Efficient indexing methods for temporal relations

The primary issues that affect the design of indexing methods are examined, and several structures and algorithms for specific cases are proposed. The append-only tree (AP-tree) structure indexes data for append-only databases to help event-join optimization and queries that can exploit the inherent time ordering of such databases. Two variable indexing for the surrogate and time is discussed. It is shown that a nested index could be a very efficient structure in this context and is preferable to a composite B-tree or an index that involves linear lists of historical tuples. The problems of indexing time intervals, as related to nonsurrogate joint-indexing, are discussed. Several algorithms to partition the time line are introduced. A two-variable AT index based on nested indexing is outlined.<
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