An Assertional Characterization of Serializability

Abstract

Serializability is usually defined operationally in terms of sequences of operations. This paper gives another definition of serializability- -interms of sequences of states. It also shows how this definition can be used to prove correctness of solutions to the concurrency control problem. A database system is a computer system that stores information. Consistency constraints restrict system states to those that are meaningful; transactions are designed so that each individually transforms the database from one consistent state to another. For example, in a database for a banking application, a consistency constraint might relate cash -on-hand to the sum of the account balances; a transaction for a deposit would adjust both an account balance and cash-on-hand, preserving the consistency constraint.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 28, 1989
Accession Number
ADA213323

Entities

People

  • E. R. Mccurley
  • Fred B. Schneider

Organizations

  • Cornell University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Computing-Related Activities
  • Concrete
  • Consistency
  • Construction
  • Couplings
  • Databases
  • Language
  • Military Research
  • Multithreading
  • New York
  • Programming Languages
  • Sequences
  • Universities

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Mathematical Modeling and Probability Theory.
  • Parallel and Distributed Computing.