Cooperative Database Systems

In recent years, there has been considerable interest in techniques that enhance the cooperative behavior of database systems and many different techniques have been developed. These techniques approach the goal of cooperation in diverse ways; the differences may be in the specific task in which they offer cooperation, in the details of the solution, and even in the very interpretation of cooperative behavior. In this article we classify many different techniques into categories of cooperation, and we survey the techniques in some of these categories. Finally, we consider the challenges that remain and offer directions for new research. O 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.