A Ring Model for Data Anomalies.

A distributed system keeps consistency by disallowing data anomalies. However, especially in the database, the definitions of data anomalies in the current ANSI standard are controversial. The standard does not include all anomalies and does not introduce characters of anomalies. First, the definitions lack a mathematical formalization and cause ambiguous interpretations. Second, the definitions of anomalies are case-by-case, which could not have a comprehensive understanding of data anomalies. In this paper, we propose a ring anomalies detection method (the bingo model) in the distribution system and applying it to databases. The bingo model introduces anomalies construction and gives the base anomalies formalization method. Based on anomalies we propose consistency levels. We prove the simplified anomaly rings in the model to classified anomalies to give the independent consistency levels. We specify the bingo model to databases and find 22 anomalies in addition to existing anomalies.