To appear in SIGMOD 1996 1 Partition Based Spatial – Merge Join

This paper describes PBSM (Partition Based Spatial–Merge), a new algorithm for performing spatial join operation. This algorithm is especially effective when neither of the inputs to the join have an index on the joining attribute. Such a situation could arise if both inputs to the join are intermediate results in a complex query, or in a parallel environment where the inputs must be dynamically redistributed. The PBSM algorithm partitions the inputs into manageable chunks, and joins them using a computational geometry based plane–sweeping technique. This paper also presents a performance study comparing the the traditional indexed nested loops join algorithm, a spatial join algorithm based on joining spatial indices, and the PBSM algorithm. These comparisons are based on complete implementations of these algorithms in Paradise, a database system for handling GIS applications. Using real data sets, the performance study examines the behavior of these spatial join algorithms in a variety of situations, including the cases when both, one, or none of the inputs to the join have an suitable index. The study also examines the effect of clustering the join inputs on the performance of these join algorithms. The performance comparisons demonstrates the feasibility, and applicability of the PBSM join algorithm.