System R is a database management system that provides a high-level relational data interface, emphasizing data independence and allowing users to define various relational views on common underlying data. It includes features for data control such as authorization, integrity assertions, triggered transactions, logging, and recovery. The system is being implemented and evaluated at the IBM San Jose Research Laboratory, with a focus on research rather than commercialization. The paper describes the overall architecture and design of System R, including its relational data system and relational storage system. The relational data system (RDS) supports data retrieval, manipulation, definition, and control through the Relational Data Interface (RDI), which is accessible from programming languages. The relational storage system (RSS) manages storage, space allocation, transaction consistency, locking, and recovery. The system supports multiuser environments and concurrent transactions through virtual machines and a monitor machine for system administration. The paper also discusses the query facilities, data manipulation, data definition, and data control features of System R, including the use of cursors, views, and triggers. The optimizer is designed to minimize the cost of executing queries by selecting the most efficient access paths based on available images and links.System R is a database management system that provides a high-level relational data interface, emphasizing data independence and allowing users to define various relational views on common underlying data. It includes features for data control such as authorization, integrity assertions, triggered transactions, logging, and recovery. The system is being implemented and evaluated at the IBM San Jose Research Laboratory, with a focus on research rather than commercialization. The paper describes the overall architecture and design of System R, including its relational data system and relational storage system. The relational data system (RDS) supports data retrieval, manipulation, definition, and control through the Relational Data Interface (RDI), which is accessible from programming languages. The relational storage system (RSS) manages storage, space allocation, transaction consistency, locking, and recovery. The system supports multiuser environments and concurrent transactions through virtual machines and a monitor machine for system administration. The paper also discusses the query facilities, data manipulation, data definition, and data control features of System R, including the use of cursors, views, and triggers. The optimizer is designed to minimize the cost of executing queries by selecting the most efficient access paths based on available images and links.