Database systems: Issues in the design of a distributed record management system

Inexpensive processors will lead to powerful new tools for constructing software systems. However, the introduction of intelligent hardware may be limited by software architecture. If intelligence has been stripped away in the process of top-down refinement, new devices will be constrained to behave like their unintelligent predecessors. Software design will have to be flexible in distributing intelligence to accommodate processor-based tools gracefully. I discuss a conventional design for a record-retrieval facility. Some features that are acceptable and even attractive in a single-processor environment are shown to limit use of multiple processors and smart peripherals. I propose a less conventional design that can exploit special-purpose hardware and provide a smooth growth path from single-processor systems.