Module 4: ACID and Database Scalability Trade-offs

Module Overview

SQL or NoSQL? Why not both! Picking the right database for a situation can be a tricky problem, with many tradeoffs. SQL gives us ACID (Atomicity Consistency Isolation Durability) guarantees and powerful analytical queries, and NoSQL gives us huge scale and usually "good enough" guarantees. But innovation is happening all the time, with NewSQL proposing to give us the best of both worlds.

Learning Objectives

1. Be able to explain how ACID Database properties and Scalability Tradeoffs apply to SQL and NoSQL databases

• Define and explain the ACID properties in database systems
• Analyze how ACID properties affect database performance
• Understand scalability challenges in SQL databases
• Evaluate tradeoffs between consistency and availability
• Compare different database scaling strategies
• Identify when ACID compliance is crucial for applications

2. Understand and explain the advantages and disadvantages of SQL and NoSQL databases

• Compare SQL and NoSQL database architectures
• Analyze performance characteristics of different database types
• Evaluate use cases for SQL vs NoSQL solutions
• Understand data consistency models in distributed systems
• Assess scalability options for different database types
• Make informed decisions about database selection

Guided Project

Sprint 10 ACID and Database Scalability Trade-offs Video

Resources

GitHub Repo

Guided Project File:

guided-project.md

Module Assignment

Please read the assignment.md file in the GitHub repository for detailed instructions

Assignment File:

assignment.md

Assignment Solution Video

Check for Understanding

Make sure you can answer the following questions about ACID properties and database scalability:

  • What are the ACID properties and why are they important for database transactions?
  • What is the CAP theorem and how does it apply to distributed database systems?
  • When would you choose a SQL database over a NoSQL database, and vice versa?
  • How does database sharding work and what are its advantages and challenges?
  • What are NewSQL databases and how do they aim to combine the benefits of SQL and NoSQL?

Additional Resources

Helpful Database Resources

MongoDB Basics Documentation MongoDB Acid Transaction Basics PostgreSQL Transaction Isolation Understanding Database Consistency Models