🛢DBMS: Dirty Read (Definitions)

"Occurs when one transaction modifies a row, and then a second transaction reads that row before the first transaction commits the change. If the first transaction rolls back the change, the information read by the second transaction becomes invalid." (Karen Paulsell et al, "Sybase SQL Server: Performance and Tuning Guide", 1996)

"Reads that contain uncommitted data. For example, transaction 1 changes a row. Transaction 2 reads the changed row before transaction 1 commits the change. If transaction 1 rolls back the change, transaction 2 reads a row that is considered to have never existed." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"A problem arising with concurrent transactions. The Dirty Read problem occurs when a transaction reads a row that has been changed but not committed by another transaction. The result is that Transaction #2's work is based on a change that never really happened. You can avoid Dirty Read by using an isolation level of READ COMMITTED or higher." (Peter Gulutzan & Trudy Pelzer, "SQL Performance Tuning", 2002)

"A problem with uncontrolled concurrent use of a database where a transaction acts on data that have been modified by an update transaction that hasn't committed and is later rolled back." (Jan L Harrington, "Relational Database Design and Implementation" 3rd Ed., 2009)

"The problem that arises when a transaction reads the same data more than once, including data modified by concurrent transactions that are later rolled back." (Jan L Harrington, "SQL Clearly Explained" 3rd Ed., 2010)

"A read that contains uncommitted data." (Microsoft, "SQL Server 2012 Glossary", 2012)

"A read request that does not involve any locking mechanism. This means that data can be read that might later be rolled back resulting in an inconsistency between what was read and what is in the database." (IBM, "Informix Servers 12.1", 2014)

 "A transaction reads data that has been written by another transaction that has not been committed yet. Oracle Database never permits dirty reads." (Oracle)

"An operation that retrieves unreliable data, data that was updated by another transaction but not yet committed. It is only possible with the isolation level known as read uncommitted. This kind of operation does not adhere to the ACID principle of database design. It is considered very risky, because the data could be rolled back, or updated further before being committed; then, the transaction doing the dirty read would be using data that was never confirmed as accurate." (MySQL)

"Reads that contain uncommitted data." (Microsoft Technet)

🛢DBMS: Trace (Definitions)

"The process of recording the sequence in which the statements in a program are executed and, optionally, the values of the program variables used in the statements." (Sybase, "Glossary", 2005)

"The SQL Profiler method for recording server events." (Thomas Moore, "EXAM CRAM™ 2: Designing and Implementing Databases with SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition", 2005)

"This is a record of data that has been captured about events in Profiler." (Joseph L Jorden & Dandy Weyn, "MCTS Microsoft SQL Server 2005: Implementation and Maintenance Study Guide - Exam 70-431", 2006)

"A collection of events and related performance data returned by SQL Server’s database engine." (Victor Isakov et al, "MCITP Administrator: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Optimization and Maintenance (70-444) Study Guide", 2007)

"A trace is a collection of events and data. SQL Profiler is used to collect and monitor events. Creating a trace is sometimes referred to as capturing events." (Darril Gibson, "MCITP SQL Server 2005 Database Developer All-in-One Exam Guide", 2008)

"A collection of events and data returned by the Database Engine." (Microsoft, "SQL Server 2012 Glossary", 2012)

"A record of the processing of a computer program or transaction. The information collected from a trace can be used to assess problems and performance." (IBM, "Informix Servers 12.1", 2014)

"In DB2 replication, a facility that is used to collect monitoring, auditing, and performance data for the Capture program, the Q Capture program, the Apply program, the Q Apply program, or the Replication Alert Monitor." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

🛢DBMS: Data Synchronization (Definitions)

"In replication, the process that ensures the publication and destination tables contain the same schema and data. This process must occur before a subscription server can receive replicated transactions from an article or a publication." (Patrick Dalton, "Microsoft SQL Server Black Book", 1997)

"Refers to the process in which the article or articles subscribed to on a subscription server are initially synchronized with the original article or articles on the publication server." (Owen Williams, "MCSE TestPrep: SQL Server 6.5 Design and Implementation", 1998)

