceberg
• Building a Data Lakehouse: Managed vs. Do-it-Yourself