A FUNCTIONAL DATABASE

Abstract

This thesis explores the use of functional languages to implement, manipulate and query databases. Implementing databases. A functional language is used to construct a database manager that allows efficient and concurrent access to sbared data. In contrast to the locking mechanism found in conventional databases, the functional database uses data dependency to provide exclusion. Results obtained from a prototype database demonstrate that data dependency permits an unusual degree of concurrency between operations on the data. The prototype database is used to exhibit some problems that seriously restrict concurrency and also to demonstrate the resolution of these problems using a new primitive. The design of a more realistic database is outlined. Some restrictions on the data structures that can be used in a functional database are also uncovered.