Sharded

The past participle of the verb "shard", meaning to divide or break something into small, often irregular, pieces or fragments. This division can apply to physical objects like glass or data, as in database sharding, where a large dataset is split across multiple databases for improved performance and scalability. The term implies a deliberate and often structured process of segmentation, as opposed to random breaking. It's frequently associated with technology and large-scale data management, but can also be used in more abstract contexts to describe the fragmentation of concepts or entities.

Sharded meaning with examples

• The ancient pot was sharded after it was dropped, its fragments scattered across the floor. Archaeologists painstakingly collected the sharded pieces, hoping to reconstruct the valuable artifact. The delicate shards were carefully labeled and stored, preserving the history held within the broken pottery. The restoration team planned to painstakingly reassemble the sharded ceramic, piece by piece, to reveal its original form.
• To improve the website's performance, the development team sharded the database, distributing the user data across multiple servers. This allowed for faster query processing and reduced the load on any single machine. Each shard contained a subset of the overall user base, enabling efficient scaling. The sharded data model proved critical for handling the rapid growth of the online platform, accommodating more users.
• The author's manuscript was sharded into individual chapters before being sent to different editors for review and feedback. This allowed the publishing house to streamline the editing process, improving its efficiency. Each editor focused on their section to ensure consistency and quality across the novel. This sharded approach led to faster development and improved the final product.
• After the company's acquisition, the team's responsibilities were sharded, leading to communication challenges between departments. Certain teams would no longer communicate between themselves in favour of the new team set up. This resulted in a loss of efficiency and an increase in errors due to disjointed workflows. The sharded structure became a major problem, and they would need to re-establish team cohesion.