Definition
Rank-aware query processing refers to the efficient processing of a top-k query taking into account the ranking requirements on output results. A naïve way to process a top-k query is to calculate the full set of results and then sort them based on the ranking function; the top-k results are presented as the final query answers. Such a naïve materialize-then-sort scheme can be prohibitively expensive. Integrating top-k queries in SQL query engines requires addressing the challenge of making an RDBMS rank-aware. This requires introducing new constructs in the whole system including the data model, algebra, query operators, and query optimization techniques.
Historical Background
The need for rank-aware query processing arose since the introduction of top-k queries with score aggregation and rank joins to the database community. Fagin et al. [1] first introduced the problem of ranking a database of objects, given several rankings of the objects, by aggregating their scores...
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Recommended Reading
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Ilyas, I. (2016). Rank-Aware Query Processing. In: Liu, L., Özsu, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Database Systems. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7993-3_80680-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7993-3_80680-1
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