I applied to two new graduate positions with identical job descriptions. I received a rejection for one position and about a week later, an email stating they were interested in scheduling a phone interview for the other.

I have about a year and a half of work experience. During the interview, I was asked a few questions about my current job and to explain how the whole system works. Then, I was asked some very mundane computer science fundamental questions. I felt the interviewer was interested in textbook definitions. He then asked me a simple coding question (loop in a linked list) and asked me to explain the algorithm. Finally, he posed a puzzle.

Explain the ACID principle of databases.