- Read Chapter 2 on B+Tree basics in Database Internals by Alex Petrov.
- "The R*-Tree: An Efficient and Robust Access Method for Points and Rectangles." Beckmann et al, in The Red Book. Link
As you read, think about and come to class prepared to answer the following questions:
- Under what circumstances is a secondary index superior to a sequential (in-order) scan of a heap file? Under what circumstances would the secondary index scan be preferable?
- What is the purpose of the neighbor pointers in a B+Tree? When are they useful?
- Why are B+Trees insufficient for storing and indexing the types of data stored by R*-Trees?