[automatic synchronization:] "Synchronization that is accomplished automatically by SQL Server when a server initially subscribes to a publication. A snapshot of the table data and schema are written to files for transfer to the Subscriber. The table schema and data are transferred by the distribution agent. No operator intervention is required." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"The process of maintaining the same schema and data in a publication at a Publisher and in the replica of a publication at a Subscriber. See also initial snapshot." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"The process of ensuring that the publication and destination tables contain the same schema and data. This process must occur before a new Subscriber can receive replicated transactions from a publication. It is also called initial synchronization." (Microsoft Corporation, "Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Data Warehouse Training Kit", 2000)

"Synchronization is the process in replication of maintaining the same schema and data at a Publisher and at a Subscriber." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"Integrating, matching, or linking data from disparate sources." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"The continuous harmonization of data attribute values between two or more different systems, with the end result being the data attribute values are the same in all of the systems." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

[initial synchronization:] "The first synchronization for a subscription, during which system tables and other objects that are required by replication, and the schema and data for each article, are copied to the Subscriber." (Microsoft, "SQL Server 2012 Glossary", 2012)

"The process by which a satellite downloads and runs the same DB2 database commands, operating system commands, and SQL statements from the satellite control server as the other members of its group download and then reports the results to the satellite control server." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

"A form of embedded middleware that allows applications to update data on two systems so that the data sets are identical. These services can run via a variety of different transports but typically require some application-specific knowledge of the context and notion of the data being synchronized." (Gartner)

"Data synchronization is the effort to ensure that, once data leaves a system or storage entity, it does not fall out of harmony with its source, thereby creating inconsistency in the data record." (Information) [source] 

 "1. In replication, the process of data and schema changes being propagated between the Publisher and Subscribers after the initial snapshot has been applied at the Subscriber. 2. In database mirroring, when a mirroring session starts or resumes, the process in which log records of the principal database that have accumulated on the principal server are sent to the mirror server, which writes these log records to disk as quickly as possible to catch up with the principal server." (Microsoft Technet)

"The process of keeping selected data in multiple data sources in agreement." (Microsoft Technet)

"The term, Synchronization, refers to the process of replicating the changes made to documents on one database to the same documents in a second instance of that database." (Couchbase)

🛢DBMS: Distributed Database (Definitions)

"A database implemented on a network in which the component partitions are distributed over various nodes of the network. Depending on the specific update and retrieval traffic, distributing the database can enhance overall performance significantly." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"A database located at more than one site." (S. Sumathi & S. Esakkirajan, "Fundamentals of Relational Database Management Systems", 2007)

"A database with pieces stored on multiple computers on a network." (Rod Stephens, "Beginning Database Design Solutions", 2008)

"A database where portions of the database are stored on computers at physically distributed locations. The entire database is the sum of all the parts." (Jan L Harrington, "Relational Database Design and Implementation" 3rd Ed., 2009)

"A logically related database that is stored over two or more physically independent sites." (Carlos Coronel et al, "Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management" 9th Ed., 2011)

"A database whose tables are stored on different but interconnected computing systems." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

🛢DBMS: Relational Database Management System [RDBMS] (Definitions)

"A system that organizes data into related rows and columns. SQL Server is a relational database management system." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"A database, built on a model of data as existing in rows and columns, intended to embody the theoretical foundations of relational data that were originally defined by Dr. E. F. Codd at IBM. The Oracle server is one example, along with IBM's DB2, Microsoft's SQL Server, and mySQL." (Bill Pribyl & Steven Feuerstein, "Learning Oracle PL/SQL", 2001)

"Database management system based on the relational model that supports the full range of standard SQL. Uses a series of joined tables with rows and columns to organize and store data." (Ralph Kimball & Margy Ross, "The Data Warehouse Toolkit 2nd Ed ", 2002)

"A system that organizes data into related rows and columns. SQL Server is a relational database management system." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"A system used to create, edit, and manage relational databases." (Johannes Link & Peter Fröhlich, "Unit Testing in Java", 2003)

