databases
4 posts — newest first.
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Sharding and Partitioning: Splitting Data Without Splitting Your Sanity
One database eventually runs out of one machine. Sharding buys headroom — but the shard key you pick is a near-permanent decision. Here's how to choose it.
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Write-Ahead Logging: How a Database Survives Being Killed Mid-Write
Pull the power on a database mid-transaction and it comes back intact. The trick is boring and universal: write your intent to a log before you touch the data.
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ACID, BASE, and Isolation Levels: What 'Consistent' Actually Means
ACID promises correctness; BASE trades it for scale — and your default isolation level is weaker than you think. A refresher on what 'consistent' means.
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B-tree vs LSM-tree: The Two Ways Databases Store Your Data
Almost every database is a read-optimized B-tree or a write-optimized LSM-tree underneath. Knowing which explains its performance and failure modes.