SYSTEMS FOR KDD - FROM CONCEPTS TO PRACTICE

The considerable interest in knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) ha s led to several techniques and tools for the automated extraction of useful information from large data repositories. In order to use these developments in practical settings, there is need to consider the com puting systems that would support the complete KDD process. In this re gard, we identify and discuss important computing systems issues, and we compare and contrast some available research and commercial efforts . We suggest several enhancements to the underlying database systems t hat may significantly benefit the KDD process. We indicate why it is i mportant that tools to handle different aspects of the KDD effort need to be integrated. Finally, we briefly describe our experience in impl ementing a prototype KDD system for a large corporate environment.