Answer
Pessimistic: Uses locks to avoid conflicts; good for heavy-write systems.
Optimistic: Uses row versioning; detects conflicts at commit.
Quick Answer
Pessimistic: lock the data before you use it — nobody else can change it until you're done. Low concurrency but zero conflict risk. Optimistic: don't lock on read; check at commit time if data changed. Higher concurrency but requires retry logic on conflict. SQL Server's Snapshot Isolation is an optimistic approach.
S
SugharaIQ Editorial Team
Verified Answer
This answer has been peer-reviewed by industry experts holding senior engineering roles to ensure technical accuracy and relevance for modern interview standards.
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Source: SugharaIQ