ACID

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In computer science, ACID (atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequence of database operations that satisfies the ACID properties (which can be perceived as a single logical operation on the data) is called a transaction. For example, a transfer of funds from one bank account to another, even involving multiple changes such as debiting one account and crediting another, is a single transaction.

In 1983,^[1] Andreas Reuter and Theo Härder coined the acronym ACID, building on earlier work by Jim Gray^[2] who named atomicity, consistency, and durability, but not isolation, when characterizing the transaction concept. These four properties are the major guarantees of the transaction paradigm, which has influenced many aspects of development in database systems.

According to Gray and Reuter, the IBM Information Management System supported ACID transactions as early as 1973 (although the acronym was created later).^[3]