PGRTree

Plugin for Indexing Multidimensional Data in PostgreSQL Using R-tree

Description

In commercial database platforms, the standard search over multiple attributes is provided by B+-tree (or it's variants) with compound keys. On the other hand, such systems provide also multidimensional indexing, however, just for spatial purposes (such as GIS or CAD applications) and use special data types and querying syntax. Our solution allows to apply R-tree index (hence multi-dimensional indexing structure) in the same way as B+-tree with compound keys is applied. The solution is delivered as a plugin for PostgreSQL database. The main features are:

* No need for redefinition of tables or adding a column with special data type.
* Faster than using B-tree based indexing.
* Implemented using open-source DB.
* Experimentally verified speed-up considering standard solutions (such as B+-tree).

Where to get it

The PGRTree plugin is open-source and is therefore freely accessible. Users are welcome with their feedback.

Contact email:

hoksza<at>ksi.mff.cuni.cz

Research

Research group at the department:

SImilarity RETrieval Research Group

Supporting research projects and grants:

GACR 201/09/0683, MSMT MSM0021620838

Publications:

Hoksza D., Skopal T.: Native Multidimensional Indexing in Relational Databases, in COMAD 2008, Bombay, India, Computer Society of India, ACM SIGMOD online, ISBN: 978-81-8424-370-3, pp. 251-261, December 2008