Database technology is currently being pushed by the needs of new applications and pulled by the oppor- tunities of novel developments in hardware and systems architecture. The invited paper, two panel sessions and 27 papers in this volume report on how the technology is currently extending. One broad area covered is extended database semantics, including data models and data types, databases and logic, complex objects, and expert system approaches to databases. The other area covered is raw architectures and increased database systems support, including novel transaction models, data distribution and replication, database administration, and access efficiency.
