RAP

Abstract

Recent concepts in data base management systems (DBMS) necessitate making the logical view and the physical representation of data distinct from each other. Currently, this requirement has to be realized in the environment of conventional Von Neumann architecture. This creates the need for several levels of indirection for mapping one structure into the other. Also, efficient search mechanisms are needed to handle large data bases within concurrent processing and on-line response limits. The implementation of these requirements results in software complexities and inefficiencies in the following way. Pointer mechanisms for mapping structures and providing fast access paths have to be implemented by software and data. These pointers are extra data requiring extensive overhead in storage, access time, and maintenance.