A comprehensive treatment of the functional approach to data management. The text brings together important material hitherto widely scattered, some new research, and a comprehensive set of references. A tutorial introduction by the editors prepares the reader for the chapters that follow, written by leading researchers. They provide a comprehensive treatment showing how the functional approach provides for modeling, analysis and optimization in databases, and also data integration and interoperation in heterogeneous environments. This text is a valuable resource for researchers, faculty and graduate students, as well as those in industry responsible for new systems development.