From: "Thomas Dowling" <[log in to unmask]>
> You can define differences between meta-, federated, and broadcast search, 
> but
> every discussion on the topic will be punctuated by people asking, "Wait,
> what's the difference again?"

Leaving aside metasearch and broadcast search (terms invented more recently) 
it  is a shame if "federated" has really lost its distinction 
from"distributed".  Historically, a federated database is one that 
integrates multiple (autonomous) databases so it is in effect a virtual 
distributed database, though a single database.    I don't think that's a 
hard concept and I don't think it is a trivial distinction.

--Ray