ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It  has  been  a long journey, and I have been helped by many along the way.  I
would like to take this opportunity to thank some of them.



First, I  express my  sincere gratitude to my  adviser Gio  Wiederhold  for his
guidance and  encouragement.  This  dissertation  would  not have been possible
without his support.   Special thanks are  also  due  to Voy Wiederhold for her
genuine warmth and kindness.



I am truly  grateful to Arthur  Keller for his help in identifying  my research
problem,  and  for  working  closely  with  me all through.  This  research has
benefited much  from  his  good  insights and  valuable  suggestions.   I  also
appreciate his cooperation on publications, and his patience and flexibility in
accommodating my odd working hours.



I thank the other members  of my  thesis  committee,  David Beech, Prof. Hector
Garcia-Molina, Prof. Kincho Law, and Prof. Jeff Ullman for their willingness to
serve on the committee, and for their constructive suggestions and help.



I  gratefully  acknowledge  the  many  useful  discussions  with  Kurt  Shoens,
especially on the performance study and implementation topics.  His experienced
analysis and practical  suggestions helped  much in our work.  Even when he was
busy with  his transition to a new start-up, Kurt very kindly took the  time to
run several experiments on an Oracle database  to validate  the behavior of our
simulator (Chapter 6).



I am  much indebted  to Meikel  Poess for his  contributions in  our simulation
study.  Meikel  worked diligently  through  many weeks  and weekends coding the
simulator  and running experiments, came up  with good questions  and efficient
solutions,  utilized  our  whiteboard  effectively,  put  up  with  my  erratic
schedules,  and provided  much  motivation  and  encouragement.   His  cheerful
presence definitely made a big difference  to my  life  as a  research student.
His  work  on  validating  the  simulator formed  a very  useful basis  for  my
subsequent simulation experiments for performance analysis.  Tables 6.5 through
6.7,  and  Figures  6.1  through  6.4  in  Chapter  6   (Simulation  Model  and
Experimental Setup) are adapted from his thesis with permission.  Meikel's help
in reviewing the final drafts of my dissertation is especially appreciated.



I am grateful to Prof. John Hennessey for providing financial support during my
first  three years at Stanford.  My colleagues  in the Stanford  database group
have  been really great to  work  with.  Discussions with  Catherine Hamon were
very useful  during the initial stages of  this work.  Marianne Siroker  always
gave  quick and  expert help with administrative tasks.  Martin  Frost and Andy
Kacsmar did a super job administering the computer  systems.  I had interesting
and fun conversations on various topics with my officemates Michel Bilello, Ron
Burback,  Brian  Lent, Fang  Min, Dallan  Quass, and  with many  other  DBgroup
members.  Use  of the  various DBGroup facilities  and  the  weekly lunches are
appreciated.



This  research  was  supported  in  part  by  educational  grants  from  Oracle
Corporation.  To  mention a few among  the many people at Oracle who have taken
the time to give their help  and advice: Steffen Hulegaard, who persuaded me to
continue my  research; Bob  Jenkins  and  Hakan  Jakobsson, who participated in
thought-provoking  technical discussions; Alan Thiesen,  who patiently listened
to my  professional and  personal concerns; Sudheer  Thakur, who proof-read  my
papers  at  short   notice,  and  helped  with   my  defense  preparation;  and
Radhakrishna Hari, who contributed  in many ways, from  transplanting my plants
to  helping  me  move.  I  also appreciate the  flexibility of my  managers and
co-workers in the PIDEV  and SQLJ groups in accommodating my  double-life as  a
student.

 

I  also owe a great debt to the many people who encouraged  me before I came to
Stanford.    The  professors  at  Jadavpur  University,  Calcutta,  and  Indian
Institute of Science,  Bangalore,  motivated and guided  me in my studies.   In
particular, I thank Profs.   A. K.   Bannerjee,  N.  N. Biswas, S. Ghosh, L. M.
Patnaik, and  S.   Rajaraman for  believing  in  my  abilities.   Asis  Goswami
deserves special thanks  for his friendship, help, and  encouragement during my
stay in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.



I am grateful to all the people who have been there for me  one way or another.
In particular, I  thank  Usha Anne, Nabanita and  Gautam Bandyopadhyay, Lakshmi
and  Kamal Bakshi, Indrani  and Subhendu Chaudhuri, Hanna  Djajapranata,  Vidya
Jog, Basab and Anu Maulik, Inderpal Singh Mumick, Sandhya Narayan,  and Sujatha
Subramani  for  their  friendship and  understanding in  difficult  times. Bill
Youngster  made my Commencement  wonderful with  his  warm presence and special
surprises.  Many others go unnamed, but not unappreciated.



Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family.  I would not have made
it without them.   My father has inspired me  to  strive beyond  the  ordinary,
given me the  confidence  I  often lacked, encouraged me to  keep going when  I
faltered,  and has  provided active help and sound advice all  through my life.
My mother has been unfailingly supportive in every way, and has always listened
to my troubles, big and  small.  My sister is  an oasis of peace and friendship
in  a  world that often seems stressful and chaotic.  I  am fortunate indeed to
have such unquestioning love and  support.  This thesis is  dedicated  to them,
and to the memory of my loving grand-parents.