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PostgreSQL Glossary

ACID

A set of properties that guarantee database transactions are processed reliably: Atomicity (all operations succeed or fail together), Consistency (data in…

Definition

A set of properties that guarantee database transactions are processed reliably: Atomicity (all operations succeed or fail together), Consistency (data integrity is maintained), Isolation (concurrent transactions don't interfere), and Durability (committed changes persist).

What ACID Means in PostgreSQL

A set of properties that guarantee database transactions are processed reliably: Atomicity (all operations succeed or fail together), Consistency (data integrity is maintained), Isolation (concurrent transactions don't interfere), and Durability (committed changes persist).

ACID appears frequently in production operations, architecture decisions, and troubleshooting workflows. Understanding this term helps teams reason about reliability, performance, and safe change management.

Why ACID Matters

Teams that understand ACID can make better decisions on database design, incident response, and release safety.

In modern PostgreSQL environments, this concept often connects directly to backup strategy, performance tuning, and operational confidence.

  • Improves decision quality for production operations
  • Reduces avoidable troubleshooting time
  • Strengthens reliability and recovery planning

Practical Example

PostgreSQL ensures ACID compliance, making it suitable for financial applications where data integrity is critical.

Where To Learn More

You can explore deeper implementation patterns in the Vela articles library, review platform workflows in How Vela Works, and compare approaches in our PostgreSQL comparisons.

Related Glossary Topics

Atomicity Archiving (WAL Archiving) archive_command archive_mode BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) B-tree Index Backup (Logical vs Physical) Base Backup

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ACID in PostgreSQL?
A set of properties that guarantee database transactions are processed reliably: Atomicity (all operations succeed or fail together), Consistency (data integrity is maintained), Isolation (concurrent transactions don't interfere), and Durability (committed changes persist).
Why is ACID important?
ACID matters because it directly affects how teams build, operate, and recover PostgreSQL systems in production.
Can you give a practical ACID example?
PostgreSQL ensures ACID compliance, making it suitable for financial applications where data integrity is critical.
How does ACID relate to backup, recovery, or performance?
In most production deployments, ACID influences one or more of these areas: data safety, restore behavior, and performance under load.
What should teams check first when implementing ACID?
Start with clear operational goals, test in a non-production environment, and validate behavior with repeatable runbooks before relying on it in production.