What is the difference between sequential consistency and strong consistency?

What is the difference between sequential consistency and strong consistency?

Sequential consistency ensures that operations appear to be executed in some sequential order, while strong consistency guarantees that all operations are seen by all nodes in the same order.

Can you give an example of each?

Sure! In sequential consistency, if one operation completes before another starts, all nodes will see them in that order. In strong consistency, if a write operation is acknowledged, all subsequent reads will reflect that write immediately.

Which one is better for a distributed system?

It depends on the use case. Strong consistency is better for applications requiring immediate consistency, while sequential consistency can offer better performance in scenarios where some delay is acceptable.

What are the trade-offs involved?

The trade-offs include performance vs. consistency. Strong consistency can lead to higher latency and reduced availability, while sequential consistency may allow for more concurrency but can lead to stale reads.