"The controlling software for databases in which data is organized into related objects within a database rather than tied to a file. Each of these objects is related to another in some way." (Thomas Moore, "EXAM CRAM™ 2: Designing and Implementing Databases with SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition", 2005)

"A system that uses a database that contains tables with data. The management system part is the part allowing you access to that database, and the power to manipulate both the database and the data contained within it." (Gavin Powell, "Beginning Database Design", 2006)

"Software that organizes manipulates and retrieves data stored in a relational database." (S. Sumathi & S. Esakkirajan, "Fundamentals of Relational Database Management Systems", 2007)

"A system that organizes data into related rows and columns. SQL Server is an RDBMS." (Jim Joseph, "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services Unleashed", 2009)

"A database management system whose architecture is based on Dr. E. F. Codd’s relational theory. That is, it stores data in terms of simple, two dimensional tables." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"Type of DBMS that uses SQL to store data in related tables." (Martin Oberhofer et al, "The Art of Enterprise Information Architecture", 2010)

"A collection of programs that manages a relational database. The RDBMS software translates a user’s logical requests (queries) into commands that physically locate and retrieve the requested data. A good RDBMS also creates and maintains a data dictionary (system catalog) to help provide data security, data integrity, concurrent access, easy access, and system administration to the data in the database through a query language (SQL) and application programs." (Carlos Coronel et al, "Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management" 9th Ed., 2011)

"A database system that organizes data into related rows and columns as specified by a relational model." (Microsoft, "SQL Server 2012 Glossary", 2012)

"A database management system that organizes data in defined tables. " (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"A collection of hardware and software that organizes and provides access to a relational database." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

🛢DBMS: Throughput (Definitions)

"The volume of work completed in a given time period. It is usually measured in transactions per second (TPS)." (Karen Paulsell et al, "Sybase SQL Server: Performance and Tuning Guide", 1996)

"The number of operations the DBMS can do in a time unit." (Peter Gulutzan & Trudy Pelzer, "SQL Performance Tuning", 2002)

"The amount of work performed by a computer system within a specified time interval; for example, the number of transactions of a certain type that can be processed per second. See also response time, workload, channel capacity." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"Amount of activity a system can sustain over a period of time." (Marilyn Miller-White et al, "MCITP Administrator: Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Optimization and Maintenance 70-444", 2007)

"The amount of data that is transferred from sender to receiver over time." (John Goodson & Robert A Steward, "The Data Access Handbook", 2009)

"The number of work items processed per unit of time." (Max Domeika, "Software Development for Embedded Multi-core Systems", 2011)

"Given a set of tasks to be performed, the rate at which those tasks are completed. Throughput measures the rate of computation, and it is given in units of tasks per unit time." (Michael McCool et al, "Structured Parallel Programming", 2012)

"The amount of work completed in a unit of time." (Oracle, "Database SQL Tuning Guide Glossary", 2013)

"The rate at which transactions are completed in a system." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

🛢DBMS: Savepoint (Definitions)

"A marker that the user includes in a user-defined transaction. When transactions are rolled back, they can be rolled back only to the savepoint." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"A marker that allows an application to roll back part of a transaction if a minor error is encountered. The application must still commit or roll back the full transaction when it is complete." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"A location to which a transaction can return if part of the transaction is conditionally canceled or encounters an error, hence offering a mechanism to roll back portions of transactions." (SQL Server 2012 Glossary, "Microsoft", 2012)

"A named entity that represents the state of data and schemas at a particular point in time within a unit of work." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

[nested savepoint] "A savepoint that is included or positioned within another savepoint. Nested savepoints allow an application to have multiple levels of savepoints active at a time and allow the application to roll back to any active savepoint as required." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

 "A marker that allows an application to roll back part of a transaction if a minor error is encountered." (Microsoft Technet)

"A named SCN in a transaction to which the transaction can be rolled back." (Oracle, "Oracle Database Concepts")

