Message from the General Chair

Welcome to VLDB 2009

On behalf of the conference committee for VLDB 2009, it is our pleasure to welcome you to Lyon, France for the 35th International Conference on Very Large Data Bases.

VLDB is a premier international forum for database researchers, vendors, practitioners, application developers, and users, organized every year by the VLDB Endowment. Since the first VLDB conference in 1975, the VLDB series has become the leading forum. Such achievement comes from the quality of the work submitted, the ability of the management to react to change, and the policy of being strictly international from the beginning. This 35th edition of VLDB illustrates the intense productivity of the international database research which is at the heart of data and information management for the emerging applications of the twenty-first century.

This is the second time VLDB is hosted in France. The first time was VLDB 1981 in Cannes (in the famous Palais des Festivals) on the French Riviera. This year, VLDB takes place at the Cité Internationale in Lyon, a modern Convention Center perfectly located by the Rhône river and a stunning botanic garden, easily reachable by public transportation from downtown hotels. Lyon, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with two rivers flowing through it, is a city of light, and most importantly a city with an original way of life. The richness of its history, its culinary heritage, the splendor of its cultural life, and its position at the heart of one of the most attractive regions in France, make it one of the major European tourist destinations.

We are grateful for the generous support of our numerous sponsors. Their sponsorship is critical to the success of this conference. The success of the conference depended on the help of many other people, and our thanks go to all of them: the VLDB Endowment which helped us in the critical stages of the conference, and all the chairs and members of the VLDB 2009 committees for their hard work and precious time to make this a success.

Welcome and enjoy VLDB 2009, Lyon and France.

Patrick Valduriez (general chair), Serge Abiteboul (PC chair), Mohand-Said Hacid and Jean-Marc Petit (organization chairs)