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Reviewer: George Pallis

Although much has changed since the first edition of this book [1] was published, the need for database systems remains. This second edition continues to be an essential resource for database practitioners and researchers, providing a thorough study of database systems. Most of the chapters have been extended to cover new and emerging technologies of database systems, such as Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Web information retrieval. The first half of the book (chapters 1 to 12) is devoted to the basics of relational and semi-structured databases. Specifically, the most current database standards are covered: structured query language-1999 (SQL-1999), SQL/persistent stored modules (SQL/PSM), SQL/call-level interface (SQL/CLI), Java Database Connectivity (JDBC), object description language (ODL), and XML. I consider this to be core material for any course on database systems. The second half of the book (chapters 13 to 23) is mainly devoted to the implementation of database management systems (DBMSs), since it focuses on storage structures; query processing; transaction processing for concurrency control and recovery; and parallel and distributed databases. Chapters 21 to 23 treat information integration techniques, such as data warehousing and mediation; data mining approaches; and Web information retrieval techniques. Although there are many books on the market that discuss this subject, this particular book is an excellent resource and could be used as the primary textbook for undergraduate and postgraduate database courses. A complete set of exercises is given in each chapter. I found most of the exercises quite educational. Another element I really appreciate in this book is the practical advice the authors give for integrating current technologies with databases. For instance, the discussions on "how to successfully plan a database application before building [one] reflects how these plans [could be] developed in the real world." After reading this book, readers will have a complete picture of the complications that arise in building DBMSs. They will also have learned how to improve the performance of DBMSs and how to design complex ones, in order to manage real-world business applications and massive quantities of data. The discussion about cutting-edge technologies used in business applications, in the last part of the book, is also worth mentioning. Finally, the book's Web site [2] is also very useful. It contains additional material, including homework assignments, projects, and exams. This book will appeal to a large audience, including graduate and postgraduate students, research engineers, and application programmers. Overall, it is a comprehensive, well-written, and informative book that presents up-to-date coverage of an important and growing area of computer science. Online Computing Reviews Service

Reviewer: Sergio Ilarri

This comprehensive book on databases covers modeling, programming, implementation, and other data management issues. The book, written by recognized researchers, is organized in five parts and 23 chapters. It starts with a preface that highlights the differences from the previous edition. There is an introductory chapter, and then Part 1 (chapters 2 to 4), on relational database modeling, presents the relational model and the relational algebra (chapter 2), normalization (chapter 3), and conceptual modeling with the entity-relationship model (ERM), unified modeling language (UML), and object definition language (ODL) (chapter 4). Part 2 (chapters 5 to 10) is about relational database programming. Chapter 5 presents an extended relational algebra (for example, by considering aggregation operators) and Datalog, the logical query language. Chapter 6 describes the basics of structured query language (SQL), including subqueries and transactions, while chapter 7 focuses on constraints and triggers. Chapter 8 explains views and indexes. Chapter 9 presents different approaches for linking a program with a database server: embedded SQL, stored procedures (SQL/persistent stored modules (PSM)), and using a call-level interface (CLI) (SQL/CLI, Java database connectivity (JDBC), and the PEAR DB Library for PHP). Chapter 10 considers security and authentication, recursive SQL, the object-relational model, user-defined types, and online analytical processing (OLAP) and the data cube operator. Part 3 (chapters 11 and 12) deals with semi-structured data, the importance of which has been recently highlighted in other reports [1]. Chapter 11 introduces Extensible Markup Language (XML) and the schema definition alternatives of using a document type definition (DTD) or XML Schema. Chapter 12 presents query languages for XML: XPath, XQuery, and extensible stylesheet language transformations (XSLT). Part 4 (chapters 13 to 20) is about database implementation issues. Chapter 13 describes the fundamentals of storage management. Chapter 14 presents indexing, describing the B-tree, hash tables, and also several multidimensional index structures such as the grid file. Chapters 15 and 16 focus on the query processor of a database management system (DBMS): chapter 15 presents different methods for the execution of operators of the relational algebra, and chapter 16 presents query compiling and optimization. Chapter 17 describes techniques for supporting resilience against system failures, such as different types of log-based recovery and archiving. Chapter 18 is devoted to concurrency control; several scheduling mechanisms based on locks, timestamps, and validation are studied. Chapter 19 discusses other advanced topics, such as deadlocks and the management of long transactions by defining compensating transactions. Chapter 20 concludes this part by considering implementation issues for parallel and distributed databases, including distributed hashing in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. Finally, Part 5 (chapters 21 to 23) describes other data management aspects. Chapter 21 describes three popular approaches for information integration: federated databases, data warehouses, and mediators. Chapter 22, on data mining, presents approaches for finding frequent itemsets and similar items in large databases and for computing data clusters. Chapter 23 considers the relation between database systems and the Internet, and presents the PageRank algorithm [2] and the model of data streams [3]. Each chapter ends with a very useful collection of definitions and a list of representative references, with an average of about ten references per chapter, although some chapters-such as 14 and 23-have a considerably higher number. Most sections include a list of exercises graded by difficulty. No answers are provided, but the book's Web page (http://infolab.stanford.edu/~ullman/dscb.html), maintained by the authors, contains solutions to selected exercises for the first edition of the book, along with an errata sheet for both editions and slides from related courses. Moreover, access to online homework and programming labs can be purchased on the publisher's site (http://esminfo.prenhall.com/goal/). A complete solution manual for instructors is available online (http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/academic/product/0,3110,013610813X,00.html). At the end of the book, the usual index of concepts provides quick access to the different topics covered in the book. This book will be of interest to students of introductory and advanced database courses, as well as teachers and other database practitioners. The explanations are very clear and appropriate examples are included. I found it a bit inconvenient that the relational model is explained before conceptual modeling, even though this trait is common to other popular database textbooks. The coverage of the book could be further expanded by considering the following elements: normal forms beyond the fourth normal form (4FN), physical design and tuning (such as denormalization), an introduction to relational calculus, semantic optimization, more emphasis on commercial products, and specialized (such as temporal and multimedia) databases. At certain points in the book, such as chapter 14, algorithms should have been presented along with the text description. It is also important to emphasize that, given its wide coverage, this book does not focus on specific aspects; supplementary materials are required to develop the students' ability to design a database and assess different alternatives. The coverage of database implementation issues is noteworthy, although it will probably fall short for a course centered on file structures. In conclusion, I highly recommend this fine book on databases. Online Computing Reviews Service