"Savepoints help to implement nested transactions. They can be used to provide scope to operations on tables that are part of a larger transaction. For example, scheduling a trip in a reservation system might involve booking several different flights; if a desired flight is unavailable, you might roll back the changes involved in booking that one leg, without rolling back the earlier flights that were successfully booked." (MySQL, "MySQL 8.0 Reference Manual Glossary")

🛢DBMS: Operational Database [ODB] (Definitions)

"An OLTP database that supports the business operations - for example, logging orders and tracking customers. An operational database is usually the source of data for the data warehouse. Operational data is updated frequently to reflect the current value of all transactions." (Microsoft Corporation, "Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Data Warehouse Training Kit", 2000)

"A database containing a company's up-to-date and modifiable information." (Glenn J Myatt, "Making Sense of Data: A Practical Guide to Exploratory Data Analysis and Data Mining", 2006)

"A database that is designed primarily to support a company’s day-to-day operations. Also known as a transactional database or production database." (Carlos Coronel et al, "Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management" 9th Ed, 2011)

"A database system that runs core functions to the business in production environments. These are not test or reporting database systems, but actual systems that run the operations of the company." (Jason Williamson, Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies, 2015)

"The database of record, consisting of system-specific reference data and event data belonging to a transaction-update system. It may also contain system control data such as indicators, flags and counters. The operational database is the source of data for the data warehouse. It contains detailed data used to run the day-to-day operations of the business. The data continually changes as updates are made, and reflects the current value of the last transaction." (Information Management)

"The database that contains the live data that is viewed, retrieved, and edited in an Oracle Service Cloud application. While reports that are run on the operational database can access real-time data, the reports cannot process as much information as reports that are run on the report database." (Oracle)

"They carry out regular operations of an organisation and are generally very important to a business. They generally use online transaction processing that allows them to enter, collect and retrieve specific information about the company." (Data Floq)

🛢DBMS: Latency (Definitions)

"The amount of time that elapses between when a change is completed on the Publisher and when it appears in the destination database on the Subscriber." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"The amount of time that elapses between when a data change is completed at one server and when that change appears at another." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"The amount of time that elapses when a data change is completed at one server and when that change appears at another within a replication architecture (for example, the time between when a change is made at a publisher and when it appears at the subscriber)." (Thomas Moore, "MCTS 70-431: Implementing and Maintaining Microsoft SQL Server 2005", 2006)

"The delay in time for a data change to be propagated between nodes in a replication topology." (Marilyn Miller-White et al, "MCITP Administrator: Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 Optimization and Maintenance 70-444", 2007)

[latency of information:] "Latency is a time delay between the moment something is initiated and the moment one of its effects begins or becomes detectable. Latency of information applies this concept to changes, updates, and deletes of information." (Allen Dreibelbis et al, "Enterprise Master Data Management", 2008)

[data latency:] "Technically, the speed in which data is captured is referred to as data latency. It is a measure of data 'freshness', specifically data that are less than 24 hours old." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"The measure of time between two events, such as the initiation and completion of an event, or the read on one system and the write to another system." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"The delay that occurs while data is processed or delivered." (Microsoft, "SQL Server 2012 Glossary", 2012)

"In replication, part or all of the approximate difference between the time that a source table is changed and the time that the change is applied to the corresponding target table." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

 "The amount of time that elapses when a data change is completed at one server and when that change appears at another server." (Microsoft Technet)

🛢DBMS: Kernel (Definitions)

"A module within SQL Server that acts as the interface between SQL Server and the operating system." (Karen Paulsell et al, "Sybase SQL Server: Performance and Tuning Guide", 1996)

"The essential core component of the server that handles several functions, such as task scheduling, disk caching, locking, and executing compiled queries." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"In SQL Server 2000, a subset of the storage engine that is referenced in some error messages. In Windows 2000, the core of the operating system that performs basic operations." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"A general term for a small section of code that (1) executes a large amount of computation relative to other parts of the program (also known as a hotspot), and/or (2) is the key code sequence for an algorithm." (Michael McCool et al, "Structured Parallel Programming", 2012)

