It is the authors' responsibility to make sure that the camera ready version of accepted papers adheres strictly to formatting detailed in this page. Submissions not complying with the instructions below up until the final submission deadline (June 12th) risk not being published.  Should the Proceedings Editor have any problems with your submission, e.g., missing fonts or the like, he will do his best to contact the responsible author as soon as possible, however in the interest of time, and in order to guarantee the publication of your paper, following the instructions below is required.

Only PDF files will be accepted.  (In case you need, a quick search on the web will show a large number of freely available tools that are able to convert different file formats into PDF - however, the Proceedings Editor does not endorse any one in particular - use them at your own risk).  It is particularly important that you make sure only standard fonts are used and that bitmapped fonts are avoided.  If non-standard fonts are needed they must be embedeed in the submitted file.

Unlike previous years, authors of accepted paper must also upload a plain text version of the paper's abstract (to be used in  an extended version of the technical program).  Note that since the abstract originally submitted may have been revised we will not re-use it, therefore abstracts not  when the final camera ready is uploaded is mandatory.

Morgan Kaufmann's formatting instructions for the VLDB Proceedings may be found in the file format.txt. These guidelines apply to all the categories appearing in the Proceedings. All page limits are firm upper bounds, i.e., you can use less but no more pages, (extra pages cannot be purchased) and are as follows:

• 12 pages for all papers in the Core Database System Technology, Infrastructure for Information Systems, and Industrial, Applications and Experience tracks. Extended abstracts may be shorter. (If you are unsure about your paper's situation, ask the corresponding PC chair of your paper's track.)
  
• 4 pages for demonstration descriptions,
• 4 pages for panel sessions, and
• 1 page for tutorials.
  

In order to help you format your submissions, we have provided a few files for both L^ATEX and Microsoft Word users:

• L^ATEX:
  

• vldb.sty is a L^ATEX style file, defining environments which conform to Morgan Kaufmann's guidelines. It should work with both L^ATEX version 2.09 and L^ATEX2_e.

  vldb.sty should be made to work by including it through a \documentstyle directive like this:
  \documentstyle[vldb]{article}.

  This style file will insert the required copyright notice automatically.

  Note that the "\topmargin -55pt" command in the style file is not a standard option and does not have a counterpart option (\bottommargin). If you experience problems with it, such as printing with no top margin, you might try defining standard LaTeX margins by setting "tmargin=0.75in,bmargin=1.125in" within the "\geometry" clause.

• vldb.cls is the adaptation of the vldb.sty file to the L^ATEX2_e class format. It should be made to work by including it through a direct \documentclass directive, like this:

  \documentclass{vldb}.

• vldb_format.tex is a L^ATEX2_e template (it uses the vldb.cls class file) and the file vldb_format.pdf illustrates how the resulting file should look like.

• Microsoft Word:

• vldb_format.doc is a Word version of Morgan Kaufmann's guidelines, appropriately formatted.

• HINTS (from a non-expert!):

• If you are planning to generate a PS file and then converting it into PDF using "ps2pdf" use the option -Ppdf with dvips, e.g., "divps yourfile.dvi -Ppdf yourfile.ps" and then "ps2pdf yourfile.ps".  Most systems should support the -Ppdf option, if your does not please contact your system administrator (not the Proceedings Editor).

• Adobe Reader (which is freely available for a number of plataforms)  allows one to inspect the fonts used in the PDF file (typically under the option File/Document Info/Fonts).  Before you submit your final PDF file on CMT it would be wise to use that tool to make sure that all fonts used are listed as embedded.
  

You may, as you wish, use these style files in their entirety, or copy out individual definitions or styles into your own document. However, even if you use one of these files, the responsibility remains with yourself to ensure that the final version of your paper meets the guidelines as described in format.txt.  (Please note that given the arge variety of environments where the papers can be produced the Proceedings Editor cannot offer support with the use of any tool in particular.)

Finally, the copyright notice must be included in your paper, and it can be found in the file copyright_notice.txt. Note that it is already included in the L^ATEX and MIcrosoft Word templates, and more importantly, even if you have a template used in previous VLDB editions, it needs to be updated.

For ease of downloading, copies of all of these files are included in the archive all_files.zip.

The transfer of copyright form may be found in the file copyright_form.txt. It must be signed and sent to the Proceedinds Editor (including demonstrations papers) by:

•  mailing the original to:

• and, in addition (not instead of), faxing a copy of the mailed form to:

Mario Nascimento

VLDB 2004 Proc. Editor