Concepts inDetecting and exploiting near-sortedness for efficient relational query evaluation
Relational database
A relational database is a collection of data items organized as a set of formally described tables from which data can be accessed easily. A relational database is created using the relational model. The software used in a relational database is called a relational database management system (RDBMS). A relational database is the predominant choice in storing data, over other models like the hierarchical database model or the network model.
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Sorting
Sorting is any process of arranging items in some sequence and/or in different sets, and accordingly, it has two common, yet distinct meanings: ordering: arranging items of the same kind, class, nature, etc. in some ordered sequence, categorizing: grouping and labeling items with similar properties together (by sorts).
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Relational algebra
Relational algebra, an offshoot of first-order logic, deals with a set of finitary relations that is closed under certain operators. These operators operate on one or more relations to yield a relation. Relational algebra is a part of computer science.
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Sorting algorithm
In computer science, a sorting algorithm is an algorithm that puts elements of a list in a certain order. The most-used orders are numerical order and lexicographical order. Efficient sorting is important for optimizing the use of other algorithms that require sorted lists to work correctly; it is also often useful for canonicalizing data and for producing human-readable output.
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B-tree
In computer science, a B-tree is a tree data structure that keeps data sorted and allows searches, sequential access, insertions, and deletions in logarithmic time. The B-tree is a generalization of a binary search tree in that a node can have more than two children. Unlike self-balancing binary search trees, the B-tree is optimized for systems that read and write large blocks of data. It is commonly used in databases and filesystems.
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Sequential access
In computer science, sequential access means that a group of elements (e.g. data in a memory array or a disk file or on magnetic tape data storage) is accessed in a predetermined, ordered sequence. Sequential access is sometimes the only way of accessing the data, for example if it is on a tape. It may also be the access method of choice, for example if we simply want to process a sequence of data elements in order.
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Attribute (computing)
In computing, an attribute is a specification that defines a property of an object, element, or file. It may also refer to or set the specific value for a given instance of such. For clarity, attributes should more correctly be considered metadata. An attribute is frequently and generally a property of a property. However, in actual usage, the term attribute can and is often treated as equivalent to a property depending on the technology being discussed.
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