Clustering in object-oriented databases
Everton G. de Paula, Michael L. Nelson · ACM SIGPLAN OOPS Messenger · 1992
Object-oriented database management systems are still a relatively new area, with many unanswered questions as to their performance. Objects can be clustered on disk (i.e., stored in contiguous storage areas) so that when accessing one object in a cluster, all of the objects in that cluster are brought into main memory. Thus when accessing additional objects in the cluster, it is then a main memory operation rather than a disk operation. Unfortunately, determing which objects to cluster together is often left entirely up to the user, and an improper clustering scheme can severly degrade system performance. This paper presents a set of guidelines for developing a clustering scheme, using an actual application as an example.