Re: sorting, this paper might be of intereset :
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/nodine01optimal.html
Its deals with external sorts using parallel disks, memory heirarchies, and CPUs (warning: not an easy read).
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/nodine01optimal.html
Its deals with external sorts using parallel disks, memory heirarchies, and CPUs (warning: not an easy read).