jargon

Backend & systems·Transactions and isolation

you ask both databases to prepare, wait for both to say yes, and only then tell both to commit.

Two-phase commit

Also called2PC, XA

A protocol for making one transaction span multiple resources: a prepare round, then a commit round once all participants agree. It gives atomicity across systems and takes availability in exchange — if the coordinator dies between phases, participants sit blocked holding locks. This is why distributed systems mostly prefer sagas to 2PC.

Commonly confused with