Systems
Dirty Reads, Explained
A dirty read returns an uncommitted value from another transaction. If that transaction rolls back, the reader observed a value that was never part of committed database state.
Aug 8, 2026·5 min read
Latest essays
Systems
Non-Repeatable Reads, Explained
A transaction reads the same row twice and gets two different committed values. The isolation level determines whether both reads use the same database state.
Aug 8, 2026·5 min read
Systems
Phantom Reads, Explained
A transaction repeats a search and finds an additional matching row. The existing rows did not change, but another transaction committed a new row that satisfies the same query.
Aug 8, 2026·9 min read
Pattern library
Feature Flags: Decouple Deployment from Release
Deploying code to production is irreversible in the short term - when something goes wrong, rolling back requires another deploy, which takes time and may have its own risks. Feature flag allows you to revert fast
feature-flagsoperabilitydeploymentsafetydark-launching
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