diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5996eda
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,31 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+  <artifactId>hyracks-algebricks-common</artifactId>
+
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hyracks-algebricks</artifactId>
+    <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+
+  <build>
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>2.0.2</version>
+        <configuration>
+          <source>1.6</source>
+          <target>1.6</target>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+  <dependencies>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-api</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint.java
index de5f778..924d85b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints;
 
 public class AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint extends AlgebricksPartitionConstraint {
     private final String[] locations;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint.java
index 9cd8079..99091aa 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints;
 
 public class AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint extends AlgebricksPartitionConstraint {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraint.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraint.java
similarity index 92%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraint.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraint.java
index 0a63b80..929479c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraint.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraint.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints;
 
 public abstract class AlgebricksPartitionConstraint {
     public enum PartitionConstraintType {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraintHelper.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraintHelper.java
similarity index 97%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraintHelper.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraintHelper.java
index e64602b..54cdb59 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraintHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/constraints/AlgebricksPartitionConstraintHelper.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.PartitionConstraintHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/exceptions/AlgebricksException.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/exceptions/AlgebricksException.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/exceptions/AlgebricksException.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/exceptions/AlgebricksException.java
index c852ecd..b55a4b3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/exceptions/AlgebricksException.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/exceptions/AlgebricksException.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions;
 
 public class AlgebricksException extends Exception {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/exceptions/NotImplementedException.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/exceptions/NotImplementedException.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/exceptions/NotImplementedException.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/exceptions/NotImplementedException.java
index f5343a8..cb9e054 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/exceptions/NotImplementedException.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/exceptions/NotImplementedException.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions;
 
 public class NotImplementedException extends RuntimeException {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 2L;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/utils/ListSet.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/utils/ListSet.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..acf1e6f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/utils/ListSet.java
@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Iterator;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+public class ListSet<E> implements Set<E> {
+    private List<E> list = new ArrayList<E>();
+
+    public ListSet() {
+    }
+
+    public ListSet(Collection<? extends E> arg) {
+        this.addAll(arg);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean add(E arg0) {
+        if (list.contains(arg0))
+            return false;
+        return list.add(arg0);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean addAll(Collection<? extends E> arg0) {
+        for (E item : arg0)
+            if (list.contains(item))
+                return false;
+        return list.addAll(arg0);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void clear() {
+        list.clear();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean contains(Object arg0) {
+        return list.contains(arg0);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean containsAll(Collection<?> arg0) {
+        return list.containsAll(arg0);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isEmpty() {
+        return list.isEmpty();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Iterator<E> iterator() {
+        return list.iterator();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean remove(Object arg0) {
+        return list.remove(arg0);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean removeAll(Collection<?> arg0) {
+        return list.removeAll(arg0);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean retainAll(Collection<?> arg0) {
+        return list.retainAll(arg0);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int size() {
+        return list.size();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Object[] toArray() {
+        return list.toArray();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <T> T[] toArray(T[] arg0) {
+        return list.toArray(arg0);
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    @Override
+    public boolean equals(Object arg) {
+        if (!(arg instanceof Set))
+            return false;
+        Set<E> set = (Set<E>) arg;
+        for (E item : set) {
+            if (!this.contains(item))
+                return false;
+        }
+        for (E item : this) {
+            if (!set.contains(item))
+                return false;
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        return list.toString();
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/utils/Pair.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/utils/Pair.java
similarity index 96%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/utils/Pair.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/utils/Pair.java
index d3aff9f..ddd56da 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/utils/Pair.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/utils/Pair.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/utils/Triple.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/utils/Triple.java
similarity index 96%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/utils/Triple.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/utils/Triple.java
index ad76ef1..0361152 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/utils/Triple.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/common/utils/Triple.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils;
 
 public class Triple<T1, T2, T3> {
     public T1 first;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/AbstractCompilerFactoryBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/AbstractCompilerFactoryBuilder.java
index 276398d..f1e7acb 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/AbstractCompilerFactoryBuilder.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/AbstractCompilerFactoryBuilder.java
@@ -16,25 +16,25 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryBooleanInspector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryIntegerInspector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.ISerializerDeserializerProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.ITypeTraitProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionEvalSizeComputer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionTypeComputer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IMergeAggregationExpressionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.INullableTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IPartialAggregationTypeComputer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.AbstractRuleController;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.PhysicalOptimizationConfig;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.ISerializerDeserializerProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.ITypeTraitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriterFactory;
 
 public abstract class AbstractCompilerFactoryBuilder {
@@ -45,10 +45,10 @@
     protected ISerializerDeserializerProvider serializerDeserializerProvider;
     protected IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider hashFunctionFactoryProvider;
     protected IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider comparatorFactoryProvider;
-    protected IBinaryBooleanInspector binaryBooleanInspector;
-    protected IBinaryIntegerInspector binaryIntegerInspector;
+    protected IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory binaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
+    protected IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory binaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
     protected IPrinterFactoryProvider printerProvider;
-    protected ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen;
+    protected IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider;
     protected IExpressionTypeComputer expressionTypeComputer;
     protected INullableTypeComputer nullableTypeComputer;
     protected IExpressionEvalSizeComputer expressionEvalSizeComputer;
@@ -102,20 +102,20 @@
         return comparatorFactoryProvider;
     }
 
-    public void setBinaryBooleanInspector(IBinaryBooleanInspector binaryBooleanInspector) {
-        this.binaryBooleanInspector = binaryBooleanInspector;
+    public void setBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory(IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory binaryBooleanInspectorFactory) {
+        this.binaryBooleanInspectorFactory = binaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
     }
 
-    public IBinaryBooleanInspector getBinaryBooleanInspector() {
-        return binaryBooleanInspector;
+    public IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory getBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory() {
+        return binaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
     }
 
-    public void setBinaryIntegerInspector(IBinaryIntegerInspector binaryIntegerInspector) {
-        this.binaryIntegerInspector = binaryIntegerInspector;
+    public void setBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory(IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory binaryIntegerInspectorFactory) {
+        this.binaryIntegerInspectorFactory = binaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
     }
 
-    public IBinaryIntegerInspector getBinaryIntegerInspector() {
-        return binaryIntegerInspector;
+    public IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory getBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory() {
+        return binaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
     }
 
     public void setPrinterProvider(IPrinterFactoryProvider printerProvider) {
@@ -126,12 +126,12 @@
         return printerProvider;
     }
 
-    public void setExprJobGen(ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen) {
-        this.exprJobGen = exprJobGen;
+    public void setExpressionRuntimeProvider(IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider) {
+        this.expressionRuntimeProvider = expressionRuntimeProvider;
     }
 
-    public ILogicalExpressionJobGen getExprJobGen() {
-        return exprJobGen;
+    public IExpressionRuntimeProvider getExpressionRuntimeProvider() {
+        return expressionRuntimeProvider;
     }
 
     public void setExpressionTypeComputer(IExpressionTypeComputer expressionTypeComputer) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/HeuristicCompilerFactoryBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/HeuristicCompilerFactoryBuilder.java
index 9245772..1d21463 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/HeuristicCompilerFactoryBuilder.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/HeuristicCompilerFactoryBuilder.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.compiler.api;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionEvalSizeComputer;
@@ -21,10 +22,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IMergeAggregationExpressionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.INullableTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.PlanCompiler;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.PlanCompiler;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.AlgebricksOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.HeuristicOptimizer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IOptimizationContextFactory;
@@ -85,10 +85,10 @@
                         AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.fine("Starting Job Generation.\n");
                         JobGenContext context = new JobGenContext(null, metadata, appContext,
                                 serializerDeserializerProvider, hashFunctionFactoryProvider, comparatorFactoryProvider,
-                                typeTraitProvider, binaryBooleanInspector, binaryIntegerInspector, printerProvider,
-                                nullWriterFactory, normalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider, exprJobGen,
-                                expressionTypeComputer, nullableTypeComputer, oc, expressionEvalSizeComputer,
-                                partialAggregationTypeComputer, frameSize, clusterLocations);
+                                typeTraitProvider, binaryBooleanInspectorFactory, binaryIntegerInspectorFactory,
+                                printerProvider, nullWriterFactory, normalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider,
+                                expressionRuntimeProvider, expressionTypeComputer, nullableTypeComputer, oc,
+                                expressionEvalSizeComputer, partialAggregationTypeComputer, frameSize, clusterLocations);
                         PlanCompiler pc = new PlanCompiler(context);
                         return pc.compilePlan(plan, null);
                     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/ICompiler.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/ICompiler.java
index 654337a..9146722 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/ICompiler.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/api/ICompiler.java
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.compiler.api;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 
 public interface ICompiler {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/PrioritizedRuleController.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/PrioritizedRuleController.java
index 129ec26..8ba6583 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/PrioritizedRuleController.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/PrioritizedRuleController.java
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.AbstractRuleController;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/SequentialFixpointRuleController.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/SequentialFixpointRuleController.java
index 8be65f4..978a647 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/SequentialFixpointRuleController.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/SequentialFixpointRuleController.java
@@ -18,19 +18,16 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.AbstractRuleController;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 /**
- * 
  * Runs rules sequentially (round-robin), until one iteration over all rules
  * produces no change.
  * 
- * 
  * @author Nicola
- * 
  */
 public class SequentialFixpointRuleController extends AbstractRuleController {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/SequentialOnceRuleController.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/SequentialOnceRuleController.java
index 5cf62e0..1e37d14 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/SequentialOnceRuleController.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-compiler/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/compiler/rewriter/rulecontrollers/SequentialOnceRuleController.java
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.AbstractRuleController;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/pom.xml
index 9fb84a7..f3e9b74 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/pom.xml
@@ -37,5 +37,15 @@
   	<artifactId>hyracks-dataflow-std</artifactId>
   	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-algebricks-runtime</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-algebricks-common</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
   </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IHyracksJobBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IHyracksJobBuilder.java
index 19c85c6..4c6e747 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IHyracksJobBuilder.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IHyracksJobBuilder.java
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalExpression.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalExpression.java
index a54a88d..b1a2408 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalExpression.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalExpression.java
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.FunctionalDependency;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface ILogicalExpression {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalOperator.java
index 719b5df..165fccd 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalOperator.java
@@ -19,16 +19,16 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.VariablePropagationPolicy;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 
 public interface ILogicalOperator {
 
@@ -89,8 +89,4 @@
     public IPhysicalPropertiesVector getDeliveredPhysicalProperties();
 
     public void computeDeliveredPhysicalProperties(IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
-
-    public void setHostQueryContext(Object context);
-
-    public Object getHostQueryContext();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalPlanAndMetadata.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalPlanAndMetadata.java
index 5a616c6..1d354de 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalPlanAndMetadata.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/ILogicalPlanAndMetadata.java
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
 
 public interface ILogicalPlanAndMetadata {
     public ILogicalPlan getPlan();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IOptimizationContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IOptimizationContext.java
index 4daaceb..468d25c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IOptimizationContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IOptimizationContext.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionEvalSizeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IMergeAggregationExpressionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableEvalSizeEnvironment;
@@ -24,7 +25,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.FunctionalDependency;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILogicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.PhysicalOptimizationConfig;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IPhysicalOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IPhysicalOperator.java
index 46d2dc3..58c2870 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IPhysicalOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/IPhysicalOperator.java
@@ -14,11 +14,11 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 
 public interface IPhysicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/LogicalOperatorTag.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/LogicalOperatorTag.java
index 01fa9da..5234d2c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/LogicalOperatorTag.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/LogicalOperatorTag.java
@@ -44,5 +44,6 @@
     WRITE_RESULT,
     INSERT_DELETE,
     INDEX_INSERT_DELETE,
-    UPDATE
+    UPDATE,
+    EXTENSION_OPERATOR
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/PhysicalOperatorTag.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/PhysicalOperatorTag.java
index 48f320b..a969372 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/PhysicalOperatorTag.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/base/PhysicalOperatorTag.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
     ASSIGN,
     BROADCAST_EXCHANGE,
     BTREE_SEARCH,
+    STATS,
     DATASOURCE_SCAN,
     EMPTY_TUPLE_SOURCE,
     EXTERNAL_GROUP_BY,
@@ -41,5 +42,7 @@
     WRITE_RESULT,
     INSERT_DELETE,
     INDEX_INSERT_DELETE,
-    UPDATE
+	UPDATE,
+    INVERTED_INDEX_SEARCH,
+    PARTITIONINGSPLIT
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IAWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IAWriter.java
deleted file mode 100644
index d29fab6..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IAWriter.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-
-public interface IAWriter {
-
-    public void init() throws AlgebricksException;
-
-    public void printTuple(FrameTupleAccessor tAccess, int tIdx) throws AlgebricksException;
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/AbstractFunctionCallExpression.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/AbstractFunctionCallExpression.java
index dae055c..0d9e763 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/AbstractFunctionCallExpression.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/AbstractFunctionCallExpression.java
@@ -146,11 +146,11 @@
     public void getConstraintsAndEquivClasses(Collection<FunctionalDependency> fds,
             Map<LogicalVariable, EquivalenceClass> equivClasses) {
         FunctionIdentifier funId = getFunctionIdentifier();
-        if (funId == AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND) {
+        if (funId.equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND)) {
             for (Mutable<ILogicalExpression> a : arguments) {
                 a.getValue().getConstraintsAndEquivClasses(fds, equivClasses);
             }
-        } else if (funId == AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ) {
+        } else if (funId.equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ)) {
             ILogicalExpression opLeft = arguments.get(0).getValue();
             ILogicalExpression opRight = arguments.get(1).getValue();
             if (opLeft.getExpressionTag() == LogicalExpressionTag.CONSTANT
@@ -170,11 +170,11 @@
     @Override
     public void getConstraintsForOuterJoin(Collection<FunctionalDependency> fds, Collection<LogicalVariable> outerVars) {
         FunctionIdentifier funId = getFunctionIdentifier();
-        if (funId == AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND) {
+        if (funId.equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND)) {
             for (Mutable<ILogicalExpression> a : arguments) {
                 a.getValue().getConstraintsForOuterJoin(fds, outerVars);
             }
-        } else if (funId == AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ) {
+        } else if (funId.equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ)) {
             ILogicalExpression opLeft = arguments.get(0).getValue();
             ILogicalExpression opRight = arguments.get(1).getValue();
             if (opLeft.getExpressionTag() == LogicalExpressionTag.VARIABLE
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public boolean splitIntoConjuncts(List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> conjs) {
-        if (getFunctionIdentifier() != AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND || arguments.size() <= 1) {
+        if (!getFunctionIdentifier().equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND) || arguments.size() <= 1) {
             return false;
         } else {
             conjs.addAll(arguments);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/AggregateFunctionCallExpression.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/AggregateFunctionCallExpression.java
index ac77ee2..a720039 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/AggregateFunctionCallExpression.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/AggregateFunctionCallExpression.java
@@ -18,10 +18,10 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 /**
  * 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ConstantExpression.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ConstantExpression.java
index 2fa0637..a0b7674 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ConstantExpression.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ConstantExpression.java
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalExpressionTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public final class ConstantExpression extends AbstractLogicalExpression {
     private IAlgebricksConstantValue value;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionEvalSizeComputer.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionEvalSizeComputer.java
index 8dd807e..623f7bb 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionEvalSizeComputer.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionEvalSizeComputer.java
@@ -14,8 +14,8 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface IExpressionEvalSizeComputer {
     // size in bytes, or -1 if unknown
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionRuntimeProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionRuntimeProvider.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5db1a0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionRuntimeProvider.java
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory;
+
+public interface IExpressionRuntimeProvider {
+    public IScalarEvaluatorFactory createEvaluatorFactory(ILogicalExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env,
+            IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
+
+    public IAggregateEvaluatorFactory createAggregateFunctionFactory(AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr,
+            IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException;
+
+    public ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(
+            AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas,
+            JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
+
+    public IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory createRunningAggregateFunctionFactory(StatefulFunctionCallExpression expr,
+            IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException;
+
+    public IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory createUnnestingFunctionFactory(UnnestingFunctionCallExpression expr,
+            IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionTypeComputer.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionTypeComputer.java
index 72861ae..3057d8a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionTypeComputer.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IExpressionTypeComputer.java
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface IExpressionTypeComputer {
     public Object getType(ILogicalExpression expr, IMetadataProvider<?, ?> metadataProvider,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ILogicalExpressionJobGen.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ILogicalExpressionJobGen.java
index babfede..8d46662 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ILogicalExpressionJobGen.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ILogicalExpressionJobGen.java
@@ -14,34 +14,34 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IUnnestingFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory;
 
 public interface ILogicalExpressionJobGen {
 
-    public IEvaluatorFactory createEvaluatorFactory(ILogicalExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env,
+    public ICopyEvaluatorFactory createEvaluatorFactory(ILogicalExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env,
             IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
 
-    public IAggregateFunctionFactory createAggregateFunctionFactory(AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr,
+    public ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory createAggregateFunctionFactory(AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr,
             IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
             throws AlgebricksException;
 
-    public ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(
+    public ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(
             AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas,
             JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
 
-    public IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory createRunningAggregateFunctionFactory(StatefulFunctionCallExpression expr,
+    public ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory createRunningAggregateFunctionFactory(StatefulFunctionCallExpression expr,
             IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
             throws AlgebricksException;
 
-    public IUnnestingFunctionFactory createUnnestingFunctionFactory(UnnestingFunctionCallExpression expr,
+    public ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory createUnnestingFunctionFactory(UnnestingFunctionCallExpression expr,
             IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
             throws AlgebricksException;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IMergeAggregationExpressionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IMergeAggregationExpressionFactory.java
index 36a414c..04bb824 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IMergeAggregationExpressionFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IMergeAggregationExpressionFactory.java
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface IMergeAggregationExpressionFactory {
     ILogicalExpression createMergeAggregation(ILogicalExpression expr, IOptimizationContext env)
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/INullableTypeComputer.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/INullableTypeComputer.java
index 3290e35..37b6d80 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/INullableTypeComputer.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/INullableTypeComputer.java
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface INullableTypeComputer {
     public Object makeNullableType(Object type) throws AlgebricksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IPartialAggregationTypeComputer.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IPartialAggregationTypeComputer.java
index 88e34e9..5921335 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IPartialAggregationTypeComputer.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IPartialAggregationTypeComputer.java
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface IPartialAggregationTypeComputer {
     public Object getType(ILogicalExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IVariableTypeEnvironment.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IVariableTypeEnvironment.java
index 0827b97..2275227 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IVariableTypeEnvironment.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IVariableTypeEnvironment.java
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface IVariableTypeEnvironment {
     public Object getVarType(LogicalVariable var) throws AlgebricksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IndexedNLJoinExpressionAnnotation.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IndexedNLJoinExpressionAnnotation.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..709bfa1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/IndexedNLJoinExpressionAnnotation.java
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions;
+
+public class IndexedNLJoinExpressionAnnotation implements IExpressionAnnotation {
+
+    public static final String INDEXED_NL_JOIN_ANNOTATION_KEY = "indexnl";
+    public static final IndexedNLJoinExpressionAnnotation INSTANCE = new IndexedNLJoinExpressionAnnotation();
+
+    private Object object;
+
+    @Override
+    public Object getObject() {
+        return object;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setObject(Object object) {
+        this.object = object;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IExpressionAnnotation copy() {
+        IndexedNLJoinExpressionAnnotation clone = new IndexedNLJoinExpressionAnnotation();
+        clone.setObject(object);
+        return clone;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/LogicalExpressionJobGenToExpressionRuntimeProviderAdapter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/LogicalExpressionJobGenToExpressionRuntimeProviderAdapter.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91c9eae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/LogicalExpressionJobGenToExpressionRuntimeProviderAdapter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,193 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyAggregateFunction;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyRunningAggregateFunction;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyUnnestingFunction;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IUnnestingEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
+
+public class LogicalExpressionJobGenToExpressionRuntimeProviderAdapter implements IExpressionRuntimeProvider {
+    private final ILogicalExpressionJobGen lejg;
+
+    public LogicalExpressionJobGenToExpressionRuntimeProviderAdapter(ILogicalExpressionJobGen lejg) {
+        this.lejg = lejg;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IScalarEvaluatorFactory createEvaluatorFactory(ILogicalExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env,
+            IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
+        ICopyEvaluatorFactory cef = lejg.createEvaluatorFactory(expr, env, inputSchemas, context);
+        return new ScalarEvaluatorFactoryAdapter(cef);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IAggregateEvaluatorFactory createAggregateFunctionFactory(AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr,
+            IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory caff = lejg.createAggregateFunctionFactory(expr, env, inputSchemas, context);
+        return new AggregateFunctionFactoryAdapter(caff);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(
+            AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas,
+            JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return lejg.createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(expr, env, inputSchemas, context);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory createRunningAggregateFunctionFactory(StatefulFunctionCallExpression expr,
+            IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory craff = lejg.createRunningAggregateFunctionFactory(expr, env,
+                inputSchemas, context);
+        return new RunningAggregateFunctionFactoryAdapter(craff);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory createUnnestingFunctionFactory(UnnestingFunctionCallExpression expr,
+            IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory cuff = lejg.createUnnestingFunctionFactory(expr, env, inputSchemas, context);
+        return new UnnestingFunctionFactoryAdapter(cuff);
+    }
+
+    public static final class ScalarEvaluatorFactoryAdapter implements IScalarEvaluatorFactory {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        private final ICopyEvaluatorFactory cef;
+
+        public ScalarEvaluatorFactoryAdapter(ICopyEvaluatorFactory cef) {
+            this.cef = cef;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+            final ArrayBackedValueStorage abvs = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+            final ICopyEvaluator ce = cef.createEvaluator(abvs);
+            return new IScalarEvaluator() {
+                @Override
+                public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                    abvs.reset();
+                    ce.evaluate(tuple);
+                    result.set(abvs);
+                }
+            };
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static final class AggregateFunctionFactoryAdapter implements IAggregateEvaluatorFactory {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        private final ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory caff;
+
+        public AggregateFunctionFactoryAdapter(ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory caff) {
+            this.caff = caff;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IAggregateEvaluator createAggregateEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+            final ArrayBackedValueStorage abvs = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+            final ICopyAggregateFunction caf = caff.createAggregateFunction(abvs);
+            return new IAggregateEvaluator() {
+                @Override
+                public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
+                    caf.step(tuple);
+                }
+
+                @Override
+                public void init() throws AlgebricksException {
+                    abvs.reset();
+                    caf.init();
+                }
+
+                @Override
+                public void finish(IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                    caf.finish();
+                    result.set(abvs);
+                }
+            };
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static final class RunningAggregateFunctionFactoryAdapter implements IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        private final ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory craff;
+
+        public RunningAggregateFunctionFactoryAdapter(ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory craff) {
+            this.craff = craff;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IRunningAggregateEvaluator createRunningAggregateEvaluator() throws AlgebricksException {
+            final ArrayBackedValueStorage abvs = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+            final ICopyRunningAggregateFunction craf = craff.createRunningAggregateFunction(abvs);
+            return new IRunningAggregateEvaluator() {
+                @Override
+                public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                    abvs.reset();
+                    craf.step(tuple);
+                    result.set(abvs);
+                }
+
+                @Override
+                public void init() throws AlgebricksException {
+                    craf.init();
+                }
+            };
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static final class UnnestingFunctionFactoryAdapter implements IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        private final ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory cuff;
+
+        public UnnestingFunctionFactoryAdapter(ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory cuff) {
+            this.cuff = cuff;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IUnnestingEvaluator createUnnestingEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+            final ArrayBackedValueStorage abvs = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+            final ICopyUnnestingFunction cuf = cuff.createUnnestingFunction(abvs);
+            return new IUnnestingEvaluator() {
+                @Override
+                public boolean step(IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                    abvs.reset();
+                    if (cuf.step()) {
+                        result.set(abvs);
+                        return true;
+                    }
+                    return false;
+                }
+
+                @Override
+                public void init(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
+                    cuf.init(tuple);
+                }
+            };
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ScalarFunctionCallExpression.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ScalarFunctionCallExpression.java
index fa8838b..bf3f82b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ScalarFunctionCallExpression.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/ScalarFunctionCallExpression.java
@@ -18,10 +18,10 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class ScalarFunctionCallExpression extends AbstractFunctionCallExpression {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/StatefulFunctionCallExpression.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/StatefulFunctionCallExpression.java
index c5cd897..40f25b2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/StatefulFunctionCallExpression.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/StatefulFunctionCallExpression.java
@@ -18,12 +18,12 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPartitioningProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPropertiesComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class StatefulFunctionCallExpression extends AbstractFunctionCallExpression {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/UnnestingFunctionCallExpression.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/UnnestingFunctionCallExpression.java
index 5f3de4b..71932d8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/UnnestingFunctionCallExpression.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/UnnestingFunctionCallExpression.java
@@ -18,10 +18,10 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class UnnestingFunctionCallExpression extends AbstractFunctionCallExpression {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/VariableReferenceExpression.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/VariableReferenceExpression.java
index b21eba3..76a7ec6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/VariableReferenceExpression.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/expressions/VariableReferenceExpression.java
@@ -19,11 +19,11 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalExpressionTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class VariableReferenceExpression extends AbstractLogicalExpression {
     private int tupleRef;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.java
index 7511155..de9cf29 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.java
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions;
 
-import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 
@@ -28,69 +27,27 @@
         NEQ
     }
 
-    private static Map<FunctionIdentifier, FunctionIdentifier> algebricksBuiltinFunctions = new HashMap<FunctionIdentifier, FunctionIdentifier>();
-
-    private static Map<FunctionIdentifier, IFunctionInfo> _finfos = new HashMap<FunctionIdentifier, IFunctionInfo>();
-
     public static final String ALGEBRICKS_NS = "algebricks";
 
     // comparisons
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier EQ = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "eq", 2, true);
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier LE = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "le", 2, true);
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier GE = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "ge", 2, true);
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier LT = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "lt", 2, true);
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier GT = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "gt", 2, true);
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier NEQ = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "neq", 2, true);
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier EQ = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "eq", 2);
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier LE = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "le", 2);
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier GE = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "ge", 2);
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier LT = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "lt", 2);
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier GT = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "gt", 2);
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier NEQ = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "neq", 2);
 
     // booleans
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier NOT = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "not", 1, true);
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier NOT = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "not", 1);
     public final static FunctionIdentifier AND = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "and",
-            FunctionIdentifier.VARARGS, true);
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier OR = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "or", FunctionIdentifier.VARARGS,
-            true);
+            FunctionIdentifier.VARARGS);
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier OR = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "or", FunctionIdentifier.VARARGS);
 
     // numerics
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier NUMERIC_ADD = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "numeric-add", 2, true);
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier NUMERIC_ADD = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "numeric-add", 2);
 
     // nulls
-    public final static FunctionIdentifier IS_NULL = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "is-null", 1, true);
-
-    static {
-        // comparisons
-        add(EQ);
-        add(LE);
-        add(GE);
-        add(LT);
-        add(GT);
-        add(NEQ);
-        // booleans
-        add(NOT);
-        add(AND);
-        add(OR);
-        // numerics
-        add(NUMERIC_ADD);
-        // nulls
-        add(IS_NULL);
-        for (FunctionIdentifier fi : algebricksBuiltinFunctions.values()) {
-            _finfos.put(fi, new FunctionInfoImpl(fi));
-        }
-    }
-
-    private static void add(FunctionIdentifier fi) {
-        algebricksBuiltinFunctions.put(fi, fi);
-    }
-
-    public static final boolean isAlgebricksBuiltinFunction(FunctionIdentifier fi) {
-        return algebricksBuiltinFunctions.get(fi) != null;
-    }
-
-    public static final Collection<FunctionIdentifier> getAlgebricksBuiltinFunctions() {
-        return algebricksBuiltinFunctions.values();
-    }
-
-    public static final FunctionIdentifier getBuiltinFunctionIdentifier(FunctionIdentifier fi) {
-        return algebricksBuiltinFunctions.get(fi);
-    }
+    public final static FunctionIdentifier IS_NULL = new FunctionIdentifier(ALGEBRICKS_NS, "is-null", 1);
 
     private static final Map<FunctionIdentifier, ComparisonKind> comparisonFunctions = new HashMap<FunctionIdentifier, ComparisonKind>();
     static {
@@ -109,9 +66,4 @@
     public static boolean isComparisonFunction(FunctionIdentifier fi) {
         return comparisonFunctions.get(fi) != null;
     }
-
-    public static IFunctionInfo getBuiltinFunctionInfo(FunctionIdentifier fi) {
-        return _finfos.get(fi);
-    }
-
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/FunctionIdentifier.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/FunctionIdentifier.java
index 252f23c..548f646 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/FunctionIdentifier.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/FunctionIdentifier.java
@@ -14,36 +14,31 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions;
 
-public final class FunctionIdentifier {
-    final private String namespace;
-    final private String name;
-    final private boolean isBuiltin;
-    final private int arity;
+import java.io.Serializable;
+
+public final class FunctionIdentifier implements Serializable {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private final String namespace;
+    private final String name;
+    private final int arity;
 
     public final static int VARARGS = -1;
 
-    public FunctionIdentifier(String namespace, String name, boolean isBuiltin) {
-        this.namespace = namespace;
-        this.name = name;
-        this.arity = VARARGS;
-        this.isBuiltin = isBuiltin;
+    public FunctionIdentifier(String namespace, String name) {
+        this(namespace, name, VARARGS);
     }
 
-    public FunctionIdentifier(String namespace, String name, int arity, boolean isBuiltin) {
+    public FunctionIdentifier(String namespace, String name, int arity) {
         this.namespace = namespace;
         this.name = name;
         this.arity = arity;
-        this.isBuiltin = isBuiltin;
     }
 
     public String getName() {
         return name;
     }
 
-    public boolean isBuiltin() {
-        return isBuiltin;
-    }
-
     @Override
     public boolean equals(Object o) {
         if (super.equals(o)) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/IFunctionInfo.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/IFunctionInfo.java
index 57b7262..96afc8e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/IFunctionInfo.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/IFunctionInfo.java
@@ -14,8 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions;
 
+
 public interface IFunctionInfo {
     FunctionIdentifier getFunctionIdentifier();
-
-    Object getInfo();
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/metadata/IMetadataProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/metadata/IMetadataProvider.java
index 221992e..899b633 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/metadata/IMetadataProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/metadata/IMetadataProvider.java
@@ -16,14 +16,18 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.FunctionIdentifier;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
@@ -38,7 +42,8 @@
      */
     public Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> getScannerRuntime(IDataSource<S> dataSource,
             List<LogicalVariable> scanVariables, List<LogicalVariable> projectVariables, boolean projectPushed,
-            JobGenContext context, JobSpecification jobSpec) throws AlgebricksException;
+            IOperatorSchema opSchema, IVariableTypeEnvironment typeEnv, JobGenContext context, JobSpecification jobSpec)
+            throws AlgebricksException;
 
     public boolean scannerOperatorIsLeaf(IDataSource<S> dataSource);
 
@@ -58,15 +63,77 @@
             IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, List<LogicalVariable> keys, LogicalVariable payLoadVar,
             RecordDescriptor recordDesc, JobGenContext context, JobSpecification jobSpec) throws AlgebricksException;
 
+    /**
+     * Creates the insert runtime of IndexInsertDeletePOperator, which models
+     * insert/delete operations into a secondary index.
+     * 
+     * @param dataSource
+     *            Target secondary index.
+     * @param propagatedSchema
+     *            Output schema of the insert/delete operator to be created.
+     * @param inputSchemas
+     *            Output schemas of the insert/delete operator to be created.
+     * @param typeEnv
+     *            Type environment of the original IndexInsertDeleteOperator operator.
+     * @param primaryKeys
+     *            Variables for the dataset's primary keys that the dataSource secondary index belongs to.
+     * @param secondaryKeys
+     *            Variables for the secondary-index keys.
+     * @param filterExpr
+     *            Filtering expression to be pushed inside the runtime op.
+     *            Such a filter may, e.g., exclude NULLs from being inserted/deleted.
+     * @param recordDesc
+     *            Output record descriptor of the runtime op to be created.
+     * @param context
+     *            Job generation context.
+     * @param spec
+     *            Target job specification.
+     * @return
+     *         A Hyracks IOperatorDescriptor and its partition constraint.
+     * @throws AlgebricksException
+     */
     public Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> getIndexInsertRuntime(
-            IDataSourceIndex<I, S> dataSource, IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys,
-            List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys, RecordDescriptor recordDesc, JobGenContext context,
-            JobSpecification spec) throws AlgebricksException;
+            IDataSourceIndex<I, S> dataSource, IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas,
+            IVariableTypeEnvironment typeEnv, List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys, List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys,
+            ILogicalExpression filterExpr, RecordDescriptor recordDesc, JobGenContext context, JobSpecification spec)
+            throws AlgebricksException;
 
+    /**
+     * Creates the delete runtime of IndexInsertDeletePOperator, which models
+     * insert/delete operations into a secondary index.
+     * 
+     * @param dataSource
+     *            Target secondary index.
+     * @param propagatedSchema
+     *            Output schema of the insert/delete operator to be created.
+     * @param inputSchemas
+     *            Output schemas of the insert/delete operator to be created.
+     * @param typeEnv
+     *            Type environment of the original IndexInsertDeleteOperator operator.
+     * @param primaryKeys
+     *            Variables for the dataset's primary keys that the dataSource secondary index belongs to.
+     * @param secondaryKeys
+     *            Variables for the secondary-index keys.
+     * @param filterExpr
+     *            Filtering expression to be pushed inside the runtime op.
+     *            Such a filter may, e.g., exclude NULLs from being inserted/deleted.
+     * @param recordDesc
+     *            Output record descriptor of the runtime op to be created.
+     * @param context
+     *            Job generation context.
+     * @param spec
+     *            Target job specification.
+     * @return
+     *         A Hyracks IOperatorDescriptor and its partition constraint.
+     * @throws AlgebricksException
+     */
     public Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> getIndexDeleteRuntime(
-            IDataSourceIndex<I, S> dataSource, IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys,
-            List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys, RecordDescriptor recordDesc, JobGenContext context,
-            JobSpecification spec) throws AlgebricksException;
+            IDataSourceIndex<I, S> dataSource, IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas,
+            IVariableTypeEnvironment typeEnv, List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys, List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys,
+            ILogicalExpression filterExpr, RecordDescriptor recordDesc, JobGenContext context, JobSpecification spec)
+            throws AlgebricksException;
 
     public IDataSourceIndex<I, S> findDataSourceIndex(I indexId, S dataSourceId) throws AlgebricksException;
+
+    public IFunctionInfo lookupFunction(FunctionIdentifier fid);
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractAssignOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractAssignOperator.java
index 456010a..0e83902 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractAssignOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractAssignOperator.java
@@ -19,14 +19,13 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 /**
  * @author Nicola
- * 
  */
 public abstract class AbstractAssignOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
     protected final List<LogicalVariable> variables;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractBinaryJoinOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractBinaryJoinOperator.java
index c2911d4..5ab44a4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractBinaryJoinOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractBinaryJoinOperator.java
@@ -18,12 +18,12 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.VariablePropagationPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public abstract class AbstractBinaryJoinOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
     protected final Mutable<ILogicalExpression> condition;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractExtensibleLogicalOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractExtensibleLogicalOperator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10ecb1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractExtensibleLogicalOperator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IPhysicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode;
+
+/**
+ * @author rico
+ */
+public abstract class AbstractExtensibleLogicalOperator implements IOperatorExtension {
+
+    private AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode mode = AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode.UNPARTITIONED;
+    protected List<LogicalVariable> schema;
+    protected IPhysicalOperator physicalOperator;
+
+    @Override
+    public ExecutionMode getExecutionMode() {
+        return mode;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setExecutionMode(ExecutionMode mode) {
+        this.mode = mode;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setSchema(List<LogicalVariable> schema) {
+        this.schema = schema;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IPhysicalOperator getPhysicalOperator() {
+        return physicalOperator;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setPhysicalOperator(IPhysicalOperator physicalOperator) {
+        this.physicalOperator = physicalOperator;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractLogicalOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractLogicalOperator.java
index 88fd0d5..dc0edfe 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractLogicalOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractLogicalOperator.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -31,12 +32,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.TypePropagationPolicy;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypeEnvPointer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.OpRefTypeEnvPointer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.PropagatingTypeEnvironment;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 
 public abstract class AbstractLogicalOperator implements ILogicalOperator {
 
