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Book Exercise Lanes

This module's exercise system is book-driven. Use these local chunks for targeted volume after you have already learned the concept from the guide.

How To Use This Page​

  1. Finish the relevant concept page first.
  2. Solve at least one problem of your own from memory.
  3. Only then open the matching exercise lane.
  4. Keep a mistake log with tags such as misnamed anomaly, wrong PG isolation mapping, 2PC in-doubt recovery wrong, saga compensation missing idempotency, linearizability violation missed, CAP overclaim, PACELC mislabel.

Lane 1: ACID and Recovery​

Use this lane when the issue is property separation, WAL mechanics, or recovery reasoning.

Target outcomes:

  • 1 ACID property map: for each of four common DB features, label A, C, I, or D and justify.
  • 3 worked ARIES recovery traces from a mock log (at least one with a checkpoint inside an active transaction).
  • 1 written failure-mode analysis: "given write cache W, fsync policy F, and replication R, what breaks?"

Lane 2: Anomalies and Isolation Levels​

Use this lane when you can state what an anomaly is but cannot recognize it mid-schedule.

Target outcomes:

  • 6 interleaved-schedule drawings, one per anomaly, each labeled with the weakest PostgreSQL level that prevents it.
  • 5 write-skew variants beyond on-call doctors (fresh scenarios).
  • 3 PostgreSQL experiment logs (dirty-read, lost-update, write-skew) with fix shown.
  • 1 written engine-to-level mapping: for five real engines, which isolation name maps to what actual semantics.

Lane 3: Concurrency Control Implementations​

Use this lane when you want to distinguish 2PL, SI, and SSI implementations or reason about contention.

Target outcomes:

  • 3 2PL schedules drawn with lock acquisition/release annotations, including one deadlock.
  • 3 MVCC version chain diagrams for an update-heavy hot row, including a long reader scenario.
  • 1 rw-antidependency graph for a write-skew pattern, with cycle flagged.
  • 1 written choice memo: for a given workload sketch, recommend 2PL, SI, or SSI and justify.

Lane 4: Distributed Transactions and Sagas​

Use this lane when concept pages are clear but you cannot compose a coordinated workflow from scratch.

Target outcomes:

  • 1 2PC state machine drawn by hand for both roles with fsync points marked.
  • 2 2PC failure traces explained at each step with the recovery action.
  • 1 full saga design (forward + compensation tables + runbook) for a non-trivial workflow.
  • 1 side-by-side comparison of "2PC vs saga" for the same workflow.

Lane 5: Consistency Models​

Use this lane when anomaly vocabulary is solid but distributed consistency still feels slippery.

Target outcomes:

  • 3 linearizability-by-hand analyses of histories with wall-clock annotations.
  • 1 causal-vs-eventual anomaly description from a real-feeling application.
  • 1 vendor-claim translation: pick one storage product docs page and produce an honest consistency contract.
  • 1 PACELC label sheet for at least eight systems with justifications.

Self-Curated Problem Set​

Build a custom set with these minimums:

  • 6 interleaved schedules (one per anomaly) drawn by hand.
  • 3 PostgreSQL reproductions + fixes with terminal transcripts.
  • 2 2PC failure traces with written recovery.
  • 2 saga designs (one with a non-trivial compensation failure mode).
  • 3 linearizability-by-hand analyses on fresh histories.

Completion Checklist​

  • Completed at least one lane in full.
  • Logged at least 12 real mistakes and corrections (isolation-level mapping, anomaly misnaming, 2PC state confusion, causal vs linearizable conflation).
  • Reproduced lost update and write skew on a real PostgreSQL instance.
  • Drew 2PC state machine for coordinator and participant from memory.
  • Designed at least one saga end-to-end with compensation and runbook.
  • Analyzed at least three linearizability histories by hand.