In a real-time database system, an application may assign a value to a transaction to reflect the return it expects to receive if the transaction commits before its deadline. Most research on real-time database systems has focused on systems where all transactions are assigned the same value, the performance goal being to minimize the number of missed deadlines. When transactions are assigned different values, the goal of the system shifts to maximizing the sum of the values of those transactions that commit by their deadlines. Minimizing the number of missed deadlines becomes a secondary concern. In this article, we address the problem of establishing a priority ordering among transactions characterized by both values and deadlines that results in maximizing the realized value. Of particular interest is the tradeoff established between these values and deadlines in constructing the priority ordering. Using a detailed simulation model, we evaluate the performance of several priority mappings that make this tradeoff in different, but fixed, ways. In addition, a "bucket" priority mechanism that allows the relative importance of values and deadlines to be controlled is introduced and studied. The notion of associating a penalty with transactions whose deadlines are not met is also briefly considered.
