waashk/acm huggingface dataset:
automated test plan generator for database applications systems  as database applications become larger and more complex, the development of suitable test plans to assure robust and reliable software becomes essential. the testing procedure must establish the applications' reliability from the human expectation viewpoint as well as its correctness and robustness.  the predeterminded goals of this testing procedure are to assure high reliability of the application and acertain that the software performed according to specifications, while remaining within the project's time and budgetary constraints. errors identified during development can be corrected with minimal cost when compared to errors uncovered by users after the software release. by overlapping testing with development, and automating the production of a standardized set of test plans, the incremental production time can be minimized. by generating an application specific test plan, syntactic and semantic specifications of the actual system applications can be tested. a side effect of this specific, interleaved correctness testing is the uncovering of user interface inconsistencies before exposure of the application to the real end user.  analysis of the results of our experimental testing showed the keystone to be the test plan. since the completeness and veracity of this document is a prime determining factor in the validity of the testing, we have developed a program using c++ on a sun workstation to automatically generate test plans from the design schema.  this paper presents an automated/manual testing scheme suitable for assuring the validity of large database applications. the initial premises, design, execution and consequences of the test procedure is detailed, followed by a description of the automation of strategic components.  maryann robbert fred j. maryanski
a user interface for statistical databases  many statistical database applications require the use of aggregations to perform queries. typically, the aggregation part of a query is the most difficult for a user to formulate. this work deals with the automation of the aggregation formulation process. to this end, a restricted type of aggregation, called summarization, is introduced. it is shown that summarization is sufficient in most cases. essentially, summarization encourages the user to formulate a query without conceptualizing it in terms of aggregation. instead, the user simply expresses the tabular form of the result.  another problem found in many statistical database applications arises when there are different measurements based on different partitionings of the same entity. for example, consider census data based on census tracts and pollution data based on pollution districts. furthermore, the boundaries of census tracts and pollution districts do not coincide. meaningful correlations between the census and pollution data can be obtained by the use of a statistical interpretation such as a weighted average or cubic spline contouring. the expression of a particular statistical interpretation to be used is the most difficult part of query formulation. accordingly, the concept of complex summarization is introduced which allows the pre-specification of statistical interpretations. the process of choosing a statistical interpretation is easy and straightforward. here again, a query is formulated by expressing the tabular form of the result and not conceptualizing in terms of aggregation.  rowland r. johnson
corpus-based stemming using cooccurrence of word variants  stemming is used in many information retrieval (ir) systems to reduce variant word forms to common roots. it is one of the simplest applications of natural- language processing to ir and is one of the most effective in terms of user acceptance and consistency, though small retrieval improvements. current stemming techniques do not, however, reflect the language use in specific corpora, and this can lead to occasional serious retrieval failures. we propose a technique for using corpus-based word variant cooccurrence statistics to modify or create a stemmer. the experimental results generated using english newspaper and legal text and spanish text demonstrate the viability of this technique and its advantages relative to conventional approaches that only employ morphological rules.  jinxi xu w. bruce croft
pbir - perception-based image retrieval  we demonstrate a system that we have built on our proposed perception-based image retrieval (pbir) paradigm. this pbir system achieves accurate similarity measurements by rooting image characterization in human perception and by learning user's query concept through an intelligent sampling process. we show that our system can usually grasp a user's query concept with a small number of labeled instances.  edward chang kwang-ting cheng lihyuarn l. chang
isolation of transaction aborts in object-oriented database systems  we address the problem of recovery in object-oriented data-bases from considerations of the semantics of committed transactions and the efficiency of recovery procedures. the recovery strategy used is update-in-place. we show that efficient recovery procedures should allow transactions to abort independently of one another by executing inverse operations. we refer to these requirements collectively as the recovery isolation property. we present a formal definition of recovery isolation and prove that schedules possessing this property do not suffer from rollback dependencies. recovery isolation is useful in constructing concurrency control protocols that go beyond commutativity, and in parallel and high performance database systems. we define the notion of strict schedules for object-oriented databases as an extension of the analogous definition for read and write operations. we show that strict schedules possess the recovery isolation property.  shankar pal sitaram lanka
