https://aalhour.com/feed

Crash-only confidence, part 1: from random kills to exact boundaries

Ahmad Alhour Apr 23, 2026 Updated May 16, 2026

Databases

A crash test that cannot explain itself is mostly theater.

https://aalhour.com/posts/beachdb-crash-testing-part1/

Making the on-disk state real: Sorted-String Tables (SSTables)

Ahmad Alhour Apr 5, 2026 Updated May 16, 2026

Databases

Files are easy; files you can trust, inspect, and recover from are the real step.

https://aalhour.com/posts/beachdb-sstables-v1/

The Memtable: where writes go to wait

Ahmad Alhour Feb 21, 2026 Updated May 16, 2026

Databases

Before the disk gets involved, memory has to learn the rules.

https://aalhour.com/posts/beachdb-memtable-v1/

The syscall I forgot: directory fsync

Ahmad Alhour Feb 15, 2026 Updated May 16, 2026

Databases

Sometimes the missing durability bug is one directory above where you were looking.

https://aalhour.com/posts/beachdb-the-syscall-i-forgot/

Durability is a promise you can't hand-wave: Write-Ahead Log (WAL)

Ahmad Alhour Feb 11, 2026 Updated May 16, 2026

Databases

Once bytes leave your process, the comforting story gets complicated.

https://aalhour.com/posts/beachdb-wal-v1-milestone/