The state of the art of distributed databases

Distributed database is an exciting concept since it combines the functional advantages of an integrated database with the economic advantages of a distributed implementation. However, a potential implementor may well ask how much expensive special purpose software must be produced locally or otherwise added to realise a distributed database or, in other words, how much support for the distributed database concept is currently available from manufacturers or software vendors. This paper outlines the requirements of distributed database systems and attempts to survey the present level of support.