ITPEC FE Subject A April 2024 Question 22

Source exam: ITPEC FE Subject A April 2024Topic: Databases

ITPEC FE Subject A April 2024 — Question 22 of 60

Deadlock Resolution — rollback is used to break a deadlock and return to normal state.

When a deadlock occurs (two or more transactions wait on each other's locks), the DBMS selects a victim transaction and performs a rollback:

  • Rollback — undoes all changes of the victim transaction, releasing its locks
  • The other transaction can then proceed normally
  • The rolled-back transaction can be retried

Why not others:
- (a) Commit — cannot commit a transaction that is stuck waiting for a lock

- (b) Drop — a DDL command to remove database objects; unrelated to deadlock resolution

- (d) Roll Forward — replays committed changes from the redo log during crash recovery, not during deadlock handling

Key rule: Deadlock → DBMS picks a victim → Rollback → locks released → normal state restored.

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