@@ -59,7 +59,6 @@
     protected IPhysicalOperator physicalOperator;
     private final Map<String, Object> annotations = new HashMap<String, Object>();
     private boolean bJobGenEnabled = true;
-    private Object hostQueryContext;
 
     final protected List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> inputs;
     // protected List<LogicalOperatorReference> outputs;
@@ -168,14 +167,6 @@
         return bJobGenEnabled;
     }
 
-    public void setHostQueryContext(Object context) {
-        this.hostQueryContext = context;
-    }
-
-    public Object getHostQueryContext() {
-        return hostQueryContext;
-    }
-
     @Override
     public IVariableTypeEnvironment computeInputTypeEnvironment(ITypingContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
         return createPropagatingAllInputsTypeEnvironment(ctx);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractScanOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractScanOperator.java
index e4e7ec8..4d8cce0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractScanOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractScanOperator.java
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.VariablePropagationPolicy;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public abstract class AbstractScanOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
     protected List<LogicalVariable> variables;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractUnnestOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractUnnestOperator.java
index 22f73ff..9eaf059 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractUnnestOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AbstractUnnestOperator.java
@@ -18,10 +18,10 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public abstract class AbstractUnnestOperator extends AbstractScanOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AggregateOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AggregateOperator.java
index 1555a76..2f53f9b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AggregateOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AggregateOperator.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -13,13 +14,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class AggregateOperator extends AbstractAssignOperator {
 
     // private ArrayList<AggregateFunctionCallExpression> expressions;
     // TODO type safe list of expressions
     private List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> mergeExpressions;
+    private LogicalVariable partitioningVariable;
 
     public AggregateOperator(List<LogicalVariable> variables, List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> expressions) {
         super(variables, expressions);
@@ -68,6 +69,14 @@
         return mergeExpressions;
     }
 
+    public void setPartitioningVariable(LogicalVariable partitioningVariable) {
+        this.partitioningVariable = partitioningVariable;
+    }
+
+    public LogicalVariable getPartitioningVariable() {
+        return partitioningVariable;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public IVariableTypeEnvironment computeOutputTypeEnvironment(ITypingContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
         IVariableTypeEnvironment env = new NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment(ctx.getExpressionTypeComputer(),
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AssignOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AssignOperator.java
index eedd3a2..a4dc2e0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AssignOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/AssignOperator.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -25,14 +26,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.VariablePropagationPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 /**
- * 
  * It corresponds to the Map operator in other algebras.
  * 
  * @author Nicola
- * 
  */
 
 public class AssignOperator extends AbstractAssignOperator {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DataSourceScanOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DataSourceScanOperator.java
index bcc1192..3227f3d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DataSourceScanOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DataSourceScanOperator.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
@@ -26,7 +27,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class DataSourceScanOperator extends AbstractScanOperator {
     private IDataSource<?> dataSource;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DieOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DieOperator.java
index 2e330cf..20aa574 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DieOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DieOperator.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class DieOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DistinctOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DistinctOperator.java
index 4d479e1..ee0dcf6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DistinctOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/DistinctOperator.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalExpressionTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -29,7 +30,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class DistinctOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
     private final List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> expressions;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/EmptyTupleSourceOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/EmptyTupleSourceOperator.java
index 732dfbe..45f9909 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/EmptyTupleSourceOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/EmptyTupleSourceOperator.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -25,7 +26,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class EmptyTupleSourceOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
         return visitor.visitEmptyTupleSourceOperator(this, arg);
     }
 
-     @Override
+    @Override
     public void recomputeSchema() {
         schema = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ExchangeOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ExchangeOperator.java
index 3e046b5..aba5f83 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ExchangeOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ExchangeOperator.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
@@ -25,7 +26,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class ExchangeOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ExtensionOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ExtensionOperator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..101b6f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ExtensionOperator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IPhysicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.VariablePropagationPolicy;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
+
+/**
+ * @author rico
+ */
+public class ExtensionOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
+
+    private IOperatorExtension delegate;
+
+    public ExtensionOperator(IOperatorExtension delegate) {
+        super();
+        if (delegate == null) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("delegate cannot be null!");
+        }
+        this.delegate = delegate;
+        setExecutionMode(delegate.getExecutionMode());
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void recomputeSchema() throws AlgebricksException {
+        schema = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>(inputs.get(0).getValue().getSchema());
+        delegate.setSchema(schema);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean acceptExpressionTransform(ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform transform) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public <R, T> R accept(ILogicalOperatorVisitor<R, T> visitor, T arg) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return visitor.visitExtensionOperator(this, arg);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isMap() {
+        return this.delegate.isMap();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public VariablePropagationPolicy getVariablePropagationPolicy() {
+        return VariablePropagationPolicy.ALL;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IVariableTypeEnvironment computeOutputTypeEnvironment(ITypingContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return this.createPropagatingAllInputsTypeEnvironment(ctx);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public LogicalOperatorTag getOperatorTag() {
+        return LogicalOperatorTag.EXTENSION_OPERATOR;
+    }
+
+    public IOperatorExtension getNewInstanceOfDelegateOperator() {
+        return delegate.newInstance();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public List<LogicalVariable> getSchema() {
+        return this.schema;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ExecutionMode getExecutionMode() {
+        return delegate.getExecutionMode();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setExecutionMode(ExecutionMode mode) {
+        delegate.setExecutionMode(mode);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IPhysicalOperator getPhysicalOperator() {
+        return delegate.getPhysicalOperator();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IVariableTypeEnvironment computeInputTypeEnvironment(ITypingContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return this.createPropagatingAllInputsTypeEnvironment(ctx);
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/GroupByOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/GroupByOperator.java
index 762f034..ba396f4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/GroupByOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/GroupByOperator.java
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -37,8 +39,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.PropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class GroupByOperator extends AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans {
     // If the LogicalVariable in a pair is null, it means that the GroupBy is
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/IOperatorExtension.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/IOperatorExtension.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..98c3301
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/IOperatorExtension.java
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IPhysicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
+
+/**
+ * @author rico
+ */
+public interface IOperatorExtension {
+
+    void setExecutionMode(ExecutionMode mode);
+
+    boolean isMap();
+
+    public IOperatorExtension newInstance();
+
+    boolean acceptExpressionTransform(ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform transform) throws AlgebricksException;
+
+    void setSchema(List<LogicalVariable> schema);
+
+    IPhysicalOperator getPhysicalOperator();
+
+    void setPhysicalOperator(IPhysicalOperator physicalOperator);
+
+    ExecutionMode getExecutionMode();
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/IndexInsertDeleteOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/IndexInsertDeleteOperator.java
index 7264763..becde1c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/IndexInsertDeleteOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/IndexInsertDeleteOperator.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -15,21 +16,22 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class IndexInsertDeleteOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
     private final IDataSourceIndex<?, ?> dataSourceIndex;
     private final List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> primaryKeyExprs;
     private final List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> secondaryKeyExprs;
+    private final Mutable<ILogicalExpression> filterExpr;
     private final Kind operation;
 
     public IndexInsertDeleteOperator(IDataSourceIndex<?, ?> dataSourceIndex,
             List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> primaryKeyExprs, List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> secondaryKeyExprs,
-            Kind operation) {
+            Mutable<ILogicalExpression> filterExpr, Kind operation) {
         this.dataSourceIndex = dataSourceIndex;
         this.primaryKeyExprs = primaryKeyExprs;
         this.secondaryKeyExprs = secondaryKeyExprs;
+        this.filterExpr = filterExpr;
         this.operation = operation;
     }
 
@@ -92,6 +94,10 @@
         return secondaryKeyExprs;
     }
 
+    public Mutable<ILogicalExpression> getFilterExpression() {
+    	return filterExpr;
+    }
+    
     public Kind getOperation() {
         return operation;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/InnerJoinOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/InnerJoinOperator.java
index c2f0161..54fab7c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/InnerJoinOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/InnerJoinOperator.java
@@ -16,13 +16,13 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class InnerJoinOperator extends AbstractBinaryJoinOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/InsertDeleteOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/InsertDeleteOperator.java
index 6699228..91e51f6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/InsertDeleteOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/InsertDeleteOperator.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -14,7 +15,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class InsertDeleteOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/LeftOuterJoinOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/LeftOuterJoinOperator.java
index 7c5be7e..60da2cf 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/LeftOuterJoinOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/LeftOuterJoinOperator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -26,7 +27,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.OpRefTypeEnvPointer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.PropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class LeftOuterJoinOperator extends AbstractBinaryJoinOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/LimitOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/LimitOperator.java
index 21738f6..3c6a699 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/LimitOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/LimitOperator.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class LimitOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/NestedTupleSourceOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/NestedTupleSourceOperator.java
index 189a410..a9a8f55 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/NestedTupleSourceOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/NestedTupleSourceOperator.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -29,7 +30,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.PropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class NestedTupleSourceOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
     private final Mutable<ILogicalOperator> dataSourceReference;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/OrderOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/OrderOperator.java
index 3a5cdde..812c219 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/OrderOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/OrderOperator.java
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -28,8 +30,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class OrderOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/PartitioningSplitOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/PartitioningSplitOperator.java
index a76237b..6fe6bed 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/PartitioningSplitOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/PartitioningSplitOperator.java
@@ -15,9 +15,11 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -26,26 +28,48 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.PartitioningSplitOperatorDescriptor;
 
+/**
+ * Partitions it's input based on a given list of expressions.
+ * Each expression is assumed to return true/false,
+ * and there is exactly one output branch per expression (optionally, plus one default branch).
+ * For each input tuple, the expressions are evaluated one-by-one,
+ * and the tuple is written to first output branch whose corresponding
+ * expression evaluates to true.
+ * If all expressions evaluate to false, then
+ * the tuple is written to the default output branch, if any was given.
+ * If no output branch was given, then such tuples are simply dropped.
+ * Given N expressions there may be N or N+1 output branches because the default output branch may be separate from the regular output branches.
+ */
 public class PartitioningSplitOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
-    private Mutable<ILogicalExpression>[] expressions;
-    private boolean hasDefault;
+    private final List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> expressions;
+    private final int defaultBranchIndex;
 
-    public PartitioningSplitOperator(Mutable<ILogicalExpression>[] exprList, boolean defaultBranchDefined) {
-        expressions = exprList;
-        hasDefault = defaultBranchDefined;
+    public PartitioningSplitOperator(List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> expressions, int defaultBranchIndex) throws AlgebricksException {
+        this.expressions = expressions;
+        this.defaultBranchIndex = defaultBranchIndex;
+        // Check that the default output branch index is in [0, N], where N is the number of expressions.
+        if (defaultBranchIndex != PartitioningSplitOperatorDescriptor.NO_DEFAULT_BRANCH
+                && defaultBranchIndex > expressions.size()) {
+            throw new AlgebricksException("Default branch index out of bounds. Number of exprs given: "
+                    + expressions.size() + ". The maximum default branch index may therefore be: " + expressions.size());
+        }
     }
 
-    public Mutable<ILogicalExpression>[] getExpressions() {
+    public List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> getExpressions() {
         return expressions;
     }
 
-    public boolean hasDefault() {
-        return hasDefault;
+    public int getDefaultBranchIndex() {
+        return defaultBranchIndex;
     }
-
+    
+    public int getNumOutputBranches() {
+        return (defaultBranchIndex == expressions.size()) ? expressions.size() + 1 : expressions.size();
+    }
+    
     @Override
     public LogicalOperatorTag getOperatorTag() {
         return LogicalOperatorTag.PARTITIONINGSPLIT;
@@ -65,8 +89,8 @@
     @Override
     public boolean acceptExpressionTransform(ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform visitor) throws AlgebricksException {
         boolean b = false;
-        for (int i = 0; i < expressions.length; i++) {
-            if (visitor.transform(expressions[i])) {
+        for (int i = 0; i < expressions.size(); i++) {
+            if (visitor.transform(expressions.get(i))) {
                 b = true;
             }
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ProjectOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ProjectOperator.java
index 736ae1d..459e5dd 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ProjectOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ProjectOperator.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
@@ -25,7 +26,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class ProjectOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ReplicateOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ReplicateOperator.java
index f594373..a4e9d2b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ReplicateOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ReplicateOperator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
@@ -23,7 +24,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class ReplicateOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/RunningAggregateOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/RunningAggregateOperator.java
index 798597e..3694503 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/RunningAggregateOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/RunningAggregateOperator.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -25,7 +26,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.VariablePropagationPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class RunningAggregateOperator extends AbstractAssignOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ScriptOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ScriptOperator.java
index dc2795c..c75fb40 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ScriptOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/ScriptOperator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
@@ -25,8 +27,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class ScriptOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SelectOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SelectOperator.java
index c1e038e..8c611b0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SelectOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SelectOperator.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalExpressionTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -34,7 +35,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.PropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class SelectOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
     private final Mutable<ILogicalExpression> condition;
@@ -85,11 +85,11 @@
                 ctx.getNullableTypeComputer(), ctx.getMetadataProvider(), TypePropagationPolicy.ALL, envPointers);
         if (condition.getValue().getExpressionTag() == LogicalExpressionTag.FUNCTION_CALL) {
             AbstractFunctionCallExpression f1 = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) condition.getValue();
-            if (f1.getFunctionIdentifier() == AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NOT) {
+            if (f1.getFunctionIdentifier().equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NOT)) {
                 ILogicalExpression a1 = f1.getArguments().get(0).getValue();
                 if (a1.getExpressionTag() == LogicalExpressionTag.FUNCTION_CALL) {
                     AbstractFunctionCallExpression f2 = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) a1;
-                    if (f2.getFunctionIdentifier() == AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.IS_NULL) {
+                    if (f2.getFunctionIdentifier().equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.IS_NULL)) {
                         ILogicalExpression a2 = f2.getArguments().get(0).getValue();
                         if (a2.getExpressionTag() == LogicalExpressionTag.VARIABLE) {
                             LogicalVariable var = ((VariableReferenceExpression) a2).getVariableReference();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SinkOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SinkOperator.java
index a75a9a9..1b12423 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SinkOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SinkOperator.java
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
@@ -13,7 +14,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.PropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class SinkOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SubplanOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SubplanOperator.java
index 0d1704b..89707eb 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SubplanOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/SubplanOperator.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -35,7 +36,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.PropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class SubplanOperator extends AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnionAllOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnionAllOperator.java
index cec7d6f..c7100dd 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnionAllOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnionAllOperator.java
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Triple;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
@@ -25,8 +27,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Triple;
 
 public class UnionAllOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnnestMapOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnnestMapOperator.java
index c4f5cb0..b9a137f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnnestMapOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnnestMapOperator.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -26,22 +27,22 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 /**
  * This operator may go away after we add indexes to Algebricks.
- * 
  */
 public class UnnestMapOperator extends AbstractUnnestOperator {
 
     private final List<Object> variableTypes; // TODO: get rid of this and
-
+    private final boolean propagateInput;
+    
     // deprecate UnnestMap
 
     public UnnestMapOperator(List<LogicalVariable> variables, Mutable<ILogicalExpression> expression,
-            List<Object> variableTypes) {
+            List<Object> variableTypes, boolean propagateInput) {
         super(variables, expression);
         this.variableTypes = variableTypes;
+        this.propagateInput = propagateInput;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -55,19 +56,19 @@
     }
 
     /**
-     * 
      * UnnestMap doesn't propagate input variables, because currently it is only
      * used to search indexes. In the future, it would be nice to have the
      * choice to propagate input variables or not.
-     * 
      */
     @Override
     public VariablePropagationPolicy getVariablePropagationPolicy() {
         return new VariablePropagationPolicy() {
-
             @Override
             public void propagateVariables(IOperatorSchema target, IOperatorSchema... sources)
                     throws AlgebricksException {
+                if (propagateInput) {
+                    target.addAllVariables(sources[0]);
+                }
                 for (LogicalVariable v : variables) {
                     target.addVariable(v);
                 }
@@ -81,13 +82,28 @@
 
     @Override
     public IVariableTypeEnvironment computeOutputTypeEnvironment(ITypingContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
-        IVariableTypeEnvironment env = new NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment(ctx.getExpressionTypeComputer(),
-                ctx.getMetadataProvider());
+        IVariableTypeEnvironment env = null;
+        if (propagateInput) {
+            env = createPropagatingAllInputsTypeEnvironment(ctx);
+        } else {
+            env = new NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment(ctx.getExpressionTypeComputer(), ctx.getMetadataProvider());
+        }
         int n = variables.size();
         for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
             env.setVarType(variables.get(i), variableTypes.get(i));
         }
         return env;
     }
+    
+    public boolean propagatesInput() {
+        return propagateInput;
+    }
+    
+    /*
+    @Override
+    public boolean isMap() {
+        return !propagateInput;
+    }
+    */
 
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnnestOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnnestOperator.java
index f85cabb..2e1ef16 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnnestOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UnnestOperator.java
@@ -18,13 +18,13 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class UnnestOperator extends AbstractUnnestOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UpdateOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UpdateOperator.java
index 4f94f34..f156490 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UpdateOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/UpdateOperator.java
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.VariablePropagationPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class UpdateOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/WriteOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/WriteOperator.java
index fdcdfd8..4c14333 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/WriteOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/WriteOperator.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -28,7 +29,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class WriteOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
     private List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> expressions;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/WriteResultOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/WriteResultOperator.java
index 6d05c76..48065a5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/WriteResultOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/WriteResultOperator.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -28,7 +29,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class WriteResultOperator extends AbstractLogicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/FDsAndEquivClassesVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/FDsAndEquivClassesVisitor.java
index 0c0f257..0539cbe 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/FDsAndEquivClassesVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/FDsAndEquivClassesVisitor.java
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.EquivalenceClass;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -61,6 +64,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SinkOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestMapOperator;
@@ -70,10 +74,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.FunctionalDependency;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.LocalGroupingProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class FDsAndEquivClassesVisitor implements ILogicalOperatorVisitor<Void, IOptimizationContext> {
 
@@ -637,4 +638,10 @@
         return null;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Void visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, IOptimizationContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        propagateFDsAndEquivClasses(op, ctx);
+        return null;
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismOperatorVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismOperatorVisitor.java
index 5d9e6b9..31061db 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismOperatorVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismOperatorVisitor.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Arrays;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
@@ -24,6 +23,9 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Triple;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.DistinctOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.EmptyTupleSourceOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExchangeOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IndexInsertDeleteOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.InnerJoinOperator;
@@ -64,9 +67,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPartitioningProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Triple;
 
 public class IsomorphismOperatorVisitor implements ILogicalOperatorVisitor<Boolean, ILogicalOperator> {
 
@@ -110,6 +110,14 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public Boolean visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, ILogicalOperator arg) throws AlgebricksException {
+        ExtensionOperator aop = (ExtensionOperator) copyAndSubstituteVar(op, arg);
+        if (aop.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.EXTENSION_OPERATOR)
+            return Boolean.FALSE;
+        return Boolean.TRUE;
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public Boolean visitGroupByOperator(GroupByOperator op, ILogicalOperator arg) throws AlgebricksException {
         AbstractLogicalOperator aop = (AbstractLogicalOperator) arg;
         // require the same physical operator, otherwise delivers different data
@@ -259,8 +267,7 @@
         if (aop.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.PARTITIONINGSPLIT)
             return Boolean.FALSE;
         PartitioningSplitOperator partitionOpArg = (PartitioningSplitOperator) copyAndSubstituteVar(op, arg);
-        boolean isomorphic = compareExpressions(Arrays.asList(op.getExpressions()),
-                Arrays.asList(partitionOpArg.getExpressions()));
+        boolean isomorphic = compareExpressions(op.getExpressions(), partitionOpArg.getExpressions());
         return isomorphic;
     }
 
@@ -677,9 +684,8 @@
         public ILogicalOperator visitPartitioningSplitOperator(PartitioningSplitOperator op, Void arg)
                 throws AlgebricksException {
             ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> newExpressions = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>();
-            deepCopyExpressionRefs(newExpressions, Arrays.asList(op.getExpressions()));
-            return new PartitioningSplitOperator(newExpressions.toArray(new Mutable[0]),
-                    op.hasDefault());
+            deepCopyExpressionRefs(newExpressions, op.getExpressions());
+            return new PartitioningSplitOperator(newExpressions, op.getDefaultBranchIndex());
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -726,7 +732,7 @@
             ArrayList<LogicalVariable> newInputList = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
             newInputList.addAll(op.getVariables());
             return new UnnestMapOperator(newInputList, deepCopyExpressionRef(op.getExpressionRef()),
-                    new ArrayList<Object>(op.getVariableTypes()));
+                    new ArrayList<Object>(op.getVariableTypes()), op.propagatesInput());
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -778,8 +784,10 @@
             deepCopyExpressionRefs(newPrimaryKeyExpressions, op.getPrimaryKeyExpressions());
             List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> newSecondaryKeyExpressions = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>();
             deepCopyExpressionRefs(newSecondaryKeyExpressions, op.getSecondaryKeyExpressions());
+            Mutable<ILogicalExpression> newFilterExpression = new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(((AbstractLogicalExpression)op.getFilterExpression())
+                    .cloneExpression());
             return new IndexInsertDeleteOperator(op.getDataSourceIndex(), newPrimaryKeyExpressions,
-                    newSecondaryKeyExpressions, op.getOperation());
+                    newSecondaryKeyExpressions, newFilterExpression, op.getOperation());
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -807,6 +815,11 @@
                         deepCopyExpressionRef(pair.second)));
             return newOrdersAndExprs;
         }
+
+        @Override
+        public ILogicalOperator visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, Void arg) throws AlgebricksException {
+            return new ExtensionOperator(op.getNewInstanceOfDelegateOperator());
+        }
     }
 
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismUtilities.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismUtilities.java
index 21271fd..02533c3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismUtilities.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismUtilities.java
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@
 
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class IsomorphismUtilities {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismVariableMappingVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismVariableMappingVisitor.java
index 340b855..562bb4c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismVariableMappingVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/IsomorphismVariableMappingVisitor.java
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Triple;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -51,6 +54,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SinkOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestMapOperator;
@@ -58,9 +62,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteResultOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Triple;
 
 public class IsomorphismVariableMappingVisitor implements ILogicalOperatorVisitor<Void, ILogicalOperator> {
 
@@ -414,4 +415,10 @@
             return false;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Void visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, ILogicalOperator arg) throws AlgebricksException {
+        mapVariablesStandard(op, arg);
+        return null;
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/LogicalPropertiesVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/LogicalPropertiesVisitor.java
index 30ad3ab..9b2f5a0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/LogicalPropertiesVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/LogicalPropertiesVisitor.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SinkOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestMapOperator;
@@ -54,7 +56,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILogicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.LogicalPropertiesVectorImpl;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
 
 public class LogicalPropertiesVisitor implements ILogicalOperatorVisitor<Void, IOptimizationContext> {
@@ -318,4 +319,10 @@
         }
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Void visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, IOptimizationContext arg) throws AlgebricksException {
+        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+        return null;
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/ProducedVariableVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/ProducedVariableVisitor.java
index cd05624..994c6cb 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/ProducedVariableVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/ProducedVariableVisitor.java
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Triple;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -46,6 +49,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SinkOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestMapOperator;
@@ -53,9 +57,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteResultOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Triple;
 
 public class ProducedVariableVisitor implements ILogicalOperatorVisitor<Void, Void> {
 
@@ -245,4 +246,9 @@
     public Void visitSinkOperator(SinkOperator op, Void arg) throws AlgebricksException {
         return null;
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public Void visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, Void arg) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return null;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/SchemaVariableVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/SchemaVariableVisitor.java
index 6aa3796..9295179 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/SchemaVariableVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/SchemaVariableVisitor.java
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -46,6 +48,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SinkOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestMapOperator;
@@ -53,8 +56,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteResultOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class SchemaVariableVisitor implements ILogicalOperatorVisitor<Void, Void> {
 
@@ -267,4 +268,10 @@
         return null;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Void visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, Void arg) throws AlgebricksException {
+        standardLayout(op);
+        return null;
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/SubstituteVariableVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/SubstituteVariableVisitor.java
index b85c798..11e56ca 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/SubstituteVariableVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/SubstituteVariableVisitor.java
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Triple;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -48,6 +51,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SinkOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestMapOperator;
@@ -57,9 +61,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorManipulationUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Triple;
 
 public class SubstituteVariableVisitor implements ILogicalOperatorVisitor<Void, Pair<LogicalVariable, LogicalVariable>> {
 
@@ -409,4 +410,10 @@
         IVariableTypeEnvironment env = ctx.getOutputTypeEnvironment(op);
         env.substituteProducedVariable(arg.first, arg.second);
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public Void visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, Pair<LogicalVariable, LogicalVariable> arg)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        return null;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/UsedVariableVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/UsedVariableVisitor.java
index d9d6a6a..3a82ccd 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/UsedVariableVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/UsedVariableVisitor.java
@@ -19,6 +19,9 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Triple;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -46,6 +49,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SinkOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestMapOperator;
@@ -53,9 +57,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteResultOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Triple;
 
 public class UsedVariableVisitor implements ILogicalOperatorVisitor<Void, Void> {
 
@@ -70,6 +71,9 @@
         for (Mutable<ILogicalExpression> exprRef : op.getExpressions()) {
             exprRef.getValue().getUsedVariables(usedVariables);
         }
+        if (op.getPartitioningVariable() != null) {
+            usedVariables.add(op.getPartitioningVariable());
+        }
         return null;
     }
 
@@ -291,4 +295,9 @@
         return null;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Void visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, Void arg) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return null;
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/VariableUtilities.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/VariableUtilities.java
index 8e9c5b8..25f22e7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/VariableUtilities.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/logical/visitors/VariableUtilities.java
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class VariableUtilities {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractExchangePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractExchangePOperator.java
index 761c7f2..0aa9cd4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractExchangePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractExchangePOperator.java
@@ -14,15 +14,15 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 
 public abstract class AbstractExchangePOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
     public void contributeRuntimeOperator(IHyracksJobBuilder builder, JobGenContext context, ILogicalOperator op,
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
         return false;
     }
 
-    public abstract Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
-            ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
+    public abstract Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(
+            IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec, ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema, JobGenContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException;
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractHashJoinPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractHashJoinPOperator.java
index b9352f3..f188265 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractHashJoinPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractHashJoinPOperator.java
@@ -14,11 +14,14 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.EquivalenceClass;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -33,9 +36,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.UnorderedPartitionedProperty;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public abstract class AbstractHashJoinPOperator extends AbstractJoinPOperator {
 
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@
                 pp = pv0.getPartitioningProperty();
             }
         } else {
-            pp = null;
+            pp = IPartitioningProperty.UNPARTITIONED;
         }
         this.deliveredProperties = new StructuralPropertiesVector(pp, deliveredLocalProperties(iop, context));
     }
@@ -93,8 +93,8 @@
         if (op.getExecutionMode() == AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode.PARTITIONED) {
             switch (partitioningType) {
                 case PAIRWISE: {
-                    pp1 = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new HashSet<LogicalVariable>(keysLeftBranch), null);
-                    pp2 = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new HashSet<LogicalVariable>(keysRightBranch), null);
+                    pp1 = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new ListSet<LogicalVariable>(keysLeftBranch), null);
+                    pp2 = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new ListSet<LogicalVariable>(keysRightBranch), null);
                     break;
                 }
                 case BROADCAST: {
@@ -131,9 +131,9 @@
                                     UnorderedPartitionedProperty upp1 = (UnorderedPartitionedProperty) firstDeliveredPartitioning;
                                     Set<LogicalVariable> set1 = upp1.getColumnSet();
                                     UnorderedPartitionedProperty uppreq = (UnorderedPartitionedProperty) requirements;
-                                    Set<LogicalVariable> modifuppreq = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+                                    Set<LogicalVariable> modifuppreq = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
                                     Map<LogicalVariable, EquivalenceClass> eqmap = context.getEquivalenceClassMap(op);
-                                    Set<LogicalVariable> covered = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+                                    Set<LogicalVariable> covered = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
                                     for (LogicalVariable r : uppreq.getColumnSet()) {
                                         EquivalenceClass ecSnd = eqmap.get(r);
                                         boolean found = false;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractPhysicalOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractPhysicalOperator.java
index 620c161..c5f4c71 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractPhysicalOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractPhysicalOperator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@
 
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -28,14 +32,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.PlanCompiler;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.meta.AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.PlanCompiler;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.meta.AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.OperatorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractPreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractPreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java
index 84982aa..7dd6372 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractPreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractPreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java
@@ -2,13 +2,14 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.HashMap;
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.EquivalenceClass;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -35,7 +36,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PropertiesUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.UnorderedPartitionedProperty;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public abstract class AbstractPreclusteredGroupByPOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
 
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@
                 switch (lsp.getPropertyType()) {
                     case LOCAL_GROUPING_PROPERTY: {
                         LocalGroupingProperty lgp = (LocalGroupingProperty) lsp;
-                        Set<LogicalVariable> colSet = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+                        Set<LogicalVariable> colSet = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
                         for (LogicalVariable v : lgp.getColumnSet()) {
                             LogicalVariable v2 = getLhsGbyVar(gby, v);
                             if (v2 != null) {
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@
         List<ILocalStructuralProperty> localProps = null;
 
         localProps = new ArrayList<ILocalStructuralProperty>(1);
-        Set<LogicalVariable> gbvars = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>(columnList);
+        Set<LogicalVariable> gbvars = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>(columnList);
         LocalGroupingProperty groupProp = new LocalGroupingProperty(gbvars, new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>(columnList));
 
         GroupByOperator gby = (GroupByOperator) op;
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@
         IPartitioningProperty pp = null;
         AbstractLogicalOperator aop = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op;
         if (aop.getExecutionMode() == ExecutionMode.PARTITIONED) {
-            pp = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new HashSet<LogicalVariable>(columnList), null);
+            pp = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new ListSet<LogicalVariable>(columnList), null);
         }
         pv[0] = new StructuralPropertiesVector(pp, localProps);
         return new PhysicalRequirements(pv, IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator.NO_COORDINATION);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractStableSortPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractStableSortPOperator.java
index ca09b77..63ea8b9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractStableSortPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AbstractStableSortPOperator.java
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -37,8 +39,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.OrderColumn;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public abstract class AbstractStableSortPOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AggregatePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AggregatePOperator.java
index 47038ad..81dc2c2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AggregatePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AggregatePOperator.java
@@ -16,9 +16,12 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -26,19 +29,21 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AggregateFunctionCallExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AggregateOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILocalStructuralProperty;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg.AggregateRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.UnorderedPartitionedProperty;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg.AggregateRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class AggregatePOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -62,7 +67,16 @@
     @Override
     public PhysicalRequirements getRequiredPropertiesForChildren(ILogicalOperator op,
             IPhysicalPropertiesVector reqdByParent) {
-        return emptyUnaryRequirements();
+        AggregateOperator aggOp = (AggregateOperator) op;
+        if (aggOp.getExecutionMode() == ExecutionMode.PARTITIONED && aggOp.getPartitioningVariable() != null) {
+            StructuralPropertiesVector[] pv = new StructuralPropertiesVector[1];
+            Set<LogicalVariable> partitioningVariables = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
+            partitioningVariables.add(aggOp.getPartitioningVariable());
+            pv[0] = new StructuralPropertiesVector(new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(partitioningVariables, null), null);
+            return new PhysicalRequirements(pv, IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator.NO_COORDINATION);
+        } else {
+            return emptyUnaryRequirements();
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -76,19 +90,18 @@
         for (int i = 0; i < outColumns.length; i++) {
             outColumns[i] = opSchema.findVariable(variables.get(i));
         }
-        IAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggFactories = new IAggregateFunctionFactory[expressions.size()];
-        ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen = context.getExpressionJobGen();
+        IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] aggFactories = new IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[expressions.size()];
+        IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider = context.getExpressionRuntimeProvider();
         for (int i = 0; i < aggFactories.length; i++) {
-            AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggFun = (AggregateFunctionCallExpression) expressions.get(i)
-                    .getValue();
-            aggFactories[i] = exprJobGen.createAggregateFunctionFactory(aggFun,
+            AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggFun = (AggregateFunctionCallExpression) expressions.get(i).getValue();
+            aggFactories[i] = expressionRuntimeProvider.createAggregateFunctionFactory(aggFun,
                     context.getTypeEnvironment(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue()), inputSchemas, context);
         }
 
         AggregateRuntimeFactory runtime = new AggregateRuntimeFactory(aggFactories);
 
         // contribute one Asterix framewriter
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(aggOp, runtime, recDesc);
         // and contribute one edge from its child
         ILogicalOperator src = aggOp.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AssignPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AssignPOperator.java
index 861765d..f5bd9d9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AssignPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/AssignPOperator.java
@@ -18,22 +18,22 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AssignOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.AssignRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.AssignRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class AssignPOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -66,10 +66,10 @@
         for (int i = 0; i < outColumns.length; i++) {
             outColumns[i] = opSchema.findVariable(variables.get(i));
         }
-        IEvaluatorFactory[] evalFactories = new IEvaluatorFactory[expressions.size()];
-        ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen = context.getExpressionJobGen();
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] evalFactories = new IScalarEvaluatorFactory[expressions.size()];
+        IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider = context.getExpressionRuntimeProvider();
         for (int i = 0; i < evalFactories.length; i++) {
-            evalFactories[i] = exprJobGen.createEvaluatorFactory(expressions.get(i).getValue(),
+            evalFactories[i] = expressionRuntimeProvider.createEvaluatorFactory(expressions.get(i).getValue(),
                     context.getTypeEnvironment(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue()), inputSchemas, context);
         }
 
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@
         AssignRuntimeFactory runtime = new AssignRuntimeFactory(outColumns, evalFactories, projectionList);
 
         // contribute one Asterix framewriter
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(assign, runtime, recDesc);
         // and contribute one edge from its child
         ILogicalOperator src = assign.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/BroadcastPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/BroadcastPOperator.java
index 0c780d5..bf19342 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/BroadcastPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/BroadcastPOperator.java
@@ -14,6 +14,8 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -26,11 +28,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor;
 
 public class BroadcastPOperator extends AbstractExchangePOperator {
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
+    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec,
             ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
         IConnectorDescriptor conn = new MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor(spec);
         return new Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint>(conn, null);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/DataSourceScanPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/DataSourceScanPOperator.java
index 68a6a24..a2dac3f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/DataSourceScanPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/DataSourceScanPOperator.java
@@ -16,20 +16,21 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IDataSource;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IDataSourcePropertiesProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.DataSourceScanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 
 @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
@@ -66,11 +67,11 @@
             throws AlgebricksException {
         DataSourceScanOperator scan = (DataSourceScanOperator) op;
         IMetadataProvider mp = context.getMetadataProvider();
-
+        IVariableTypeEnvironment typeEnv = context.getTypeEnvironment(op);
         List<LogicalVariable> vars = scan.getVariables();
         List<LogicalVariable> projectVars = scan.getProjectVariables();
         Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> p = mp.getScannerRuntime(dataSource, vars,
-                projectVars, scan.isProjectPushed(), context, builder.getJobSpec());
+                projectVars, scan.isProjectPushed(), opSchema, typeEnv, context, builder.getJobSpec());
         builder.contributeHyracksOperator(scan, p.first);
         if (p.second != null) {
             builder.contributeAlgebricksPartitionConstraint(p.first, p.second);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/EmptyTupleSourcePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/EmptyTupleSourcePOperator.java
index 7fc76da..bf42c30 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/EmptyTupleSourcePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/EmptyTupleSourcePOperator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -26,9 +27,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/ExternalGroupByPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/ExternalGroupByPOperator.java
index f13b2bb..55add37 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/ExternalGroupByPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/ExternalGroupByPOperator.java
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -16,7 +19,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AggregateFunctionCallExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IPartialAggregationTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
@@ -32,23 +35,21 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.UnorderedPartitionedProperty;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.OperatorSchemaImpl;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg.SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.OperatorSchemaImpl;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg.SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.HashSpillableTableFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.external.ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class ExternalGroupByPOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
 
