On some metrics for databases or what is a very large database?

"what is a very large database?" was a question heard often at the first International Conference on Very Large Data Bases(VLDBs). It is clear that the question is of interest to a large number of users and researchers in the database field[S]. • After some study, we have concludes that there has been little written at all on the question of now one can measure databases. ~lany articles have appeared that analyze or measure the performance of a specific algorithm or data organization method, but none seem to have focused on intrinsic measures of the database itself. This paper proposes a set of measures that can De determined by examining tne database itself, i.e. its structure and the particular set of data that comprise it at any point in time. ~e describe the rationale behind these measures, how they can be computed, and provide some examples and insights into how they might be used. Finally, we show one such use Dy defining the term "very large database."