integration of synchronous and asynchronous collaboration activities  the inegrated synchronous and asynchronous collaboration (isaac) project [1] is constructing a communication and collaboration system to bridge traditional workgroup barriers of time and space. possible applications include military command and control, corporate real-time collaboration, and distributed teams of research scientists. thus, this system must host the widest possible range of applications, and must run on heterogeneous hardware.  isaac incorporates real-time (synchronous) collaboration technologies developed by the habanero® project [2,3] at the national center for supercomputing applications at the university of illinois urbana-champaign, with asynchronous extensions. isaac research is aimed at moving information between synchronous and asynchronous modes. isaac's session capture conceptually transforms a real-time multiple tool collaboration into multimedia document, which can be analyzed and reused by other programs. automated segmentation and indexing of captured audio and videoteleconference traffic adds further information.  larry s. jackson ed grossman
parallel algorithms for the execution of relational database operations  this paper presents and analyzes algorithms for parallel processing of relational database operations in a general multiprocessor framework. to analyze alternative algorithms, we introduce an analysis methodology which incorporates i/o, cpu, and message costs and which can be adjusted to fit different multiprocessor architectures. algorithms are presented and analyzed for sorting, projection, and join operations. while some of these algorithms have been presented and analyzed previously, we have generalized each in order to handle the case where the number of pages is significantly larger than the number of processors. in addition, we present and analyze algorithms for the parallel execution of update and aggregate operations.  dina bitton haran boral david j. dewitt w. kevin wilkinson
music-notation searching and digital librariesalmost all work on music information retrieval to date has concentrate d onmusic in the audio and event (normally midi) domains. however, music in theform of notation, especially conventional music notation (cmn), is of muchinterest to musically-trained persons, both amateurs and professionals, andsearching cmn has great value for digital music libraries. one obvious reasonlittle has been done on music retrieval in cmn form is the overwhelmingcomplexity of cmn, which requires a very substantial investment in programmingbefore one can even begin studying music ir. this paper reports on work addingmusic- retrieval capabilities to nightingaleÂ੬ an existing professional- levelmusic-notation editor.donald byrd
optimization of nested sql queries revisited  current methods of evaluating nested queries in the sql language can be inefficient in a variety of query and data base contexts. previous research in the area of nested query optimization which sought methods of reducing evaluation costs is summarized, including a classification scheme for nested queries, algorithms designed to transform each type of query to a logically equivalent form which may then be evaluated more efficiently, and a description of a major bug in one of these algorithms. further examination reveals another bug in the same algorithm. solutions to these bugs are proposed and incorporated into a new transformation algorithm, and extensions are proposed which will allow the transformation algorithms to handle a larger class of predicates. a recursive algorithm for processing a general nested query is presented and the action of this algorithm is demonstrated. this algorithm can be used to transform any nested query.  richard a. ganski harry k. t. wong
bringing object-relational technology to the mainstream  over the last few years, oracle has evolved its flagship relational database system into an object-relational system by adding an extensible type system, object storage, an object cache, an extensible query and indexing framework, support for multimedia datatypes, a server-based scalable java virtual machine, as well as enhancing its sql ddl and dml language. these extensions were done with the practical goal of bringing objects to mainstream use.  vishu krishnamurthy sandeepan banerjee anil nori
the work to make a network work: studying cscw in action  this paper reports on a field study of the procurement, implementation and use of a local area network devoted to running cscw-related applications in an organization within the u.k.'s central government. in this particular case, the network ran into a number of difficulties, was resisted by its potential users for a variety of reasons, was faced with being withdrawn from service on a number of occasions and (at the time of writing) remains only partly used. the study points to the kinds of problems that a project to introduce computer support for cooperative work to an actual organization is likely to face and a series of concepts are offered to help manage the complexity of these problems. in so doing, this paper adds to and extends previous studies of cscw tools in action but also argues that experience from the field should be used to re-organise the research agenda of cscw.  john bowers
distributed algorithms for dynamic replication of data  we present two distributed algorithms for dynamic replication of a data-item in communication networks. the algorithms are adaptive in the sense that they change the replication scheme of the item (i.e. the set of processors at which the data- item is replicated), as the read-write pattern of the processors in the network changes. each algorithm continuously moves the replication scheme towards an optimal one, where optimality is defined with respect to different objective functions. one algorithm optimizes the communication cost objective function, and the other optimizes the communication time. we also provide a lower bound on the performance of any dynamic replication algorithm.  ouri wolfson sushil jajodia
