Providing eventual consistency for multi-shard transactions

A database system configured to provide eventual consistency for a multi-shard transaction, comprising:

• a transaction database configured to store transaction records, wherein each transaction record includes a transaction identifier and a transaction status;
• a coordinator configured to:
• receive a write transaction including multiple actions directed to different database shards;
• and
• initiate, in parallel, execution of multiple actions associated with the write transaction on the different database shards;
• and
• a database server hosting a database shard to which an action from the multiple actions is directed, the database server configured to:
• receive the action corresponding to the write transaction to update a data item stored on the database shard;
• and
• associate a data structure to the data item, wherein the data structure includes a transaction identifier pointing to a transaction record in the transaction database and new data to be applied to the data item to update the data item.

A computer-readable memory device storing instructions configured to, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform the method for providing eventual consistency for a multi-shard transaction, comprising:

• instructions for receiving a write transaction including multiple actions directed to different shards of a database;
• instructions for creating a transaction record for the write transaction in a transaction database, wherein the transaction record includes a transaction identifier and a transaction status;
• instructions for executing, in parallel, the multiple actions on the different shards by associating with each data item involved in the write transaction a data structure that includes the transaction identifier and new data to be applied to the data item;
• and
• instructions for updating the transaction status in the transaction record for the write transaction from pending to completed when each of the multiple actions is successfully executed on the corresponding shard.