Linearizability

This article duplicates the scope of other articles, specifically serializability and atomicity (database systems). Please discuss this issue and help introduce a summary style to the article. (November 2018)

In concurrent programming, an operation (or set of operations) is linearizable if it consists of an ordered list of invocation and response events, that may be extended by adding response events such that:

1. The extended list can be re-expressed as a sequential history (is serializable).
2. That sequential history is a subset of the original unextended list.

Informally, this means that the unmodified list of events is linearizable if and only if its invocations were serializable, but some of the responses of the serial schedule have yet to return.^[1]

In a concurrent system, processes can access a shared object at the same time. Because multiple processes are accessing a single object, a situation may arise in which while one process is accessing the object, another process changes its contents. Making a system linearizable is one solution to this problem. In a linearizable system, although operations overlap on a shared object, each operation appears to take place instantaneously. Linearizability is a strong correctness condition, which constrains what outputs are possible when an object is accessed by multiple processes concurrently. It is a safety property which ensures that operations do not complete unexpectedly or unpredictably. If a system is linearizable it allows a programmer to reason about the system.^[2]