Data Structure Engineering For Byte-Addressable Non-Volatile Memory

Storage Class Memory (SCM) is emerging as a viable alternative to traditional DRAM, alleviating its scalability limits, both in terms of capacity and energy consumption, while being non-volatile. Hence, SCM has the potential to become a universal memory, blurring well-known storage hierarchies. However, along with opportunities, SCM brings many challenges. In this tutorial we will dissect SCM challenges and provide an in-depth view of existing programming models that circumvent them, as well as novel data structures that stem from these models. We will also elaborate on fail-safety testing challenges - an often overlooked, yet important topic. Finally, we will discuss SCM emulation techniques for end-toend testing of SCM-based software components. In contrast to surveys investigating the use of SCM in database systems, this tutorial is designed as a programming guide for researchers and professionals interested in leveraging SCM in database systems.