Concepts

Normalization, Denormalization, and ORM vs Stored ProceduresDB Design (DB Series 3/4)

Part three of the DB series, on design. The anomalies that duplication causes and the first three normal forms, denormalizing only for measured bottlenecks, and whether business logic belongs in an ORM or in stored procedures.

Aug 3, 2026

ACID, Isolation Levels, and Redo/UndoDB Transactions (DB Series 2/4)

Part two of the DB series. ACID is what a transaction promises, isolation levels are the dial that trades isolation for speed, and Redo/Undo is how atomicity and durability survive a crash.

Jul 27, 2026

Optimistic vs Pessimistic Locking, and DeadlocksDB Concurrency Control (DB Series 1/4)

The first post in a database series: deadlocks and livelocks, how to choose between pessimistic and optimistic locking, and an UPDATE without a WHERE that logged out every user.

Jul 22, 2026