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@
         List<ILocalStructuralProperty> propsLocal = new LinkedList<ILocalStructuralProperty>();
 
         GroupByOperator gOp = (GroupByOperator) op;
-        HashSet<LogicalVariable> columnSet = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+        Set<LogicalVariable> columnSet = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
 
         if (!columnSet.isEmpty()) {
             propsLocal.add(new LocalGroupingProperty(columnSet));
@@ -121,7 +122,7 @@
         AbstractLogicalOperator aop = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op;
         if (aop.getExecutionMode() == ExecutionMode.PARTITIONED) {
             StructuralPropertiesVector[] pv = new StructuralPropertiesVector[1];
-            pv[0] = new StructuralPropertiesVector(new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new HashSet<LogicalVariable>(
+            pv[0] = new StructuralPropertiesVector(new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new ListSet<LogicalVariable>(
                     columnSet), null), null);
             return new PhysicalRequirements(pv, IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator.NO_COORDINATION);
         } else {
@@ -166,15 +167,15 @@
         IPartialAggregationTypeComputer partialAggregationTypeComputer = context.getPartialAggregationTypeComputer();
         List<Object> intermediateTypes = new ArrayList<Object>();
         int n = aggOp.getExpressions().size();
-        ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[] aff = new ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[n];
+        ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[] aff = new ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[n];
         int i = 0;
-        ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen = context.getExpressionJobGen();
+        IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider = context.getExpressionRuntimeProvider();
         IVariableTypeEnvironment aggOpInputEnv = context.getTypeEnvironment(aggOp.getInputs().get(0).getValue());
         IVariableTypeEnvironment outputEnv = context.getTypeEnvironment(op);
         for (Mutable<ILogicalExpression> exprRef : aggOp.getExpressions()) {
             AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggFun = (AggregateFunctionCallExpression) exprRef.getValue();
-            aff[i++] = exprJobGen.createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(aggFun, aggOpInputEnv, inputSchemas,
-                    context);
+            aff[i++] = expressionRuntimeProvider.createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(aggFun, aggOpInputEnv,
+                    inputSchemas, context);
             intermediateTypes.add(partialAggregationTypeComputer.getType(aggFun, aggOpInputEnv,
                     context.getMetadataProvider()));
         }
@@ -197,14 +198,14 @@
             aggOpInputEnv.setVarType(var, outputEnv.getVarType(var));
 
         compileSubplans(inputSchemas[0], gby, opSchema, context);
-        JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
+        IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec = builder.getJobSpec();
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories = JobGenHelper.variablesToAscBinaryComparatorFactories(gbyCols,
                 aggOpInputEnv, context);
-        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories = JobGenHelper.variablesToBinaryHashFunctionFactories(
                 gbyCols, aggOpInputEnv, context);
 
-        ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[] merges = new ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[n];
+        ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[] merges = new ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[n];
         List<LogicalVariable> usedVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
         IOperatorSchema[] localInputSchemas = new IOperatorSchema[1];
         localInputSchemas[0] = new OperatorSchemaImpl();
@@ -224,7 +225,7 @@
         for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
             AggregateFunctionCallExpression mergeFun = (AggregateFunctionCallExpression) aggOp.getMergeExpressions()
                     .get(i).getValue();
-            merges[i] = exprJobGen.createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(mergeFun, aggOpInputEnv,
+            merges[i] = expressionRuntimeProvider.createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(mergeFun, aggOpInputEnv,
                     localInputSchemas, context);
         }
         IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory = new SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory(aff);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HashPartitionExchangePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HashPartitionExchangePOperator.java
index 823ac0b..043cb81 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HashPartitionExchangePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HashPartitionExchangePOperator.java
@@ -14,15 +14,16 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.INodeDomain;
@@ -31,13 +32,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.UnorderedPartitionedProperty;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor;
 
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public void computeDeliveredProperties(ILogicalOperator op, IOptimizationContext context) {
-        IPartitioningProperty p = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new HashSet<LogicalVariable>(hashFields), domain);
+        IPartitioningProperty p = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new ListSet<LogicalVariable>(hashFields), domain);
         this.deliveredProperties = new StructuralPropertiesVector(p, null);
     }
 
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
+    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec,
             ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
         int[] keys = new int[hashFields.size()];
         IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories = new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[hashFields.size()];
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HashPartitionMergeExchangePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HashPartitionMergeExchangePOperator.java
index a54f116..f3c9e5a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HashPartitionMergeExchangePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HashPartitionMergeExchangePOperator.java
@@ -15,17 +15,17 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
@@ -41,14 +41,14 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.UnorderedPartitionedProperty;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor;
 
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public void computeDeliveredProperties(ILogicalOperator op, IOptimizationContext context) {
-        IPartitioningProperty p = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new HashSet<LogicalVariable>(partitionFields),
+        IPartitioningProperty p = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new ListSet<LogicalVariable>(partitionFields),
                 domain);
         AbstractLogicalOperator op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
         List<ILocalStructuralProperty> op2Locals = op2.getDeliveredPhysicalProperties().getLocalProperties();
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
+    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec,
             ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
         int[] keys = new int[partitionFields.size()];
         IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories = new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[partitionFields.size()];
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@
                 sortFields[j] = opSchema.findVariable(var);
                 Object type = env.getVarType(var);
                 IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider bcfp = context.getBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider();
-                comparatorFactories[j] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, oc.getOrder());
+                comparatorFactories[j] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, oc.getOrder() == OrderKind.ASC);
                 j++;
             }
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HybridHashJoinPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HybridHashJoinPOperator.java
index 2d3724a..c737cc4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HybridHashJoinPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/HybridHashJoinPOperator.java
@@ -17,29 +17,28 @@
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractBinaryJoinOperator.JoinKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.OrderOperator.IOrder.OrderKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILocalStructuralProperty;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join.HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class HybridHashJoinPOperator extends AbstractHashJoinPOperator {
@@ -96,10 +95,10 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider bcfp = context.getBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider();
         for (LogicalVariable v : keysLeftBranch) {
             Object t = env.getVarType(v);
-            comparatorFactories[i++] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(t, OrderKind.ASC);
+            comparatorFactories[i++] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(t, true);
         }
-        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
-        JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
+        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
+        IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec = builder.getJobSpec();
         IOperatorDescriptor opDesc = null;
         try {
             switch (kind) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InMemoryHashJoinPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InMemoryHashJoinPOperator.java
index 08406d4..563fcc5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InMemoryHashJoinPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InMemoryHashJoinPOperator.java
@@ -17,12 +17,13 @@
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractBinaryJoinOperator.JoinKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
@@ -30,16 +31,15 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.OrderOperator.IOrder.OrderKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILocalStructuralProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join.InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class InMemoryHashJoinPOperator extends AbstractHashJoinPOperator {
@@ -85,10 +85,10 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider bcfp = context.getBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider();
         for (LogicalVariable v : keysLeftBranch) {
             Object t = env.getVarType(v);
-            comparatorFactories[i++] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(t, OrderKind.ASC);
+            comparatorFactories[i++] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(t, true);
         }
-        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
-        JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
+        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
+        IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec = builder.getJobSpec();
         IOperatorDescriptor opDesc = null;
 
         switch (kind) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InMemoryStableSortPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InMemoryStableSortPOperator.java
index 8b8138f..ec2862e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InMemoryStableSortPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InMemoryStableSortPOperator.java
@@ -14,21 +14,21 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.OrderOperator.IOrder.OrderKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.OrderColumn;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.sort.InMemorySortRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.sort.InMemorySortRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
     public void contributeRuntimeOperator(IHyracksJobBuilder builder, JobGenContext context, ILogicalOperator op,
             IOperatorSchema opSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema)
             throws AlgebricksException {
-        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         int n = sortColumns.length;
         int[] sortFields = new int[n];
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comps = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[n];
@@ -66,11 +66,11 @@
             Object type = env.getVarType(var);
             OrderKind order = oc.getOrder();
             if (i == 0 && nkcfProvider != null && type != null) {
-                nkcf = nkcfProvider.getNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(type, order);
+                nkcf = nkcfProvider.getNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(type, order == OrderKind.ASC);
             }
 
             IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider bcfp = context.getBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider();
-            comps[i] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, oc.getOrder());
+            comps[i] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, oc.getOrder() == OrderKind.ASC);
             i++;
         }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/IndexInsertDeletePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/IndexInsertDeletePOperator.java
index 276122f..e000b85 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/IndexInsertDeletePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/IndexInsertDeletePOperator.java
@@ -4,11 +4,18 @@
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IDataSourceIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
@@ -24,25 +31,28 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.OrderColumn;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 
 public class IndexInsertDeletePOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
 
-    private List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys;
-    private List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys;
-    private IDataSourceIndex<?, ?> dataSourceIndex;
+    private final List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys;
+    private final List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys;
+    private final ILogicalExpression filterExpr;
+    private final IDataSourceIndex<?, ?> dataSourceIndex;
 
     public IndexInsertDeletePOperator(List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys, List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys,
-            IDataSourceIndex<?, ?> dataSourceIndex) {
+    		Mutable<ILogicalExpression> filterExpr, IDataSourceIndex<?, ?> dataSourceIndex) {
         this.primaryKeys = primaryKeys;
         this.secondaryKeys = secondaryKeys;
+        if (filterExpr != null) {
+        	this.filterExpr = filterExpr.getValue();
+        } else {
+        	this.filterExpr = null;
+        }
         this.dataSourceIndex = dataSourceIndex;
     }
 
@@ -54,7 +64,7 @@
     @Override
     public void computeDeliveredProperties(ILogicalOperator op, IOptimizationContext context) {
         AbstractLogicalOperator op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
-        deliveredProperties = (StructuralPropertiesVector) op2.getDeliveredPhysicalProperties().clone();
+        deliveredProperties = (StructuralPropertiesVector) op2.getDeliveredPhysicalProperties().clone();        
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -83,17 +93,18 @@
         IMetadataProvider mp = context.getMetadataProvider();
 
         JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
-        RecordDescriptor inputDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue(), inputSchemas[0],
+        RecordDescriptor inputDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue()), inputSchemas[0],
                 context);
 
         Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> runtimeAndConstraints = null;
-        if (insertDeleteOp.getOperation() == Kind.INSERT)
-            runtimeAndConstraints = mp.getIndexInsertRuntime(dataSourceIndex, propagatedSchema, primaryKeys,
-                    secondaryKeys, inputDesc, context, spec);
-        else
-            runtimeAndConstraints = mp.getIndexDeleteRuntime(dataSourceIndex, propagatedSchema, primaryKeys,
-                    secondaryKeys, inputDesc, context, spec);
-
+        IVariableTypeEnvironment typeEnv = context.getTypeEnvironment(insertDeleteOp);
+        if (insertDeleteOp.getOperation() == Kind.INSERT) {
+            runtimeAndConstraints = mp.getIndexInsertRuntime(dataSourceIndex, propagatedSchema, inputSchemas, typeEnv,
+                    primaryKeys, secondaryKeys, filterExpr, inputDesc, context, spec);
+        } else {
+            runtimeAndConstraints = mp.getIndexDeleteRuntime(dataSourceIndex, propagatedSchema, inputSchemas, typeEnv,
+                    primaryKeys, secondaryKeys, filterExpr, inputDesc, context, spec);
+        }
         builder.contributeHyracksOperator(insertDeleteOp, runtimeAndConstraints.first);
         builder.contributeAlgebricksPartitionConstraint(runtimeAndConstraints.first, runtimeAndConstraints.second);
         ILogicalOperator src = insertDeleteOp.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InsertDeletePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InsertDeletePOperator.java
index 2863aa6..477d257 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InsertDeletePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/InsertDeletePOperator.java
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -18,11 +21,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@
         InsertDeleteOperator insertDeleteOp = (InsertDeleteOperator) op;
         IMetadataProvider mp = context.getMetadataProvider();
         JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
-        RecordDescriptor inputDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue(), inputSchemas[0],
+        RecordDescriptor inputDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue()), inputSchemas[0],
                 context);
 
         Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> runtimeAndConstraints = null;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/MicroPreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/MicroPreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java
index 5b02d83..c159ffd 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/MicroPreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/MicroPreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -14,13 +16,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg.NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.group.MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg.NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.group.MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
@@ -67,8 +67,8 @@
 
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories = JobGenHelper.variablesToAscBinaryComparatorFactories(
                 columnList, env, context);
-        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
-        RecordDescriptor inputRecordDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue(),
+        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor inputRecordDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue()),
                 inputSchemas[0], context);
         MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory runtime = new MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory(keys,
                 comparatorFactories, aggregatorFactory, inputRecordDesc, recordDescriptor, null);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/NLJoinPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/NLJoinPOperator.java
index 5978b10..8cbd2d8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/NLJoinPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/NLJoinPOperator.java
@@ -17,12 +17,13 @@
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryBooleanInspector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractBinaryJoinOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractBinaryJoinOperator.JoinKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
@@ -34,30 +35,29 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryBooleanInspector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePairComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePairComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join.NestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor;
 
 /**
- * 
  * Left input is broadcast and preserves its local properties.
- * 
  * Right input can be partitioned in any way.
- * 
  */
 public class NLJoinPOperator extends AbstractJoinPOperator {
 
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
                 pp = pv1.getPartitioningProperty();
             }
         } else {
-            pp = null;
+        	pp = IPartitioningProperty.UNPARTITIONED;
         }
 
         List<ILocalStructuralProperty> localProps = new LinkedList<ILocalStructuralProperty>();
@@ -122,15 +122,15 @@
             IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         AbstractBinaryJoinOperator join = (AbstractBinaryJoinOperator) op;
-        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
         IOperatorSchema[] conditionInputSchemas = new IOperatorSchema[1];
         conditionInputSchemas[0] = propagatedSchema;
-        ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen = context.getExpressionJobGen();
-        IEvaluatorFactory cond = exprJobGen.createEvaluatorFactory(join.getCondition().getValue(),
+        IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider = context.getExpressionRuntimeProvider();
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond = expressionRuntimeProvider.createEvaluatorFactory(join.getCondition().getValue(),
                 context.getTypeEnvironment(op), conditionInputSchemas, context);
         ITuplePairComparatorFactory comparatorFactory = new TuplePairEvaluatorFactory(cond,
-                context.getBinaryBooleanInspector());
-        JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
+                context.getBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory());
+        IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec = builder.getJobSpec();
         IOperatorDescriptor opDesc = null;
 
         switch (kind) {
@@ -154,36 +154,38 @@
     public static class TuplePairEvaluatorFactory implements ITuplePairComparatorFactory {
 
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-        private final IEvaluatorFactory cond;
-        private final IBinaryBooleanInspector binaryBooleanInspector;
+        private final IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond;
+        private final IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory binaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
 
-        public TuplePairEvaluatorFactory(IEvaluatorFactory cond, IBinaryBooleanInspector binaryBooleanInspector) {
+        public TuplePairEvaluatorFactory(IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond,
+                IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory binaryBooleanInspectorFactory) {
             this.cond = cond;
-            this.binaryBooleanInspector = binaryBooleanInspector;
+            this.binaryBooleanInspectorFactory = binaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
         }
 
         @Override
-        public synchronized ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator() {
-            return new TuplePairEvaluator(cond, binaryBooleanInspector);
+        public synchronized ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+            return new TuplePairEvaluator(ctx, cond, binaryBooleanInspectorFactory.createBinaryBooleanInspector(ctx));
         }
-
     }
 
     public static class TuplePairEvaluator implements ITuplePairComparator {
-
-        private IEvaluator condEvaluator;
-        private final IEvaluatorFactory condFactory;
+        private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+        private IScalarEvaluator condEvaluator;
+        private final IScalarEvaluatorFactory condFactory;
+        private final IPointable p;
         private final CompositeFrameTupleReference compositeTupleRef;
         private final FrameTupleReference leftRef;
         private final FrameTupleReference rightRef;
-        private final ArrayBackedValueStorage evalOutput;
         private final IBinaryBooleanInspector binaryBooleanInspector;
 
-        public TuplePairEvaluator(IEvaluatorFactory condFactory, IBinaryBooleanInspector binaryBooleanInspector) {
+        public TuplePairEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, IScalarEvaluatorFactory condFactory,
+                IBinaryBooleanInspector binaryBooleanInspector) {
+            this.ctx = ctx;
             this.condFactory = condFactory;
             this.binaryBooleanInspector = binaryBooleanInspector;
-            this.evalOutput = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
             this.leftRef = new FrameTupleReference();
+            this.p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
             this.rightRef = new FrameTupleReference();
             this.compositeTupleRef = new CompositeFrameTupleReference(leftRef, rightRef);
         }
@@ -193,19 +195,19 @@
                 int innerIndex) throws HyracksDataException {
             if (condEvaluator == null) {
                 try {
-                    this.condEvaluator = condFactory.createEvaluator(evalOutput);
+                    this.condEvaluator = condFactory.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
                 } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
                     throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
                 }
             }
             compositeTupleRef.reset(outerAccessor, outerIndex, innerAccessor, innerIndex);
             try {
-                condEvaluator.evaluate(compositeTupleRef);
+                condEvaluator.evaluate(compositeTupleRef, p);
             } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
                 throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
             }
-            boolean result = binaryBooleanInspector.getBooleanValue(evalOutput.getBytes(), 0, evalOutput.getLength());
-            evalOutput.reset();
+            boolean result = binaryBooleanInspector
+                    .getBooleanValue(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset(), p.getLength());
             if (result)
                 return 0;
             else
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/NestedTupleSourcePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/NestedTupleSourcePOperator.java
index 5a4a204..47a3dd2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/NestedTupleSourcePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/NestedTupleSourcePOperator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -26,10 +27,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class NestedTupleSourcePOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
             throws AlgebricksException {
         propagatedSchema.addAllVariables(outerPlanSchema);
         NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory runtime = new NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(op, runtime, recDesc);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/OneToOneExchangePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/OneToOneExchangePOperator.java
index 0ed17d8..eb4fffa 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/OneToOneExchangePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/OneToOneExchangePOperator.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -23,10 +24,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.OneToOneConnectorDescriptor;
 
 public class OneToOneExchangePOperator extends AbstractExchangePOperator {
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
+    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec,
             ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema, JobGenContext context) {
         IConnectorDescriptor conn = new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec);
         return new Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint>(conn, TargetConstraint.SAME_COUNT);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/PreSortedDistinctByPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/PreSortedDistinctByPOperator.java
index d74fb62..29af97c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/PreSortedDistinctByPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/PreSortedDistinctByPOperator.java
@@ -15,9 +15,10 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -36,16 +37,15 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.UnorderedPartitionedProperty;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg.SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg.SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class PreSortedDistinctByPOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
 
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@
         IPartitioningProperty pp = null;
         AbstractLogicalOperator aop = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op;
         if (aop.getExecutionMode() == ExecutionMode.PARTITIONED) {
-            pp = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new HashSet<LogicalVariable>(columnList), null);
+            pp = new UnorderedPartitionedProperty(new ListSet<LogicalVariable>(columnList), null);
         }
         pv[0] = new StructuralPropertiesVector(pp, localProps);
         return new PhysicalRequirements(pv, IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator.NO_COORDINATION);
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
             IOperatorSchema opSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema)
             throws AlgebricksException {
 
-        JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
+        IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec = builder.getJobSpec();
         int keys[] = JobGenHelper.variablesToFieldIndexes(columnList, inputSchemas[0]);
         int sz = inputSchemas[0].getSize();
         int fdSz = sz - columnList.size();
@@ -107,11 +107,11 @@
         }
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories = JobGenHelper.variablesToAscBinaryComparatorFactories(
                 columnList, context.getTypeEnvironment(op), context);
-        IAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggFactories = new IAggregateFunctionFactory[] {};
+        IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] aggFactories = new IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] {};
         IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory = new SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory(
                 aggFactories, keys, fdColumns);
 
-        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor opDesc = new PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec, keys,
                 comparatorFactories, aggregatorFactory, recordDescriptor);
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/PreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/PreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java
index bb19bb9..0849c7d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/PreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/PreclusteredGroupByPOperator.java
@@ -18,6 +18,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -28,17 +30,15 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg.NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg.NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class PreclusteredGroupByPOperator extends AbstractPreclusteredGroupByPOperator {
 
@@ -79,10 +79,10 @@
         IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory = new NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory(subplans, keys,
                 fdColumns);
 
-        JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
+        IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec = builder.getJobSpec();
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories = JobGenHelper.variablesToAscBinaryComparatorFactories(
                 columnList, context.getTypeEnvironment(op), context);
-        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
 
         PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor opDesc = new PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec, keys,
                 comparatorFactories, aggregatorFactory, recordDescriptor);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RandomMergeExchangePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RandomMergeExchangePOperator.java
index abfa31f..22d8cc3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RandomMergeExchangePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RandomMergeExchangePOperator.java
@@ -16,20 +16,20 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILocalStructuralProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPartitioningProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor;
 
 public class RandomMergeExchangePOperator extends AbstractExchangePOperator {
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
+    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec,
             ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema, JobGenContext context) {
         IConnectorDescriptor conn = new MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor(spec);
         return new Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint>(conn, TargetConstraint.ONE);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RangePartitionPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RangePartitionPOperator.java
index ff558ec..7e3c935 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RangePartitionPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RangePartitionPOperator.java
@@ -17,10 +17,13 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILocalStructuralProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.INodeDomain;
@@ -30,12 +33,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.OrderedPartitionedProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 
 public class RangePartitionPOperator extends AbstractExchangePOperator {
 
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
+    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec,
             ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
         throw new NotImplementedException();
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/ReplicatePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/ReplicatePOperator.java
index b42dd5b..060e8d7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/ReplicatePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/ReplicatePOperator.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -24,11 +25,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.misc.SplitOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class ReplicatePOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -59,8 +59,8 @@
     public void contributeRuntimeOperator(IHyracksJobBuilder builder, JobGenContext context, ILogicalOperator op,
             IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema)
             throws AlgebricksException {
-        JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
-        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
+        IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec = builder.getJobSpec();
+        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
 
         ReplicateOperator rop = (ReplicateOperator) op;
         int outputArity = rop.getOutputArity();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RunningAggregatePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RunningAggregatePOperator.java
index 3647deb..b37c0ea 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RunningAggregatePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/RunningAggregatePOperator.java
@@ -18,13 +18,14 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.StatefulFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
@@ -34,11 +35,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class RunningAggregatePOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -91,11 +91,11 @@
         for (int i = 0; i < outColumns.length; i++) {
             outColumns[i] = opSchema.findVariable(variables.get(i));
         }
-        IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory[] runningAggFuns = new IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory[expressions.size()];
-        ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen = context.getExpressionJobGen();
+        IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] runningAggFuns = new IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory[expressions.size()];
+        IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider = context.getExpressionRuntimeProvider();
         for (int i = 0; i < runningAggFuns.length; i++) {
             StatefulFunctionCallExpression expr = (StatefulFunctionCallExpression) expressions.get(i).getValue();
-            runningAggFuns[i] = exprJobGen.createRunningAggregateFunctionFactory(expr,
+            runningAggFuns[i] = expressionRuntimeProvider.createRunningAggregateFunctionFactory(expr,
                     context.getTypeEnvironment(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue()), inputSchemas, context);
         }
 
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@
                 projectionList);
 
         // contribute one Asterix framewriter
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(ragg, runtime, recDesc);
         // and contribute one edge from its child
         ILogicalOperator src = ragg.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SinkPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SinkPOperator.java
index 0375246..ccb61a2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SinkPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SinkPOperator.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -23,10 +24,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.SinkRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.SinkRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class SinkPOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
     public void contributeRuntimeOperator(IHyracksJobBuilder builder, JobGenContext context, ILogicalOperator op,
             IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema)
             throws AlgebricksException {
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
         SinkRuntimeFactory runtime = new SinkRuntimeFactory();
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(op, runtime, recDesc);
         ILogicalOperator src = op.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SinkWritePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SinkWritePOperator.java
index 123b0e1..e89b8e0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SinkWritePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SinkWritePOperator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -23,7 +27,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalExpressionTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IDataSink;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
@@ -34,13 +37,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class SinkWritePOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -87,8 +87,8 @@
             LogicalVariable v = varRef.getVariableReference();
             columns[i++] = inputSchemas[0].findVariable(v);
         }
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
-        RecordDescriptor inputDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue(), inputSchemas[0],
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor inputDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue()), inputSchemas[0],
                 context);
 
         IPrinterFactory[] pf = JobGenHelper.mkPrinterFactories(inputSchemas[0], context.getTypeEnvironment(op),
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SortMergeExchangePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SortMergeExchangePOperator.java
index 98c9be3..19d6c79 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SortMergeExchangePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SortMergeExchangePOperator.java
@@ -17,15 +17,16 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder.TargetConstraint;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.OrderOperator.IOrder.OrderKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILocalStructuralProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILocalStructuralProperty.PropertyType;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPartitioningProperty;
@@ -35,14 +36,14 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.OrderColumn;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor;
 
@@ -120,7 +121,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
+    public Pair<IConnectorDescriptor, TargetConstraint> createConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec,
             ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
         int n = sortColumns.length;
         int[] sortFields = new int[n];
@@ -131,7 +132,7 @@
             sortFields[i] = opSchema.findVariable(sortColumns[i].getColumn());
             Object type = env.getVarType(sortColumns[i].getColumn());
             IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider bcfp = context.getBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider();
-            comps[i] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, sortColumns[i].getOrder());
+            comps[i] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, sortColumns[i].getOrder() == OrderKind.ASC);
             IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider bhffp = context.getBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider();
             hashFuns[i] = bhffp.getBinaryHashFunctionFactory(type);
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StableSortPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StableSortPOperator.java
index 73c7dd6..df15f29 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StableSortPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StableSortPOperator.java
@@ -14,32 +14,29 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.OrderOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.OrderOperator.IOrder.OrderKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.OrderColumn;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 
 /**
- * 
  * This will always be attached to an {@link OrderOperator} logical operator.
- * 
- * 
  */
 
 public class StableSortPOperator extends AbstractStableSortPOperator {
@@ -65,8 +62,8 @@
     public void contributeRuntimeOperator(IHyracksJobBuilder builder, JobGenContext context, ILogicalOperator op,
             IOperatorSchema opSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema)
             throws AlgebricksException {
-        JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
-        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec = builder.getJobSpec();
+        RecordDescriptor recDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         int n = sortColumns.length;
         int[] sortFields = new int[n];
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comps = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[n];
@@ -82,10 +79,10 @@
             Object type = env.getVarType(var);
             OrderKind order = oc.getOrder();
             if (i == 0 && nkcfProvider != null && type != null) {
-                nkcf = nkcfProvider.getNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(type, order);
+                nkcf = nkcfProvider.getNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(type, order == OrderKind.ASC);
             }
             IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider bcfp = context.getBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider();
-            comps[i] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, oc.getOrder());
+            comps[i] = bcfp.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, oc.getOrder() == OrderKind.ASC);
             i++;
         }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamDiePOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamDiePOperator.java
index 82ea31c..73b9b79 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamDiePOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamDiePOperator.java
@@ -14,11 +14,12 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.DieOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
@@ -26,11 +27,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.StreamDieRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.StreamDieRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class StreamDiePOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -67,13 +67,13 @@
             IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         DieOperator die = (DieOperator) op;
-        ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen = context.getExpressionJobGen();
+        IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider = context.getExpressionRuntimeProvider();
         IVariableTypeEnvironment env = context.getTypeEnvironment(op);
-        IEvaluatorFactory afterObjectsFact = exprJobGen.createEvaluatorFactory(die.getAfterObjects().getValue(),
-                env, inputSchemas, context);
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory afterObjectsFact = expressionRuntimeProvider.createEvaluatorFactory(die
+                .getAfterObjects().getValue(), env, inputSchemas, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
         StreamDieRuntimeFactory runtime = new StreamDieRuntimeFactory(afterObjectsFact, null,
-                context.getBinaryIntegerInspector());
+                context.getBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory());
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(die, runtime, recDesc);
         ILogicalOperator src = die.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
         builder.contributeGraphEdge(src, 0, die, 0);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamLimitPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamLimitPOperator.java
index a31b2da..11e24d7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamLimitPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamLimitPOperator.java
@@ -14,12 +14,13 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.LimitOperator;
@@ -28,11 +29,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.StreamLimitRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.StreamLimitRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class StreamLimitPOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -76,16 +76,16 @@
             IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         LimitOperator limit = (LimitOperator) op;
-        ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen = context.getExpressionJobGen();
+        IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider = context.getExpressionRuntimeProvider();
         IVariableTypeEnvironment env = context.getTypeEnvironment(op);
-        IEvaluatorFactory maxObjectsFact = exprJobGen.createEvaluatorFactory(limit.getMaxObjects().getValue(),
-                env, inputSchemas, context);
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory maxObjectsFact = expressionRuntimeProvider.createEvaluatorFactory(limit.getMaxObjects()
+                .getValue(), env, inputSchemas, context);
         ILogicalExpression offsetExpr = limit.getOffset().getValue();
-        IEvaluatorFactory offsetFact = (offsetExpr == null) ? null : exprJobGen.createEvaluatorFactory(offsetExpr, env,
-                inputSchemas, context);
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory offsetFact = (offsetExpr == null) ? null : expressionRuntimeProvider
+                .createEvaluatorFactory(offsetExpr, env, inputSchemas, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
         StreamLimitRuntimeFactory runtime = new StreamLimitRuntimeFactory(maxObjectsFact, offsetFact, null,
-                context.getBinaryIntegerInspector());
+                context.getBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory());
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(limit, runtime, recDesc);
         // and contribute one edge from its child
         ILogicalOperator src = limit.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamProjectPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamProjectPOperator.java
index 94e2135..54c0505 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamProjectPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamProjectPOperator.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -23,10 +24,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ProjectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.StreamProjectRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.StreamProjectRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class StreamProjectPOperator extends AbstractPropagatePropertiesForUsedVariablesPOperator {
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
             projectionList[i++] = pos;
         }
         StreamProjectRuntimeFactory runtime = new StreamProjectRuntimeFactory(projectionList);
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(project, runtime, recDesc);
         ILogicalOperator src = project.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
         builder.contributeGraphEdge(src, 0, project, 0);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamSelectPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamSelectPOperator.java
index b4112c8..4352d1f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamSelectPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StreamSelectPOperator.java
@@ -14,20 +14,20 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.StreamSelectRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.StreamSelectRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class StreamSelectPOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -59,13 +59,13 @@
             IOperatorSchema opSchema, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         SelectOperator select = (SelectOperator) op;
-        ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen = context.getExpressionJobGen();
-        IEvaluatorFactory cond = exprJobGen.createEvaluatorFactory(select.getCondition().getValue(),
-                context.getTypeEnvironment(op), inputSchemas, context);
+        IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider = context.getExpressionRuntimeProvider();
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond = expressionRuntimeProvider.createEvaluatorFactory(select.getCondition()
+                .getValue(), context.getTypeEnvironment(op), inputSchemas, context);
         StreamSelectRuntimeFactory runtime = new StreamSelectRuntimeFactory(cond, null,
-                context.getBinaryBooleanInspector());
+                context.getBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory());
         // contribute one Asterix framewriter
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(select, runtime, recDesc);
         // and contribute one edge from its child
         ILogicalOperator src = select.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StringStreamingScriptPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StringStreamingScriptPOperator.java
index dfab5ed..52f8e0b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StringStreamingScriptPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/StringStreamingScriptPOperator.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -22,13 +23,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.StringStreamingRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.scripting.IScriptDescription;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.scripting.IScriptDescription.ScriptKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.scripting.StringStreamingScriptDescription;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.StringStreamingRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class StringStreamingScriptPOperator extends AbstractPropagatePropertiesForUsedVariablesPOperator {
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
         StringStreamingScriptDescription sssd = (StringStreamingScriptDescription) scriptDesc;
         StringStreamingRuntimeFactory runtime = new StringStreamingRuntimeFactory(sssd.getCommand(),
                 sssd.getPrinterFactories(), sssd.getFieldDelimiter(), sssd.getParserFactory());
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, propagatedSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), propagatedSchema, context);
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(scriptOp, runtime, recDesc);
         // and contribute one edge from its child
         ILogicalOperator src = scriptOp.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SubplanPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SubplanPOperator.java
index 4e6ef69..933acce 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SubplanPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/SubplanPOperator.java
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -31,12 +33,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.meta.SubplanRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.meta.SubplanRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@
         AlgebricksPipeline[] subplans = compileSubplans(inputSchemas[0], subplan, opSchema, context);
         assert (subplans.length == 1);
         AlgebricksPipeline np = subplans[0];
-        RecordDescriptor inputRecordDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue(),
+        RecordDescriptor inputRecordDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue()),
                 inputSchemas[0], context);
         INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories = new INullWriterFactory[np.getOutputWidth()];
         for (int i = 0; i < nullWriterFactories.length; i++) {
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@
         }
         SubplanRuntimeFactory runtime = new SubplanRuntimeFactory(np, nullWriterFactories, inputRecordDesc, null);
 
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(subplan, runtime, recDesc);
 
         ILogicalOperator src = op.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/UnionAllPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/UnionAllPOperator.java
index da88dd9..d3f7851 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/UnionAllPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/UnionAllPOperator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Triple;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -30,12 +32,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Triple;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.union.UnionAllOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class UnionAllPOperator extends AbstractPhysicalOperator {
@@ -84,8 +84,8 @@
             ++i;
         }
 
-        JobSpecification spec = builder.getJobSpec();
-        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec = builder.getJobSpec();
+        RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
 
