CALIDA: A System for Integrated Retrieval from Multiple Heterogeneous Databases

Abstract CALIDA provides integrated retrieval from multiple heterogeneous databases. Its major features include a menu guided interface with user defined macros, automatic join generation, estimation of the query result size, warning of expensive queries, automatic generation of target database queries, and transparent network access to the databases. CALIDA uses new results for computing low and high estimates of query result size. The CALIDA interface lets the user specify only correct queries. CALIDA is a specific application system built using the generic procedural modules and tools of IDA, developed at GTE Laboratories. New applications can be built by adding application specific knowledge about databases, DBMSs, and network communications. The system was implemented on the XEROX AI workstation using Interlisp-D and has network links to remote databases. It was tested with real production databases. The test results showed that the query turnaround time for complex requests was reduced by more than an order of magnitude.

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