Parallel Query Tuning

Abstract

A good analogy for parallel processing is to take an example from our everyday life. It’s that time of the year: the holidays when people are anxiously waiting to exchange gifts. Several people need to be given gifts and to get the gifts ready, the package needs to be packed, glued, and labeled. Once finished it’s either delivered in person or delivered to the post office for shipping. What if there was a method to break this entire processing into smaller pieces of work where a different person does each piece of work? One person cuts the paper, another assembles the gifts for one recipient, another cuts the adhesive tape, and finally one wraps up the gift and places the label. It would help in two aspects: first, if more than one person does the entire work, that person is not bored doing all the gifts all alone; second, when more people help in the process, the work will get done quicker. As the family network expands and more gifts have to be given in a subsequent year, this would mean increasing the number of people to complete the work sooner.