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Monday, June 21, 2004

Tuple Spaces: Queues or Databases?

Dan Creswell asks: Are tuple spaces more like queues or more like databases? They fit a broad set of niches between message queues and relational or object databases.

Queues can implement variations of one shared data structure: namely, queues.

Spaces can implement variations of shared queues, but also variations of shared arrays, shared dictionaries, and other "shared memory" (i.e. "random access") structures.

A space is typically centralized, where a queue product typically supports distributing the queue's end points around a network.

A space is typically better at heterogenous random access, where a more traditional database (e.g. a relational database) is typically better at homogenous sequential (and relational) access.

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Portland, Oregon, United States
I'm usually writing from my favorite location on the planet, the pacific northwest of the u.s. I write for myself only and unless otherwise specified my posts here should not be taken as representing an official position of my employer. Contact me at my gee mail account, username patrickdlogan.