2198	 Introduction to Feature Analysis of Generalized Data Base Management Systems	 This paper is a separately published introduction to a main report which analyzes the features of generalized data base management systems. This introduction gives a review of the current state of the art in these systems and discusses the differences and similarities between capabilities found in host language systems and those found in self-contained systems. After some discussion of the problems of data independence and binding the four user levels are identified and described. Technical problems facing future designers are described. The first of these is that of handling existing stored data and the next is that of providing more complex data structures than those already available in conventional programming languages. The problem of high level interrogation and update functions acting on network structures is mentioned followed by a discussion of the problem of catering to a high volume of transactions initiated from terminals by parametric users-the lowest level of user. The use of Cobol as a basis for further development work is considered at some length with respect to data structures host language capabilities and self-contained capabilities. This section also assesses the effect of the Data Base Task Group proposals. The final section outlines the ten major topics in the main body of the full report. data base management systems programming languages data structures storage structures information retrieval transaction processing
