ACID - Isolation

ACID - Isolation


Isolation is the ACID property that guarantees concurrent transactions do not interfere with one another, ensuring that the intermediate state of one transaction is never visible to others. This is achieved through Multiversion Concurrency Control (MVCC) and Snapshot Isolation for reads. These mechanisms allow multiple simultaneous writers to modify a table using write serialization while guaranteeing that readers always see a stable, consistent snapshot of the data in exact serial order.



Guaranteed Consistency: Processes reading a Delta table are insulated from the complexities of multiple simultaneous writers and are guaranteed to read a consistent snapshot of the table.

Concurrent Operations: Isolation enables high-volume transactional systems (like Delta Lake) to safely support multiple concurrent writers. It prevents streaming applications from being interrupted or failing due to concurrent writer operations.

Zero Trust Context: In security (ZTA), isolation shifts from network-based segmentation (using IP addresses or subnets) to identity-based segmentation, providing a form of runtime isolation for applications.





Isolation | Guarantees that concurrent transactions do not interfere with one another. | Multiversion Concurrency Control (MVCC); Snapshot isolation for reads. |

Processes reading a given Delta table are insulated from the complexities of multiple simultaneous writers and are guaranteed to read a consistent snapshot of the Delta table in exact serial order.



Source: Atomicity and the Pillars of ACID Integrity; The Definitive Guide - Delta Lake • Page: 11, 22, 195, 354, 376, 381 • Key: leeDeltaLakeDefinitive