Bradford W. Wade

System R: relational approach to database management

System R is a database management system which provides a high level relational data interface. The systems provides a high level of data independence by isolating the end user as much as possible from underlying storage structures. The system permits definition of a variety of relational views on common underlying data. Data control features are provided, including authorization, integrity assertions, triggered transactions, a logging and recovery subsystem, and facilities for maintaining data consistency in a shared-update environment. This paper contains a description of the overall architecture and design of the system. At the present time the system is being implemented and the design evaluated. We emphasize that System R is a vehicle for research in database architecture, and is not planned as a product.

SEQUEL 2: a unified approach to data definition, manipulation, and control

SEQUEL 2 is a relational data language that provides a consistent, English keyword-oriented set of facilities for query, data definition, data manipulation, and datac ontrol. SEQUEL 2 may be used either as a stand-alone interface for nonspecialists in data processing or as a data sublanguage embedded in a host programming language for use by application programmers and data base administrators. This paper describes SEQUEL 2 and the means by which it is coupled to a host language.

An authorization mechanism for a relational database system

A multiuser database system must selectively permit users to share data, while retaining the ability to restrict data access. There must be a mechanism to provide protection and security, permitting information to be accessed only by properly authorized users. Further, when tables or restricted views of tables are created and destroyed dynamically, the granting, authentication, and revocation of authorization to use them must also be dynamic. Each of these issues and their solutions in the context of the relational database management system System R are discussed. When a database user creates a table, he is fully and solely authorized to perform upon it actions such as read, insert, update, and delete. He may explicitly grant to any other user any or all of his privileges on the table. In addition he may specify that that user is authorized to further grant these privileges to still other users. The result is a directed graph of granted privileges originating from the table creator. At some later time a user A may revoke some or all of the privileges which he previously granted to another user B. This action usually revokes the entire subgraph of the grants originating from As grant to B. It may be, however, that B will still possess the revoked privileges by means of a grant from another user C, and therefore some or all of Bs grants should not be revoked. This problem is discussed in detail, and an algorithm for detecting exactly which of Bs grants should be revoked is presented.

A history and evaluation of System R

System R, an experimental database system, was constructed to demonstrate that the usability advantages of the relational data model can be realized in a system with the complete function and high performance required for everyday production use. This paper describes the three principal phases of the System R project and discusses some of the lessons learned from System R about the design of relational systems and database systems in general.

System R: an architectural overview

We have described the architecture of System R, including the Relational Data System and the Research Storage System. The RDS supports a flexible spectrum of binding times, ranging from precompilation of “canned transactions” to on-line execution of ad hoc queries. The advantages of this approach may be summarized as follows: 1. For repetitive transactions, all the work of parsing, name binding, and access path selection is done once at precompilation time and need not be repeated. 2. Ad hoc queries are compiled on line into small machine-language routines that execute more efficiently than an interpreter. 3. Users are given a single language, SQL, for use in ad hoc queries as well as in writing PL/I and COBOL transaction programs. 4. The SQL parser, access path selection routines, and machine language code generator are used in common between query processing and precompilation of transaction programs. 5. When an index used by a transaction program is dropped, a new access path is automatically selected for the transaction without user intervention.

JANUS: An interactive system for document composition

This paper describes the architecture of a proposed document composition system named JANUS, which is intended to provide support for authors of complex documents containing mixtures of text, line art, and tone art. The JANUS system is highly interactive, providing authors with immediate feedback and direct electronic control over page layouts, using a special two-display workstation. Authors communicate with the system by marking up their documents with high-level descriptive “tags”. A tag definition language is provided whereby new tags may be defined and the format of each tagged object may be controlled.

IBM Relational Database Systems: The Early Years

The relational data model, proposed by E.F. Codd in 1970, inspired several research projects at IBM and elsewhere. Among these was System R, which demonstrated the commercial viability of relational database systems. This article describes the research challenges faced by the System R team and how the technology they created has influenced the development of the modern database industry.