System and method for performing joins and self-joins in a database system

摘要

A technique for efficiently joining multiple large tables in a database system which utilizes a join index. The technique uses a join index and minimizes the number of input/output operations while maximizing the use of the small main memory through a buffer allocation process based on the join index entries. The technique uses multi-dimensional partitioning and assigns partition identifiers to each buffer which are used to coordinate the resultant output files when the technique is complete. The output is vertically fragmented with one fragment for each input table which further allows the individual processing of each input table. The technique performs self-joins in a very efficient manner by requiring the records of the input table to be read only once.