Design and implementation of a relational data base system for a minicomputer

A data base system provides the advantages of centralized control of data including increased data independence. Design specifications for a low level relational data base interface are given in the form of a formal description which separates the implementation details from the description of the functions making up the interface. The formal description may be used by both the user and implementer of the system. The minicomputer implementation of the data base system described is intended to be used directly by application programmers or as a base on which to build a higher level interface. The functions making up the system are FORTRAN callable subroutines making it convenient for minicomputer application programs to use the system. A method of utilizing the low level interface to implement a higher level interface based on the relational algebra is outlined.