         // at algebricks level, union all only accepts two inputs, although at
         // hyracks
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/UnnestPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/UnnestPOperator.java
index 8f838ba..38ebec1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/UnnestPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/UnnestPOperator.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -22,16 +23,15 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AbstractFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AbstractFunctionCallExpression.FunctionKind;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.UnnestingFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IUnnestingFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.UnnestRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.UnnestRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class UnnestPOperator extends AbstractScanPOperator {
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
         }
         int outCol = opSchema.findVariable(unnest.getVariable());
         ILogicalExpression unnestExpr = unnest.getExpressionRef().getValue();
-        ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen = context.getExpressionJobGen();
+        IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider = context.getExpressionRuntimeProvider();
         boolean exit = false;
         if (unnestExpr.getExpressionTag() != LogicalExpressionTag.FUNCTION_CALL) {
             exit = true;
@@ -77,11 +77,11 @@
             throw new AlgebricksException("Unnest expression " + unnestExpr + " is not an unnesting function call.");
         }
         UnnestingFunctionCallExpression agg = (UnnestingFunctionCallExpression) unnestExpr;
-        IUnnestingFunctionFactory unnestingFactory = exprJobGen.createUnnestingFunctionFactory(agg,
+        IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory unnestingFactory = expressionRuntimeProvider.createUnnestingFunctionFactory(agg,
                 context.getTypeEnvironment(op.getInputs().get(0).getValue()), inputSchemas, context);
         int[] projectionList = JobGenHelper.projectAllVariables(opSchema);
         UnnestRuntimeFactory unnestRuntime = new UnnestRuntimeFactory(outCol, unnestingFactory, projectionList);
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(op, opSchema, context);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = JobGenHelper.mkRecordDescriptor(context.getTypeEnvironment(op), opSchema, context);
         builder.contributeMicroOperator(unnest, unnestRuntime, recDesc);
         ILogicalOperator src = unnest.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
         builder.contributeGraphEdge(src, 0, unnest, 0);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/WriteResultPOperator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/WriteResultPOperator.java
index d1f0340..547fe843 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/WriteResultPOperator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/operators/physical/WriteResultPOperator.java
@@ -3,6 +3,9 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -17,10 +20,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.IPhysicalPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.PhysicalRequirements;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/prettyprint/LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/prettyprint/LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor.java
index 05ae1ec..a94c78e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/prettyprint/LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/prettyprint/LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor.java
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Triple;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
@@ -45,6 +48,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SinkOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestMapOperator;
@@ -52,9 +56,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteResultOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalOperatorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Triple;
 
 public class LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor implements ILogicalOperatorVisitor<String, Integer> {
 
@@ -223,8 +224,7 @@
     @Override
     public String visitUnnestMapOperator(UnnestMapOperator op, Integer indent) {
         StringBuilder buffer = new StringBuilder();
-        addIndent(buffer, indent).append(
-                "unnest-map " + op.getVariables() + " <- " + op.getExpressionRef().getValue());
+        addIndent(buffer, indent).append("unnest-map " + op.getVariables() + " <- " + op.getExpressionRef().getValue());
         return buffer.toString();
     }
 
@@ -346,4 +346,11 @@
         return buffer.toString();
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public String visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, Integer indent) throws AlgebricksException {
+        StringBuilder buffer = new StringBuilder();
+        addIndent(buffer, indent).append("statistics collection");
+        return buffer.toString();
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/prettyprint/PlanPrettyPrinter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/prettyprint/PlanPrettyPrinter.java
index 174db0b..aa96513 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/prettyprint/PlanPrettyPrinter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/prettyprint/PlanPrettyPrinter.java
@@ -16,12 +16,12 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IPhysicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class PlanPrettyPrinter {
     public static void printPlan(ILogicalPlan plan, StringBuilder out, LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor pvisitor,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/AbstractGroupingProperty.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/AbstractGroupingProperty.java
index c11131a..341b4f0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/AbstractGroupingProperty.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/AbstractGroupingProperty.java
@@ -14,11 +14,11 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties;
 
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.EquivalenceClass;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
         if (equivalenceClasses == null || equivalenceClasses.isEmpty()) {
             return;
         }
-        HashSet<LogicalVariable> norm = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+        Set<LogicalVariable> norm = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
         for (LogicalVariable v : columnSet) {
             EquivalenceClass ec = equivalenceClasses.get(v);
             if (ec == null) {
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@
         if (fds == null || fds.isEmpty()) {
             return;
         }
-        HashSet<LogicalVariable> norm = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+        Set<LogicalVariable> norm = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
         for (LogicalVariable v : columnSet) {
             boolean isImpliedByAnFD = false;
             for (FunctionalDependency fdep : fds) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator.java
index d884a17..209f1e8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator.java
@@ -14,23 +14,21 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties;
 
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.EquivalenceClass;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 /**
- * 
  * Implements constraints in between requirements for the children of the same
  * operator.
- * 
  */
 
 public interface IPartitioningRequirementsCoordinator {
@@ -57,13 +55,16 @@
                         UnorderedPartitionedProperty upp1 = (UnorderedPartitionedProperty) firstDeliveredPartitioning;
                         Set<LogicalVariable> set1 = upp1.getColumnSet();
                         UnorderedPartitionedProperty uppreq = (UnorderedPartitionedProperty) rqdpp;
-                        Set<LogicalVariable> modifuppreq = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+                        Set<LogicalVariable> modifuppreq = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
                         Map<LogicalVariable, EquivalenceClass> eqmap = context.getEquivalenceClassMap(op);
-                        Set<LogicalVariable> covered = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
-                        for (LogicalVariable r : uppreq.getColumnSet()) {
-                            EquivalenceClass ec = eqmap.get(r);
-                            for (LogicalVariable v : set1) {
-                                EquivalenceClass ecFirst = eqmap.get(v);
+                        Set<LogicalVariable> covered = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
+
+                        // coordinate from an existing partition property
+                        // (firstDeliveredPartitioning)
+                        for (LogicalVariable v : set1) {
+                            EquivalenceClass ecFirst = eqmap.get(v);
+                            for (LogicalVariable r : uppreq.getColumnSet()) {
+                                EquivalenceClass ec = eqmap.get(r);
                                 if (ecFirst == ec) {
                                     covered.add(v);
                                     modifuppreq.add(r);
@@ -71,6 +72,7 @@
                                 }
                             }
                         }
+
                         if (!covered.equals(set1)) {
                             throw new AlgebricksException("Could not modify " + rqdpp
                                     + " to agree with partitioning property " + firstDeliveredPartitioning
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/PropertiesUtil.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/PropertiesUtil.java
index ad80e46..8ca4ccf 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/PropertiesUtil.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/PropertiesUtil.java
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collection;
-import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -24,6 +23,7 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.ListSet;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.EquivalenceClass;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILocalStructuralProperty.PropertyType;
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 public class PropertiesUtil {
 
     public Set<LogicalVariable> closureUnderFDs(Collection<LogicalVariable> vars, List<FunctionalDependency> fdList) {
-        Set<LogicalVariable> k = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>(vars);
+        Set<LogicalVariable> k = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>(vars);
         boolean change;
         do {
             change = false;
@@ -65,8 +65,8 @@
 
         ListIterator<ILocalStructuralProperty> dlvdIter = dlvd.listIterator();
 
-        Set<LogicalVariable> rqdCols = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
-        Set<LogicalVariable> dlvdCols = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+        Set<LogicalVariable> rqdCols = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
+        Set<LogicalVariable> dlvdCols = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
         for (ILocalStructuralProperty r : reqd) {
             if (r.getPropertyType() == PropertyType.LOCAL_GROUPING_PROPERTY) {
                 rqdCols.clear();
@@ -180,7 +180,6 @@
     }
 
     /**
-     * 
      * @param pref
      * @param target
      * @return true iff pref is a prefix of target
@@ -300,7 +299,7 @@
             ILocalStructuralProperty p = propIter.previous();
             ListIterator<ILocalStructuralProperty> secondIter = props.listIterator(pos);
             pos--;
-            Set<LogicalVariable> cols = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+            Set<LogicalVariable> cols = new ListSet<LogicalVariable>();
             while (secondIter.hasPrevious()) {
                 secondIter.previous().getColumns(cols);
             }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/TypePropagationPolicy.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/TypePropagationPolicy.java
index 6b14a9f..01c2de4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/TypePropagationPolicy.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/TypePropagationPolicy.java
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.INullableTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypeEnvPointer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public abstract class TypePropagationPolicy {
     public static final TypePropagationPolicy ALL = new TypePropagationPolicy() {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/VariablePropagationPolicy.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/VariablePropagationPolicy.java
index 6f936c0..f9c4ac3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/VariablePropagationPolicy.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/properties/VariablePropagationPolicy.java
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public abstract class VariablePropagationPolicy {
     public static final VariablePropagationPolicy ALL = new VariablePropagationPolicy() {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index acb2e0e..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.aggregators;
-
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.IOException;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunction;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
-
-public class TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory implements IAggregateFunctionFactory {
-
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-    @Override
-    public IAggregateFunction createAggregateFunction(IDataOutputProvider provider) throws AlgebricksException {
-
-        final DataOutput out = provider.getDataOutput();
-        return new IAggregateFunction() {
-
-            int cnt;
-
-            @Override
-            public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
-                ++cnt;
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void init() throws AlgebricksException {
-                cnt = 0;
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void finish() throws AlgebricksException {
-                try {
-                    out.writeInt(cnt);
-                } catch (IOException e) {
-                    throw new AlgebricksException(e);
-                }
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void finishPartial() throws AlgebricksException {
-                try {
-                    out.writeInt(cnt);
-                } catch (IOException e) {
-                    throw new AlgebricksException(e);
-                }
-            }
-        };
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 02fe250..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,57 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.aggregators;
-
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.IOException;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateFunction;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
-
-public class TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory implements IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory {
-
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-    @Override
-    public IRunningAggregateFunction createRunningAggregateFunction(IDataOutputProvider provider)
-            throws AlgebricksException {
-
-        final DataOutput out = provider.getDataOutput();
-
-        return new IRunningAggregateFunction() {
-
-            int cnt;
-
-            @Override
-            public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
-                ++cnt;
-                try {
-                    out.writeInt(cnt);
-                } catch (IOException e) {
-                    throw new AlgebricksException(e);
-                }
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void init() throws AlgebricksException {
-                cnt = 0;
-            }
-        };
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IAggregateFunctionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IAggregateFunctionFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index e70c052..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IAggregateFunctionFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
-
-import java.io.Serializable;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
-
-public interface IAggregateFunctionFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IAggregateFunction createAggregateFunction(IDataOutputProvider provider) throws AlgebricksException;
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IEvaluatorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IEvaluatorFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 46db040..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IEvaluatorFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
-
-import java.io.Serializable;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
-
-public interface IEvaluatorFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IEvaluator createEvaluator(IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException;
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index f9f871e..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,9 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
-
-import java.io.Serializable;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-
-public interface ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory extends Serializable {
-    public ISerializableAggregateFunction createAggregateFunction() throws AlgebricksException;
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunctionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunctionFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 2134fd6..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunctionFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,24 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
-
-import java.io.Serializable;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
-
-public interface IUnnestingFunctionFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IUnnestingFunction createUnnestingFunction(IDataOutputProvider provider) throws AlgebricksException;
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/context/RuntimeContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/context/RuntimeContext.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 5afd17f..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/context/RuntimeContext.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,32 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-
-public class RuntimeContext {
-    private IHyracksTaskContext hyracksContext;
-
-    public RuntimeContext() {
-    }
-
-    public IHyracksTaskContext getHyracksContext() {
-        return hyracksContext;
-    }
-
-    public void setHyracksContext(IHyracksTaskContext hyracksContext) {
-        this.hyracksContext = hyracksContext;
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 9d0587d..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryIntegerInspector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-
-public class BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl implements IBinaryIntegerInspector {
-
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-    public static final BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl INSTANCE = new BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl();
-
-    @Override
-    public int getIntegerValue(byte[] bytes, int offset, int length) {
-        return IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(bytes, offset);
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamDieRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamDieRuntimeFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 86b9b3b..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamDieRuntimeFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,98 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
-
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryIntegerInspector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
-
-public class StreamDieRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
-
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-    private IEvaluatorFactory aftterObjectsEvalFactory;
-    private IBinaryIntegerInspector binaryIntegerInspector;
-
-    public StreamDieRuntimeFactory(IEvaluatorFactory maxObjectsEvalFactory, int[] projectionList,
-            IBinaryIntegerInspector binaryIntegerInspector) {
-        super(projectionList);
-        this.aftterObjectsEvalFactory = maxObjectsEvalFactory;
-        this.binaryIntegerInspector = binaryIntegerInspector;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String toString() {
-        String s = "stream-die " + aftterObjectsEvalFactory.toString();
-        return s;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context) {
-        return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
-
-            private IEvaluator evalAfterObjects;
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage evalOutput;
-            private int toWrite = -1;
-
-            @Override
-            public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                if (evalAfterObjects == null) {
-                    initAccessAppendRef(context);
-                    evalOutput = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-                    try {
-                        evalAfterObjects = aftterObjectsEvalFactory.createEvaluator(evalOutput);
-                    } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
-                        throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
-                    }
-                }
-                writer.open();
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
-                tAccess.reset(buffer);
-                int nTuple = tAccess.getTupleCount();
-                if (toWrite < 0) {
-                    toWrite = evaluateInteger(evalAfterObjects, 0);
-                }
-                for (int t = 0; t < nTuple; t++) {
-                    if (toWrite > 0) {
-                        toWrite--;
-                        if (projectionList != null) {
-                            appendProjectionToFrame(t, projectionList);
-                        } else {
-                            appendTupleToFrame(t);
-                        }
-                    } else {
-                        throw new HyracksDataException("injected failure");
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-                super.close();
-            }
-
-            private int evaluateInteger(IEvaluator eval, int tIdx) throws HyracksDataException {
-                tRef.reset(tAccess, tIdx);
-                evalOutput.reset();
-                try {
-                    eval.evaluate(tRef);
-                } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
-                    throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
-                }
-                int lim = binaryIntegerInspector.getIntegerValue(evalOutput.getBytes(), 0, evalOutput.getLength());
-                return lim;
-            }
-
-        };
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamSelectRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamSelectRuntimeFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index be579e5..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamSelectRuntimeFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,101 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
-
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryBooleanInspector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
-
-public class StreamSelectRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
-
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-    private IEvaluatorFactory cond;
-
-    private IBinaryBooleanInspector binaryBooleanInspector;
-
-    /**
-     * 
-     * @param cond
-     * @param projectionList
-     *            if projectionList is null, then no projection is performed
-     */
-    public StreamSelectRuntimeFactory(IEvaluatorFactory cond, int[] projectionList,
-            IBinaryBooleanInspector binaryBooleanInspector) {
-        super(projectionList);
-        this.cond = cond;
-        this.binaryBooleanInspector = binaryBooleanInspector;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String toString() {
-        return "stream-select " + cond.toString();
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context) {
-        return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
-
-            private IEvaluator eval;
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage evalOutput;
-
-            @Override
-            public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                if (eval == null) {
-                    initAccessAppendRef(context);
-                    evalOutput = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-                    try {
-                        eval = cond.createEvaluator(evalOutput);
-                    } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
-                        throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
-                    }
-                }
-                writer.open();
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
-                tAccess.reset(buffer);
-                int nTuple = tAccess.getTupleCount();
-                for (int t = 0; t < nTuple; t++) {
-                    tRef.reset(tAccess, t);
-                    evalOutput.reset();
-                    try {
-                        eval.evaluate(tRef);
-                    } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
-                        throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
-                    }
-                    if (binaryBooleanInspector.getBooleanValue(evalOutput.getBytes(), 0, evalOutput.getLength())) {
-                        if (projectionList != null) {
-                            appendProjectionToFrame(t, projectionList);
-                        } else {
-                            appendTupleToFrame(t);
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-
-        };
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/scripting/IScriptDescription.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/scripting/IScriptDescription.java
index f292dd7..89f40d6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/scripting/IScriptDescription.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/scripting/IScriptDescription.java
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public interface IScriptDescription {
     public enum ScriptKind {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/scripting/StringStreamingScriptDescription.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/scripting/StringStreamingScriptDescription.java
index 64cea03..f41535f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/scripting/StringStreamingScriptDescription.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/scripting/StringStreamingScriptDescription.java
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.ITupleParserFactory;
 
 public class StringStreamingScriptDescription implements IScriptDescription {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/AbstractTypeEnvironment.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/AbstractTypeEnvironment.java
index d1ebbab..e0217a9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/AbstractTypeEnvironment.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/AbstractTypeEnvironment.java
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public abstract class AbstractTypeEnvironment implements IVariableTypeEnvironment {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment.java
index e0f4e16..00cbac8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment.java
@@ -2,10 +2,10 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class NonPropagatingTypeEnvironment extends AbstractTypeEnvironment {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/PropagateOperatorInputsTypeEnvironment.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/PropagateOperatorInputsTypeEnvironment.java
index 15504cb..5a42caf 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/PropagateOperatorInputsTypeEnvironment.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/PropagateOperatorInputsTypeEnvironment.java
@@ -5,12 +5,12 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class PropagateOperatorInputsTypeEnvironment extends AbstractTypeEnvironment {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/PropagatingTypeEnvironment.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/PropagatingTypeEnvironment.java
index bb2db54..d73e89f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/PropagatingTypeEnvironment.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/typing/PropagatingTypeEnvironment.java
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.INullableTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.TypePropagationPolicy;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class PropagatingTypeEnvironment extends AbstractTypeEnvironment {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/util/OperatorManipulationUtil.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/util/OperatorManipulationUtil.java
index 4604198..47a979c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/util/OperatorManipulationUtil.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/util/OperatorManipulationUtil.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -32,7 +33,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class OperatorManipulationUtil {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/util/OperatorPropertiesUtil.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/util/OperatorPropertiesUtil.java
index 97bd8ca..cd8f042 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/util/OperatorPropertiesUtil.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/util/OperatorPropertiesUtil.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -34,7 +35,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class OperatorPropertiesUtil {
 
@@ -169,15 +169,15 @@
             return false;
         }
         AbstractFunctionCallExpression f1 = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) eu;
-        if (f1.getFunctionIdentifier() != AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NOT) {
+        if (!f1.getFunctionIdentifier().equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NOT)) {
             return false;
         }
         ILogicalExpression a1 = f1.getArguments().get(0).getValue();
-        if (a1.getExpressionTag() != LogicalExpressionTag.FUNCTION_CALL) {
+        if (!a1.getExpressionTag().equals(LogicalExpressionTag.FUNCTION_CALL)) {
             return false;
         }
         AbstractFunctionCallExpression f2 = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) a1;
-        if (f2.getFunctionIdentifier() != AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.IS_NULL) {
+        if (!f2.getFunctionIdentifier().equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.IS_NULL)) {
             return false;
         }
         return true;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/AbstractConstVarFunVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/AbstractConstVarFunVisitor.java
index d4c5530..fac5052 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/AbstractConstVarFunVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/AbstractConstVarFunVisitor.java
@@ -14,12 +14,12 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AbstractFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AggregateFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ScalarFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.StatefulFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.UnnestingFunctionCallExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public abstract class AbstractConstVarFunVisitor<R, T> implements ILogicalExpressionVisitor<R, T> {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform.java
index 2ad942a..a5808b1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform.java
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform {
     // returns true if any change is made to the expression
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalExpressionVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalExpressionVisitor.java
index a299574..d64b6ae 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalExpressionVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalExpressionVisitor.java
@@ -14,13 +14,13 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AggregateFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ConstantExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ScalarFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.StatefulFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.UnnestingFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface ILogicalExpressionVisitor<R, T> {
     public R visitConstantExpression(ConstantExpression expr, T arg) throws AlgebricksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalOperatorVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalOperatorVisitor.java
index bfc7acc..6b5949e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalOperatorVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/visitors/ILogicalOperatorVisitor.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AggregateOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AssignOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.DataSourceScanOperator;
@@ -36,13 +37,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ScriptOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SinkOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExtensionOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestMapOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.WriteResultOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface ILogicalOperatorVisitor<R, T> {
 
@@ -68,6 +69,8 @@
 
     public R visitSelectOperator(SelectOperator op, T arg) throws AlgebricksException;
 
+    public R visitExtensionOperator(ExtensionOperator op, T arg) throws AlgebricksException;
+
     public R visitProjectOperator(ProjectOperator op, T arg) throws AlgebricksException;
 
     public R visitPartitioningSplitOperator(PartitioningSplitOperator op, T arg) throws AlgebricksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/config/AlgebricksConfig.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/config/AlgebricksConfig.java
index 397f51b..11ec043 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/config/AlgebricksConfig.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/config/AlgebricksConfig.java
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 
 public class AlgebricksConfig {
     public static final boolean DEBUG = true;
-    public static final String ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER_NAME = "edu.uci.ics.algebricks";
+    public static final String ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER_NAME = "edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks";
     public static final Logger ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER_NAME);
     public static final String HYRACKS_APP_NAME = "algebricks";
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/ConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/ConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e786f8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/ConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy.java
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicy;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.PipeliningConnectorPolicy;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.SendSideMaterializedPipeliningConnectorPolicy;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor;
+
+public class ConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy implements IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+    private IConnectorPolicy senderSideMaterializePolicy = new SendSideMaterializedPipeliningConnectorPolicy();
+    private IConnectorPolicy pipeliningPolicy = new PipeliningConnectorPolicy();
+
+    @Override
+    public IConnectorPolicy getConnectorPolicyAssignment(IConnectorDescriptor c, int nProducers, int nConsumers,
+            int[] fanouts) {
+        if (c instanceof MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor) {
+            return senderSideMaterializePolicy;
+        } else {
+            return pipeliningPolicy;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/JobBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/JobBuilder.java
similarity index 95%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/JobBuilder.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/JobBuilder.java
index 33102cb..61625d3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/JobBuilder.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/JobBuilder.java
@@ -12,22 +12,22 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraintHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.meta.AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksCountPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraintHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.meta.AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/JobGenContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/JobGenContext.java
similarity index 78%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/JobGenContext.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/JobGenContext.java
index 870ce91..22a1a81 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/JobGenContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/JobGenContext.java
@@ -12,33 +12,33 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl;
 
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryBooleanInspector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryIntegerInspector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.ISerializerDeserializerProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.ITypeTraitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionEvalSizeComputer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionRuntimeProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionTypeComputer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ILogicalExpressionJobGen;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.INullableTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IPartialAggregationTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.typing.ITypingContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.ISerializerDeserializerProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.ITypeTraitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriterFactory;
 
 public class JobGenContext {
@@ -53,9 +53,9 @@
     private final INullWriterFactory nullWriterFactory;
     private final INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider normalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
     private final Object appContext;
-    private final IBinaryBooleanInspector booleanInspector;
-    private final IBinaryIntegerInspector integerInspector;
-    private final ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen;
+    private final IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory booleanInspectorFactory;
+    private final IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory integerInspectorFactory;
+    private final IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider;
     private final IExpressionTypeComputer expressionTypeComputer;
     private final IExpressionEvalSizeComputer expressionEvalSizeComputer;
     private final IPartialAggregationTypeComputer partialAggregationTypeComputer;
@@ -68,10 +68,11 @@
             ISerializerDeserializerProvider serializerDeserializerProvider,
             IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider hashFunctionFactoryProvider,
             IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider comparatorFactoryProvider, ITypeTraitProvider typeTraitProvider,
-            IBinaryBooleanInspector booleanInspector, IBinaryIntegerInspector integerInspector,
-            IPrinterFactoryProvider printerFactoryProvider, INullWriterFactory nullWriterFactory,
+            IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory booleanInspectorFactory,
+            IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory integerInspectorFactory, IPrinterFactoryProvider printerFactoryProvider,
+            INullWriterFactory nullWriterFactory,
             INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider normalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider,
-            ILogicalExpressionJobGen exprJobGen, IExpressionTypeComputer expressionTypeComputer,
+            IExpressionRuntimeProvider expressionRuntimeProvider, IExpressionTypeComputer expressionTypeComputer,
             INullableTypeComputer nullableTypeComputer, ITypingContext typingContext,
             IExpressionEvalSizeComputer expressionEvalSizeComputer,
             IPartialAggregationTypeComputer partialAggregationTypeComputer, int frameSize,
@@ -83,13 +84,13 @@
         this.hashFunctionFactoryProvider = hashFunctionFactoryProvider;
         this.comparatorFactoryProvider = comparatorFactoryProvider;
         this.typeTraitProvider = typeTraitProvider;
-        this.booleanInspector = booleanInspector;
-        this.integerInspector = integerInspector;
+        this.booleanInspectorFactory = booleanInspectorFactory;
+        this.integerInspectorFactory = integerInspectorFactory;
         this.printerFactoryProvider = printerFactoryProvider;
         this.clusterLocations = clusterLocations;
         this.normalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider = normalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
         this.nullWriterFactory = nullWriterFactory;
-        this.exprJobGen = exprJobGen;
+        this.expressionRuntimeProvider = expressionRuntimeProvider;
         this.expressionTypeComputer = expressionTypeComputer;
         this.typingContext = typingContext;
         this.expressionEvalSizeComputer = expressionEvalSizeComputer;
@@ -130,20 +131,20 @@
         return typeTraitProvider;
     }
 
-    public IBinaryBooleanInspector getBinaryBooleanInspector() {
-        return booleanInspector;
+    public IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory getBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory() {
+        return booleanInspectorFactory;
     }
 
-    public IBinaryIntegerInspector getBinaryIntegerInspector() {
-        return integerInspector;
+    public IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory getBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory() {
+        return integerInspectorFactory;
     }
 
     public IPrinterFactoryProvider getPrinterFactoryProvider() {
         return printerFactoryProvider;
     }
 
-    public ILogicalExpressionJobGen getExpressionJobGen() {
-        return exprJobGen;
+    public IExpressionRuntimeProvider getExpressionRuntimeProvider() {
+        return expressionRuntimeProvider;
     }
 
     public IOperatorSchema getSchema(ILogicalOperator op) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/JobGenHelper.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/JobGenHelper.java
similarity index 69%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/JobGenHelper.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/JobGenHelper.java
index 90bf47c..790fb93 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/JobGenHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/JobGenHelper.java
@@ -12,24 +12,23 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl;
 
 import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.List;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.ISerializerDeserializerProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.ITypeTraitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.OrderOperator.IOrder.OrderKind;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.ISerializerDeserializerProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.ITypeTraitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputerFactory;
@@ -41,25 +40,26 @@
 
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(JobGenHelper.class.getName());
 
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    public static RecordDescriptor mkRecordDescriptor(ILogicalOperator op, IOperatorSchema opSchema,
-            JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fields = new ISerializerDeserializer[opSchema.getSize()];
+    @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+    public static RecordDescriptor mkRecordDescriptor(IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema opSchema,
+            JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {        
+		ISerializerDeserializer[] fields = new ISerializerDeserializer[opSchema.getSize()];
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[opSchema.getSize()];
         ISerializerDeserializerProvider sdp = context.getSerializerDeserializerProvider();
+        ITypeTraitProvider ttp = context.getTypeTraitProvider();
         int i = 0;
-        IVariableTypeEnvironment env = context.getTypeEnvironment(op);
         for (LogicalVariable var : opSchema) {
             Object t = env.getVarType(var);
             if (t == null) {
                 LOGGER.warning("No type for variable " + var);
-                // throw new AlgebricksException("No type for variable " + var);
             }
             fields[i] = sdp.getSerializerDeserializer(t);
+            typeTraits[i] = ttp.getTypeTrait(t);
             i++;
         }
-        return new RecordDescriptor(fields);
+        return new RecordDescriptor(fields, typeTraits);
     }
-
+    
     public static IPrinterFactory[] mkPrinterFactories(IOperatorSchema opSchema, IVariableTypeEnvironment env,
             JobGenContext context, int[] printColumns) throws AlgebricksException {
         IPrinterFactory[] pf = new IPrinterFactory[printColumns.length];
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@
         }
         return funFactories;
     }
-
+    
     public static IBinaryComparatorFactory[] variablesToAscBinaryComparatorFactories(
             Collection<LogicalVariable> varLogical, IVariableTypeEnvironment env, JobGenContext context)
             throws AlgebricksException {
@@ -103,7 +103,19 @@
         int i = 0;
         for (LogicalVariable v : varLogical) {
             Object type = env.getVarType(v);
-            compFactories[i++] = bcfProvider.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, OrderKind.ASC);
+            compFactories[i++] = bcfProvider.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, true);
+        }
+        return compFactories;
+    }
+    
+    public static IBinaryComparatorFactory[] variablesToAscBinaryComparatorFactories(
+            List<LogicalVariable> varLogical, int start, int size, IVariableTypeEnvironment env, JobGenContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] compFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[size];
+        IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider bcfProvider = context.getBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider();
+        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+                Object type = env.getVarType(varLogical.get(start + i));
+                compFactories[i] = bcfProvider.getBinaryComparatorFactory(type, true);
         }
         return compFactories;
     }
@@ -116,7 +128,7 @@
             return null;
         for (LogicalVariable v : varLogical) {
             Object type = env.getVarType(v);
-            return nkcfProvider.getNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(type, OrderKind.ASC);
+            return nkcfProvider.getNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(type, true);
         }
         return null;
     }
@@ -132,6 +144,18 @@
         }
         return typeTraits;
     }
+    
+    public static ITypeTraits[] variablesToTypeTraits(
+            List<LogicalVariable> varLogical, int start, int size, IVariableTypeEnvironment env, JobGenContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[size];
+        ITypeTraitProvider typeTraitProvider = context.getTypeTraitProvider();
+        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+                Object type = env.getVarType(varLogical.get(start + i));
+                typeTraits[i] = typeTraitProvider.getTypeTrait(type);
+        }
+        return typeTraits;
+    }
 
     public static int[] projectAllVariables(IOperatorSchema opSchema) {
         int[] projectionList = new int[opSchema.getSize()];
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/OperatorSchemaImpl.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/OperatorSchemaImpl.java
similarity index 96%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/OperatorSchemaImpl.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/OperatorSchemaImpl.java
index 1d874f3..d8fc436 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/OperatorSchemaImpl.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/OperatorSchemaImpl.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.HashMap;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/PlanCompiler.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/PlanCompiler.java
similarity index 90%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/PlanCompiler.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/PlanCompiler.java
index ab170c9..bbe8fb3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/impl/PlanCompiler.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/jobgen/impl/PlanCompiler.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.HashMap;
@@ -22,11 +22,12 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IHyracksJobBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 
 public class PlanCompiler {
@@ -52,10 +53,11 @@
         reviseEdges(builder);
         operatorVisitedToParents.clear();
         builder.buildSpec(rootOps);
+        spec.setConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy(new ConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy());
         return spec;
     }
 
-    private void compileOpRef(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, JobSpecification spec, IHyracksJobBuilder builder,
+    private void compileOpRef(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, IHyracksJobBuilder builder,
             IOperatorSchema outerPlanSchema) throws AlgebricksException {
         ILogicalOperator op = opRef.getValue();
         int n = op.getInputs().size();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/AbstractRuleController.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/AbstractRuleController.java
index 1293d5b..3382c6e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/AbstractRuleController.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/AbstractRuleController.java
@@ -15,9 +15,11 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base;
 
 import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -25,7 +27,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.prettyprint.LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.prettyprint.PlanPrettyPrinter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
 
 public abstract class AbstractRuleController {
@@ -61,19 +62,31 @@
         return rewriteOperatorRef(opRef, rule, true, false);
     }
 
-    private void printRuleApplication(IAlgebraicRewriteRule rule, Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef)
+    private String getPlanString(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef) throws AlgebricksException {
+        if (AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
+            StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
+            PlanPrettyPrinter.printOperator((AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue(), sb, pvisitor, 0);
+            return sb.toString();
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    private void printRuleApplication(IAlgebraicRewriteRule rule, String beforePlan, String afterPlan)
             throws AlgebricksException {
-        AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.fine(">>>> Rule " + rule.getClass() + " fired.\n");
-        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
-        PlanPrettyPrinter.printOperator((AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue(), sb, pvisitor, 0);
-        AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.fine(sb.toString());
+        if (AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
+            AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.fine(">>>> Rule " + rule.getClass() + " fired.\n");
+            AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.fine(">>>> Before plan\n" + beforePlan + "\n");
+            AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.fine(">>>> After plan\n" + afterPlan + "\n");
+        }
     }
 
     protected boolean rewriteOperatorRef(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IAlgebraicRewriteRule rule,
             boolean enterNestedPlans, boolean fullDFS) throws AlgebricksException {
 
+        String preBeforePlan = getPlanString(opRef);
         if (rule.rewritePre(opRef, context)) {
-            printRuleApplication(rule, opRef);
+            String preAfterPlan = getPlanString(opRef);
+            printRuleApplication(rule, preBeforePlan, preAfterPlan);
             return true;
         }
         boolean rewritten = false;
@@ -105,8 +118,10 @@
             }
         }
 
+        String postBeforePlan = getPlanString(opRef);
         if (rule.rewritePost(opRef, context)) {
-            printRuleApplication(rule, opRef);
+            String postAfterPlan = getPlanString(opRef);
+            printRuleApplication(rule, postBeforePlan, postAfterPlan);
             return true;
         }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/AlgebricksOptimizationContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/AlgebricksOptimizationContext.java
index ab436f4..7c63e01 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/AlgebricksOptimizationContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/AlgebricksOptimizationContext.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.EquivalenceClass;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -33,7 +34,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.FunctionalDependency;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILogicalPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class AlgebricksOptimizationContext implements IOptimizationContext {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/HeuristicOptimizer.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/HeuristicOptimizer.java
index 381f70c..471b71c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/HeuristicOptimizer.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/HeuristicOptimizer.java
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -12,9 +14,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.prettyprint.LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.prettyprint.PlanPrettyPrinter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class HeuristicOptimizer {
 
