A write-ahead log is not a universal part of durability

https://notes.eatonphil.com/2024-07-01-a-write-ahead-log-is-not-a-universal-part-of-durability.html

A nice tour through what durability is, why you might want a write-ahead log, and what they do and do not bring to the table.

If you want a dive into a particular WAL, I was reminded of this post from Ben Johnson about the sqlite WAL, which I'm surprised I haven't previously linked in these notes.

That post is part of a series about how SQLite works from the excellent Ben Johnson:

• SQLite internals: pages & b-trees
• How SQLite helps you do ACID
• How the SQLite virtual machine works
• How SQLite scales read concurrency