Approximations in Database Systems Yannis Ioannidis   View Paper (PDF)   Return to Invited Papers Abstract The need for approximations of information has become very critical in the recent past. From traditional query optimization to newer functionality like user feedback and knowledge discovery, data management systems require quick delivery of approximate data in order to serve their goals. There are several techniques that have been proposed to solve the problem, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, we take a look at some of the most important data approximation problems and attempt to put them in a common framework and identify their similarities and differences. We then hint on some open and challenging problems that we believe are worth investigating. ©2004 Association for Computing Machinery