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@
         runPhysicalOptimizations(plan, physicalRewrites);
         StringBuilder sb2 = new StringBuilder();
         PlanPrettyPrinter.printPlan(plan, sb2, ppvisitor, 0);
-        AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.fine("Optimized Plan:\n" + sb2.toString());
+        AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.info("Optimized Plan:\n" + sb2.toString());
     }
 
     private void runOptimizationSets(ILogicalPlan plan,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/IAlgebraicRewriteRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/IAlgebraicRewriteRule.java
index bfbd636..fc39d0b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/IAlgebraicRewriteRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/rewriter/base/IAlgebraicRewriteRule.java
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
     public boolean rewritePre(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..083ef45
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+  <artifactId>hyracks-algebricks-data</artifactId>
+
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hyracks-algebricks</artifactId>
+    <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+
+  <build>
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>2.0.2</version>
+        <configuration>
+          <source>1.6</source>
+          <target>1.6</target>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+  <dependencies>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-algebricks-common</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-data-std</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IAWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IAWriter.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca79526
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IAWriter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
+
+public interface IAWriter {
+
+    public void init() throws AlgebricksException;
+
+    public void printTuple(IFrameTupleAccessor tAccess, int tIdx) throws AlgebricksException;
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IAWriterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IAWriterFactory.java
similarity index 84%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IAWriterFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IAWriterFactory.java
index 200f58f..71f52a6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IAWriterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IAWriterFactory.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 import java.io.Serializable;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryBooleanInspector.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryBooleanInspector.java
similarity index 82%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryBooleanInspector.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryBooleanInspector.java
index 60e5050..a1b7086 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryBooleanInspector.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryBooleanInspector.java
@@ -12,10 +12,8 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
-import java.io.Serializable;
-
-public interface IBinaryBooleanInspector extends Serializable {
+public interface IBinaryBooleanInspector {
     public boolean getBooleanValue(byte[] bytes, int offset, int length);
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory.java
similarity index 71%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory.java
index 871fe43..23d96ca 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IPrinterFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPrinter createPrinter();
-}
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+
+public interface IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory extends Serializable {
+    public IBinaryBooleanInspector createBinaryBooleanInspector(IHyracksTaskContext ctx);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider.java
similarity index 69%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider.java
index bb4b734..3841e17 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider.java
@@ -12,17 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.OrderOperator.IOrder.OrderKind;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 
 public interface IBinaryComparatorFactoryProvider {
-    /**
-     * only ASC and DESC are currently supported for orderKind (FUNCTIONCALL can
-     * be ignored)
-     */
-    public IBinaryComparatorFactory getBinaryComparatorFactory(Object type, OrderKind orderKind)
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory getBinaryComparatorFactory(Object type, boolean ascending)
             throws AlgebricksException;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider.java
similarity index 86%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider.java
index 2e1f0fa..dd7288d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider.java
@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 
 public interface IBinaryHashFunctionFactoryProvider {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryIntegerInspector.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryIntegerInspector.java
similarity index 82%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryIntegerInspector.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryIntegerInspector.java
index 3a2fe29..24a7eb1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IBinaryIntegerInspector.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryIntegerInspector.java
@@ -12,10 +12,8 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
-import java.io.Serializable;
-
-public interface IBinaryIntegerInspector extends Serializable {
+public interface IBinaryIntegerInspector {
     public int getIntegerValue(byte[] bytes, int offset, int length);
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory.java
similarity index 71%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory.java
index 871fe43..8760992 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IPrinterFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPrinter createPrinter();
-}
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+
+public interface IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory extends Serializable {
+    public IBinaryIntegerInspector createBinaryIntegerInspector(IHyracksTaskContext ctx);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider.java
similarity index 80%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider.java
index 1883ef5..6be0ec0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider.java
@@ -12,11 +12,10 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.OrderOperator.IOrder.OrderKind;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputerFactory;
 
 public interface INormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider {
-    public INormalizedKeyComputerFactory getNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(Object type, OrderKind order);
+    public INormalizedKeyComputerFactory getNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(Object type, boolean ascending);
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IPrinter.java
similarity index 85%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinter.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IPrinter.java
index 89de415..c3f42fb 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IPrinter.java
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface IPrinter {
     public void init() throws AlgebricksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IPrinterFactory.java
similarity index 92%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IPrinterFactory.java
index 871fe43..1a3e0d3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IPrinterFactory.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactoryProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IPrinterFactoryProvider.java
similarity index 84%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactoryProvider.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IPrinterFactoryProvider.java
index e2e2f1c..45a5088 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactoryProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/IPrinterFactoryProvider.java
@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public interface IPrinterFactoryProvider {
     public IPrinterFactory getPrinterFactory(Object type) throws AlgebricksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/ISerializerDeserializerProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/ISerializerDeserializerProvider.java
similarity index 86%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/ISerializerDeserializerProvider.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/ISerializerDeserializerProvider.java
index 66d696c..fdd76a0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/ISerializerDeserializerProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/ISerializerDeserializerProvider.java
@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 
 public interface ISerializerDeserializerProvider {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/ITypeTraitProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/ITypeTraitProvider.java
similarity index 92%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/ITypeTraitProvider.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/ITypeTraitProvider.java
index 6ad3079..f94caea 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/ITypeTraitProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/ITypeTraitProvider.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.java
similarity index 60%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.java
index fdb3663..b9bbb7d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.java
@@ -12,15 +12,21 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryBooleanInspector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryBooleanInspector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 
 public class BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl implements IBinaryBooleanInspector {
+    public static final IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory FACTORY = new IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory() {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-    public static final BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl INSTANCE = new BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl();
+        @Override
+        public IBinaryBooleanInspector createBinaryBooleanInspector(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+            return new BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl();
+        }
+    };
 
     private BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl() {
     }
@@ -29,5 +35,4 @@
     public boolean getBooleanValue(byte[] bytes, int offset, int length) {
         return bytes[offset] == 1;
     }
-
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2fc170f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl.java
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryIntegerInspector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+
+public class BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl implements IBinaryIntegerInspector {
+    public static final IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory FACTORY = new IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory() {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        @Override
+        public IBinaryIntegerInspector createBinaryIntegerInspector(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+            return new BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl();
+        }
+    };
+
+    private BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl() {
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getIntegerValue(byte[] bytes, int offset, int length) {
+        return IntegerPointable.getInteger(bytes, offset);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/IntegerPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/IntegerPrinterFactory.java
similarity index 73%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/IntegerPrinterFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/IntegerPrinterFactory.java
index db47af6..fa9bb51 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/IntegerPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/IntegerPrinterFactory.java
@@ -12,16 +12,16 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.WriteValueTools;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.utils.WriteValueTools;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
 
 public class IntegerPrinterFactory implements IPrinterFactory {
 
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
 
             @Override
             public void print(byte[] b, int s, int l, PrintStream ps) throws AlgebricksException {
-                int d = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(b, s);
+                int d = IntegerPointable.getInteger(b, s);
                 try {
                     WriteValueTools.writeInt(d, ps);
                 } catch (IOException e) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/NoopNullWriterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/NoopNullWriterFactory.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/NoopNullWriterFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/NoopNullWriterFactory.java
index e064832..8011091 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/NoopNullWriterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/NoopNullWriterFactory.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl;
 
 import java.io.DataOutput;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/UTF8StringPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/UTF8StringPrinterFactory.java
similarity index 83%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/UTF8StringPrinterFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/UTF8StringPrinterFactory.java
index 4a900f1..139866a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/jobgen/data/UTF8StringPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/impl/UTF8StringPrinterFactory.java
@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl;
 
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.UTF8StringPointable;
 
 public class UTF8StringPrinterFactory implements IPrinterFactory {
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 
             @Override
             public void print(byte[] b, int s, int l, PrintStream ps) throws AlgebricksException {
-                int strlen = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLen(b, s);
+                int strlen = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLength(b, s);
                 int pos = s + 2;
                 int maxPos = pos + strlen;
                 ps.print("\"");
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/utils/WriteValueTools.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/utils/WriteValueTools.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/utils/WriteValueTools.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/utils/WriteValueTools.java
index 8ecd16b..7b045dd 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/utils/WriteValueTools.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-data/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/data/utils/WriteValueTools.java
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.utils;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
     }
 
     public static void writeUTF8String(byte[] b, int s, int l, OutputStream os) throws IOException {
-        int stringLength = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLen(b, s);
+        int stringLength = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLength(b, s);
         int position = s + 2;
         int maxPosition = position + stringLength;
         os.write('\"');
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
     }
 
     public static void writeUTF8StringNoQuotes(byte[] b, int s, int l, OutputStream os) throws IOException {
-        int stringLength = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLen(b, s);
+        int stringLength = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLength(b, s);
         int position = s + 2;
         int maxPosition = position + stringLength;
         while (position < maxPosition) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/compiler/PigletCompiler.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/compiler/PigletCompiler.java
index 07f6f5d..d105759 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/compiler/PigletCompiler.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/compiler/PigletCompiler.java
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.compiler.api.HeuristicCompilerFactoryBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.compiler.api.ICompiler;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.compiler.api.ICompilerFactory;
@@ -21,10 +23,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.ISerializerDeserializerProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ConstantExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IExpressionTypeComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.LogicalExpressionJobGenToExpressionRuntimeProviderAdapter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ScalarFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions;
@@ -38,10 +40,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.plan.ALogicalPlanImpl;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.prettyprint.LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.prettyprint.PlanPrettyPrinter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.AbstractRuleController;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.ISerializerDeserializerProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.ITypeTraitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.ast.ASTNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.ast.AssignmentNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.ast.DumpNode;
@@ -64,6 +66,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.types.Schema;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.types.Type;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 
 public class PigletCompiler {
@@ -123,8 +126,14 @@
                 return null;
             }
         });
+        builder.setTypeTraitProvider(new ITypeTraitProvider() {
+			public ITypeTraits getTypeTrait(Object type) {
+				return null;
+			}
+        });
         builder.setPrinterProvider(PigletPrinterFactoryProvider.INSTANCE);
-        builder.setExprJobGen(new PigletExpressionJobGen());
+        builder.setExpressionRuntimeProvider(new LogicalExpressionJobGenToExpressionRuntimeProviderAdapter(
+                new PigletExpressionJobGen()));
         builder.setExpressionTypeComputer(new IExpressionTypeComputer() {
             @Override
             public Object getType(ILogicalExpression expr, IMetadataProvider<?, ?> metadataProvider,
@@ -294,22 +303,22 @@
     private IFunctionInfo lookupFunction(FunctionTag functionTag, String functionName) throws PigletException {
         switch (functionTag) {
             case EQ:
-                return AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ);
+                return metadataProvider.lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ);
 
             case NEQ:
-                return AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NEQ);
+                return metadataProvider.lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NEQ);
 
             case LT:
-                return AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.LT);
+                return metadataProvider.lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.LT);
 
             case LTE:
-                return AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.LE);
+                return metadataProvider.lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.LE);
 
             case GT:
-                return AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.GT);
+                return metadataProvider.lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.GT);
 
             case GTE:
-                return AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.GE);
+                return metadataProvider.lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.GE);
         }
         throw new PigletException("Unsupported function: " + functionTag);
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/compiler/PigletPrinterFactoryProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/compiler/PigletPrinterFactoryProvider.java
index cb12b7d..95797bc 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/compiler/PigletPrinterFactoryProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/compiler/PigletPrinterFactoryProvider.java
@@ -3,12 +3,12 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactoryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data.IntegerPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.WriteValueTools;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactoryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl.IntegerPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.utils.WriteValueTools;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.types.Type;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.FloatSerializerDeserializer;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/FunctionInfoImpl.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/metadata/PigletFunction.java
similarity index 70%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/FunctionInfoImpl.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/metadata/PigletFunction.java
index 15521d6..439ed7a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/functions/FunctionInfoImpl.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/metadata/PigletFunction.java
@@ -12,13 +12,15 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.metadata;
 
-public class FunctionInfoImpl implements IFunctionInfo {
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.FunctionIdentifier;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
 
+public class PigletFunction implements IFunctionInfo {
     private final FunctionIdentifier fid;
 
-    public FunctionInfoImpl(FunctionIdentifier fid) {
+    public PigletFunction(FunctionIdentifier fid) {
         this.fid = fid;
     }
 
@@ -26,10 +28,4 @@
     public FunctionIdentifier getFunctionIdentifier() {
         return fid;
     }
-
-    @Override
-    public Object getInfo() {
-        throw new IllegalStateException();
-    }
-
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/metadata/PigletMetadataProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/metadata/PigletMetadataProvider.java
index 668d7a2..d678803 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/metadata/PigletMetadataProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/metadata/PigletMetadataProvider.java
@@ -1,23 +1,31 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.metadata;
 
+import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.IVariableTypeEnvironment;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.FunctionIdentifier;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IDataSink;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IDataSource;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IDataSourceIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.metadata.IMetadataProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.SinkWriterRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.writers.PrinterBasedWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksAbsolutePartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.constraints.AlgebricksPartitionConstraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.types.Type;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.SinkWriterRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.writers.PrinterBasedWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -37,6 +45,16 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.ITupleParserFactory;
 
 public class PigletMetadataProvider implements IMetadataProvider<String, String> {
+    private static final Map<FunctionIdentifier, PigletFunction> FN_MAP;
+
+    static {
+        Map<FunctionIdentifier, PigletFunction> map = new HashMap<FunctionIdentifier, PigletFunction>();
+
+        map.put(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ, new PigletFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ));
+
+        FN_MAP = Collections.unmodifiableMap(map);
+    }
+
     @Override
     public IDataSource<String> findDataSource(String id) throws AlgebricksException {
         return null;
@@ -44,9 +62,13 @@
 
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     @Override
-    public Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> getScannerRuntime(IDataSource<String> dataSource,
-            List<LogicalVariable> scanVariables, List<LogicalVariable> projectVariables, boolean projectPushed,
-            JobGenContext context, JobSpecification jobSpec) throws AlgebricksException {
+	public Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> getScannerRuntime(
+			IDataSource<String> dataSource,
+			List<LogicalVariable> scanVariables,
+			List<LogicalVariable> projectVariables, boolean projectPushed,
+			IOperatorSchema opSchema, IVariableTypeEnvironment typeEnv,
+			JobGenContext context, JobSpecification jobSpec)
+			throws AlgebricksException {
         PigletFileDataSource ds = (PigletFileDataSource) dataSource;
 
         FileSplit[] fileSplits = ds.getFileSplits();
@@ -149,7 +171,8 @@
     @Override
     public Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> getIndexInsertRuntime(
             IDataSourceIndex<String, String> dataSource, IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema,
-            List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys, List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys, RecordDescriptor recordDesc,
+            IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IVariableTypeEnvironment typeEnv, List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys,
+            List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys, ILogicalExpression filterExpr, RecordDescriptor recordDesc,
             JobGenContext context, JobSpecification spec) throws AlgebricksException {
         // TODO Auto-generated method stub
         return null;
@@ -158,10 +181,15 @@
     @Override
     public Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, AlgebricksPartitionConstraint> getIndexDeleteRuntime(
             IDataSourceIndex<String, String> dataSource, IOperatorSchema propagatedSchema,
-            List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys, List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys, RecordDescriptor recordDesc,
+            IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, IVariableTypeEnvironment typeEnv, List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys,
+            List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys, ILogicalExpression filterExpr, RecordDescriptor recordDesc,
             JobGenContext context, JobSpecification spec) throws AlgebricksException {
         // TODO Auto-generated method stub
         return null;
     }
-
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+    
+    @Override
+    public IFunctionInfo lookupFunction(FunctionIdentifier fid) {
+        return FN_MAP.get(fid);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/rewriter/PigletRewriteRuleset.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/rewriter/PigletRewriteRuleset.java
index 90ee5bb..b2a5215 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/rewriter/PigletRewriteRuleset.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/rewriter/PigletRewriteRuleset.java
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules.FactorRedundantGroupAndDecorVarsRule;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules.InferTypesRule;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules.InlineVariablesRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules.IntroduceGroupByForStandaloneAggregRule;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules.IsolateHyracksOperatorsRule;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules.PullSelectOutOfEqJoin;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules.PushLimitDownRule;
@@ -40,7 +39,10 @@
     public final static List<IAlgebraicRewriteRule> buildNormalizationRuleCollection() {
         List<IAlgebraicRewriteRule> normalization = new LinkedList<IAlgebraicRewriteRule>();
         normalization.add(new EliminateSubplanRule());
-        normalization.add(new IntroduceGroupByForStandaloneAggregRule());
+        // TODO: This rule is incorrect and has been removed. Its replacement in
+        // Asterix (PushAggFuncIntoStandaloneAggregateRule)
+        // is language-specific.
+        // normalization.add(new IntroduceGroupByForStandaloneAggregRule());
         normalization.add(new BreakSelectIntoConjunctsRule());
         normalization.add(new PushSelectIntoJoinRule());
         normalization.add(new ExtractGbyExpressionsRule());
@@ -100,7 +102,6 @@
         return physicalPlanRewrites;
     }
 
-    
     public final static List<IAlgebraicRewriteRule> prepareForJobGenRuleCollection() {
         List<IAlgebraicRewriteRule> prepareForJobGenRewrites = new LinkedList<IAlgebraicRewriteRule>();
         prepareForJobGenRewrites.add(new IsolateHyracksOperatorsRule(
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/PigletExpressionJobGen.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/PigletExpressionJobGen.java
index 63e6f53..08947d1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/PigletExpressionJobGen.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/PigletExpressionJobGen.java
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AggregateFunctionCallExpression;
@@ -17,26 +18,25 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.UnnestingFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.IOperatorSchema;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IUnnestingFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.evaluators.ColumnAccessEvalFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.evaluators.ConstantEvalFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.jobgen.impl.JobGenContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.compiler.ConstantValue;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.exceptions.PigletException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.runtime.functions.PigletFunctionRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.types.Type;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.evaluators.ColumnAccessEvalFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.evaluators.ConstantEvalFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 
 public class PigletExpressionJobGen implements ILogicalExpressionJobGen {
     @Override
-    public IEvaluatorFactory createEvaluatorFactory(ILogicalExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env,
+    public ICopyEvaluatorFactory createEvaluatorFactory(ILogicalExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env,
             IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
         switch (expr.getExpressionTag()) {
             case CONSTANT: {
@@ -65,19 +65,19 @@
                     default:
                         throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Unsupported constant type: " + type.getTag());
                 }
-                return new ConstantEvalFactory(Arrays.copyOf(abvs.getBytes(), abvs.getLength()));
+                return new ConstantEvalFactory(Arrays.copyOf(abvs.getByteArray(), abvs.getLength()));
             }
 
             case FUNCTION_CALL: {
                 ScalarFunctionCallExpression sfce = (ScalarFunctionCallExpression) expr;
 
                 List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> argExprs = sfce.getArguments();
-                IEvaluatorFactory argEvalFactories[] = new IEvaluatorFactory[argExprs.size()];
+                ICopyEvaluatorFactory argEvalFactories[] = new ICopyEvaluatorFactory[argExprs.size()];
                 for (int i = 0; i < argEvalFactories.length; ++i) {
                     Mutable<ILogicalExpression> er = argExprs.get(i);
                     argEvalFactories[i] = createEvaluatorFactory(er.getValue(), env, inputSchemas, context);
                 }
-                IEvaluatorFactory funcEvalFactory;
+                ICopyEvaluatorFactory funcEvalFactory;
                 try {
                     funcEvalFactory = PigletFunctionRegistry.createFunctionEvaluatorFactory(
                             sfce.getFunctionIdentifier(), argEvalFactories);
@@ -97,28 +97,28 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IAggregateFunctionFactory createAggregateFunctionFactory(AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr,
+    public ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory createAggregateFunctionFactory(AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr,
             IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
     }
 
     @Override
-    public ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(
+    public ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory createSerializableAggregateFunctionFactory(
             AggregateFunctionCallExpression expr, IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas,
             JobGenContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory createRunningAggregateFunctionFactory(StatefulFunctionCallExpression expr,
+    public ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory createRunningAggregateFunctionFactory(StatefulFunctionCallExpression expr,
             IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IUnnestingFunctionFactory createUnnestingFunctionFactory(UnnestingFunctionCallExpression expr,
+    public ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory createUnnestingFunctionFactory(UnnestingFunctionCallExpression expr,
             IVariableTypeEnvironment env, IOperatorSchema[] inputSchemas, JobGenContext context)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/IPigletFunctionEvaluatorFactoryBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/IPigletFunctionEvaluatorFactoryBuilder.java
index 38e7615..7aa3734 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/IPigletFunctionEvaluatorFactoryBuilder.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/IPigletFunctionEvaluatorFactoryBuilder.java
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.runtime.functions;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.FunctionIdentifier;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluatorFactory;
 
 public interface IPigletFunctionEvaluatorFactoryBuilder {
-    public IEvaluatorFactory buildEvaluatorFactory(FunctionIdentifier fid, IEvaluatorFactory[] arguments);
+    public ICopyEvaluatorFactory buildEvaluatorFactory(FunctionIdentifier fid, ICopyEvaluatorFactory[] arguments);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/IntegerEqFunctionEvaluatorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/IntegerEqFunctionEvaluatorFactory.java
index d654d77..57706a1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/IntegerEqFunctionEvaluatorFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/IntegerEqFunctionEvaluatorFactory.java
@@ -3,34 +3,34 @@
 import java.io.DataOutput;
 import java.io.IOException;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 
-public class IntegerEqFunctionEvaluatorFactory implements IEvaluatorFactory {
+public class IntegerEqFunctionEvaluatorFactory implements ICopyEvaluatorFactory {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    private final IEvaluatorFactory arg1Factory;
+    private final ICopyEvaluatorFactory arg1Factory;
 
-    private final IEvaluatorFactory arg2Factory;
+    private final ICopyEvaluatorFactory arg2Factory;
 
-    public IntegerEqFunctionEvaluatorFactory(IEvaluatorFactory arg1Factory, IEvaluatorFactory arg2Factory) {
+    public IntegerEqFunctionEvaluatorFactory(ICopyEvaluatorFactory arg1Factory, ICopyEvaluatorFactory arg2Factory) {
         this.arg1Factory = arg1Factory;
         this.arg2Factory = arg2Factory;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return new IEvaluator() {
+    public ICopyEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new ICopyEvaluator() {
             private DataOutput dataout = output.getDataOutput();
             private ArrayBackedValueStorage out1 = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
             private ArrayBackedValueStorage out2 = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-            private IEvaluator eval1 = arg1Factory.createEvaluator(out1);
-            private IEvaluator eval2 = arg2Factory.createEvaluator(out2);
+            private ICopyEvaluator eval1 = arg1Factory.createEvaluator(out1);
+            private ICopyEvaluator eval2 = arg2Factory.createEvaluator(out2);
 
             @Override
             public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@
                 eval1.evaluate(tuple);
                 out2.reset();
                 eval2.evaluate(tuple);
-                int v1 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(out1.getBytes(), 0);
-                int v2 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(out2.getBytes(), 0);
+                int v1 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(out1.getByteArray(), 0);
+                int v2 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(out2.getByteArray(), 0);
                 boolean r = v1 == v2;
                 try {
                     dataout.writeBoolean(r);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/PigletFunctionRegistry.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/PigletFunctionRegistry.java
index 5acded6..bf37c0b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/PigletFunctionRegistry.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/runtime/functions/PigletFunctionRegistry.java
@@ -6,8 +6,8 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.FunctionIdentifier;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.exceptions.PigletException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluatorFactory;
 
 public class PigletFunctionRegistry {
     private static final Map<FunctionIdentifier, IPigletFunctionEvaluatorFactoryBuilder> builderMap;
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 
         temp.put(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ, new IPigletFunctionEvaluatorFactoryBuilder() {
             @Override
-            public IEvaluatorFactory buildEvaluatorFactory(FunctionIdentifier fid, IEvaluatorFactory[] arguments) {
+            public ICopyEvaluatorFactory buildEvaluatorFactory(FunctionIdentifier fid, ICopyEvaluatorFactory[] arguments) {
                 return new IntegerEqFunctionEvaluatorFactory(arguments[0], arguments[1]);
             }
         });
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
         builderMap = Collections.unmodifiableMap(temp);
     }
 
-    public static IEvaluatorFactory createFunctionEvaluatorFactory(FunctionIdentifier fid, IEvaluatorFactory[] args)
+    public static ICopyEvaluatorFactory createFunctionEvaluatorFactory(FunctionIdentifier fid, ICopyEvaluatorFactory[] args)
             throws PigletException {
         IPigletFunctionEvaluatorFactoryBuilder builder = builderMap.get(fid);
         if (builder == null) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/types/Schema.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/types/Schema.java
index ba2401c..8d6e559 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/types/Schema.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/examples/piglet/types/Schema.java
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 import java.util.List;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 
 public class Schema {
     private List<Pair<String, Type>> schema;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/javacc/PigletParser.jj b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/javacc/PigletParser.jj
index 9e339e4..2541536 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/javacc/PigletParser.jj
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-examples/piglet-example/src/main/javacc/PigletParser.jj
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.parser;
 
 import java.util.*;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.ast.*;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.examples.piglet.types.*;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractDecorrelationRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractDecorrelationRule.java
index fe33d09..3b7fa8c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractDecorrelationRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractDecorrelationRule.java
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -33,9 +35,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.FunctionalDependency;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorManipulationUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.util.PhysicalOptimizationsUtil;
 
 public abstract class AbstractDecorrelationRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractExtractExprRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractExtractExprRule.java
index fbacede..553165a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractExtractExprRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractExtractExprRule.java
@@ -17,13 +17,13 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalExpressionTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AssignOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public abstract class AbstractExtractExprRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractIntroduceCombinerRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractIntroduceCombinerRule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08271c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/AbstractIntroduceCombinerRule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AbstractFunctionCallExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AggregateFunctionCallExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ConstantExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AggregateOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AssignOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.NestedTupleSourceOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
+
+public abstract class AbstractIntroduceCombinerRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean rewritePre(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Replace the original aggregate functions with their corresponding global aggregate function.
+     */
+    public void replaceOriginalAggFuncs(Map<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo> toReplaceMap) {
+        for (Map.Entry<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo> entry : toReplaceMap.entrySet()) {
+            SimilarAggregatesInfo sai = entry.getValue();
+            for (AggregateExprInfo aei : sai.simAggs) {
+                AbstractFunctionCallExpression afce = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) aei.aggExprRef.getValue();
+                afce.setFunctionInfo(aei.newFunInfo);
+                afce.getArguments().clear();
+                afce.getArguments().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(sai.stepOneResult));
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> tryToPushAgg(AggregateOperator initAgg,
+            GroupByOperator newGbyOp, Map<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo> toReplaceMap,
+            IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
+
+        ArrayList<LogicalVariable> pushedVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
+        ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> pushedExprs = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>();
+
+        List<LogicalVariable> initVars = initAgg.getVariables();
+        List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> initExprs = initAgg.getExpressions();
+        int numExprs = initVars.size();
+
+        // First make sure that all agg funcs are two step, otherwise we cannot use local aggs.
+        for (int i = 0; i < numExprs; i++) {
+            AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggFun = (AggregateFunctionCallExpression) initExprs.get(i).getValue();
+            if (!aggFun.isTwoStep()) {
+                return new Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>(false, null);
+            }
+        }
+
+        boolean haveAggToReplace = false;
+        for (int i = 0; i < numExprs; i++) {
+            Mutable<ILogicalExpression> expRef = initExprs.get(i);
+            AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggFun = (AggregateFunctionCallExpression) expRef.getValue();
+            IFunctionInfo fi1 = aggFun.getStepOneAggregate();
+            // Clone the aggregate's args.
+            List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> newArgs = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>(aggFun
+                    .getArguments().size());
+            for (Mutable<ILogicalExpression> er : aggFun.getArguments()) {
+                newArgs.add(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(er.getValue().cloneExpression()));
+            }
+            IFunctionInfo fi2 = aggFun.getStepTwoAggregate();
+            SimilarAggregatesInfo inf = toReplaceMap.get(aggFun);
+            if (inf == null) {
+                inf = new SimilarAggregatesInfo();
+                LogicalVariable newAggVar = context.newVar();
+                pushedVars.add(newAggVar);
+                inf.stepOneResult = new VariableReferenceExpression(newAggVar);
+                inf.simAggs = new ArrayList<AggregateExprInfo>();
+                toReplaceMap.put(aggFun, inf);
+                AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggLocal = new AggregateFunctionCallExpression(fi1, false, newArgs);
+                pushedExprs.add(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(aggLocal));
+            }
+            AggregateExprInfo aei = new AggregateExprInfo();
+            aei.aggExprRef = expRef;
+            aei.newFunInfo = fi2;
+            inf.simAggs.add(aei);
+            haveAggToReplace = true;
+        }
+
+        if (!pushedVars.isEmpty()) {
+            AggregateOperator pushedAgg = new AggregateOperator(pushedVars, pushedExprs);
+            pushedAgg.setExecutionMode(ExecutionMode.LOCAL);
+            // If newGbyOp is null, then we optimizing an aggregate without group by.
+            if (newGbyOp != null) {
+                // Hook up the nested aggregate op with the outer group by.
+                NestedTupleSourceOperator nts = new NestedTupleSourceOperator(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(
+                        newGbyOp));
+                nts.setExecutionMode(ExecutionMode.LOCAL);
+                pushedAgg.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(nts));
+            } else {
+                // The local aggregate operator is fed by the input of the original aggregate operator.
+                pushedAgg.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(initAgg.getInputs().get(0).getValue()));
+                // Set the partitioning variable in the local agg to ensure it is not projected away.
+                context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(pushedAgg);
+                LogicalVariable trueVar = context.newVar();
+                // Reintroduce assign op for the global agg partitioning var.
+                AssignOperator trueAssignOp = new AssignOperator(trueVar, new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(
+                        ConstantExpression.TRUE));
+                trueAssignOp.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(pushedAgg));
+                context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(trueAssignOp);
+                initAgg.setPartitioningVariable(trueVar);
+                initAgg.getInputs().get(0).setValue(trueAssignOp);
+            }
+            return new Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>(true, new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(pushedAgg));
+        } else {
+            return new Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>(haveAggToReplace, null);
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected class SimilarAggregatesInfo {
+        ILogicalExpression stepOneResult;
+        List<AggregateExprInfo> simAggs;
+    }
+
+    protected class AggregateExprInfo {
+        Mutable<ILogicalExpression> aggExprRef;
+        IFunctionInfo newFunInfo;
+    }
+
+    protected class BookkeepingInfo {
+        Map<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo> toReplaceMap = new HashMap<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo>();
+        Map<GroupByOperator, List<LogicalVariable>> modifyGbyMap = new HashMap<GroupByOperator, List<LogicalVariable>>();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/BreakSelectIntoConjunctsRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/BreakSelectIntoConjunctsRule.java
index 55eef21..53b361b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/BreakSelectIntoConjunctsRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/BreakSelectIntoConjunctsRule.java
@@ -20,13 +20,13 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class BreakSelectIntoConjunctsRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ComplexJoinInferenceRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ComplexJoinInferenceRule.java
index 2ac387d..4f6699a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ComplexJoinInferenceRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ComplexJoinInferenceRule.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -33,7 +34,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorManipulationUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class ComplexJoinInferenceRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ComplexUnnestToProductRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ComplexUnnestToProductRule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4521d1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ComplexUnnestToProductRule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,276 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ConstantExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.EmptyTupleSourceOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.InnerJoinOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
+
+/**
+ * Complex rewrite rule for producing joins from unnests.
+ * This rule is limited to creating left-deep trees.
+ */
+public class ComplexUnnestToProductRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean rewritePre(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
+        if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.DATASOURCESCAN
+                && op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.UNNEST) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        // We may pull selects above the join we create in order to eliminate possible dependencies between
+        // the outer and inner input plans of the join.
+        List<ILogicalOperator> topSelects = new ArrayList<ILogicalOperator>();
+
+        // Keep track of the operators and used variables participating in the inner input plan.
+        HashSet<LogicalVariable> innerUsedVars = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+        List<ILogicalOperator> innerOps = new ArrayList<ILogicalOperator>();
+        HashSet<LogicalVariable> outerUsedVars = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+        List<ILogicalOperator> outerOps = new ArrayList<ILogicalOperator>();
+        innerOps.add(op);
+        VariableUtilities.getUsedVariables(op, innerUsedVars);
+
+        Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef2 = op.getInputs().get(0);
+        AbstractLogicalOperator op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef2.getValue();
+
+        // Find an unnest or join and partition the plan between the first unnest and that operator into independent parts.
+        if (!findPlanPartition(op2, innerUsedVars, outerUsedVars, innerOps, outerOps, topSelects, false)) {
+            // We could not find an unnest or join.
+            return false;
+        }
+        // The last operator must be an unnest or join.
+        AbstractLogicalOperator unnestOrJoin = (AbstractLogicalOperator) outerOps.get(outerOps.size() - 1);
+
+        ILogicalOperator outerRoot = null;
+        ILogicalOperator innerRoot = null;
+        EmptyTupleSourceOperator ets = new EmptyTupleSourceOperator();
+        // If we found a join, simply use it as the outer root.
+        if (unnestOrJoin.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.INNERJOIN
+                && unnestOrJoin.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.LEFTOUTERJOIN) {
+            // We've found a second unnest. First, sanity check that the unnest does not produce any vars that are used by the plan above (until the first unnest).
+            List<LogicalVariable> producedVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
+            VariableUtilities.getProducedVariables(unnestOrJoin, producedVars);
+            for (LogicalVariable producedVar : producedVars) {
+                if (innerUsedVars.contains(producedVar)) {
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+            // Continue finding a partitioning of the plan such that the inner and outer partitions are independent, in order to feed a join.
+            // Now, we look below the second unnest or join.
+            VariableUtilities.getUsedVariables(unnestOrJoin, outerUsedVars);
+            AbstractLogicalOperator unnestChild = (AbstractLogicalOperator) unnestOrJoin.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
+            if (!findPlanPartition(unnestChild, innerUsedVars, outerUsedVars, innerOps, outerOps, topSelects, true)) {
+                // We could not find a suitable partitioning.
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+        innerRoot = buildOperatorChain(innerOps, ets, context);
+        context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(innerRoot);
+        outerRoot = buildOperatorChain(outerOps, null, context);
+        context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(outerRoot);
+
+        InnerJoinOperator product = new InnerJoinOperator(
+                new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(ConstantExpression.TRUE));
+        // Outer branch.
+        product.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(outerRoot));
+        // Inner branch.
+        product.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(innerRoot));
+        context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(product);
+        // Put the selects on top of the join.
+        ILogicalOperator topOp = product;
+        if (!topSelects.isEmpty()) {
+            topOp = buildOperatorChain(topSelects, product, context);
+        }
+        // Plug the selects + product in the plan.
+        opRef.setValue(topOp);
+        context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(topOp);
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    private ILogicalOperator buildOperatorChain(List<ILogicalOperator> ops, ILogicalOperator bottomOp,
+            IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
+        ILogicalOperator root = ops.get(0);
+        ILogicalOperator prevOp = root;
+        for (int i = 1; i < ops.size(); i++) {
+            ILogicalOperator inputOp = ops.get(i);
+            prevOp.getInputs().clear();
+            prevOp.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(inputOp));
+            prevOp = inputOp;
+        }
+        if (bottomOp != null) {
+            context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(bottomOp);
+            prevOp.getInputs().clear();
+            prevOp.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(bottomOp));
+        }
+        return root;
+    }
+
+    private boolean findPlanPartition(AbstractLogicalOperator op, HashSet<LogicalVariable> innerUsedVars,
+            HashSet<LogicalVariable> outerUsedVars, List<ILogicalOperator> innerOps, List<ILogicalOperator> outerOps,
+            List<ILogicalOperator> topSelects, boolean belowSecondUnnest) throws AlgebricksException {
+        if (belowSecondUnnest && innerUsedVars.isEmpty()) {
+            // Trivially joinable.
+            return true;
+        }
+        if (!belowSecondUnnest && op.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.SUBPLAN) {
+            // Bail on subplan.
+            return false;
+        }
+        switch (op.getOperatorTag()) {
+            case UNNEST:
+            case DATASOURCESCAN: {
+                // We may have reached this state by descending through a subplan.
+                outerOps.add(op);
+                return true;
+            }
+            case INNERJOIN:
+            case LEFTOUTERJOIN: {
+                // Make sure that no variables that are live under this join are needed by the inner.
+                List<LogicalVariable> liveVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
+                VariableUtilities.getLiveVariables(op, liveVars);
+                for (LogicalVariable liveVar : liveVars) {
+                    if (innerUsedVars.contains(liveVar)) {
+                        return false;
+                    }
+                }
+                outerOps.add(op);
+                return true;
+            }
+            case SELECT: {
+                // Remember this select to pulling it above the join.
+                if (innerUsedVars.isEmpty()) {
+                    outerOps.add(op);
+                } else {
+                    topSelects.add(op);
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+            case PROJECT: {
+                // Throw away projects from the plan since we are pulling selects up.
+                break;
+            }
+            case EMPTYTUPLESOURCE:
+            case NESTEDTUPLESOURCE: {
+                if (belowSecondUnnest) {
+                    // We have successfully partitioned the plan into independent parts to be plugged into the join.
+                    return true;
+                } else {
+                    // We could not find a second unnest or a join.
+                    return false;
+                }
+            }
+            default: {
+                // The inner is trivially independent.
+                if (!belowSecondUnnest && innerUsedVars.isEmpty()) {
+                    outerOps.add(op);
+                    break;
+                }
+
+                // Examine produced vars to determine which partition uses them.
+                List<LogicalVariable> producedVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
+                VariableUtilities.getProducedVariables(op, producedVars);
+                int outerMatches = 0;
+                int innerMatches = 0;
+                for (LogicalVariable producedVar : producedVars) {
+                    if (outerUsedVars.contains(producedVar)) {
+                        outerMatches++;
+                    } else if (innerUsedVars.contains(producedVar)) {
+                        innerMatches++;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                HashSet<LogicalVariable> targetUsedVars = null;
+                if (outerMatches == producedVars.size() && !producedVars.isEmpty()) {
+                    // All produced vars used by outer partition.
+                    outerOps.add(op);
+                    targetUsedVars = outerUsedVars;
+                } else if (innerMatches == producedVars.size() && !producedVars.isEmpty()) {
+                    // All produced vars used by inner partition.
+                    innerOps.add(op);
+                    targetUsedVars = innerUsedVars;
+                } else if (innerMatches == 0 && outerMatches == 0) {
+                    // Op produces variables that are not used in the part of the plan we've seen (or it doesn't produce any vars).
+                    // Try to figure out where it belongs by analyzing the used variables.
+                    List<LogicalVariable> usedVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
+                    VariableUtilities.getUsedVariables(op, usedVars);
+                    for (LogicalVariable usedVar : usedVars) {
+                        if (outerUsedVars.contains(usedVar)) {
+                            outerOps.add(op);
+                            targetUsedVars = outerUsedVars;
+                            break;
+                        }
+                        if (innerUsedVars.contains(usedVar)) {
+                            innerOps.add(op);
+                            targetUsedVars = innerUsedVars;
+                            break;
+                        }
+                    }
+                    // TODO: For now we bail here, but we could remember such ops and determine their target partition at a later point.
+                    if (targetUsedVars == null) {
+                        return false;
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    // The current operator produces variables that are used by both partitions, so the inner and outer are not independent and, therefore, we cannot create a join.
+                    // TODO: We may still be able to split the operator to create a viable partitioning.
+                    return false;
+                }
+                // Update used variables of partition that op belongs to.
+                if (op.hasNestedPlans() && op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.SUBPLAN) {
+                    AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans opWithNestedPlans = (AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans) op;
+                    opWithNestedPlans.getUsedVariablesExceptNestedPlans(targetUsedVars);
+                } else {
+                    VariableUtilities.getUsedVariables(op, targetUsedVars);
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        if (!op.hasInputs()) {
+            if (!belowSecondUnnest) {
+                // We could not find a second unnest or a join.
+                return false;
+            } else {
+                // We have successfully partitioned the plan into independent parts to be plugged into the join.
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+        return findPlanPartition((AbstractLogicalOperator) op.getInputs().get(0).getValue(), innerUsedVars,
+                outerUsedVars, innerOps, outerOps, topSelects, belowSecondUnnest);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ConsolidateAssignsRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ConsolidateAssignsRule.java
index 67e7cf0..e0220cc 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ConsolidateAssignsRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ConsolidateAssignsRule.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -26,7 +27,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AssignOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class ConsolidateAssignsRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -37,7 +37,8 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
+    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
         AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
         if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.ASSIGN) {
             return false;
@@ -48,7 +49,6 @@
         if (op2.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.ASSIGN) {
             return false;
         }
-
         AssignOperator assign2 = (AssignOperator) op2;
 
