would you consider the internet a distributed database?

Question

would you consider the internet a distributed database? Since there are many databases on computers hooked up to the internet, does it qualify as a distributed database? Explain and justify your answer. If the answer is “YES”, then explain what attributes make the internet a distributed database. If your answer is “NO”, then what is missing?

Answer 1

No. The Internet is not a database (as the term is used in common usage) because although it stores information like a database, and can be used to access that data, it is a larger entity having many more characteristics. The Internet is a network of computers (nodes) that can be used as a vehicle to serve up files located on one or more computers at one or more IP addresses or URIs (see sources)(which themselves can be databases).



A distributed database is a set of tables organized into a file or multiple files that contain rows or "records". The database application can access these files and rebuild the database, or query the appropriate tables for the necessary records and process them to satisfy a user query. If the database is "distributed" then the files are stored on multiple computers at one or possibly several IP addresses. The term distributed just means that the files are stored at different locations (computers).



This is a great question and thought provoking because databases as we know them (or knew them) have acquired a larger scope and become defined by their ability to be distributed.



Maybe the term database needs to be redefined???



Cool. I don't think there is any right or wrong answer, it just depends on how loosely you use your terms.

Answer 2

No. A distributed database is a single database in which the rows are divided up into more than one table, spread over one or more systems. For instance indexed records from "a-j" can be found in one table, while "k-z" are in another table.



The entire database can be merged as one, but are distributed over a network.



information on the internet is widely varied, and does not fit the description of a single database table.

Answer 3

nah, it is just the internet users that are disturbed