1. A computer-implemented method for partitioning a database storing tuples within a tuple space having a plurality of dimensions, comprising the steps of: partitoning each of two or more separate instances of said tuple space along one or more of said dimensions, so that partitions of each of said instances overlap partitions of other of said instances within said tuple space; and storing each resulting partition on a separate one of a plurality of nodes of a repository, wherein assignment of each partition to a node is based on a location of said each resulting partition in said tuple space; wherein said database handles a transaction restricted along less than all of said partitioned dimensions by accessing a single of said nodes.