Nearest Neighbor Search:: A Database Perspective (Series in Computer Science)

Modern applications are both data and computationally intensive and require the storage and manipulation of voluminous traditional (alphanumeric) and nontraditional data sets (images, text, geometric objects, time-series). Examples of such emerging application domains are: Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Multimedia Information Systems, CAD/CAM, Time-Series Analysis, Medical Information Sstems, On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP), and Data Mining. These applications pose diverse requirements with respect to the information and the operations that need to be supported. From the database perspective, new techniques and tools therefore need to be developed towards increased processing efficiency. This monograph explores the way spatial database management systems aim at supporting queries that involve the space characteristics of the underlying data, and discusses query processing techniques for nearest neighbor queries. It provides both basic concepts and state-of-the-art results in spatial databases and parallel processing research, and studies numerous applications of nearest neighbor queries. "This monograph explores the way spatial database management systems aim at supporting queries that involve the space characteristics of the underlying data and discusses query processing techniques for nearest neighbor queries. It provides both basic concepts and state-of-the-art results in spatial databases and parallel processing research and studies numerous applications of nearest neighbor queries. It is an excellent reference for researchers, postgraduate students, and practitioners in computer science concerned with nearest neighbor search and related issues."--Résumé de l'éditeur Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Spatial Database Concepts....Pages 3-11 The R-Tree and Variations....Pages 13-21 Front Matter....Pages 23-23 Nearest Neighbor Queries....Pages 25-35 Analysis of Nearest Neighbor Queries....Pages 37-47 Nearest Neighbor Queries in Moving Objects....Pages 49-72 Front Matter....Pages 73-73 Parallel and Distributed Databases....Pages 75-85 Multidisk Query Processing....Pages 87-108 Multiprocessor Query Processing....Pages 109-125 Distributed Query Processing....Pages 127-152 Annotation This book can be used by students, researchers and professionals interested in nearest-neighbor search and related issues. More specifically, the book will be a valuable companion for postgraduate students studying spatial database issues, and for instructors who can use the book as a reference for specialized topics in nearest-neighbor query processing techniques. Researchers in several related areas will find this book useful, since it covers many important research directions