Integrity
This page currently lists invariants that can be maintained with Rich-CRDTs.
Todo: provide more information about how we preserving referential integrity and which techniques are currently implemented
Non nullity
An attribute of an entity cannot have a null value.
Unique identifier
An identifier refers to a single element in a collection.
Uniqueness constraints can be maintained by ensuring disjoin identifier spaces between identifier generators and pseudo-random unique identifier generator.
Unique sequence
An identifier refers to a single element in a collection and new identifiers are generated in a sequence.
Provide a total order between elements that respects the generation order. Identifier generation requires coordination to ensure no gaps in the sequence.
Prefixed unique sequence
An identifier refers to a single element in a collection and new identifiers are created following a prefixed sequence.
Provides a total order of elements generated from a single source without coordination. Relative ordering of identifiers generated in different sources is determined by the prefix.
Monotonicity
The value of an object is entirely increasing, or entirely non-decreasing.
In practice, this can be used to ensure that once a value of some variable is set it can’t go back to “smaller” value. For instance, once a flag is set true, no other operation might set it false, or vice versa.
Numerical bounds
Numerical bounds express an inequality against a constant or another variable.
Each side of the inequality can be a single number, or an arithmetic expression. Numerical bounds are typically expressed through CHECK constraints.
Referential integrity
In a relationship where two entities are linked by a uni/bi-directional relation, the entity on the referenced side of the relation must exist.
Relational databases use relations: “belongs to”, “has one/many” and “ManyToMany” to associate entities in a schema.
Tree invariant
A tree is an undirected graph in which any two nodes are connected by exactly one path.
Graphs can have constraints on the connections between nodes. A Tree is a particular graph in which there are no cycles and no multiple paths to the same node. Can be used to represent hierarchical structures, such as filesystems.