personification of the computer: a pathological metaphor in is  semantic and syntactic aspects of metaphor are explored and explained as a preface to an exposition of the impact on information systems (is) personnel of a popular root metaphor: the personification of the computer. it is suggested that since action metaphors determine attitudes and future directions, this personification may be responsible for confusing both end- user and researcher: that if the potential of computers is to be more fully realised and utilised, our perceptions of the language in which we describe them should be illuminated. there is a danger, it is argued, that if human attributes are ascribed to the computer, personnel in is begin to act out the metaphor pathologically.  nanette monin d. john monin
optimization of sequence queries in database systems  the need to search for complex and recurring patterns in database sequences is shared by many applications. in this paper, we discuss how to express and support efficiently sophisticated sequential pattern queries in databases. thus, we first introduce sql-ts, an extension of sql, to express these patterns, and then we study how to optimize search queries for this language. we take the optimal text search algorithm of knuth, morris and pratt, and generalize it to handle complex queries on sequences. our algorithm exploits the inter- dependencies between the elements of a sequential pattern to minimize repeated passes over the same data. experimental results on typical sequence queries, such as double bottom queries, confirm that substantial speedups are achieved by our new optimization techniques.  reza sadri carlo zaniolo amir zarkesh jafar adibi
translation with optimization from relational calculus to relational algebra having aggregate functions  most of the previous translations of relational calculus to relational algebra aimed at proving that the two languages have the equivalent expressive power, thereby generating very complicated relational algebra expressions, especially when aggregate functions are introduced. this paper presents a rule-based translation method from relational calculus expressions having both aggregate functions and null values to optimized relational algebra expressions. thus, logical optimization is carried out through translation. the translation method comprises two parts: the translational of the relational calculus kernel and the translation of aggregate functions. the former uses the familiar step-wise rewriting strategy, while the latter adopts a two-phase rewriting strategy via standard aggregate expressions. each translation proceeds by applying a heuristic rewriting rule in preference to a basic rewriting rule. after introducing sql- type null values, their impact on the translation is thoroughly investigated, resulting in several extensions of the translation. a translation experiment with many queries shows that the proposed translation method generates optimized relational algebra expressions. it is shown that heuristic rewriting rules play an essential role in the optimization. the correctness of the present translation is also shown.  each translation proceeds by applying a heuristic rewriting rule in preference to a basic rewriting rule. after introducing sql-type null values, their impact on the translation is thoroughly investigated, resulting in several extensions of the translation. a translation experiment with many queries shows that the proposed translation method generates optimized relational  ryohei nakano
using semantic values to facilitate interoperability among heterogeneous information systems  large organizations need to exchange information among many separately developed systems. in order for this exchange to be useful, the individual systems must agree on the meaning of their exchanged data. that is, the organization must ensure semantic interoperability. this paper provides a theory of semantic values as a unit of exchange that facilitates semantic interoperability betweeen heterogeneous information systems. we show how semantic values can either be stored explicitly or be defined by environments. a system architecture is presented that allows autonomous components to share semantic values. the key component in this architecture is called the context mediator, whose job is to identify and construct the semantic values being sent, to determine when the exchange is meaningful, and to convert the semantic values to the form required by the receiver.  our theory is then applied to the relational model. we provide an interpretation of standard sql queries in which context conversions and manipulations are transparent to the user. we also introduce an extension of sql, called context-sql (c-sql), in which the context of a semantic value can be explicitly accessed and updated. finally, we describe the implementation of a prototype context mediator for a relational c-sql system.  edward sciore michael siegel arnon rosenthal
local verification of global integrity constraints in distributed databases  we present an optimization for integrity constraint verification in distributed databases. the optimization allows a global constraint, i.e. a constraint spanning multiple databases, to be verified by accessing data at a single database, eliminating the cost of accessing remote data. the optimization is based on an algorithm that takes as input a global constraint and data to be inserted into a local database. the algorithm produces a local condition such that if the local data satisfies this condition then, based on the previous satisfaction of the global constraint, the global constraint is still satisfied. if the local data does not satisfy the condition, then a conventional global verification procedure is required.  ashish gupta jennifer widom
