Which of the following is incorrect for atomic commit protocol to solve a…

2022

Which of the following is incorrect for atomic commit protocol to solve a variation of the consensus problem?

  1. A.

    Termination

  2. B.

    Agreement

  3. C.

    Validity

  4. D.

    Sincerity

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Correct answer: D

Concept

An atomic commit protocol (such as two-phase commit) is a variation of the distributed consensus problem: every participant must reach one agreed-upon outcome for a transaction. Such a protocol is defined by a fixed set of correctness properties — Agreement, Validity, and Termination (with Integrity) — and any term outside this set is simply not a property of the protocol.

Application

Check each listed term against the defined correctness properties of an atomic commit / consensus protocol:

Term

A defined correctness property?

Agreement

Yes — all non-faulty participants reach the same final decision.

Validity

Yes — the decision is consistent with participants’ votes and transaction rules.

Termination

Yes — every correct participant must eventually decide.

Sincerity

No — it does not appear in the definition at all.

Result

Three of the listed terms are genuine required properties, so each correctly describes the protocol. “Sincerity” is not a property of any atomic commit or consensus protocol, so it is the statement that is incorrect for the protocol — which is exactly what the question asks for.

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