Our New Results in the Management of XML Data in Databases

During my time at Oracle, we had the chances to develop some new results in the management of XML Data in Databases. If you don't know what XML is, well, it is a slightly general version of the HTML code that you might have seen in websites. As for Database Management Systems, well, that is a form of structured storage used by banks, governmental organizations and companies to store their data safely, securely and in a way that permits quick and efficient access.

As compared to other results that usually represent incremental updates to existing work, this and our other work in databases represented novel work that went beyond the incremental. Enough of the technical stuff. In 2005, the International Conference on Data Engineering was held in Tokyo, and I was fortunate to have had the chance to visit the city. Below are a few wonderful shots of the city of Tokyo.

Update: Going with the theme of Japan, here is a sample poem from my book to end this post.

Reading haiku, drinking tea

I am unhappy

Longing for the Nameless.

All this time alone

I pray and pray

Beseeching the Nameless.

Death, thy graveyards are not full

And I do not wish to fall to the virus.

And so, I pray to the Nameless.

I pick up the phone.

“Sending prayers for everyone.”

I am now singing songs to the Nameless.

I pray to the Buddha.

The Enlightened, the Sea of Light,

I bow my head to the One, the Nameless.

I pray to God’s only begotten

For a world without hate.

I ask for peace of the Nameless.

Peace for all time,

And good fortune too.

I ask for World Peace from the Nameless.

Hope you enjoy the poems in this volume!