A context-aware methodology for very small data base design

The design of a Data Base to be resident on portable devices and embedded processors for professional systems requires considering both the device memory peculiarities and the mobility aspects, which are an essential feature of the embedded applications. Moreover, these devices are often part of a larger Information System, comprising fixed and mobile resources. We propose a complete methodology for designing Very Small Data Bases, from the identification of the device resident portions down to the choice of the physical data structure, optimizing the cost and power consumption of the Flash memory, which - in the greatest generality - constitutes the permanent storage of the device.