Many commercial database systems maintain histograms to summarize the contents of relations and permit efficient estimation of query result sizes and access plan costs. Although several types of histograms have been proposed in the past, there has never been a systematic study of all histogram aspects, the available choices for each aspect, and the impact of such choices on histogram effectiveness. In this paper, we provide a taxonomy of histograms that captures all previously proposed histogram types and indicates many new possibilities. We introduce novel choices for several of the taxonomy dimensions, and derive new histogram types by combining choices in effective ways. We also show how sampling techniques can be used to reduce the cost of histogram construction. Finally, we present results from an empirical study of the proposed histogram types used in selectivity estimation of range predicates and identify the histogram types that have the best overall performance. 1 Introduction...

Recently we have proposed an adaptive, random sampling algorithm for general query size estimation. In earlier work we analyzed the asymptotic efficiency and accuracy of the algorithm; in this paper we investigate its practicality as applied to selects and joins. First, we extend our previous analysis to provide significantly improved bounds on the amount of sampling necessary for a given level of accuracy. Next, we provide "sanity bounds" to deal with queries for which the underlying data is extremely skewed or the query result is very small. Finally, we report on the performance of the estimation algorithm as implemented in a host language on a commercial relational system. The results are encouraging, even with this loose coupling between the estimation algorithm and the DBMS.

Many current database systems use histograms to approximate the frequency distribution of values in the attributes of relations and based on them estimate query result sizes and access plan costs. In choosing among the various histograms, one has to balance between two conflicting goals: optimality, so that generated estimates have the least error, and practicality, so that histograms can be constructed and maintained efficiently. In this paper, we present both theoretical and experimental results on several issues related to this trade-off. Our overall conclusion is that the most effective approach is to focus on the class of histograms that accurately maintain the frequencies of a few attribute values and assume the uniform distribution for the rest, and choose for each relation the histogram in that class that is optimal for a self-join query. 1 Introduction Query optimizers of relational database systems decide on the most efficient access plan for a given query based on a variety...

Abstract-Datalog is a database query language based on the logic programming paradigm; it has been designed and intensively studied over the last five years. We present the syntax and semantics of Datalog and its use for querying a relational database. Then, we classify optimization methods for achieving efficient evaluations of Datalog queries, and present the most relevant methods. Finally, we discuss various exhancements of Datalog, currently under study, and indicate what is still needed in order to extend Datalog’s applicability to the solution of real-life problems. The aim of this paper is to provide a survey of research performed on Datalog, also addressed to those members of the database community who are not too familiar with logic programming concepts. Zndex Terms-Deductive databases, logic programming, recursive queries, relational databases, query optimization. I.

Imagine yourself standing in front of an exquisite buffet filled with numerous delicacies. Your goal is to try them all out, but you need to decide in what order. What exchange of tastes will maximize the overall pleasure of your palate? Although much less pleasurable and subjective, that is the type of problem that query optimizers are called to solve. Given a query, there are many plans that a database management system (DBMS) can follow to process it and produce its answer. All plans are equivalent in terms of their final output but vary in their cost, i.e., the amount of time that they need to run. What is the plan that needs the least amount of time? Such query optimization is absolutely necessary in a DBMS. The cost difference between two alternatives can be enormous. For example, consider the following database schema, which will be...

In this paper, we propose a novel approach for estimating the record selectivities of database queries. The real attribute value distribution is adaptively approximated by a curve-fitting function using a query feedback mechanism. This approach has the advantages of requiring no extra database access overhead for gathering statistics and of being able to continuously adapt the value distribution through queries and updates. Experimental results show that the estimation accuracy of this approach is comparable to traditional methods based on statistics gathering. 1 Introduction In most database systems, the task of query optimization is to choose an efficient execution plan. Best plan selection requires accurate estimates of the costs of alternative plans. One of the most important factors that affects plan cost is selectivity, which is the number of tuples satisfying a given predicate. Therefore, in most cases, the accuracy of selectivity estimates directly affects the choice of best p...

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The database query optimizer requires the estimation of the query selectivity to find the most efficient access plan. For queries referencing multiple attributes from the same relation, we need a multi-dimensional selectivity estimation technique when the attributes are dependent each other because the selectivity is determined by the joint data distribution of the attributes. Additionally, for multimedia databases, there are intrinsic requirements for the multi-dimensional selectivity estimation because feature vectors are stored in multi-dimensional indexing trees. In the 1-dimensional case, a histogram is practically the most preferable. In the multi-dimensional case, however, a histogram is not adequate because of high storage overhead and high error rates. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for the multidimensional selectivity estimation. Compressed information from a large number of small-sized histogram buckets is maintained using the discrete cosine transform. This ena...

In this paper, we reexamine the results of prior work on methods for computing ad hoc joins. We develop a detailed cost model for predicting join algorithm performance, and we use the model to develop cost formulas for the major ad hoc join methods found in the relational database literature. We show that various pieces of "common wisdom" about join algorithm performance fail to hold up when analyzed carefully, and we use our detailed cost model to derive optimal buffer allocation schemes for each of the join methods examined here. We show that optimizing their buffer allocations can lead to large performance improvements, e.g., as much as a 400% improvement in some cases. We also validate our cost model's predictions by measuring an actual implementation of each join algorithm considered. The results of this work should be directly useful to implementors of relational query optimizers and query processing systems. 1 Introduction The join of two sets of tuples is a fundament...

Due to the evolution of Geographical Information Systems, large collections of spatial data having various thematic contents are currently available. As a result, the interest of users is not limited to simple spatial selections and joins, but complex query types that implicate numerous spatial inputs become more common. Although several algorithms have been proposed for computing the result of pairwise spatial joins, limited work exists on processing and optimization of multiway spatial joins. In this article, we review pairwise spatial join algorithms and show how they can be combined for multiple inputs. In addition, we explore the application of synchronous traversal (ST), a methodology that processes synchronously all inputs without producing intermediate results. Then, we integrate the two approaches in an engine that includes ST and pairwise algorithms, using dynamic programming to determine the optimal execution plan. The results show that, in most cases, multiway spatial joins are best processed by combining ST with pairwise methods. Finally, we study the optimization of very large queries by employing randomized search algorithms.