• A theoretical computer science theorem that states that it is impossible for a distributed data store to simultaneously provide more than two out of the following three guarantees: 1) Consistency: Every read receives the most recent write or an error. 2) Availability: Every request receives a (non-error) response, without the guarantee that it contains the most recent write. 3) Partition tolerance: The system continues to operate despite an arbitrary number of messages being dropped (or delayed) by the network between nodes. The CAP Theorem implies that in the presence of a network partition, one has to choose between consistency and availability. ← Wikipedia

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