Database Management System (DBMS)

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Applications Forms SQL SQL

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Evaluation Engine

Files and Access Methods

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Control Buffer Manager Manager
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Database Data Indexes Catalog

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Steps in Processing a Query
SQL statement

Scan, Parse, Validate

Intermediate form of query

Query
Query Optimizer
Optimizer
Execution plan

Query Code Generator

Code to execute query

Runtime DB Processor

Results of running query

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Conceptual Evaluation Strategy

 Semantics of an SQL query defined in terms of

the following conceptual evaluation strategy:

1. Compute the cross-product of from-list

2. Discard resulting tuples that fail qualifications
3. Delete attributes that are not in select-list
4. If DISTINCT is specified, eliminate duplicate
rows

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Example of Conceptual Evaluation
SELECT S.name
FROM Sailors S, Reserves R
WHERE S.sid=R.sid AND R.bid=103

S.SID SName Rating Age R.SID BID Day

22 Dustin 7 45 22 101 10/10/96
22 Dustin 7 45 58 103 11/12/96
31 Lubber 8 55 22 101 10/10/96
31 Lubber 8 55 58 103 11/12/96
58 Rusty 10 35 22 101 10/10/96
58 Rusty 10 35 58 103 11/12/96

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Conceptual Evaluation Strategy
 This strategy is probably the least efficient
way to compute a query!

 An “optimizer” will find more efficient

strategies to compute the same answers

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Query Optimization Overview
Query Optimization Overview Cont.

 Optimizing a query involves two basic steps:

1. Generating alternative plans: only a subset of

all possible plans is considered (Why?)
2. Estimating the cost of each generated plan and
choosing the plan with the lowest estimated
cost
Intermediate Query Form
 An SQL query is translated into equivalent:

Relational Algebra Expression

 Represented as a:

Query Tree

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Relational Algebra

 Relational algebra

 Basic set of operations for the relational model

 Relational algebra expression

 Sequence of relational algebra operations

 SQL is based on concepts from relational algebra

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 Relational Algebra - Example
SELECT name, rating name,rating( Rating > 8(S))
FROM Sailors S
WHERE rating > 8

Commercial DBMSs do not provide user interface for

relational algebra queries!

But the core operations and functions in the DBMS

internal modules are all based on relational algebra
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Query Tree: A Query Evaluation Plan

 Query tree: a data structure that corresponds to a

relational algebra expression

 Input relations of the query as leaf nodes

 Relational algebra operations as internal nodes

 An execution of the query tree consists of executing

internal node operations

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 Query Tree
 S.sname

SELECT S.sname
S.id = E.sid FROM Student S, Enrolled E
WHERE S.id = E.sid
AND S.gpa > 4
 S.gpa > 4  E.cid = CSE454
AND E.cid = CS545

S E

sname(gpa > 4(S) id=sid cid=CS545(E))

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Optimization of Query Trees
 Get initial Query Tree
 Apply Cartesian Product of relations in FROM
 Selection and Join conditions of WHERE is applied
 Project on attributes in SELECT

 Transform it into an Equivalent Query Tree

 Represents a different relational expression
 Gives the same result
 More efficient to execute

 How?
 Next slides..

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Several alternatives!

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Equivalent Query Trees

 Alternative query evaluation plans are

considered as follows:

1. Selections and cross products can be combined

into joins
2. Joins can be reordered
3. Selections and projections can be pushed
ahead of joins
Equivalent Query Trees Cont.

 The output of one operator is sometimes

pipelined into the next operator without storing
it in a temporary relation
 When pipelining to a unary operator, we say
that the operator is applied on-the-fly and the
operator does not incur additional I/Os

Result tuples
of first join
pipelined into
join with C C

A B
 Left Deep Plans
 Plan Space: Too large, must be pruned
 In left-deep trees, the right child of each join node is a base table
 Only the space of left-deep plans is considered as they allow
output of each operator to be pipelined into the next operator 
fully pipelined plans

D D

C C A B C D

A B A B
Cost Estimation of a Plan

 For each plan considered:

 Must estimate cost of each operation in plan
tree
 Depends on input (relation) size
 Need to estimate the cost using different access
paths (sequential scan, index, etc.)
 Must also estimate size of result for each
operation in tree!
 Use information about the input relations
 For selections and joins, use estimates, e.g.,
“selectivity”
Operations of Relational Algebra

In this
Lecture

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Operations of Relational Algebra

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 Projection () - Example
SID Name Rating Age
28 Yuppy 9 35
Name,Rating(S)
31 Lubber 8 55
44 Guppy 5 35
58 Rusty 10 35

S
Name Rating
The result of an operation is a: Yuppy 9
new relation
Lubber 8
Guppy 5
Rusty 10

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Projection () - Example
SID Name Rating Age
28 Yuppy 9 35
Age(S)
31 Lubber 8 55
44 Guppy 5 35
58 Rusty 10 35

Age
35
55

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 Projection ()

<Attribute List> (R)

When applied on a a relation, say R

 Deletes attributes that are not in <Attribute List>
 Schema of result identical to the fields in the Attribute List

 Projection has to eliminate duplicates: why?

 In the formal relational model: a relation is a set of records
 Elements cannot be repeated in a set
 SQL typically does not eliminate duplicates unless the user
explicitly asks for it (i.e., DISTINCT)!

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Selection () - Example
SID Name Rating Age
28 Yuppy 9 35 σRating > 8(S)
31 Lubber 8 55
44 Guppy 5 35
58 Rusty 10 35

SID Name Rating Age

28 Yuppy 9 35
58 Rusty 10 35

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Selection ()

σ<Selection Condition> (R)

When applied on a relation, say R

 Selects rows that satisfy <Selection Condition>
 Schema of result identical to schema of input relation
 <Selection Condition> applied independently to each
individual tuple t in R
 If condition evaluates to TRUE, tuple selected
 Boolean conditions: AND, OR, NOT

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 Relational Algebra Expression - Example
SID Name Rating Age
28 Yuppy 9 35 name,rating( Rating > 8(S))
31 Lubber 8 55
44 Guppy 5 35
58 Rusty 10 35

A sequence of relational algebra Name Rating

operations forms a: Yuppy 9
relational algebra expression Rusty 10

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SELECT vs. WHERE
 In SQL:
 Selection (σ) is expressed by the WHERE clause
 SELECT clause actually does Projection (π)

 It is a historical accident 

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SELECT Queries - Examples
 Point Query (equality search):
  SSN='123456789' (Employee)
 Range Query
  DNUMBER>5 (Department)
 Conjunction Query
  DNO=5 AND SALARY>30000 AND GENDER=F (Employee)

 Disjunction Query
  DNO=5 OR SALARY>30000 OR GENDER=F (Employee)

 How does the DBMS answer each of those queries?

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