         HashSet<LogicalVariable> used1 = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ConsolidateSelectsRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ConsolidateSelectsRule.java
index c2bb13d..ff9d921 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ConsolidateSelectsRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ConsolidateSelectsRule.java
@@ -14,11 +14,10 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules;
 
-import java.util.List;
-
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -26,11 +25,19 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AbstractFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ScalarFunctionCallExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
+/**
+ * Matches the following operator pattern:
+ * (select) <-- ((assign)* <-- (select)*)+
+ * 
+ * Consolidates the selects to:
+ * (select) <-- (assign)*
+ *
+ */
 public class ConsolidateSelectsRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
 
     @Override
@@ -40,39 +47,63 @@
 
     @Override
     public boolean rewritePre(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
-        AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
+    	AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
         if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.SELECT) {
             return false;
         }
-        SelectOperator select = (SelectOperator) op;
+        SelectOperator firstSelect = (SelectOperator) op;
 
-        AbstractLogicalOperator op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) select.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
-        if (op2.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.SELECT) {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        AbstractFunctionCallExpression conj = new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(
-                AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND));
-        conj.getArguments().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(select.getCondition().getValue()));
-        conj.getArguments().add(((SelectOperator) op2).getCondition());
-
-        Mutable<ILogicalOperator> botOpRef = select.getInputs().get(0);
-        boolean more = true;
-        while (more) {
-            botOpRef = botOpRef.getValue().getInputs().get(0);
-            AbstractLogicalOperator botOp = (AbstractLogicalOperator) botOpRef.getValue();
-            if (botOp.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.SELECT) {
-                conj.getArguments().add(((SelectOperator) botOp).getCondition());
-            } else {
-                more = false;
+        IFunctionInfo andFn = context.getMetadataProvider().lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND);
+        // New conjuncts for consolidated select.
+        AbstractFunctionCallExpression conj = null;        
+        AbstractLogicalOperator topMostOp = null;
+        AbstractLogicalOperator selectParent = null;
+        AbstractLogicalOperator nextSelect = firstSelect;
+		do {
+        	// Skip through assigns.
+            do {
+            	selectParent = nextSelect;
+            	nextSelect = (AbstractLogicalOperator) selectParent.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
+            } while (nextSelect.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.ASSIGN);
+            // Stop if the child op is not a select.
+            if (nextSelect.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.SELECT) {
+        		break;
+        	}
+            // Remember the top-most op that we are not removing.
+            topMostOp = selectParent;
+            
+            // Initialize the new conjuncts, if necessary.
+            if (conj == null) {
+            	conj = new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(andFn);
+            	// Add the first select's condition.
+            	conj.getArguments().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(firstSelect.getCondition().getValue()));
             }
+            
+            // Consolidate all following selects.
+            do {
+                // Add the condition nextSelect to the new list of conjuncts.
+                conj.getArguments().add(((SelectOperator) nextSelect).getCondition());
+                selectParent = nextSelect;
+                nextSelect = (AbstractLogicalOperator) nextSelect.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
+            } while (nextSelect.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.SELECT);
+            
+            // Hook up the input of the top-most remaining op if necessary.
+            if (topMostOp.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.ASSIGN || topMostOp == firstSelect) {
+            	topMostOp.getInputs().set(0, selectParent.getInputs().get(0));
+            }
+            
+            // Prepare for next iteration.
+            nextSelect = selectParent;
+        } while (true);
+		
+		// Did we consolidate any selects?
+        if (conj == null) {
+        	return false;
         }
-        select.getCondition().setValue(conj);
-        List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> selInptList = select.getInputs();
-        selInptList.clear();
-        selInptList.add(botOpRef);
-        context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(select);
+        
+        // Set the new conjuncts.
+        firstSelect.getCondition().setValue(conj);
+        context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(firstSelect);
         return true;
     }
-
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/EliminateSubplanRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/EliminateSubplanRule.java
index 5c5356c..3e6ab6f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/EliminateSubplanRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/EliminateSubplanRule.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -30,7 +31,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorManipulationUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class EliminateSubplanRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@
 
     /**
      * Eliminate Subplan above ETS
-     * 
      * and Subplan that has only ops. with one input and no free vars. (could we
      * modify it to consider free vars which are sources of Unnest or Assign, if
      * there are no aggregates?)
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/EnforceStructuralPropertiesRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/EnforceStructuralPropertiesRule.java
index 5ebaad7..de2e6af 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/EnforceStructuralPropertiesRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/EnforceStructuralPropertiesRule.java
@@ -9,6 +9,9 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.EquivalenceClass;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -61,12 +64,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.StructuralPropertiesVector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.UnorderedPartitionedProperty;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.PhysicalOptimizationConfig;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.util.PhysicalOptimizationsUtil;
 
 public class EnforceStructuralPropertiesRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ExtractCommonOperatorsRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ExtractCommonOperatorsRule.java
index 3501467..7e27b79 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ExtractCommonOperatorsRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ExtractCommonOperatorsRule.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -41,7 +42,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.OneToOneExchangePOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.ReplicatePOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.StreamProjectPOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class ExtractCommonOperatorsRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ExtractGbyExpressionsRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ExtractGbyExpressionsRule.java
index 38032dd..8305bc9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ExtractGbyExpressionsRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ExtractGbyExpressionsRule.java
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -25,12 +27,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 /**
  * Needed only bc. current Hyrax operators require keys to be fields.
- * 
  */
 public class ExtractGbyExpressionsRule extends AbstractExtractExprRule {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/FactorRedundantGroupAndDecorVarsRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/FactorRedundantGroupAndDecorVarsRule.java
index 99ed003..bfaff9f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/FactorRedundantGroupAndDecorVarsRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/FactorRedundantGroupAndDecorVarsRule.java
@@ -22,6 +22,8 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -32,9 +34,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AssignOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class FactorRedundantGroupAndDecorVarsRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InferTypesRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InferTypesRule.java
index e1d5549..703567a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InferTypesRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InferTypesRule.java
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class InferTypesRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InlineAssignIntoAggregateRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InlineAssignIntoAggregateRule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca45cbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InlineAssignIntoAggregateRule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules;
+
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AbstractFunctionCallExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ConstantExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AggregateOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AssignOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.AbstractConstVarFunVisitor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
+
+public class InlineAssignIntoAggregateRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean rewritePre(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context) {
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
+        if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.GROUP) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        boolean changed = false;
+        GroupByOperator gbyOp = (GroupByOperator) op;
+        for (ILogicalPlan p : gbyOp.getNestedPlans()) {
+            for (Mutable<ILogicalOperator> r : p.getRoots()) {
+                if (inlined(r)) {
+                    changed = true;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return changed;
+    }
+
+    private boolean inlined(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> r) throws AlgebricksException {
+        AbstractLogicalOperator op1 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) r.getValue();
+        if (op1.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.AGGREGATE) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        AbstractLogicalOperator op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op1.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
+        if (op2.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.ASSIGN) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        AggregateOperator agg = (AggregateOperator) op1;
+        AssignOperator assign = (AssignOperator) op2;
+        VarExprSubstitution ves = new VarExprSubstitution(assign.getVariables(), assign.getExpressions());
+        for (Mutable<ILogicalExpression> exprRef : agg.getExpressions()) {
+            ILogicalExpression expr = exprRef.getValue();
+            Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression> p = expr.accept(ves, null);
+            if (p.first == true) {
+                exprRef.setValue(p.second);
+            }
+            // AbstractLogicalExpression ale = (AbstractLogicalExpression) expr;
+            // ale.accept(ves, null);
+        }
+        List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> op1InpList = op1.getInputs();
+        op1InpList.clear();
+        op1InpList.add(op2.getInputs().get(0));
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    private class VarExprSubstitution extends AbstractConstVarFunVisitor<Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression>, Void> {
+
+        private List<LogicalVariable> variables;
+        private List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> expressions;
+
+        public VarExprSubstitution(List<LogicalVariable> variables, List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> expressions) {
+            this.variables = variables;
+            this.expressions = expressions;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression> visitConstantExpression(ConstantExpression expr, Void arg) {
+            return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression>(false, expr);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression> visitFunctionCallExpression(AbstractFunctionCallExpression expr,
+                Void arg) throws AlgebricksException {
+            boolean changed = false;
+            for (Mutable<ILogicalExpression> eRef : expr.getArguments()) {
+                ILogicalExpression e = eRef.getValue();
+                Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression> p = e.accept(this, arg);
+                if (p.first) {
+                    eRef.setValue(p.second);
+                    changed = true;
+                }
+            }
+            return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression>(changed, expr);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression> visitVariableReferenceExpression(VariableReferenceExpression expr,
+                Void arg) {
+            LogicalVariable v = expr.getVariableReference();
+            int idx = variables.indexOf(v);
+            if (idx < 0) {
+                return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression>(false, expr);
+            } else {
+                return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalExpression>(true, expressions.get(idx).getValue());
+            }
+
+        }
+
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InlineVariablesRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InlineVariablesRule.java
index 0cc2b53..8a79d81 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InlineVariablesRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InlineVariablesRule.java
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.EquivalenceClass;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
@@ -39,10 +41,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ProjectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.visitors.ILogicalExpressionReferenceTransform;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class InlineVariablesRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InsertOuterJoinRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InsertOuterJoinRule.java
index 25df119..bea8817 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InsertOuterJoinRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InsertOuterJoinRule.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.LeftOuterJoinOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class InsertOuterJoinRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
+    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
         AbstractLogicalOperator op0 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
         if (op0.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.SUBPLAN) {
             return false;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InsertProjectBeforeUnionRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InsertProjectBeforeUnionRule.java
index 337117e..d54833e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InsertProjectBeforeUnionRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/InsertProjectBeforeUnionRule.java
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Triple;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -29,9 +31,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnionAllOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.StreamProjectPOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Triple;
 
 public class InsertProjectBeforeUnionRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroHashPartitionMergeExchange.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroHashPartitionMergeExchange.java
index 0e12bcc..f1321d3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroHashPartitionMergeExchange.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroHashPartitionMergeExchange.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.PhysicalOperatorTag;
@@ -13,7 +14,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.HashPartitionMergeExchangePOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.SortMergeExchangePOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.OrderColumn;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class IntroHashPartitionMergeExchange implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroJoinInsideSubplanRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroJoinInsideSubplanRule.java
index acff2de..d69cd14 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroJoinInsideSubplanRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroJoinInsideSubplanRule.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -34,7 +35,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorManipulationUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 
 public class IntroJoinInsideSubplanRule extends AbstractDecorrelationRule {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceAggregateCombinerRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceAggregateCombinerRule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3d935c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceAggregateCombinerRule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules;
+
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AggregateFunctionCallExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AggregateOperator;
+
+public class IntroduceAggregateCombinerRule extends AbstractIntroduceCombinerRule {
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
+        if (context.checkIfInDontApplySet(this, op)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        context.addToDontApplySet(this, op);
+        if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.AGGREGATE) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        AggregateOperator aggOp = (AggregateOperator) op;
+        if (aggOp.getExecutionMode() != ExecutionMode.PARTITIONED || aggOp.getPartitioningVariable() == null) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        Map<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo> toReplaceMap = new HashMap<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo>();
+        Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> result = tryToPushAgg(aggOp, null, toReplaceMap, context);
+        if (!result.first || result.second == null) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        replaceOriginalAggFuncs(toReplaceMap);
+        context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(aggOp);
+        return true;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceCombinerRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceCombinerRule.java
deleted file mode 100644
index c05572b..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceCombinerRule.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,323 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules;
-
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.HashMap;
-import java.util.HashSet;
-import java.util.LinkedList;
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.Map.Entry;
-import java.util.Set;
-
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.OperatorAnnotations;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AbstractFunctionCallExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.AggregateFunctionCallExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.functions.IFunctionInfo;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AggregateOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.NestedTupleSourceOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.plan.ALogicalPlanImpl;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
-
-public class IntroduceCombinerRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
-
-    @Override
-    public boolean rewritePre(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context) {
-        return false;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context)
-            throws AlgebricksException {
-        AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
-        if (context.checkIfInDontApplySet(this, op)) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        context.addToDontApplySet(this, op);
-        if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.GROUP) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        GroupByOperator gbyOp = (GroupByOperator) op;
-        if (gbyOp.getExecutionMode() != ExecutionMode.PARTITIONED) {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        Map<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo> toReplaceMap = new HashMap<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo>();
-        BookkeepingInfo bi = new BookkeepingInfo();
-        bi.toReplaceMap = toReplaceMap;
-        bi.modifGbyMap = new HashMap<GroupByOperator, List<LogicalVariable>>();
-
-        GroupByOperator newGbyOp = opToPush(gbyOp, bi, context);
-        if (newGbyOp == null) {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        for (Map.Entry<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo> entry : toReplaceMap.entrySet()) {
-            SimilarAggregatesInfo sai = entry.getValue();
-            for (AggregateExprInfo aei : sai.simAggs) {
-                AbstractFunctionCallExpression afce = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) aei.aggExprRef.getValue();
-                afce.setFunctionInfo(aei.newFunInfo);
-                afce.getArguments().clear();
-                afce.getArguments().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(sai.stepOneResult));
-            }
-        }
-
-        for (Pair<LogicalVariable, Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> p : gbyOp.getDecorList()) {
-            LogicalVariable newDecorVar = context.newVar();
-            newGbyOp.addDecorExpression(newDecorVar, p.second.getValue());
-            p.second.setValue(new VariableReferenceExpression(newDecorVar));
-        }
-        newGbyOp.setExecutionMode(ExecutionMode.LOCAL);
-        Object v = gbyOp.getAnnotations().get(OperatorAnnotations.USE_HASH_GROUP_BY);
-        newGbyOp.getAnnotations().put(OperatorAnnotations.USE_HASH_GROUP_BY, v);
-
-        Object v2 = gbyOp.getAnnotations().get(OperatorAnnotations.USE_EXTERNAL_GROUP_BY);
-        newGbyOp.getAnnotations().put(OperatorAnnotations.USE_EXTERNAL_GROUP_BY, v2);
-
-        List<LogicalVariable> propagatedVars = new LinkedList<LogicalVariable>();
-        VariableUtilities.getProducedVariables(newGbyOp, propagatedVars);
-
-        Set<LogicalVariable> freeVars = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
-        OperatorPropertiesUtil.getFreeVariablesInSubplans(gbyOp, freeVars);
-
-        for (LogicalVariable var : freeVars) {
-            if (!propagatedVars.contains(var)) {
-                LogicalVariable newDecorVar = context.newVar();
-                newGbyOp.addDecorExpression(newDecorVar, new VariableReferenceExpression(var));
-                VariableUtilities.substituteVariables(gbyOp.getNestedPlans().get(0).getRoots().get(0).getValue(), var,
-                        newDecorVar, context);
-            }
-        }
-
-        Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef3 = gbyOp.getInputs().get(0);
-        opRef3.setValue(newGbyOp);
-        typeGby(newGbyOp, context);
-        typeGby(gbyOp, context);
-        return true;
-    }
-
-    private void typeGby(AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans op, IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
-        for (ILogicalPlan p : op.getNestedPlans()) {
-            OperatorPropertiesUtil.typePlan(p, context);
-        }
-        context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(op);
-    }
-
-    private GroupByOperator opToPush(GroupByOperator gbyOp, BookkeepingInfo bi, IOptimizationContext context)
-            throws AlgebricksException {
-
-        Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef3 = gbyOp.getInputs().get(0);
-        ILogicalOperator op3 = opRef3.getValue();
-        GroupByOperator newGbyOp = new GroupByOperator();
-        newGbyOp.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(op3));
-        // copy annotations
-        Map<String, Object> annotations = newGbyOp.getAnnotations();
-        for (Entry<String, Object> a : gbyOp.getAnnotations().entrySet())
-            annotations.put(a.getKey(), a.getValue());
-
-        List<LogicalVariable> gbyVars = gbyOp.getGbyVarList();
-
-        for (ILogicalPlan p : gbyOp.getNestedPlans()) {
-            Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan> bip = tryToPushSubplan(p, gbyOp, newGbyOp, bi, gbyVars, context);
-            if (!bip.first) {
-                // for now, if we cannot push everything, give up
-                return null;
-            }
-            ILogicalPlan pushedSubplan = bip.second;
-            if (pushedSubplan != null) {
-                newGbyOp.getNestedPlans().add(pushedSubplan);
-            }
-        }
-
-        ArrayList<LogicalVariable> newOpGbyList = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
-        ArrayList<LogicalVariable> replGbyList = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
-        // find maximal sequence of variable
-        for (Map.Entry<GroupByOperator, List<LogicalVariable>> e : bi.modifGbyMap.entrySet()) {
-            List<LogicalVariable> varList = e.getValue();
-            boolean see1 = true;
-            int sz1 = newOpGbyList.size();
-            int i = 0;
-            for (LogicalVariable v : varList) {
-                if (see1) {
-                    if (i < sz1) {
-                        LogicalVariable v2 = newOpGbyList.get(i);
-                        if (v != v2) {
-                            // cannot linearize
-                            return null;
-                        }
-                    } else {
-                        see1 = false;
-                        newOpGbyList.add(v);
-                        replGbyList.add(context.newVar());
-                    }
-                    i++;
-                } else {
-                    newOpGbyList.add(v);
-                    replGbyList.add(context.newVar());
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        // set the vars in the new op
-        int n = newOpGbyList.size();
-        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
-            newGbyOp.addGbyExpression(replGbyList.get(i), new VariableReferenceExpression(newOpGbyList.get(i)));
-            VariableUtilities.substituteVariables(gbyOp, newOpGbyList.get(i), replGbyList.get(i), false, context);
-        }
-        return newGbyOp;
-    }
-
-    private Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan> tryToPushSubplan(ILogicalPlan p, GroupByOperator oldGbyOp,
-            GroupByOperator newGbyOp, BookkeepingInfo bi, List<LogicalVariable> gbyVars, IOptimizationContext context) {
-        List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> pushedRoots = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>();
-        List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> toPushR = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>();
-        for (Mutable<ILogicalOperator> r : p.getRoots()) {
-            if (!tryToPushRoot(r, oldGbyOp, newGbyOp, bi, gbyVars, context, toPushR)) {
-                // for now, if we cannot push everything, give up
-                return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan>(false, null);
-            }
-        }
-        for (Mutable<ILogicalOperator> root : toPushR) {
-            pushedRoots.add(root);
-        }
-        if (pushedRoots.isEmpty()) {
-            return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan>(true, null);
-        } else {
-            return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan>(true, new ALogicalPlanImpl(pushedRoots));
-        }
-    }
-
-    private boolean tryToPushRoot(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> r, GroupByOperator oldGbyOp, GroupByOperator newGbyOp,
-            BookkeepingInfo bi, List<LogicalVariable> gbyVars, IOptimizationContext context,
-            List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> toPushAccumulate) {
-        AbstractLogicalOperator op1 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) r.getValue();
-        if (op1.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.AGGREGATE) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        AbstractLogicalOperator op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op1.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
-        if (op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.NESTEDTUPLESOURCE) {
-            AggregateOperator initAgg = (AggregateOperator) op1;
-            Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> pOpRef = tryToPushAgg(initAgg, newGbyOp, bi.toReplaceMap, context);
-            if (!pOpRef.first) {
-                return false;
-            }
-            Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef = pOpRef.second;
-            if (opRef != null) {
-                toPushAccumulate.add(opRef);
-            }
-            bi.modifGbyMap.put(oldGbyOp, gbyVars);
-            return true;
-        } else {
-            while (op2.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.GROUP && op2.getInputs().size() == 1) {
-                op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op2.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
-            }
-            if (op2.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.GROUP) {
-                return false;
-            }
-            GroupByOperator nestedGby = (GroupByOperator) op2;
-            List<LogicalVariable> gbyVars2 = nestedGby.getGbyVarList();
-            List<LogicalVariable> concatGbyVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>(gbyVars);
-            concatGbyVars.addAll(gbyVars2);
-            for (ILogicalPlan p : nestedGby.getNestedPlans()) {
-                for (Mutable<ILogicalOperator> r2 : p.getRoots()) {
-                    if (!tryToPushRoot(r2, nestedGby, newGbyOp, bi, concatGbyVars, context, toPushAccumulate)) {
-                        return false;
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-            return true;
-        }
-    }
-
-    private Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> tryToPushAgg(AggregateOperator initAgg, GroupByOperator newGbyOp,
-            Map<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo> toReplaceMap, IOptimizationContext context) {
-
-        ArrayList<LogicalVariable> pushedVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
-        ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> pushedExprs = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>();
-
-        List<LogicalVariable> initVars = initAgg.getVariables();
-        List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> initExprs = initAgg.getExpressions();
-        int sz = initVars.size();
-        for (int i = 0; i < sz; i++) {
-            AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggFun = (AggregateFunctionCallExpression) initExprs.get(i).getValue();
-            if (!aggFun.isTwoStep()) {
-                return new Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>(false, null);
-            }
-        }
-
-        boolean haveAggToReplace = false;
-        for (int i = 0; i < sz; i++) {
-            Mutable<ILogicalExpression> expRef = initExprs.get(i);
-            AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggFun = (AggregateFunctionCallExpression) expRef.getValue();
-            IFunctionInfo fi1 = aggFun.getStepOneAggregate();
-            List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> newArgs = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>(aggFun
-                    .getArguments().size());
-            for (Mutable<ILogicalExpression> er : aggFun.getArguments()) {
-                newArgs.add(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(er.getValue().cloneExpression()));
-            }
-            //            AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggLocal = new AggregateFunctionCallExpression(fi1, false, newArgs);
-            //            pushedExprs.add(new Mutable<ILogicalExpression>(aggLocal));
-
-            IFunctionInfo fi2 = aggFun.getStepTwoAggregate();
-
-            SimilarAggregatesInfo inf = toReplaceMap.get(aggFun);
-            if (inf == null) {
-                inf = new SimilarAggregatesInfo();
-                LogicalVariable newAggVar = context.newVar();
-                pushedVars.add(newAggVar);
-                inf.stepOneResult = new VariableReferenceExpression(newAggVar);
-                inf.simAggs = new ArrayList<AggregateExprInfo>();
-                toReplaceMap.put(aggFun, inf);
-                AggregateFunctionCallExpression aggLocal = new AggregateFunctionCallExpression(fi1, false, newArgs);
-                pushedExprs.add(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(aggLocal));
-            }
-            AggregateExprInfo aei = new AggregateExprInfo();
-            aei.aggExprRef = expRef;
-            aei.newFunInfo = fi2;
-            inf.simAggs.add(aei);
-            haveAggToReplace = true;
-        }
-
-        if (!pushedVars.isEmpty()) {
-            AggregateOperator pushedAgg = new AggregateOperator(pushedVars, pushedExprs);
-            pushedAgg.setExecutionMode(ExecutionMode.LOCAL);
-            NestedTupleSourceOperator nts = new NestedTupleSourceOperator(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(newGbyOp));
-            nts.setExecutionMode(ExecutionMode.LOCAL);
-            pushedAgg.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(nts));
-            return new Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>(true, new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(pushedAgg));
-        } else {
-            return new Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>(haveAggToReplace, null);
-        }
-    }
-
-    private class SimilarAggregatesInfo {
-        ILogicalExpression stepOneResult;
-        List<AggregateExprInfo> simAggs;
-    }
-
-    private class AggregateExprInfo {
-        Mutable<ILogicalExpression> aggExprRef;
-        IFunctionInfo newFunInfo;
-    }
-
-    private class BookkeepingInfo {
-        Map<AggregateFunctionCallExpression, SimilarAggregatesInfo> toReplaceMap;
-        Map<GroupByOperator, List<LogicalVariable>> modifGbyMap;
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByCombinerRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByCombinerRule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c5fdb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByCombinerRule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,218 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.LinkedList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.OperatorAnnotations;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.VariableReferenceExpression;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator.ExecutionMode;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AggregateOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.plan.ALogicalPlanImpl;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
+
+public class IntroduceGroupByCombinerRule extends AbstractIntroduceCombinerRule {
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
+        if (context.checkIfInDontApplySet(this, op)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        context.addToDontApplySet(this, op);
+        if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.GROUP) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        GroupByOperator gbyOp = (GroupByOperator) op;
+        if (gbyOp.getExecutionMode() != ExecutionMode.PARTITIONED) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        BookkeepingInfo bi = new BookkeepingInfo();
+        GroupByOperator newGbyOp = opToPush(gbyOp, bi, context);
+        if (newGbyOp == null) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        replaceOriginalAggFuncs(bi.toReplaceMap);
+
+        for (Pair<LogicalVariable, Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> p : gbyOp.getDecorList()) {
+            LogicalVariable newDecorVar = context.newVar();
+            newGbyOp.addDecorExpression(newDecorVar, p.second.getValue());
+            p.second.setValue(new VariableReferenceExpression(newDecorVar));
+        }
+        newGbyOp.setExecutionMode(ExecutionMode.LOCAL);
+        Object v = gbyOp.getAnnotations().get(OperatorAnnotations.USE_HASH_GROUP_BY);
+        newGbyOp.getAnnotations().put(OperatorAnnotations.USE_HASH_GROUP_BY, v);
+
+        Object v2 = gbyOp.getAnnotations().get(OperatorAnnotations.USE_EXTERNAL_GROUP_BY);
+        newGbyOp.getAnnotations().put(OperatorAnnotations.USE_EXTERNAL_GROUP_BY, v2);
+
+        List<LogicalVariable> propagatedVars = new LinkedList<LogicalVariable>();
+        VariableUtilities.getProducedVariables(newGbyOp, propagatedVars);
+
+        Set<LogicalVariable> freeVars = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+        OperatorPropertiesUtil.getFreeVariablesInSubplans(gbyOp, freeVars);
+
+        for (LogicalVariable var : freeVars) {
+            if (!propagatedVars.contains(var)) {
+                LogicalVariable newDecorVar = context.newVar();
+                newGbyOp.addDecorExpression(newDecorVar, new VariableReferenceExpression(var));
+                VariableUtilities.substituteVariables(gbyOp.getNestedPlans().get(0).getRoots().get(0).getValue(), var,
+                        newDecorVar, context);
+            }
+        }
+
+        Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef3 = gbyOp.getInputs().get(0);
+        opRef3.setValue(newGbyOp);
+        typeGby(newGbyOp, context);
+        typeGby(gbyOp, context);
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    private void typeGby(AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans op, IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
+        for (ILogicalPlan p : op.getNestedPlans()) {
+            OperatorPropertiesUtil.typePlan(p, context);
+        }
+        context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(op);
+    }
+
+    private GroupByOperator opToPush(GroupByOperator gbyOp, BookkeepingInfo bi, IOptimizationContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        // Hook up input to new group-by.
+        Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef3 = gbyOp.getInputs().get(0);
+        ILogicalOperator op3 = opRef3.getValue();
+        GroupByOperator newGbyOp = new GroupByOperator();
+        newGbyOp.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(op3));
+        // Copy annotations.        
+        Map<String, Object> annotations = newGbyOp.getAnnotations();
+        annotations.putAll(gbyOp.getAnnotations());
+
+        List<LogicalVariable> gbyVars = gbyOp.getGbyVarList();
+        for (ILogicalPlan p : gbyOp.getNestedPlans()) {
+            Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan> bip = tryToPushSubplan(p, gbyOp, newGbyOp, bi, gbyVars, context);
+            if (!bip.first) {
+                // For now, if we cannot push everything, give up.
+                return null;
+            }
+            ILogicalPlan pushedSubplan = bip.second;
+            if (pushedSubplan != null) {
+                newGbyOp.getNestedPlans().add(pushedSubplan);
+            }
+        }
+
+        ArrayList<LogicalVariable> newOpGbyList = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
+        ArrayList<LogicalVariable> replGbyList = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
+        // Find maximal sequence of variable.
+        for (Map.Entry<GroupByOperator, List<LogicalVariable>> e : bi.modifyGbyMap.entrySet()) {
+            List<LogicalVariable> varList = e.getValue();
+            boolean see1 = true;
+            int sz1 = newOpGbyList.size();
+            int i = 0;
+            for (LogicalVariable v : varList) {
+                if (see1) {
+                    if (i < sz1) {
+                        LogicalVariable v2 = newOpGbyList.get(i);
+                        if (v != v2) {
+                            // cannot linearize
+                            return null;
+                        }
+                    } else {
+                        see1 = false;
+                        newOpGbyList.add(v);
+                        replGbyList.add(context.newVar());
+                    }
+                    i++;
+                } else {
+                    newOpGbyList.add(v);
+                    replGbyList.add(context.newVar());
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        // set the vars in the new op
+        int n = newOpGbyList.size();
+        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
+            newGbyOp.addGbyExpression(replGbyList.get(i), new VariableReferenceExpression(newOpGbyList.get(i)));
+            VariableUtilities.substituteVariables(gbyOp, newOpGbyList.get(i), replGbyList.get(i), false, context);
+        }
+        return newGbyOp;
+    }
+
+    private Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan> tryToPushSubplan(ILogicalPlan nestedPlan, GroupByOperator oldGbyOp,
+            GroupByOperator newGbyOp, BookkeepingInfo bi, List<LogicalVariable> gbyVars, IOptimizationContext context)
+            throws AlgebricksException {
+        List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> pushedRoots = new ArrayList<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>>();
+        for (Mutable<ILogicalOperator> r : nestedPlan.getRoots()) {
+            if (!tryToPushRoot(r, oldGbyOp, newGbyOp, bi, gbyVars, context, pushedRoots)) {
+                // For now, if we cannot push everything, give up.
+                return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan>(false, null);
+            }
+        }
+        if (pushedRoots.isEmpty()) {
+            return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan>(true, null);
+        } else {
+            return new Pair<Boolean, ILogicalPlan>(true, new ALogicalPlanImpl(pushedRoots));
+        }
+    }
+
+    private boolean tryToPushRoot(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> root, GroupByOperator oldGbyOp, GroupByOperator newGbyOp,
+            BookkeepingInfo bi, List<LogicalVariable> gbyVars, IOptimizationContext context,
+            List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> toPushAccumulate) throws AlgebricksException {
+        AbstractLogicalOperator op1 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) root.getValue();
+        if (op1.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.AGGREGATE) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        AbstractLogicalOperator op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op1.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
+        if (op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.NESTEDTUPLESOURCE) {
+            AggregateOperator initAgg = (AggregateOperator) op1;
+            Pair<Boolean, Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> pOpRef = tryToPushAgg(initAgg, newGbyOp, bi.toReplaceMap, context);
+            if (!pOpRef.first) {
+                return false;
+            }
+            Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef = pOpRef.second;
+            if (opRef != null) {
+                toPushAccumulate.add(opRef);
+            }
+            bi.modifyGbyMap.put(oldGbyOp, gbyVars);
+            return true;
+        } else {
+            while (op2.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.GROUP && op2.getInputs().size() == 1) {
+                op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) op2.getInputs().get(0).getValue();
+            }
+            if (op2.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.GROUP) {
+                return false;
+            }
+            GroupByOperator nestedGby = (GroupByOperator) op2;
+            List<LogicalVariable> gbyVars2 = nestedGby.getGbyVarList();
+            List<LogicalVariable> concatGbyVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>(gbyVars);
+            concatGbyVars.addAll(gbyVars2);
+            for (ILogicalPlan p : nestedGby.getNestedPlans()) {
+                for (Mutable<ILogicalOperator> r2 : p.getRoots()) {
+                    if (!tryToPushRoot(r2, nestedGby, newGbyOp, bi, concatGbyVars, context, toPushAccumulate)) {
+                        return false;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByForStandaloneAggregRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByForStandaloneAggregRule.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 34060c2..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByForStandaloneAggregRule.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,108 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules;
-
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.LinkedList;
-import java.util.List;
-
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ConstantExpression;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AggregateOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AssignOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.NestedTupleSourceOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.plan.ALogicalPlanImpl;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
-
-/**
- * 
- * When aggregates appear w/o group-by, a default group by a constant is
- * introduced.
- * 
- */
-
-public class IntroduceGroupByForStandaloneAggregRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
-
-    @Override
-    public boolean rewritePre(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return false;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context)
-            throws AlgebricksException {
-        AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
-        if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.ASSIGN) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef2 = op.getInputs().get(0);
-        AbstractLogicalOperator op2 = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef2.getValue();
-        if (op2.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.AGGREGATE) {
-            return false;
-        }
-
-        AssignOperator assign = (AssignOperator) op;
-        AggregateOperator agg = (AggregateOperator) op2;
-        if (agg.getVariables().size() != 1) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        LogicalVariable aggVar = agg.getVariables().get(0);
-        List<LogicalVariable> used = new LinkedList<LogicalVariable>();
-        VariableUtilities.getUsedVariables(assign, used);
-        if (used.contains(aggVar)) {
-            Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef3 = op2.getInputs().get(0);
-            List<Pair<LogicalVariable, Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>> groupByList = new ArrayList<Pair<LogicalVariable, Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>>();
-            LogicalVariable gbyVar = context.newVar();
-            // ILogicalExpression constOne = new ConstantExpression(new
-            // IntegerLiteral(new Integer(1)));
-            groupByList.add(new Pair<LogicalVariable, Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>(gbyVar,
-                    new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(ConstantExpression.TRUE)));
-            NestedTupleSourceOperator nts = new NestedTupleSourceOperator(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>());
-            List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> aggInpList = agg.getInputs();
-            aggInpList.clear();
-            aggInpList.add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(nts));
-            ILogicalPlan np1 = new ALogicalPlanImpl(opRef2);
-            ArrayList<ILogicalPlan> nestedPlans = new ArrayList<ILogicalPlan>();
-            nestedPlans.add(np1);
-            GroupByOperator gbyOp = new GroupByOperator(groupByList,
-                    new ArrayList<Pair<LogicalVariable, Mutable<ILogicalExpression>>>(), nestedPlans);
-            Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRefGby = new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(gbyOp);
-            nts.getDataSourceReference().setValue(gbyOp);
-            gbyOp.getInputs().add(opRef3);
-            List<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> asgnInpList = assign.getInputs();
-            context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(nts);
-            context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(agg);
-            context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(gbyOp);
-            asgnInpList.clear();
-            asgnInpList.add(opRefGby);
-            return true;
-        }
-        return false;
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByForSubplanRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByForSubplanRule.java
index 87297e7..18c483e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByForSubplanRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IntroduceGroupByForSubplanRule.java
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -53,10 +55,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.FunctionalDependency;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorManipulationUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.util.PhysicalOptimizationsUtil;
 
 public class IntroduceGroupByForSubplanRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -176,10 +176,10 @@
             context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(tmpAsgn);
         }
 
