Greedy signature processing with arbitrary location distributions: A divisible load framework

The optimal partition of a huge, linear (flat) file among processing nodes in a network to minimize the time to search for signatures of interest in the file is considered. First, an expression is developed for the expected time of finding the $k$th signature (including the last signature) of $K$ signatures for a uniform distribution of signatures in the file. Secondly, for a single signature we propose processing data in the file in order from that with the most probability mass (i.e., data with the most a priori likelihood of containing the signature) to that with the least probability mass in a "greedy" manner to speed processing time. Applications of this work include radar, sensors, image processing, and search.