Designing a Bloom Filter for Differential File Access

Abstract

The use of a differential file for a database update can yield integrity and performance benefits, but it can also present problems in providing current data to subsequent accessing transactions. A mechanism known as a Bloom filter can solve these problems by preventing most unnecessary searches of the differential file. Here, the design process for a Bloom filter for an on-line student database is described, and it is shown that a very effective filter can be constructed with a modest expenditure of system resources. © 1982, ACM. All rights reserved.