SkipSaving

SkipSaving is a design concept used in software systems to control whether changes to data are persisted to durable storage. It is typically exposed as a boolean option or flag in APIs, components, or configuration settings. When skipSaving is enabled, operations update in-memory state or temporary storage but do not write changes to a database, file system, or other persistent backend. The behavior is common in testing, dry-run modes, batch processing, or user interfaces that support non-destructive previews.

Usage: In data processing or content management workflows, skipSaving can be paired with a separate save or commit action. For example, a workflow may apply transformations to records in memory and then call saveOnly if certain conditions are met. In form editors, skipSaving might allow users to preview edits before committing them.

Considerations: Enabling skipSaving trades durability for latency and resource usage. It can reduce I/O load and improve performance but increases the risk of data loss and inconsistency if the operation ends unexpectedly. Applications should ensure an explicit save path is available and handle partial state correctly. Consistency models, error handling, and transactional guarantees should be designed with skipSaving in mind.

Implementation notes: In code, skipSaving is often implemented as a guard around persistence calls, or as a runtime configuration flag read by the persistence layer. It may interact with autosave, transactions, and rollback mechanisms. Documentation should clarify when data is persisted and how to move from skipSaving mode to normal persistence.

See also: autosave, save, commit, dry-run, persistence, transaction.