"The part of an operating system that contains programs for such tasks as input/output, management and control of hardware, and the scheduling of user tasks." (IBM, "Informix Servers 12.1", 2014)

"the software which provides controls for hardware devices, manages memory, executes code on the computer's CPU, and hides the details of the underlying physical hardware from user applications." ( Manish Agrawal, "Information Security and IT Risk Management", 2014)

"The core of an operating system, a kernel manages the machine’s hardware resources (including the processor and the memory) and provides and controls the way any other software component accesses these resources." (Shon Harris & Fernando Maymi, "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide" 8th Ed., 2018)

🛢DBMS: Multidimensional Database (Definitions)

"Database in which the data is presented in data cubes, as opposed to tables in a relational database platform." (Ralph Kimball & Margy Ross, "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" 2nd Ed., 2002)

"A data warehouse design that uses fact tables and dimension tables to organize data efficiently for summarizing large groups of records." (Reed Jacobsen & Stacia Misner, "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Step by Step", 2006)

"A data structure with three or more independent dimensions." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Specialized data store that organizes facts by dimensions, such as geographical region, product line, salesperson, or time." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"A database optimized for data online analytical processing (OLAP) applications and for data warehousing." (Analytics Insight)

🛢DBMS: Metadata Repository (Definitions)

 "A database or storage medium where Metadata are stored and easily accessed by people in an organization." (Margaret Y Chu, "Blissful Data ", 2004)

"A centralized database containing metadata captured from around the enterprise." (Sharon Allen & Evan Terry, "Beginning Relational Data Modeling 2nd Ed.", 2005)

"A database where metadata are stored as structured data that can be easily accessed and queried by business and technology workers." (Danette McGilvray, "Executing Data Quality Projects", 2008)

"A container of consistent definitions of business data and rules for mapping data to their actual physical locations in the system." (Judith Hurwitz et al, "Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"A database constructed for the purpose of storing, managing, and making available metadata." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"A container of consistent definitions of business data and rules for mapping data to its actual physical locations in the system." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013) 

"A metadata repository is a software tool or database used to store and manage metadata." (Piethein Strengholt, "Data Management at Scale", 2020)

🛢DBMS: Repository (Definitions)

"The storage container for the metadata managed by OLAP Services. Metadata is stored in tables in a relational database and is used to define the parameters and properties of OLAP server objects." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"A database containing information models that, in conjunction with the executable software, manage the database." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"A repository is a collection of resources that can be accessed to retrieve information." (S. Sumathi & S. Esakkirajan, "Fundamentals of Relational Database Management Systems", 2007)

"A database for software and components, with an emphasis on revision control and configuration management. Where they keep the good stuff, in other words." (Judith Hurwitz et al, "Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"A database containing information models that, in conjunction with the executable software, manage the database." (Microsoft, "SQL Server 2012 Glossary", 2012)

"A store of information about the data assets of an organization." (Craig S Mullins, "Database Administration", 2012)

"A database for software and components, with an emphasis on revision control and configuration management (where they keep the good stuff, in other words)." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"A place where important corporate metadata is stored" (Daniel Linstedt & W H Inmon, "Data Architecture: A Primer for the Data Scientist", 2014)

"a database for software and components, with an emphasis on revision control and configuration management (where they keep the good stuff, in other words)." (Judith S Hurwitz, "Cognitive Computing and Big Data Analytics", 2015)

"A storage location for physical data, preferably databases." (Hamid R Arabnia et al, "Application of Big Data for National Security", 2015)

"In a software context, a repository is a data store that contains the code and or data for a project." (Alex Thomas, "Natural Language Processing with Spark NLP", 2020)

"A database containing information models that, in conjunction with the executable software, manage the database." (Microsoft Technet)

🛢DBMS: Database Design (Definitions)

"1.The process of developing a physical data model, followed by definition of all physical database objects, including tables, indexes, and sequences. 2.The physical data model and the detailed DDL for a database. The database design addresses physical constraints such as storage and performance." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"The process that yields the description of the database structure. The database design process determines the database components. Database design is the second phase of the Database Life Cycle." (Carlos Coronel et al, "Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management 9th Ed", 2011)