-        IFunctionInfo finfoEq = AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.IS_NULL);
+        IFunctionInfo finfoEq = context.getMetadataProvider().lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.IS_NULL);
         ILogicalExpression isNullTest = new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(finfoEq,
                 new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(new VariableReferenceExpression(testForNull)));
-        IFunctionInfo finfoNot = AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NOT);
+        IFunctionInfo finfoNot = context.getMetadataProvider().lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NOT);
         ScalarFunctionCallExpression nonNullTest = new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(finfoNot,
                 new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(isNullTest));
         SelectOperator selectNonNull = new SelectOperator(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(nonNullTest));
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IsolateHyracksOperatorsRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IsolateHyracksOperatorsRule.java
index 194b818..ae57fb7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IsolateHyracksOperatorsRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/IsolateHyracksOperatorsRule.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IPhysicalOperator;
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ExchangeOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.OneToOneExchangePOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class IsolateHyracksOperatorsRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PullSelectOutOfEqJoin.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PullSelectOutOfEqJoin.java
index 7ee1f49..75862cf 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PullSelectOutOfEqJoin.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PullSelectOutOfEqJoin.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -33,7 +34,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractBinaryJoinOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class PullSelectOutOfEqJoin implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
         }
         AbstractFunctionCallExpression fexp = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) expr;
         FunctionIdentifier fi = fexp.getFunctionIdentifier();
-        if (fi != AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND) {
+        if (!fi.equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND)) {
             return false;
         }
         eqVarVarComps.clear();
@@ -79,9 +79,9 @@
             return false;
         }
         // pull up
-        ILogicalExpression pulledCond = makeCondition(otherPredicates);
+        ILogicalExpression pulledCond = makeCondition(otherPredicates, context);
         SelectOperator select = new SelectOperator(new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(pulledCond));
-        ILogicalExpression newJoinCond = makeCondition(eqVarVarComps);
+        ILogicalExpression newJoinCond = makeCondition(eqVarVarComps, context);
         join.getCondition().setValue(newJoinCond);
         select.getInputs().add(new MutableObject<ILogicalOperator>(join));
         opRef.setValue(select);
@@ -89,9 +89,9 @@
         return true;
     }
 
-    private ILogicalExpression makeCondition(List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> predList) {
+    private ILogicalExpression makeCondition(List<Mutable<ILogicalExpression>> predList, IOptimizationContext context) {
         if (predList.size() > 1) {
-            IFunctionInfo finfo = AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND);
+            IFunctionInfo finfo = context.getMetadataProvider().lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND);
             return new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(finfo, predList);
         } else {
             return predList.get(0).getValue();
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@
             return false;
         }
         AbstractFunctionCallExpression f = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) expr;
-        if (f.getFunctionIdentifier() != AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ) {
+        if (!f.getFunctionIdentifier().equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.EQ)) {
             return false;
         }
         ILogicalExpression e1 = f.getArguments().get(0).getValue();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushAssignDownThroughProductRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushAssignDownThroughProductRule.java
index 5eb7160..c105b51 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushAssignDownThroughProductRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushAssignDownThroughProductRule.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractBinaryJoinOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class PushAssignDownThroughProductRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushDieUpRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushDieUpRule.java
index ef7822f..c4dd78d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushDieUpRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushDieUpRule.java
@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class PushDieUpRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushLimitDownRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushLimitDownRule.java
index 1b096ea..acfdbd3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushLimitDownRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushLimitDownRule.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -32,7 +33,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.StreamLimitPOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class PushLimitDownRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@
     /**
      * When a global Limit over a merge-exchange is found, a local Limit is
      * pushed down.
-     * 
      */
 
     @Override
@@ -101,8 +100,8 @@
             clone2 = new LimitOperator(opLim.getMaxObjects().getValue(), false);
         } else {
             // push limit (max+offset)
-            IFunctionInfo finfoAdd = AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions
-                    .getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NUMERIC_ADD);
+            IFunctionInfo finfoAdd = context.getMetadataProvider().lookupFunction(
+                    AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.NUMERIC_ADD);
             ScalarFunctionCallExpression maxPlusOffset = new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(finfoAdd,
                     opLim.getMaxObjects(), opLim.getOffset());
             clone2 = new LimitOperator(maxPlusOffset, false);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushNestedOrderByUnderPreSortedGroupByRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushNestedOrderByUnderPreSortedGroupByRule.java
index b925cfe..95ad030 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushNestedOrderByUnderPreSortedGroupByRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushNestedOrderByUnderPreSortedGroupByRule.java
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -34,9 +36,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.AbstractPhysicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.StableSortPOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 public class PushNestedOrderByUnderPreSortedGroupByRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushProjectDownRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushProjectDownRule.java
index b70d88d..f223844 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushProjectDownRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushProjectDownRule.java
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -34,17 +36,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.GroupByOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ProjectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 
 /**
- * 
  * Pushes projections through its input operator, provided that operator does
  * not produce the projected variables.
  * 
  * @author Nicola
- * 
  */
 public class PushProjectDownRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
 
@@ -84,7 +82,8 @@
             if (op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.EMPTYTUPLESOURCE
                     || op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.NESTEDTUPLESOURCE
                     || op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.PROJECT
-                    || op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.REPLICATE) {
+                    || op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.REPLICATE
+                    || op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.UNIONALL) {
                 return new Pair<Boolean, Boolean>(false, false);
             }
             if (!op2.isMap()) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushProjectIntoDataSourceScanRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushProjectIntoDataSourceScanRule.java
index 4e14f9a..2cbbdbf 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushProjectIntoDataSourceScanRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushProjectIntoDataSourceScanRule.java
@@ -2,13 +2,13 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.DataSourceScanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ProjectOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class PushProjectIntoDataSourceScanRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSelectDownRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSelectDownRule.java
index fedcad9..ef4fd2e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSelectDownRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSelectDownRule.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -27,7 +28,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class PushSelectDownRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSelectIntoJoinRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSelectIntoJoinRule.java
index 315abdb..8c679c5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSelectIntoJoinRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSelectIntoJoinRule.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -39,7 +40,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SelectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class PushSelectIntoJoinRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@
                 pushOps(pushedOnLeft, joinBranchLeftRef, context);
                 pushOps(pushedOnRight, joinBranchRightRef, context);
             }
-            addCondToJoin(select, join);
+            addCondToJoin(select, join, context);
         } else { // push down
             Iterator<Mutable<ILogicalOperator>> branchIter = join.getInputs().iterator();
 
@@ -202,7 +202,8 @@
         joinBranch.setValue(topOp);
     }
 
-    private static void addCondToJoin(SelectOperator select, AbstractBinaryJoinOperator join) {
+    private static void addCondToJoin(SelectOperator select, AbstractBinaryJoinOperator join,
+            IOptimizationContext context) {
         ILogicalExpression cond = join.getCondition().getValue();
         if (OperatorPropertiesUtil.isAlwaysTrueCond(cond)) { // the join was a product
             join.getCondition().setValue(select.getCondition().getValue());
@@ -211,8 +212,8 @@
             if (cond.getExpressionTag() == LogicalExpressionTag.FUNCTION_CALL) {
                 AbstractFunctionCallExpression fcond = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) cond;
                 if (fcond.getFunctionIdentifier().equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND)) {
-                    AbstractFunctionCallExpression newCond = new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(
-                            AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND));
+                    AbstractFunctionCallExpression newCond = new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(context
+                            .getMetadataProvider().lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND));
                     newCond.getArguments().add(select.getCondition());
                     newCond.getArguments().addAll(fcond.getArguments());
                     join.getCondition().setValue(newCond);
@@ -220,9 +221,9 @@
                 }
             }
             if (!bAddedToConj) {
-                AbstractFunctionCallExpression newCond = new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(
-                        AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.getBuiltinFunctionInfo(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND),
-                        select.getCondition(), new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(join.getCondition().getValue()));
+                AbstractFunctionCallExpression newCond = new ScalarFunctionCallExpression(context.getMetadataProvider()
+                        .lookupFunction(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND), select.getCondition(),
+                        new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(join.getCondition().getValue()));
                 join.getCondition().setValue(newCond);
             }
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSubplanWithAggregateDownThroughProductRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSubplanWithAggregateDownThroughProductRule.java
index 25855e5..d7bd543 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSubplanWithAggregateDownThroughProductRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/PushSubplanWithAggregateDownThroughProductRule.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -31,7 +32,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class PushSubplanWithAggregateDownThroughProductRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ReinferAllTypesRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ReinferAllTypesRule.java
index f06a2ac..e18a380 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ReinferAllTypesRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/ReinferAllTypesRule.java
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class ReinferAllTypesRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/RemoveRedundantProjectionRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/RemoveRedundantProjectionRule.java
index cdc6086..f5ebe77 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/RemoveRedundantProjectionRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/RemoveRedundantProjectionRule.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
@@ -26,7 +27,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.ProjectOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 /*
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/RemoveUnusedAssignAndAggregateRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/RemoveUnusedAssignAndAggregateRule.java
index ff1a102..c53ea0a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/RemoveUnusedAssignAndAggregateRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/RemoveUnusedAssignAndAggregateRule.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -32,8 +33,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AggregateOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AssignOperator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.UnnestOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class RemoveUnusedAssignAndAggregateRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -98,6 +99,12 @@
                 context.computeAndSetTypeEnvironmentForOperator(agg);
             }
             return agg.getVariables().size();
+        } else if (op.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.UNNEST) {
+            UnnestOperator uOp = (UnnestOperator) op;
+            LogicalVariable pVar = uOp.getPositionalVariable();
+            if (pVar != null && toRemove.contains(pVar)) {
+                uOp.setPositionalVariable(null);
+            }
         }
         return -1;
     }
@@ -141,6 +148,12 @@
         } else if (op.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.AGGREGATE) {
             AggregateOperator agg = (AggregateOperator) op;
             toRemove.addAll(agg.getVariables());
+        } else if (op.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.UNNEST) {
+            UnnestOperator uOp = (UnnestOperator) op;
+            LogicalVariable pVar = uOp.getPositionalVariable();
+            if (pVar != null) {
+                toRemove.add(pVar);
+            }
         }
         List<LogicalVariable> used = new LinkedList<LogicalVariable>();
         VariableUtilities.getUsedVariables(op, used);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SetAlgebricksPhysicalOperatorsRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SetAlgebricksPhysicalOperatorsRule.java
index f1f3533..38cf96e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SetAlgebricksPhysicalOperatorsRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SetAlgebricksPhysicalOperatorsRule.java
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
@@ -58,11 +61,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.UnionAllPOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.UnnestPOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.WriteResultPOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.PhysicalOptimizationConfig;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.util.JoinUtils;
 
 public class SetAlgebricksPhysicalOperatorsRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -262,13 +262,13 @@
                     break;
                 }
                 case INDEX_INSERT_DELETE: {
-                    IndexInsertDeleteOperator opLoad = (IndexInsertDeleteOperator) op;
+                    IndexInsertDeleteOperator opInsDel = (IndexInsertDeleteOperator) op;
                     List<LogicalVariable> primaryKeys = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
                     List<LogicalVariable> secondaryKeys = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
-                    getKeys(opLoad.getPrimaryKeyExpressions(), primaryKeys);
-                    getKeys(opLoad.getSecondaryKeyExpressions(), secondaryKeys);
-                    op.setPhysicalOperator(new IndexInsertDeletePOperator(primaryKeys, secondaryKeys, opLoad
-                            .getDataSourceIndex()));
+                    getKeys(opInsDel.getPrimaryKeyExpressions(), primaryKeys);
+                    getKeys(opInsDel.getSecondaryKeyExpressions(), secondaryKeys);
+                    op.setPhysicalOperator(new IndexInsertDeletePOperator(primaryKeys, secondaryKeys, 
+                    		opInsDel.getFilterExpression(), opInsDel.getDataSourceIndex()));
                     break;
                 }
                 case SINK: {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SetExecutionModeRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SetExecutionModeRule.java
index bdd56b6..5bc3432 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SetExecutionModeRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SetExecutionModeRule.java
@@ -16,23 +16,20 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorManipulationUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 /**
- * 
  * This rule sets the executionMode property of an operator, w/o introducing
  * EXCHANGE operators in the plan. Previously, i.e. before having physical
  * optimizations in place, we were using the IntroduceExchangeRule, which was
  * doing both, to both set excutionMode and introduce data exchange ops.
  * 
- * 
  * @author Nicola
- * 
  */
 public class SetExecutionModeRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SimpleUnnestToProductRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SimpleUnnestToProductRule.java
index fb7a49f..b79c31b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SimpleUnnestToProductRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SimpleUnnestToProductRule.java
@@ -14,21 +14,26 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.rewriter.rules;
 
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Set;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalOperatorTag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.LogicalVariable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.expressions.ConstantExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractLogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractScanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.EmptyTupleSourceOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.InnerJoinOperator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 public class SimpleUnnestToProductRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
@@ -42,7 +47,8 @@
     public boolean rewritePost(Mutable<ILogicalOperator> opRef, IOptimizationContext context)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         AbstractLogicalOperator op = (AbstractLogicalOperator) opRef.getValue();
-        if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.DATASOURCESCAN) {
+        if (op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.DATASOURCESCAN
+                && op.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.UNNEST) {
             return false;
         }
 
@@ -52,6 +58,11 @@
         if (!(op2 instanceof AbstractScanOperator) && !descOrSelfIsSourceScan(op2)) {
             return false;
         }
+        // Make sure that op does not use any variables produced by op2.
+        if (!opsAreIndependent(op, op2)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
         InnerJoinOperator product = new InnerJoinOperator(
                 new MutableObject<ILogicalExpression>(ConstantExpression.TRUE));
 
@@ -69,7 +80,12 @@
     }
 
     private boolean descOrSelfIsSourceScan(AbstractLogicalOperator op2) {
-        if (op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.DATASOURCESCAN) {
+        // Disregard data source scans in a subplan.
+        if (op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.SUBPLAN) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        if (op2.getOperatorTag() == LogicalOperatorTag.DATASOURCESCAN
+                && op2.getOperatorTag() != LogicalOperatorTag.UNNEST) {
             return true;
         }
         for (Mutable<ILogicalOperator> cRef : op2.getInputs()) {
@@ -81,4 +97,17 @@
         return false;
     }
 
+    private boolean opsAreIndependent(ILogicalOperator unnestOp, ILogicalOperator outer) throws AlgebricksException {
+        List<LogicalVariable> opUsedVars = new ArrayList<LogicalVariable>();
+        VariableUtilities.getUsedVariables(unnestOp, opUsedVars);
+        Set<LogicalVariable> op2LiveVars = new HashSet<LogicalVariable>();
+        VariableUtilities.getLiveVariables(outer, op2LiveVars);
+        for (LogicalVariable usedVar : opUsedVars) {
+            if (op2LiveVars.contains(usedVar)) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SubplanOutOfGroupRule.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SubplanOutOfGroupRule.java
index 7c31fb9..09e03b5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SubplanOutOfGroupRule.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/rules/SubplanOutOfGroupRule.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.MutableObject;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -31,26 +32,16 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.SubplanOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.VariableUtilities;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.util.OperatorPropertiesUtil;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.rewriter.base.IAlgebraicRewriteRule;
 
 /**
- * 
  * Looks for a nested group-by plan ending in
- * 
  * subplan {
- * 
  * ...
- * 
  * }
- * 
  * select (function-call: algebricks:not, Args:[function-call:
  * algebricks:is-null, Args:[...]])
- * 
  * nested tuple source -- |UNPARTITIONED|
- * 
- * 
- * 
  */
 
 public class SubplanOutOfGroupRule implements IAlgebraicRewriteRule {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/util/JoinUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/util/JoinUtils.java
index 1714a24..ddc00e3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/util/JoinUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/util/JoinUtils.java
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -41,7 +42,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.InMemoryHashJoinPOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.physical.NLJoinPOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.properties.ILogicalPropertiesVector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
 
 public class JoinUtils {
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@
             case FUNCTION_CALL: {
                 AbstractFunctionCallExpression fexp = (AbstractFunctionCallExpression) e;
                 FunctionIdentifier fi = fexp.getFunctionIdentifier();
-                if (fi == AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND) {
+                if (fi.equals(AlgebricksBuiltinFunctions.AND)) {
                     for (Mutable<ILogicalExpression> a : fexp.getArguments()) {
                         if (!isHashJoinCondition(a.getValue(), inLeftAll, inRightAll, outLeftFields,
                                 outRightFields)) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/util/PhysicalOptimizationsUtil.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/util/PhysicalOptimizationsUtil.java
index 795c767..d7ebfb4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/util/PhysicalOptimizationsUtil.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-rewriter/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/rewriter/util/PhysicalOptimizationsUtil.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.mutable.Mutable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.ILogicalPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.base.IOptimizationContext;
@@ -13,7 +14,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.AbstractOperatorWithNestedPlans;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.NestedTupleSourceOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.operators.logical.visitors.FDsAndEquivClassesVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.config.AlgebricksConfig;
 
 public class PhysicalOptimizationsUtil {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..79bcaeb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+  <artifactId>hyracks-algebricks-runtime</artifactId>
+
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hyracks-algebricks</artifactId>
+    <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+
+  <build>
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>2.0.2</version>
+        <configuration>
+          <source>1.6</source>
+          <target>1.6</target>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+  <dependencies>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-btree</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-rtree</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-dataflow-std</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-algebricks-common</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-algebricks-data</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0658d62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.aggregators;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
+
+public class TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory implements IAggregateEvaluatorFactory {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    @Override
+    public IAggregateEvaluator createAggregateEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        final ArrayBackedValueStorage abvs = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+        return new IAggregateEvaluator() {
+
+            int cnt;
+
+            @Override
+            public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
+                ++cnt;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void init() throws AlgebricksException {
+                cnt = 0;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void finish(IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                try {
+                    abvs.reset();
+                    abvs.getDataOutput().writeInt(cnt);
+                    result.set(abvs);
+                } catch (IOException e) {
+                    throw new AlgebricksException(e);
+                }
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fa73f6c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/aggregators/TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.aggregators;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
+
+public class TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory implements IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    @Override
+    public IRunningAggregateEvaluator createRunningAggregateEvaluator() throws AlgebricksException {
+        final ArrayBackedValueStorage abvs = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+        return new IRunningAggregateEvaluator() {
+
+            int cnt;
+
+            @Override
+            public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                ++cnt;
+                try {
+                    abvs.reset();
+                    abvs.getDataOutput().writeInt(cnt);
+                    result.set(abvs);
+                } catch (IOException e) {
+                    throw new AlgebricksException(e);
+                }
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void init() throws AlgebricksException {
+                cnt = 0;
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/AlgebricksPipeline.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/AlgebricksPipeline.java
similarity index 95%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/AlgebricksPipeline.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/AlgebricksPipeline.java
index ecd3e96..50f014b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/AlgebricksPipeline.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/AlgebricksPipeline.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IAggregateEvaluator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IAggregateEvaluator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b014ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IAggregateEvaluator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
+
+public interface IAggregateEvaluator {
+    public void init() throws AlgebricksException;
+
+    public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException;
+
+    public void finish(IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IAggregateEvaluatorFactory.java
similarity index 64%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IAggregateEvaluatorFactory.java
index 871fe43..83bfbf7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IAggregateEvaluatorFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IPrinterFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPrinter createPrinter();
-}
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+
+public interface IAggregateEvaluatorFactory extends Serializable {
+    public IAggregateEvaluator createAggregateEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IAggregateFunction.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyAggregateFunction.java
similarity index 68%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IAggregateFunction.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyAggregateFunction.java
index e68ae52..c768674 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IAggregateFunction.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyAggregateFunction.java
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public interface IAggregateFunction {
+public interface ICopyAggregateFunction {
     /** should be called each time a new aggregate value is computed */
     public void init() throws AlgebricksException;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory.java
similarity index 63%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory.java
index 4e2d113..702f392 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory.java
@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IDataOutputProvider;
 
-public interface IPushRuntimeFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(RuntimeContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
+public interface ICopyAggregateFunctionFactory extends Serializable {
+    public ICopyAggregateFunction createAggregateFunction(IDataOutputProvider provider) throws AlgebricksException;
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IEvaluator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyEvaluator.java
similarity index 81%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IEvaluator.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyEvaluator.java
index 566651d..58d7569 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IEvaluator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyEvaluator.java
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public interface IEvaluator {
+public interface ICopyEvaluator {
     public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyEvaluatorFactory.java
similarity index 65%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyEvaluatorFactory.java
index 871fe43..649902c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyEvaluatorFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IPrinterFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPrinter createPrinter();
-}
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IDataOutputProvider;
+
+public interface ICopyEvaluatorFactory extends Serializable {
+    public ICopyEvaluator createEvaluator(IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateFunction.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyRunningAggregateFunction.java
similarity index 81%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateFunction.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyRunningAggregateFunction.java
index ac381cf..3b14b28 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateFunction.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyRunningAggregateFunction.java
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public interface IRunningAggregateFunction {
+public interface ICopyRunningAggregateFunction {
     public void init() throws AlgebricksException;
 
     public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java
similarity index 64%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java
index 638f5f8..1065020 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory.java
@@ -12,14 +12,14 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IDataOutputProvider;
 
-public interface IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IRunningAggregateFunction createRunningAggregateFunction(IDataOutputProvider provider)
+public interface ICopyRunningAggregateFunctionFactory extends Serializable {
+    public ICopyRunningAggregateFunction createRunningAggregateFunction(IDataOutputProvider provider)
             throws AlgebricksException;
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/ISerializableAggregateFunction.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopySerializableAggregateFunction.java
similarity index 84%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/ISerializableAggregateFunction.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopySerializableAggregateFunction.java
index 4e9c5fb..47aec7d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/ISerializableAggregateFunction.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopySerializableAggregateFunction.java
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.DataOutput;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public interface ISerializableAggregateFunction {
+public interface ICopySerializableAggregateFunction {
     /**
      * initialize the space occupied by internal state
      * 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69d56a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+
+public interface ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory extends Serializable {
+    public ICopySerializableAggregateFunction createAggregateFunction() throws AlgebricksException;
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunction.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyUnnestingFunction.java
similarity index 82%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunction.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyUnnestingFunction.java
index 5b891f2..3443403 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunction.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyUnnestingFunction.java
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public interface IUnnestingFunction {
+public interface ICopyUnnestingFunction {
     public void init(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException;
 
     public boolean step() throws AlgebricksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory.java
similarity index 63%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory.java
index 4e2d113..e43da8b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory.java
@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IDataOutputProvider;
 
-public interface IPushRuntimeFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(RuntimeContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
+public interface ICopyUnnestingFunctionFactory extends Serializable {
+    public ICopyUnnestingFunction createUnnestingFunction(IDataOutputProvider provider) throws AlgebricksException;
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntime.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IPushRuntime.java
similarity index 93%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntime.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IPushRuntime.java
index 01ae150..26fcc67 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntime.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IPushRuntime.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 69%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java
index 4e2d113..f1d01e6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IPushRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 
 public interface IPushRuntimeFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(RuntimeContext context) throws AlgebricksException;
+    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException;
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateFunction.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateEvaluator.java
similarity index 71%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateFunction.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateEvaluator.java
index ac381cf..f76a33c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateFunction.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateEvaluator.java
@@ -12,13 +12,14 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public interface IRunningAggregateFunction {
+public interface IRunningAggregateEvaluator {
     public void init() throws AlgebricksException;
 
-    public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException;
+    public void step(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException;
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory.java
similarity index 68%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory.java
index 871fe43..80f6511 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IPrinterFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPrinter createPrinter();
-}
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+
+public interface IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory extends Serializable {
+    public IRunningAggregateEvaluator createRunningAggregateEvaluator() throws AlgebricksException;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunction.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IScalarEvaluator.java
similarity index 70%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunction.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IScalarEvaluator.java
index 5b891f2..e22097a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunction.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IScalarEvaluator.java
@@ -12,14 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public interface IUnnestingFunction {
-    public void init(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException;
-
-    public boolean step() throws AlgebricksException;
-
-}
+public interface IScalarEvaluator {
+    public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IScalarEvaluatorFactory.java
similarity index 64%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IScalarEvaluatorFactory.java
index 871fe43..e40b96c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IScalarEvaluatorFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IPrinterFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPrinter createPrinter();
-}
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+
+public interface IScalarEvaluatorFactory extends Serializable {
+    public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunction.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IUnnestingEvaluator.java
similarity index 72%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunction.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IUnnestingEvaluator.java
index 5b891f2..f65192a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IUnnestingFunction.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IUnnestingEvaluator.java
@@ -12,14 +12,14 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public interface IUnnestingFunction {
+public interface IUnnestingEvaluator {
     public void init(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException;
 
-    public boolean step() throws AlgebricksException;
-
-}
+    public boolean step(IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory.java
similarity index 64%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory.java
index 871fe43..8bca2b9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/base/IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IPrinterFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPrinter createPrinter();
-}
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+
+public interface IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory extends Serializable {
+    public IUnnestingEvaluator createUnnestingEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException;
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/context/AsterixBTreeRegistry.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/context/AsterixBTreeRegistry.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/context/AsterixBTreeRegistry.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/context/AsterixBTreeRegistry.java
index 4ea64d1..8ab92ee 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/context/AsterixBTreeRegistry.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/context/AsterixBTreeRegistry.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.context;
 
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.Lock;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/evaluators/ColumnAccessEvalFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/ColumnAccessEvalFactory.java
similarity index 73%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/evaluators/ColumnAccessEvalFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/ColumnAccessEvalFactory.java
index 4d8bf96..5f5d19c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/evaluators/ColumnAccessEvalFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/ColumnAccessEvalFactory.java
@@ -12,18 +12,18 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.evaluators;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.evaluators;
 
 import java.io.DataOutput;
 import java.io.IOException;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IDataOutputProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public class ColumnAccessEvalFactory implements IEvaluatorFactory {
+public class ColumnAccessEvalFactory implements ICopyEvaluatorFactory {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return new IEvaluator() {
+    public ICopyEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new ICopyEvaluator() {
 
             private DataOutput out = output.getDataOutput();
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/evaluators/ConstantEvalFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/ConstantEvalFactory.java
similarity index 70%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/evaluators/ConstantEvalFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/ConstantEvalFactory.java
index f49f2ee..c537c93 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/evaluators/ConstantEvalFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/ConstantEvalFactory.java
@@ -12,18 +12,18 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.evaluators;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.evaluators;
 
 import java.io.DataOutput;
 import java.io.IOException;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IDataOutputProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public class ConstantEvalFactory implements IEvaluatorFactory {
+public class ConstantEvalFactory implements ICopyEvaluatorFactory {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     private byte[] value;
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return new IEvaluator() {
+    public ICopyEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new ICopyEvaluator() {
 
             private DataOutput out = output.getDataOutput();
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/ConstantEvaluatorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/ConstantEvaluatorFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4f7c35a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/ConstantEvaluatorFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.evaluators;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
+
+public class ConstantEvaluatorFactory implements IScalarEvaluatorFactory {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private byte[] value;
+
+    public ConstantEvaluatorFactory(byte[] value) {
+        this.value = value;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        return "Constant";
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new IScalarEvaluator() {
+            @Override
+            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                result.set(value, 0, value.length);
+            }
+        };
+    }
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..29328ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/evaluators/TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.evaluators;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
+
+public class TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory implements IScalarEvaluatorFactory {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private final int fieldIndex;
+
+    public TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory(int fieldIndex) {
+        this.fieldIndex = fieldIndex;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new IScalarEvaluator() {
+            @Override
+            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                result.set(tuple.getFieldData(fieldIndex), tuple.getFieldStart(fieldIndex),
+                        tuple.getFieldLength(fieldIndex));
+            }
+        };
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/AggregateRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/AggregateRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 74%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/AggregateRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/AggregateRuntimeFactory.java
index 5184e12..a975195 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/AggregateRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/AggregateRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,19 +12,20 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunction;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
 
 public class AggregateRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
@@ -32,9 +33,9 @@
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     // private int[] outColumns;
-    private IAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggregFactories;
+    private IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] aggregFactories;
 
-    public AggregateRuntimeFactory(IAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggregFactories) {
+    public AggregateRuntimeFactory(IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] aggregFactories) {
         super(null);
         // this.outColumns = outColumns;
         this.aggregFactories = aggregFactories;
@@ -55,12 +56,12 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context)
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
 
-            private IAggregateFunction[] aggregs = new IAggregateFunction[aggregFactories.length];
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage evalOutput = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+            private IAggregateEvaluator[] aggregs = new IAggregateEvaluator[aggregFactories.length];
+            private IPointable result = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
             private ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(aggregs.length);
 
             private boolean first = true;
@@ -70,9 +71,9 @@
                 try {
                     if (first) {
                         first = false;
-                        initAccessAppendRef(context);
+                        initAccessAppendRef(ctx);
                         for (int i = 0; i < aggregFactories.length; i++) {
-                            aggregs[i] = aggregFactories[i].createAggregateFunction(evalOutput);
+                            aggregs[i] = aggregFactories[i].createAggregateEvaluator(ctx);
                         }
                     }
                     for (int i = 0; i < aggregFactories.length; i++) {
@@ -106,13 +107,12 @@
             private void computeAggregate() throws HyracksDataException {
                 tupleBuilder.reset();
                 for (int f = 0; f < aggregs.length; f++) {
-                    evalOutput.reset();
                     try {
-                        aggregs[f].finish();
+                        aggregs[f].finish(result);
                     } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
                         throw new HyracksDataException(e);
                     }
-                    tupleBuilder.addField(evalOutput.getBytes(), evalOutput.getStartIndex(), evalOutput.getLength());
+                    tupleBuilder.addField(result.getByteArray(), result.getStartOffset(), result.getLength());
                 }
             }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
similarity index 90%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
index b7b64ab..2ae6f72 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
@@ -12,16 +12,15 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.NestedTupleSourceRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.NestedTupleSourceRuntime;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
@@ -51,14 +50,12 @@
     public IAggregatorDescriptor createAggregator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, RecordDescriptor inRecordDesc,
             RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor, int[] keys, int[] partialKeys) throws HyracksDataException {
 
-        final RuntimeContext rc = new RuntimeContext();
-        rc.setHyracksContext(ctx);
         final AggregatorOutput outputWriter = new AggregatorOutput(ctx.getFrameSize(), subplans, keyFieldIdx.length,
                 decorFieldIdx.length);
         final NestedTupleSourceRuntime[] pipelines = new NestedTupleSourceRuntime[subplans.length];
         for (int i = 0; i < subplans.length; i++) {
             try {
-                pipelines[i] = (NestedTupleSourceRuntime) assemblePipeline(subplans[i], outputWriter, rc);
+                pipelines[i] = (NestedTupleSourceRuntime) assemblePipeline(subplans[i], outputWriter, ctx);
             } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
                 throw new HyracksDataException(e);
             }
@@ -143,14 +140,14 @@
         };
     }
 
-    private IFrameWriter assemblePipeline(AlgebricksPipeline subplan, IFrameWriter writer, RuntimeContext rc)
+    private IFrameWriter assemblePipeline(AlgebricksPipeline subplan, IFrameWriter writer, IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         // plug the operators
         IFrameWriter start = writer;
         IPushRuntimeFactory[] runtimeFactories = subplan.getRuntimeFactories();
         RecordDescriptor[] recordDescriptors = subplan.getRecordDescriptors();
         for (int i = runtimeFactories.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
-            IPushRuntime newRuntime = runtimeFactories[i].createPushRuntime(rc);
+            IPushRuntime newRuntime = runtimeFactories[i].createPushRuntime(ctx);
             newRuntime.setFrameWriter(0, start, recordDescriptors[i]);
             if (i > 0) {
                 newRuntime.setInputRecordDescriptor(0, recordDescriptors[i - 1]);
@@ -164,10 +161,7 @@
     }
 
     /**
-     * 
-     * 
      * We suppose for now, that each subplan only produces one tuple.
-     * 
      */
     private static class AggregatorOutput implements IFrameWriter {
 
@@ -202,10 +196,8 @@
         }
 
         /**
-         * 
          * Since each pipeline only produces one tuple, this method is only
          * called by the close method of the pipelines.
-         * 
          */
         @Override
         public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory.java
similarity index 88%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory.java
index ffc8c54..4d5d3d6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory.java
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg;
 
 import java.io.DataOutput;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.ISerializableAggregateFunction;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopySerializableAggregateFunction;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@
 
 public class SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory implements IAggregatorDescriptorFactory {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-    private ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggFactories;
+    private ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggFactories;
 
-    public SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory(ISerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggFactories) {
+    public SerializableAggregatorDescriptorFactory(ICopySerializableAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggFactories) {
         this.aggFactories = aggFactories;
     }
 
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
          */
         return new IAggregatorDescriptor() {
             private FrameTupleReference ftr = new FrameTupleReference();
-            private ISerializableAggregateFunction[] aggs = new ISerializableAggregateFunction[aggFactories.length];
+            private ICopySerializableAggregateFunction[] aggs = new ICopySerializableAggregateFunction[aggFactories.length];
             private int offsetFieldIndex = keys.length;
             private int stateFieldLength[] = new int[aggFactories.length];
 
@@ -81,11 +81,12 @@
                     int stateTupleIndex, AggregateState state) throws HyracksDataException {
                 ftr.reset(accessor, tIndex);
                 int stateTupleStart = stateAccessor.getTupleStartOffset(stateTupleIndex);
+                int fieldSlotLength = stateAccessor.getFieldSlotsLength();
                 for (int i = 0; i < aggs.length; i++) {
                     try {
                         byte[] data = stateAccessor.getBuffer().array();
                         int start = stateAccessor.getFieldStartOffset(stateTupleIndex, i + keys.length)
-                                + stateTupleStart;
+                                + stateTupleStart + fieldSlotLength;
                         aggs[i].step(ftr, data, start, stateFieldLength[i]);
                     } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
                         throw new HyracksDataException(e);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
similarity index 68%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
index 1743dfc..83925cc 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/aggreg/SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/aggreg/SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory.java
@@ -12,18 +12,18 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunction;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.Pair;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.AggregateState;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptor;
@@ -32,32 +32,29 @@
 public class SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory implements IAggregatorDescriptorFactory {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-    private IAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggFactories;
+    private IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] aggFactories;
 
-    public SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory(IAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggFactories, int[] keys,
+    public SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory(IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] aggFactories, int[] keys,
             int[] fdColumns) {
         this.aggFactories = aggFactories;
     }
 
