Characteristics of scientific databases
The purpose of this paper is to examine the kinds of data and usage of scientific databases and to identify common characteristics among the different disciplines. Most scientific databases do not use general purpose database management systems (DBMSs). The main reason is that they have data structures and usage patterns that cannot be easily accommodated by existing DBMSs. It is the purpose of this paper to identify the special database management needs of scientific databases, and to point out directions for further research specifically oriented to these needs. In the past, we have studied ''statistical databases'', which are databases that are primarily collected for statistical analysis purposes. We have found that the observations and techniques developed for statistical databases are useful for scientific databases. The reason that common characteristics exist is that many scientific databases are often subject to statistical analysis. However, we found that scientific databases have additional stages of data collection and analysis that induce more complexity. We discuss the different types of scientific databases, and list the properties identified for them. Ten examples are then analyzed with respect to the types of data and their properties, and summarized in two tables. Conclusions are drawn as to the preferable data management methods needed in support of scientific databases.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC03-76SF00098
- OSTI ID:
- 5465963
- Report Number(s):
- LBL-17582; CONF-8408157-1; ON: DE85010986
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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