🛢DBMS: Partitioning (Definitions)

"To divide a table into logical subsets based on characteristics of the data. Partitioning is used to improve application performance or reduce the potential for conflicts in multisite update replication." (Microsoft Corporation, "SQL Server 7.0 System Administration Training Kit", 1999)

"Physically separating data into areas that are more easily maintained or accessed. Data partitioning increases performance and aids in maintenance processes." (Microsoft Corporation, "Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 Data Warehouse Training Kit", 2000)

"The process of splitting a database object (usually a tablespace, table, or index) into two or more physical locations, or partitions, that is, a splitting of a logical group of pages (for example, the pages of a table) into chains or files which are physically removed from each other, perhaps on separate disks. Informix calls this fragmentation." (Peter Gulutzan & Trudy Pelzer, "SQL Performance Tuning", 2002)

"The process of replacing a table with multiple smaller tables. Each smaller table has the same format as the original table, but with a subset of the data. Each partitioned table has rows allocated to it based on some characteristic of the data, such as specific key ranges. The rules that define into which table the rows go must be unambiguous. For example, a table is partitioned into two tables. All rows with primary key values lower than a specified value are allocated to one table, and all keys equal to or greater than the value are allocated to the other. Partitioning can improve application processing speeds and reduce the potential for conflicts in multisite update replication. You can improve the usability of partitioned tables by creating a view. The view, created by a union of select operations on all the partitioned tables, presents the data as if it all resided in a single table." (Anthony Sequeira & Brian Alderman, "The SQL Server 2000 Book", 2003)

"Physical splitting of tables into separate sections (partitions), including parallel processing on multiple partitions and individual operations on individual partitions. One particularly efficient aspect is the capability when querying a table to read fewer than all the partitions making up a table, perhaps even a single partition. This is also known as partition pruning." (Gavin Powell, "Beginning Database Design", 2006)

[data partitioning:] "Process of moving data from a single server to one or more different data repositories. This can be vertical, in which data from a single table is split into multiple tables, or horizontal, in which the number of rows in a table are restricted and partitioned by one or more columns." (Sara Morganand & Tobias Thernstrom , "MCITP Self-Paced Training Kit : Designing and Optimizing Data Access by Using Microsoft SQL Server 2005 - Exam 70-442", 2007)

"The process of replacing a table with multiple smaller units. Tables can be partitioned horizontally or vertically." (Victor Isakov et al, "MCITP Administrator: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Optimization and Maintenance (70-444) Study Guide", 2007)

"The method for dividing a database into manageable parts for the purpose of easier management and better performance." (Paulraj Ponniah, "Data Warehousing Fundamentals for IT Professionals", 2010)

"The process of splitting a table into subsets of rows or columns." (Carlos Coronel et al, "Database Systems: Design, Implementation, and Management" 9th Ed., 2011)

"The process of replacing a table with multiple smaller tables." (Microsoft, "SQL Server 2012 Glossary,", 2012)

"With respect to distributed databases, partitioning refers to splitting documents, tables, or graphs and distributing them to different servers." (Dan Sullivan, "NoSQL for Mere Mortals®", 2015)

[index-controlled partitioning:] "A type of partitioning in which partition boundaries for a partitioned table are controlled by values that are specified on the CREATE INDEX statement." (Sybase, "Open Server Server-Library/C Reference Manual", 2019)

"Partitioning is the spreading of data across multiple files across a cluster to balance large amounts of data across disks or nodes. Read-only partitions make a read-only table space that prevents updates on all tables in the table space. Other patterns can be applied on this table space to improve performance." (Piethein Strengholt, "Data Management at Scale", 2020)

[composite partitioning:] "In partitioning strategy in which a table is partitioned by one data distribution method and then each partition is further divided into subpartitions using a second data distribution method." (Oracle, "Oracle Database Concepts")

"The ability to decompose very large tables and indexes into smaller and more manageable pieces called partitions." (Oracle, "Oracle Database Concepts")