COPLA: A platform for eager and lazy replication in networked databases

Abstract: COPLA is a software tool that provides an object-oriented view of a network of replicated relational databases. It supports a range of consistency protocols, each of which supports different consistency modes. The resulting scenario is a distributed environment where applications may start multiple database sessions, which may use different consistency modes, according to their needs. This paper describes the COPLA platform, its archi-tecture, its support for database replication and one of the consistency algorithms that have been implemented on it. A system of this kind may be used in the development of applications for companies that have several branch offices, such as banks, hypermarkets, etc. In such settings, several applications typically use on-site generated data in local branches, while other applications also use information generated in other branches and offices. The services provided by COPLA enable an efficient catering for both local and non-local data querying and processing.