The use of parallel processing technology in the next generation of Database Management Systems (DBMSs) makes it possible to meet new and challenging requirements. Database technology in rapidly expanding new application areas brings unique challenges such as increased functionality and efficient handling of very large heterogeneous databases. Abdelguerfi and Wong present the latest techniques in parallel relational databases illustrating high-performance achievements in parallel database systems. The text is structured according to the overall architecture of a parallel database system presenting various techniques that may be adopted to the design of parallel database software and hardware execution environments. These techniques can directly or indirectly lead to high-performance parallel database implementation. The book's main focus follows the authors' engineering model: A survey of parallel query optimization techniques for requests involving multi-way joins; A new technique for a join operation that can be adopted in the local optimization stage; A framework for recovery in parallel database systems using the ACTA formalism; The architectural details of NCR's new Petabyte multimedia database system; A description of the Super Database Computer (SDC-II); A case study for a shared-nothing parallel database server that analyzes and compares the effectiveness of five data placement techniques.