What is the difference between isolation levels in SQL?

Can you explain the different isolation levels in SQL?

Sure! SQL has four main isolation levels: Read Uncommitted, Read Committed, Repeatable Read, and Serializable. Each level controls how transactions interact with each other.

What does Read Uncommitted mean?

Read Uncommitted allows transactions to read data that has been modified but not yet committed by other transactions. This can lead to dirty reads.

And what about Serializable?

Serializable is the strictest isolation level. It ensures complete isolation from other transactions, preventing any concurrent transactions from interfering with each other.

Which isolation level is the best to use?

It depends on your application's needs. If data accuracy is critical, Serializable is best, but it can reduce performance. For better performance with acceptable risks, Read Committed is often a good choice.