I took a databases class last year. In it, we learned about some theory and some practice and one of the most oft-cited papers was “On the Universal Relation” (1980) by Marc H. Graham. It’s apparently a classic. It’s got some foundational work in databases. It’s also nowhere to be found online, and local libraries did not have it. Everybody cites it… has anybody read it?
I took a couple of days to track down a physical copy from across the country, ordered it to my local library, scanned the paper, and now I am putting it here for the world to see. I tried to contact both the university and the author individually, but the research group is defunct and the author, while seemingly alive and well, did not respond. It’s been a long time since it was published, so hopefully nobody minds.
On the Universal Relation (PDF)
On the Universal Relation (OCRed) (PDF)
I’m sorry about the bad scan. I had to keep the spine of the book intact and in decent condition, so I couldn’t press it too flat.