Handling of mutual conflicts in distributed databases using timestamps

In distributed database systems, it is desirable to allow read and write ac cesses to occur independently on replicated copies of database files in cas e of network partitions to increase availability. However, the system shoul d detect mutual conflicts among the copies of the database files when sites from different partitions merge to form one partition. We present a timest amp-based algorithm for the detection of both write-write and read-write co nflicts for a single file in distributed databases when sites from differen t partitions merge, Our algorithm allows read and write operations to occur in different network partitions simultaneously. When the sites from two di fferent partitions merge, the algorithm detects and resolves both read-writ e and write-write conflicts with the help of stored timestamps using some a dditional information. Once the conflicts have been detected, we propose so me reconciliation steps for the resolution of conflicts to bring the file i nto some consistent state. Our algorithm does not take into account the sem antics of the transactions while detecting and resolving conflicts. Our alg orithm will be useful in real-time systems where timeliness of operations i s more important than response time (delayed commit).