SciQL, A query language for science applications

Scientific applications are still poorly served by contemporary relational database systems. At best, the system provides a bridge towards an external library using user-defined functions, explicit import/export facilities or linked-in Java/C# interpreters. Time has come to rectify this with SciQL, a SQL-query language for science applications with arrays as first class citizens. It provides a seamless symbiosis of array-, set-, and sequence- interpretation using a clear separation of the mathematical object from its underlying storage representation. The language extends value-based grouping in SQL with structural grouping, i.e., fixed-sized and unbounded groups based on explicit relationships between its index attributes. It leads to a generalization of window-based query processing. The SciQL architecture benefits from a column store system with an adaptive storage scheme, including keeping multiple representations around for reduced impedance mismatch. This paper is focused on the language features, its architectural consequences and extensive examples of its intended use.