This text enables readers to effectively manage mobile database systems (MDS) and data dissemination via wireless channels. The author explores the mobile communication platform and analyzes its use in the development of a distributed database management system. Workable solutions for key challenges in wireless information management are presented throughout the text.

Following an introductory chapter that includes important milestones in the history and development of mobile data processing, the text provides the information, tools, and resources needed for MDS management, including:

• Fundamentals of wireless communication
• Location and handoff management
• Fundamentals of conventional database management systems and why existing approaches are not adequate for mobile databases
• Concurrency control mechanism schemes
• Data processing and mobility
• Management of transactions
• Mobile database recovery schemes
• Data dissemination via wireless channels

Case studies and examples are used liberally to aid in the understanding and visualization of complex concepts. Various exercises enable readers to test their grasp of each topic before advancing in the text. Each chapter also concludes with a summary of key concepts as well as references for further study.

Professionals in the mobile computing industry, particularly e-commerce, will find this text indispensable. With its extensive use of case studies, examples, and exercises, it is also highly recommended as a graduate-level textbook.

About the Author
VIJAY KUMAR, PhD, is Professor of Computer Science and Informatics at the University of Missouri–Kansas City. Dr. Kumar has served as a consultant to the United Nations and Sprint PCS and is on the editorial review board of several peer-reviewed journals. His research interests include recovery and security in mobile database systems, workflow on the Web, mobile computing databases, data warehousing, and Web security.