handling missing data by using stored truth values  this paper proposes a method for handling inapplicable and unknown missing data. the method is based on: (1) storing default values (instead of null values) in place of missing data, (2) storing truth values that describe the logical status of the default values in corresponding fields of corresponding tables. four valued logic is used so that the logical status of the default data values can be described as, not just true or false, but also as inapplicable or unknown. this method, in contrast to the "hidden byte" approach, has two important advantages: (1) because the logical status of all data is represented explicitly in tables, all 4-valued operations can be handled via a 2-valued data manipulation language, such as sql. language extensions for handling missing data (e.g., "is null") are not necessary. (2) because data fields always contain a default value (as opposed to a null value or mark), it is possible to do arithmetic across missing data and to interpret the logical status of the result by means of logical operations on the corresponding stored truth values.  g. h. gessert
an experimental evaluation of on-line help for non-programmers  an interactive computer system was made easier to learn for non-programmers by modifying the on-line help and error messages of a system designed primarily for programmers. the modifications included supplementing the existing help command with a help key, making the content of help and error messages more concrete, responding to command synonyms, and more. the systems were evaluated in a between-groups experiment in which office workers with no programming experience were asked to perform a typical office task using one of the unfamiliar interactive computer systems. the results of the experiment supported the inclusion of the modifications. non-programmers using the modified system completed the computer task in less time, with greater accuracy, and with better resulting attitudes than those who used the system designed primarily for programmers.  celeste s. magers
online association rule mining  we present a novel algorithm to compute large itemsets online. the user is free to change the support threshold any time during the first scan of the transaction sequence. the algorithm maintains a superset of all large itemsets and for each itemset a shrinking, deterministic interval on its support. after at most 2 scans the algorithm terminates with the precise support for each large itemset. typically our algorithm is by an order of magnitude more memory efficient than apriori or dic.  christian hidber
on effective multi-dimensional indexing for strings  as databases have expanded in scope from storing purely business data to include xml documents, product catalogs, e-mail messages, and directory data, it has become increasingly important to search databases based on wild-card string matching: prefix matching, for example, is more common (and useful) than exact matching, for such data. in many cases, matches need to be on multiple attributes/dimensions, with correlations between the dimensions. traditional multi-dimensional index structures, designed with (fixed length) numeric data in mind, are not suitable for matching unbounded length string data.  in this paper, we describe a general technique for adapting a multi- dimensional index structure for wild-card indexing of unbounded length string data. the key ideas are (a) a carefully developed mapping function from strings to rational numbers, (b) representing an unbounded length string in an index leaf page by a fixed length offset to an external key, and (c) storing multiple elided tries, one per dimension, in an index page to prune search during traversal of index pages. these basic ideas affect all index algorithms. in this paper, we present efficient algorithms for different types of string matching.  while our technique is applicable to a wide range of multi-dimensional index structures, we instantiate our generic techniques by adapting the 2-dimensional r-tree to string data. we demonstrate the space effectiveness and time benefits of using the string r-tree both analytically and experimentally.  h. v. jagadish nick koudas divesh srivastava
hypertext databases and data mining  the volume of unstructured text and hypertext data far exceeds that of structured data. text and hypertext are used for digital libraries, product catalogs, reviews, newsgroups, medical reports, customer service reports, and the like. currently measured in billions of dollars, the worldwide internet activity is expected to reach a trillion dollars by 2002. database researchers have kept some cautious distance from this action. the goal of this tutorial is to expose database researchers to text and hypertext information retrieval (ir) and mining systems, and to discuss emerging issues in the overlapping areas of databases, hypertext, and data mining.  soumen chakrabarti
the effect of accessing nonmatching documents on relevance feedback  traditional information retrieval (ir) systems only allow users access to documents that match their current query, and therefore, users can only give relevance feedback on matching documents (or those with a matching strength greater than a set threshold. this article shows that, in systems that allow access to nonmatching documents (e.g., hybrid hypertext and information retrieval systems), the strength of the effect of giving relevance feedback varies between matching and nonmatching documents. for positive feedback the results shown here are encouraging, as they can be justified by an intuitive view of the process. however, for negative feedback the results show behavior that cannot easily be justified and that varies greatly depending on the model of feedback used.  mark d. dunlop
on optimistic methods for concurrency control  most current approaches to concurrency control in database systems rely on locking of data objects as a control mechanism. in this paper, two families of nonlocking concurrency controls are presented. the methods used are "optimistic" in the sense that they rely mainly on transaction backup as a control mechanism, "hoping" that conflicts between transactions will not occur. applications for which these methods should be more efficient than locking are discussed.  h. t. kung john t. robinson