•The basic idea behind Merlin is that data in a
computer's main memory can be
manipulated roughly five orders of magnitude faster than data on its disk.
•But this simple comparison, while impressive, does not
capture the real
differences between disk- and memory-based searches:
–With disk-based systems, you formulate a search
carefully, because it can take
minutes to days to get your answer back. With Merlin it is usually much faster to get the answer than it is to
think up the question. This
has a profound effect on user's attitudes towards the EDA system.
–In disk-based systems, you typically approach with a
specific question, often a
question of enough significance that you are willing to invest significant effort to find the answer. With Merlin, it
is possible to "explore"
the database in "real-time" - to poke around and see what is there. Searches are so fast that users adopt a whole new
approach to exploratory data
analysis.
–