Not every concurrent database update needs the same locking strategy.

Imagine two users trying to book the last available seat on a flight. Both see that the seat is available and click “Book” almost simultaneously. Without proper concurrency control, both requests might attempt to reserve the same seat.

Ruby on Rails provides two common locking strategies to handle these situations: optimistic locking and pessimistic locking .

But the important question isn’t just how they work. It’s when should you choose one over the other?

Let’s explore the differences through practical Rails examples.

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