The Database Entropy Concept And Its Application To The Data Allocation Problem*
K. T. Fung, C. M. Lam · INFOR Information Systems and Operational Research · 1980
The database entropy concept is applied to a very important aspect of the analysis and design of distributed databases: the data allocation problem. The entropy of a query system and the excess entropy of a database are derived to provide powerful tools that can be used to permit the convenient comparison of various data distributions among the nodes in the computer network supporting the distributed database. In some illustrative examples the results obtained using this entropy approach are verified by comparison with those obtained through a quadratic program modelling method.