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     @Override
-    public IAggregatorDescriptor createAggregator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, RecordDescriptor inRecordDesc,
+    public IAggregatorDescriptor createAggregator(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx, RecordDescriptor inRecordDesc,
             RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor, int[] aggKeys, int[] partialKeys) throws HyracksDataException {
 
         return new IAggregatorDescriptor() {
 
             private FrameTupleReference ftr = new FrameTupleReference();
+            private IPointable p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
 
             @Override
             public void init(ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder, IFrameTupleAccessor accessor, int tIndex,
                     AggregateState state) throws HyracksDataException {
-                Pair<ArrayBackedValueStorage[], IAggregateFunction[]> aggState = (Pair<ArrayBackedValueStorage[], IAggregateFunction[]>) state.state;
-                ArrayBackedValueStorage[] aggOutput = aggState.first;
-                IAggregateFunction[] agg = aggState.second;
+                IAggregateEvaluator[] agg = (IAggregateEvaluator[]) state.state;
 
                 // initialize aggregate functions
                 for (int i = 0; i < agg.length; i++) {
-                    aggOutput[i].reset();
                     try {
                         agg[i].init();
                     } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
@@ -78,8 +75,7 @@
             @Override
             public void aggregate(IFrameTupleAccessor accessor, int tIndex, IFrameTupleAccessor stateAccessor,
                     int stateTupleIndex, AggregateState state) throws HyracksDataException {
-                Pair<ArrayBackedValueStorage[], IAggregateFunction[]> aggState = (Pair<ArrayBackedValueStorage[], IAggregateFunction[]>) state.state;
-                IAggregateFunction[] agg = aggState.second;
+                IAggregateEvaluator[] agg = (IAggregateEvaluator[]) state.state;
                 ftr.reset(accessor, tIndex);
                 for (int i = 0; i < agg.length; i++) {
                     try {
@@ -93,14 +89,11 @@
             @Override
             public void outputFinalResult(ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder, IFrameTupleAccessor accessor, int tIndex,
                     AggregateState state) throws HyracksDataException {
-                Pair<ArrayBackedValueStorage[], IAggregateFunction[]> aggState = (Pair<ArrayBackedValueStorage[], IAggregateFunction[]>) state.state;
-                ArrayBackedValueStorage[] aggOutput = aggState.first;
-                IAggregateFunction[] agg = aggState.second;
+                IAggregateEvaluator[] agg = (IAggregateEvaluator[]) state.state;
                 for (int i = 0; i < agg.length; i++) {
                     try {
-                        agg[i].finish();
-                        tupleBuilder.addField(aggOutput[i].getBytes(), aggOutput[i].getStartIndex(),
-                                aggOutput[i].getLength());
+                        agg[i].finish(p);
+                        tupleBuilder.addField(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset(), p.getLength());
                     } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
                         throw new HyracksDataException(e);
                     }
@@ -109,17 +102,15 @@
 
             @Override
             public AggregateState createAggregateStates() {
-                IAggregateFunction[] agg = new IAggregateFunction[aggFactories.length];
-                ArrayBackedValueStorage[] aggOutput = new ArrayBackedValueStorage[aggFactories.length];
+                IAggregateEvaluator[] agg = new IAggregateEvaluator[aggFactories.length];
                 for (int i = 0; i < agg.length; i++) {
-                    aggOutput[i] = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
                     try {
-                        agg[i] = aggFactories[i].createAggregateFunction(aggOutput[i]);
+                        agg[i] = aggFactories[i].createAggregateEvaluator(ctx);
                     } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
                         throw new IllegalStateException(e);
                     }
                 }
-                return new AggregateState(new Pair<ArrayBackedValueStorage[], IAggregateFunction[]>(aggOutput, agg));
+                return new AggregateState(agg);
             }
 
             @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime.java
similarity index 82%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime.java
index 5d5e7fb..cd9931b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime.java
@@ -12,11 +12,10 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
@@ -34,8 +33,10 @@
 
     @Override
     public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-        if (appender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
-            FrameUtils.flushFrame(frame, writer);
+        if (!failed) {
+            if (appender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
+                FrameUtils.flushFrame(frame, writer);
+            }
         }
         writer.close();
         appender.reset(frame, true);
@@ -74,18 +75,17 @@
         }
     }
 
-    protected final void initAccessAppend(RuntimeContext context) {
-        IHyracksTaskContext hCtx = context.getHyracksContext();
+    protected final void initAccessAppend(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
         // if (allocFrame) {
-        frame = hCtx.allocateFrame();
-        appender = new FrameTupleAppender(hCtx.getFrameSize());
+        frame = ctx.allocateFrame();
+        appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
         appender.reset(frame, true);
         // }
-        tAccess = new FrameTupleAccessor(hCtx.getFrameSize(), inputRecordDesc);
+        tAccess = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), inputRecordDesc);
     }
 
-    protected final void initAccessAppendRef(RuntimeContext context) {
-        initAccessAppend(context);
+    protected final void initAccessAppendRef(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+        initAccessAppend(ctx);
         tRef = new FrameTupleReference();
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime.java
similarity index 92%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime.java
index 1034232..22f7df6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 64%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory.java
index 23f4f6f..f2c1008 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 
 public abstract class AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory implements IPushRuntimeFactory {
 
@@ -30,11 +30,11 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(RuntimeContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return createOneOutputPushRuntime(context);
+    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return createOneOutputPushRuntime(ctx);
     }
 
-    public abstract AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(RuntimeContext context)
+    public abstract AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException;
 
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputPushRuntime.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputPushRuntime.java
similarity index 87%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputPushRuntime.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputPushRuntime.java
index 5660b2c..e600264 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputPushRuntime.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputPushRuntime.java
@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 public abstract class AbstractOneInputPushRuntime implements IPushRuntime {
     protected IFrameWriter writer;
     protected RecordDescriptor outputRecordDesc;
+    protected boolean failed;
 
     @Override
     public void setFrameWriter(int index, IFrameWriter writer, RecordDescriptor recordDesc) {
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+        failed = true;
         writer.fail();
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime.java
similarity index 88%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime.java
index 82cf050..0fbe51f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime.java
@@ -12,9 +12,9 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSourcePushRuntime.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSourcePushRuntime.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSourcePushRuntime.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSourcePushRuntime.java
index 3f1c0f3..1d23d14 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSourcePushRuntime.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/AbstractOneInputSourcePushRuntime.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/SinkRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/SinkRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 74%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/SinkRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/SinkRuntimeFactory.java
index 791d9a1..f175367 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/base/SinkRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/base/SinkRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,14 +12,14 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 
 public class SinkRuntimeFactory implements IPushRuntimeFactory {
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(RuntimeContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
+    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
         return new AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime() {
 
             @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/group/MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/group/MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 83%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/group/MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/group/MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory.java
index b15d63d..388e6c9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/group/MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/group/MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.group;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.group;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
@@ -16,7 +15,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.PreclusteredGroupWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupWriter;
 
 public class MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
 
@@ -43,14 +42,13 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(RuntimeContext context)
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         try {
             final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
             for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
                 comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
             }
-            final IHyracksTaskContext ctx = context.getHyracksContext();
             final IAggregatorDescriptor aggregator = aggregatorFactory.createAggregator(ctx, inRecordDesc,
                     outRecordDesc, groupFields, groupFields);
             final ByteBuffer copyFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/meta/AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/meta/AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor.java
similarity index 87%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/meta/AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/meta/AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor.java
index 2fdeb23..f2659f5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/meta/AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/meta/AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -12,24 +12,23 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.meta;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.meta;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
 import org.json.JSONException;
 import org.json.JSONObject;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
@@ -41,7 +40,7 @@
     // array of factories for building the local runtime pipeline
     private final AlgebricksPipeline pipeline;
 
-    public AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int inputArity, int outputArity,
+    public AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int inputArity, int outputArity,
             IPushRuntimeFactory[] runtimeFactories, RecordDescriptor[] internalRecordDescriptors) {
         super(spec, inputArity, outputArity);
         if (outputArity == 1) {
@@ -98,9 +97,7 @@
                 PipelineAssembler pa = new PipelineAssembler(pipeline, inputArity, outputArity, null,
                         pipelineOutputRecordDescriptor);
                 try {
-                    RuntimeContext rc = new RuntimeContext();
-                    rc.setHyracksContext(ctx);
-                    startOfPipeline = pa.assemblePipeline(writer, rc);
+                    startOfPipeline = pa.assemblePipeline(writer, ctx);
                 } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
                     throw new HyracksDataException(e);
                 }
@@ -122,13 +119,11 @@
                     RecordDescriptor pipelineOutputRecordDescriptor = outputArity > 0 ? AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor.this.recordDescriptors[0]
                             : null;
                     RecordDescriptor pipelineInputRecordDescriptor = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(
-                            AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor.this.getOperatorId(), 0);
+                            AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor.this.getActivityId(), 0);
                     PipelineAssembler pa = new PipelineAssembler(pipeline, inputArity, outputArity,
                             pipelineInputRecordDescriptor, pipelineOutputRecordDescriptor);
                     try {
-                        RuntimeContext rc = new RuntimeContext();
-                        rc.setHyracksContext(ctx);
-                        startOfPipeline = pa.assemblePipeline(writer, rc);
+                        startOfPipeline = pa.assemblePipeline(writer, ctx);
                     } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
                         throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
                     }
@@ -148,7 +143,8 @@
 
             @Override
             public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+                startOfPipeline.fail();
             }
         };
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/meta/PipelineAssembler.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/meta/PipelineAssembler.java
similarity index 81%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/meta/PipelineAssembler.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/meta/PipelineAssembler.java
index f0f5029..92410c2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/meta/PipelineAssembler.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/meta/PipelineAssembler.java
@@ -12,13 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.meta;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.meta;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class PipelineAssembler {
@@ -40,11 +40,11 @@
         this.outputArity = outputArity;
     }
 
-    public IFrameWriter assemblePipeline(IFrameWriter writer, RuntimeContext rc) throws AlgebricksException {
+    public IFrameWriter assemblePipeline(IFrameWriter writer, IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
         // plug the operators
         IFrameWriter start = writer;// this.writer;
         for (int i = pipeline.getRuntimeFactories().length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
-            IPushRuntime newRuntime = pipeline.getRuntimeFactories()[i].createPushRuntime(rc);
+            IPushRuntime newRuntime = pipeline.getRuntimeFactories()[i].createPushRuntime(ctx);
             if (i == pipeline.getRuntimeFactories().length - 1) {
                 if (outputArity == 1) {
                     newRuntime.setFrameWriter(0, start, pipelineOutputRecordDescriptor);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/meta/SubplanRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/meta/SubplanRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 83%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/meta/SubplanRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/meta/SubplanRuntimeFactory.java
index 53808e1..f1ee570 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/meta/SubplanRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/meta/SubplanRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,20 +12,19 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.meta;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.meta;
 
 import java.io.DataOutput;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.NestedTupleSourceRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.NestedTupleSourceRuntime;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriter;
@@ -67,7 +66,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context)
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
 
         RecordDescriptor pipelineOutputRecordDescriptor = null;
@@ -82,15 +81,13 @@
         return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
 
             /**
-             * 
              * Computes the outer product between a given tuple and the frames
              * passed.
-             * 
              */
             class TupleOuterProduct implements IFrameWriter {
 
                 private boolean smthWasWritten = false;
-                private IHyracksTaskContext hCtx = context.getHyracksContext();
+                private IHyracksTaskContext hCtx = ctx;
                 private int frameSize = hCtx.getFrameSize();
                 private FrameTupleAccessor ta = new FrameTupleAccessor(frameSize,
                         pipeline.getRecordDescriptors()[pipeline.getRecordDescriptors().length - 1]);
@@ -148,7 +145,7 @@
 
             IFrameWriter endPipe = new TupleOuterProduct();
 
-            NestedTupleSourceRuntime startOfPipeline = (NestedTupleSourceRuntime) pa.assemblePipeline(endPipe, context);
+            NestedTupleSourceRuntime startOfPipeline = (NestedTupleSourceRuntime) pa.assemblePipeline(endPipe, ctx);
 
             boolean first = true;
 
@@ -156,7 +153,7 @@
             public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
                 if (first) {
                     first = false;
-                    initAccessAppendRef(context);
+                    initAccessAppendRef(ctx);
                 }
                 writer.open();
             }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/sort/InMemorySortRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/sort/InMemorySortRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 78%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/sort/InMemorySortRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/sort/InMemorySortRuntimeFactory.java
index 2a6c196..fd2710d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/sort/InMemorySortRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/sort/InMemorySortRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,15 +12,15 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.sort;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.sort;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.NotImplementedException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context)
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
 
         return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputPushRuntime() {
@@ -57,8 +57,8 @@
             @Override
             public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
                 if (frameSorter == null) {
-                    frameSorter = new FrameSorter(context.getHyracksContext(), sortFields, firstKeyNormalizerFactory,
-                            comparatorFactories, outputRecordDesc);
+                    frameSorter = new FrameSorter(ctx, sortFields, firstKeyNormalizerFactory, comparatorFactories,
+                            outputRecordDesc);
                 }
                 frameSorter.reset();
                 writer.open();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/AssignRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/AssignRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 75%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/AssignRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/AssignRuntimeFactory.java
index 04dc7d6..e47384d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/AssignRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/AssignRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,21 +12,22 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
 
 public class AssignRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
@@ -34,10 +35,9 @@
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     private int[] outColumns;
-    private IEvaluatorFactory[] evalFactories;
+    private IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] evalFactories;
 
     /**
-     * 
      * @param outColumns
      *            a sorted array of columns into which the result is written to
      * @param evalFactories
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
      *            an array of columns to be projected
      */
 
-    public AssignRuntimeFactory(int[] outColumns, IEvaluatorFactory[] evalFactories, int[] projectionList) {
+    public AssignRuntimeFactory(int[] outColumns, IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] evalFactories, int[] projectionList) {
         super(projectionList);
         this.outColumns = outColumns;
         this.evalFactories = evalFactories;
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context)
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         final int[] projectionToOutColumns = new int[projectionList.length];
         for (int j = 0; j < projectionList.length; j++) {
@@ -81,21 +81,20 @@
         }
 
         return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
-
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage evalOutput = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-            private IEvaluator[] eval = new IEvaluator[evalFactories.length];
+            private IPointable result = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
+            private IScalarEvaluator[] eval = new IScalarEvaluator[evalFactories.length];
             private ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(projectionList.length);
             private boolean first = true;
 
             @Override
             public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
                 if (first) {
-                    initAccessAppendRef(context);
+                    initAccessAppendRef(ctx);
                     first = false;
                     int n = evalFactories.length;
                     for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
                         try {
-                            eval[i] = evalFactories[i].createEvaluator(evalOutput);
+                            eval[i] = evalFactories[i].createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
                         } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
                             throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
                         }
@@ -121,13 +120,12 @@
                 for (int f = 0; f < projectionList.length; f++) {
                     int k = projectionToOutColumns[f];
                     if (k >= 0) {
-                        evalOutput.reset();
                         try {
-                            eval[k].evaluate(tupleRef);
+                            eval[k].evaluate(tupleRef, result);
                         } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
                             throw new HyracksDataException(e);
                         }
-                        tb.addField(evalOutput.getBytes(), evalOutput.getStartIndex(), evalOutput.getLength());
+                        tb.addField(result.getByteArray(), result.getStartOffset(), result.getLength());
                     } else {
                         tb.addField(accessor, tIndex, projectionList[f]);
                     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 73%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
index 2d0a038..dbe1ab1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,14 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputSourcePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputSourcePushRuntime;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
@@ -39,13 +38,12 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context) {
+    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
         return new AbstractOneInputSourcePushRuntime() {
 
-            private IHyracksTaskContext hCtx = context.getHyracksContext();
-            private ByteBuffer frame = hCtx.allocateFrame();
+            private ByteBuffer frame = ctx.allocateFrame();
             private ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(0);
-            private FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(hCtx.getFrameSize());
+            private FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
 
             @Override
             public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 72%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
index 8c650b5..42724f7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,14 +12,14 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 
 public class NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory implements IPushRuntimeFactory {
@@ -35,14 +35,14 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(RuntimeContext context) {
-        return new NestedTupleSourceRuntime(context);
+    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+        return new NestedTupleSourceRuntime(ctx);
     }
 
     public static class NestedTupleSourceRuntime extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime {
 
-        public NestedTupleSourceRuntime(RuntimeContext rc) {
-            initAccessAppend(rc);
+        public NestedTupleSourceRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+            initAccessAppend(ctx);
         }
 
         @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/PartitioningSplitOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/PartitioningSplitOperatorDescriptor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a54c96d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/PartitioningSplitOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
+
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryBooleanInspector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.ICopyEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputOperatorNodePushable;
+
+public class PartitioningSplitOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+    public static int NO_DEFAULT_BRANCH = -1;
+    
+    private final ICopyEvaluatorFactory[] evalFactories;
+    private final IBinaryBooleanInspector boolInspector;
+    private final int defaultBranchIndex;
+    
+    public PartitioningSplitOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, ICopyEvaluatorFactory[] evalFactories,
+            IBinaryBooleanInspector boolInspector, int defaultBranchIndex, RecordDescriptor rDesc) {
+        super(spec, 1, (defaultBranchIndex == evalFactories.length) ? evalFactories.length + 1 : evalFactories.length);
+        for (int i = 0; i < evalFactories.length; i++) {
+            recordDescriptors[i] = rDesc;
+        }
+        this.evalFactories = evalFactories;
+        this.boolInspector = boolInspector;
+        this.defaultBranchIndex = defaultBranchIndex;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
+        return new AbstractUnaryInputOperatorNodePushable() {
+            private final IFrameWriter[] writers = new IFrameWriter[outputArity];
+            private final ByteBuffer[] writeBuffers = new ByteBuffer[outputArity];
+            private final ICopyEvaluator[] evals = new ICopyEvaluator[outputArity];
+            private final ArrayBackedValueStorage evalBuf = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+            private final RecordDescriptor inOutRecDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0);
+            private final FrameTupleAccessor accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), inOutRecDesc);
+            private final FrameTupleReference frameTuple = new FrameTupleReference();
+            
+            private final FrameTupleAppender tupleAppender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
+            private final ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(inOutRecDesc.getFieldCount());
+            private final DataOutput tupleDos = tupleBuilder.getDataOutput();
+            
+            @Override
+            public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+                // Flush (possibly not full) buffers that have data, and close writers.
+                for (int i = 0; i < outputArity; i++) {
+                    tupleAppender.reset(writeBuffers[i], false);
+                    if (tupleAppender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
+                        FrameUtils.flushFrame(writeBuffers[i], writers[i]);
+                    }
+                    writers[i].close();
+                }
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+                for (IFrameWriter writer : writers) {
+                    writer.fail();
+                }
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
+                accessor.reset(buffer);
+                int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
+                for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
+                    frameTuple.reset(accessor, i);
+                    boolean found = false;
+                    for (int j = 0; j < evals.length; j++) {
+                        try {
+                        	evalBuf.reset();
+                            evals[j].evaluate(frameTuple);
+                        } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
+                            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+                        }
+                        found = boolInspector.getBooleanValue(evalBuf.getByteArray(), 0, 1);
+                        if (found) {
+                        	copyAndAppendTuple(j);
+                        	break;
+                        }
+                    }
+                    // Optionally write to default output branch.
+                    if (!found && defaultBranchIndex != NO_DEFAULT_BRANCH) {
+                    	copyAndAppendTuple(defaultBranchIndex);
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+
+            private void copyAndAppendTuple(int outputIndex) throws HyracksDataException {
+            	// Copy tuple into tuple builder.
+                try {
+                	tupleBuilder.reset();
+                    for (int i = 0; i < frameTuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
+                        tupleDos.write(frameTuple.getFieldData(i), frameTuple.getFieldStart(i),
+                                frameTuple.getFieldLength(i));
+                        tupleBuilder.addFieldEndOffset();
+                    }
+                } catch (IOException e) {
+                    throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+                }
+                // Append to frame.
+                tupleAppender.reset(writeBuffers[outputIndex], false);
+                if (!tupleAppender.append(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), tupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, tupleBuilder.getSize())) {
+                    FrameUtils.flushFrame(writeBuffers[outputIndex], writers[outputIndex]);
+                    tupleAppender.reset(writeBuffers[outputIndex], true);
+                    if (!tupleAppender.append(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), tupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, tupleBuilder.getSize())) {
+                        throw new IllegalStateException();
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            
+            @Override
+            public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+                for (IFrameWriter writer : writers) {
+                    writer.open();
+                }
+                // Create write buffers.
+                for (int i = 0; i < outputArity; i++) {
+                    writeBuffers[i] = ctx.allocateFrame();
+                    // Make sure to clear all buffers, since we are reusing the tupleAppender.
+                    tupleAppender.reset(writeBuffers[i], true);
+                }
+                // Create evaluators for partitioning.
+				try {
+					for (int i = 0; i < evalFactories.length; i++) {
+						evals[i] = evalFactories[i].createEvaluator(evalBuf);
+					}
+				} catch (AlgebricksException e) {
+					throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+				}
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void setOutputFrameWriter(int index, IFrameWriter writer, RecordDescriptor recordDesc) {
+                writers[index] = writer;
+            }
+        };
+    }
+}
+
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/PrinterRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/PrinterRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 71%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/PrinterRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/PrinterRuntimeFactory.java
index 787e001..5b53fc2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/PrinterRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/PrinterRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,14 +12,14 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IAWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.writers.PrinterBasedWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IAWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.writers.PrinterBasedWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class PrinterRuntimeFactory implements IPushRuntimeFactory {
@@ -52,9 +52,9 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context) {
+    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
         IAWriter w = PrinterBasedWriterFactory.INSTANCE.createWriter(printColumns, System.out, printerFactories,
                 inputRecordDesc);
-        return new SinkWriterRuntime(w, context, System.out, inputRecordDesc);
+        return new SinkWriterRuntime(w, ctx, System.out, inputRecordDesc);
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 76%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory.java
index bca8f2f..c15e050 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,21 +12,22 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateFunction;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
 
 public class RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
@@ -34,10 +35,9 @@
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     private int[] outColumns;
-    private IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory[] runningAggregates;
+    private IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] runningAggregates;
 
     /**
-     * 
      * @param outColumns
      *            a sorted array of columns into which the result is written to
      * @param runningAggregates
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
      *            an array of columns to be projected
      */
 
-    public RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory(int[] outColumns, IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory[] runningAggregates,
+    public RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory(int[] outColumns, IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] runningAggregates,
             int[] projectionList) {
         super(projectionList);
         this.outColumns = outColumns;
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context)
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         final int[] projectionToOutColumns = new int[projectionList.length];
         for (int j = 0; j < projectionList.length; j++) {
@@ -82,21 +82,20 @@
         }
 
         return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
-
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage evalOutput = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-            private IRunningAggregateFunction[] raggs = new IRunningAggregateFunction[runningAggregates.length];
+            private IPointable p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
+            private IRunningAggregateEvaluator[] raggs = new IRunningAggregateEvaluator[runningAggregates.length];
             private ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(projectionList.length);
             private boolean first = true;
 
             @Override
             public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                initAccessAppendRef(context);
+                initAccessAppendRef(ctx);
                 if (first) {
                     first = false;
                     int n = runningAggregates.length;
                     for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
                         try {
-                            raggs[i] = runningAggregates[i].createRunningAggregateFunction(evalOutput);
+                            raggs[i] = runningAggregates[i].createRunningAggregateEvaluator();
                             raggs[i].init();
                         } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
                             throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
@@ -123,13 +122,12 @@
                 for (int f = 0; f < projectionList.length; f++) {
                     int k = projectionToOutColumns[f];
                     if (k >= 0) {
-                        evalOutput.reset();
                         try {
-                            raggs[k].step(tupleRef);
+                            raggs[k].step(tupleRef, p);
                         } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
                             throw new HyracksDataException(e);
                         }
-                        tb.addField(evalOutput.getBytes(), evalOutput.getStartIndex(), evalOutput.getLength());
+                        tb.addField(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset(), p.getLength());
                     } else {
                         tb.addField(accessor, tIndex, projectionList[f]);
                     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntime.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntime.java
similarity index 72%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntime.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntime.java
index 8101a8a..148f087 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntime.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntime.java
@@ -12,22 +12,22 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IAWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IAWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 
 public class SinkWriterRuntime extends AbstractOneInputSinkPushRuntime {
 
-    private final RuntimeContext context;
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
     private final PrintStream printStream;
     private final IAWriter writer;
     private RecordDescriptor inputRecordDesc;
@@ -35,18 +35,18 @@
     private boolean autoClose = false;
     private boolean first = true;
 
-    public SinkWriterRuntime(IAWriter writer, RuntimeContext context, PrintStream printStream,
+    public SinkWriterRuntime(IAWriter writer, IHyracksTaskContext ctx, PrintStream printStream,
             RecordDescriptor inputRecordDesc) {
         this.writer = writer;
-        this.context = context;
+        this.ctx = ctx;
         this.printStream = printStream;
         this.inputRecordDesc = inputRecordDesc;
-        this.tAccess = new FrameTupleAccessor(context.getHyracksContext().getFrameSize(), inputRecordDesc);
+        this.tAccess = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), inputRecordDesc);
     }
 
-    public SinkWriterRuntime(IAWriter writer, RuntimeContext context, PrintStream printStream,
+    public SinkWriterRuntime(IAWriter writer, IHyracksTaskContext ctx, PrintStream printStream,
             RecordDescriptor inputRecordDesc, boolean autoClose) {
-        this(writer, context, printStream, inputRecordDesc);
+        this(writer, ctx, printStream, inputRecordDesc);
         this.autoClose = autoClose;
     }
 
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
     public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
         if (first) {
             first = false;
-            tAccess = new FrameTupleAccessor(context.getHyracksContext().getFrameSize(), inputRecordDesc);
+            tAccess = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), inputRecordDesc);
             try {
                 writer.init();
             } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 74%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntimeFactory.java
index 4ac1d16..1aff1aa 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/SinkWriterRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.io.BufferedOutputStream;
 import java.io.File;
@@ -20,13 +20,13 @@
 import java.io.FileOutputStream;
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IAWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IAWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IAWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IAWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class SinkWriterRuntimeFactory implements IPushRuntimeFactory {
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(RuntimeContext context) throws AlgebricksException {
+    public IPushRuntime createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
         PrintStream filePrintStream = null;
         try {
             filePrintStream = new PrintStream(new BufferedOutputStream(new FileOutputStream(outputFile)));
@@ -71,6 +71,6 @@
             throw new AlgebricksException(e);
         }
         IAWriter w = writerFactory.createWriter(fields, filePrintStream, printerFactories, inputRecordDesc);
-        return new SinkWriterRuntime(w, context, filePrintStream, inputRecordDesc, true);
+        return new SinkWriterRuntime(w, ctx, filePrintStream, inputRecordDesc, true);
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamDieRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamDieRuntimeFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..796ef0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamDieRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,98 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryIntegerInspector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
+
+public class StreamDieRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private IScalarEvaluatorFactory aftterObjectsEvalFactory;
+    private IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory binaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
+
+    public StreamDieRuntimeFactory(IScalarEvaluatorFactory maxObjectsEvalFactory, int[] projectionList,
+            IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory binaryIntegerInspectorFactory) {
+        super(projectionList);
+        this.aftterObjectsEvalFactory = maxObjectsEvalFactory;
+        this.binaryIntegerInspectorFactory = binaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        String s = "stream-die " + aftterObjectsEvalFactory.toString();
+        return s;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+        final IBinaryIntegerInspector bii = binaryIntegerInspectorFactory.createBinaryIntegerInspector(ctx);
+        return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
+            private IPointable p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
+            private IScalarEvaluator evalAfterObjects;
+            private int toWrite = -1;
+
+            @Override
+            public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+                if (evalAfterObjects == null) {
+                    initAccessAppendRef(ctx);
+                    try {
+                        evalAfterObjects = aftterObjectsEvalFactory.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
+                    } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
+                        throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
+                    }
+                }
+                writer.open();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
+                tAccess.reset(buffer);
+                int nTuple = tAccess.getTupleCount();
+                if (toWrite < 0) {
+                    toWrite = evaluateInteger(evalAfterObjects, 0);
+                }
+                for (int t = 0; t < nTuple; t++) {
+                    if (toWrite > 0) {
+                        toWrite--;
+                        if (projectionList != null) {
+                            appendProjectionToFrame(t, projectionList);
+                        } else {
+                            appendTupleToFrame(t);
+                        }
+                    } else {
+                        throw new HyracksDataException("injected failure");
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+                super.close();
+            }
+
+            private int evaluateInteger(IScalarEvaluator eval, int tIdx) throws HyracksDataException {
+                tRef.reset(tAccess, tIdx);
+                try {
+                    eval.evaluate(tRef, p);
+                } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
+                    throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
+                }
+                int lim = bii.getIntegerValue(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset(), p.getLength());
+                return lim;
+            }
+
+        };
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamLimitRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamLimitRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 64%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamLimitRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamLimitRuntimeFactory.java
index 5caea6e..4e9d51c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamLimitRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamLimitRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -1,31 +1,34 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IBinaryIntegerInspector;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryIntegerInspector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
 
 public class StreamLimitRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    private IEvaluatorFactory maxObjectsEvalFactory;
-    private IEvaluatorFactory offsetEvalFactory;
-    private IBinaryIntegerInspector binaryIntegerInspector;
+    private IScalarEvaluatorFactory maxObjectsEvalFactory;
+    private IScalarEvaluatorFactory offsetEvalFactory;
+    private IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory binaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
 
-    public StreamLimitRuntimeFactory(IEvaluatorFactory maxObjectsEvalFactory, IEvaluatorFactory offsetEvalFactory,
-            int[] projectionList, IBinaryIntegerInspector binaryIntegerInspector) {
+    public StreamLimitRuntimeFactory(IScalarEvaluatorFactory maxObjectsEvalFactory,
+            IScalarEvaluatorFactory offsetEvalFactory, int[] projectionList,
+            IBinaryIntegerInspectorFactory binaryIntegerInspectorFactory) {
         super(projectionList);
         this.maxObjectsEvalFactory = maxObjectsEvalFactory;
         this.offsetEvalFactory = offsetEvalFactory;
-        this.binaryIntegerInspector = binaryIntegerInspector;
+        this.binaryIntegerInspectorFactory = binaryIntegerInspectorFactory;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -39,12 +42,12 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context) {
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+        final IBinaryIntegerInspector bii = binaryIntegerInspectorFactory.createBinaryIntegerInspector(ctx);
         return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
-
-            private IEvaluator evalMaxObjects;
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage evalOutput;
-            private IEvaluator evalOffset = null;
+            private IPointable p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
+            private IScalarEvaluator evalMaxObjects;
+            private IScalarEvaluator evalOffset = null;
             private int toWrite = 0; // how many tuples still to write
             private int toSkip = 0; // how many tuples still to skip
             private boolean firstTuple = true;
@@ -54,12 +57,11 @@
             public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
                 // if (first) {
                 if (evalMaxObjects == null) {
-                    initAccessAppendRef(context);
-                    evalOutput = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+                    initAccessAppendRef(ctx);
                     try {
-                        evalMaxObjects = maxObjectsEvalFactory.createEvaluator(evalOutput);
+                        evalMaxObjects = maxObjectsEvalFactory.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
                         if (offsetEvalFactory != null) {
-                            evalOffset = offsetEvalFactory.createEvaluator(evalOutput);
+                            evalOffset = offsetEvalFactory.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
                         }
                     } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
                         throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
@@ -117,15 +119,14 @@
                 // }
             }
 
-            private int evaluateInteger(IEvaluator eval, int tIdx) throws HyracksDataException {
+            private int evaluateInteger(IScalarEvaluator eval, int tIdx) throws HyracksDataException {
                 tRef.reset(tAccess, tIdx);
-                evalOutput.reset();
                 try {
-                    eval.evaluate(tRef);
+                    eval.evaluate(tRef, p);
                 } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
                     throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
                 }
-                int lim = binaryIntegerInspector.getIntegerValue(evalOutput.getBytes(), 0, evalOutput.getLength());
+                int lim = bii.getIntegerValue(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset(), p.getLength());
                 return lim;
             }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamProjectRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamProjectRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 77%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamProjectRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamProjectRuntimeFactory.java
index fe30701..455ad8e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StreamProjectRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamProjectRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,15 +12,15 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.Arrays;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 
 public class StreamProjectRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context)
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
 
         return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
             public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
                 if (first) {
                     first = false;
-                    initAccessAppend(context);
+                    initAccessAppend(ctx);
                 }
                 writer.open();
             }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamSelectRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamSelectRuntimeFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b0c94b7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StreamSelectRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryBooleanInspector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
+
+public class StreamSelectRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond;
+
+    private IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory binaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
+
+    /**
+     * @param cond
+     * @param projectionList
+     *            if projectionList is null, then no projection is performed
+     */
+    public StreamSelectRuntimeFactory(IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond, int[] projectionList,
+            IBinaryBooleanInspectorFactory binaryBooleanInspectorFactory) {
+        super(projectionList);
+        this.cond = cond;
+        this.binaryBooleanInspectorFactory = binaryBooleanInspectorFactory;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        return "stream-select " + cond.toString();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
+        final IBinaryBooleanInspector bbi = binaryBooleanInspectorFactory.createBinaryBooleanInspector(ctx);
+        return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
+            private IPointable p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
+            private IScalarEvaluator eval;
+
+            @Override
+            public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+                if (eval == null) {
+                    initAccessAppendRef(ctx);
+                    try {
+                        eval = cond.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
+                    } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
+                        throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
+                    }
+                }
+                writer.open();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
+                tAccess.reset(buffer);
+                int nTuple = tAccess.getTupleCount();
+                for (int t = 0; t < nTuple; t++) {
+                    tRef.reset(tAccess, t);
+                    try {
+                        eval.evaluate(tRef, p);
+                    } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
+                        throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
+                    }
+                    if (bbi.getBooleanValue(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset(), p.getLength())) {
+                        if (projectionList != null) {
+                            appendProjectionToFrame(t, projectionList);
+                        } else {
+                            appendTupleToFrame(t);
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+
+        };
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StringStreamingRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StringStreamingRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 89%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StringStreamingRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StringStreamingRuntimeFactory.java
index f3d07b1..3f2765f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/StringStreamingRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/StringStreamingRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.io.BufferedReader;
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.ITupleParser;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.ITupleParserFactory;
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context)
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
         final IPrinter[] printers = new IPrinter[printerFactories.length];
         for (int i = 0; i < printerFactories.length; i++) {
@@ -125,11 +125,11 @@
             public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
                 if (first) {
                     first = false;
-                    initAccessAppendRef(context);
+                    initAccessAppendRef(ctx);
                 }
 
                 try {
-                    ITupleParser parser = parserFactory.createTupleParser(context.getHyracksContext());
+                    ITupleParser parser = parserFactory.createTupleParser(ctx);
                     process = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(command);
                     ps = new PrintStream(process.getOutputStream());
                     ForwardScriptOutput fso = new ForwardScriptOutput(parser, process.getInputStream());
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/UnnestRuntimeFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/UnnestRuntimeFactory.java
similarity index 71%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/UnnestRuntimeFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/UnnestRuntimeFactory.java
index bc55b6a..d42a294 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/operators/std/UnnestRuntimeFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/operators/std/UnnestRuntimeFactory.java
@@ -12,26 +12,27 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IUnnestingFunction;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IUnnestingFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.context.RuntimeContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IUnnestingEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.base.AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 
 public class UnnestRuntimeFactory extends AbstractOneInputOneOutputRuntimeFactory {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     private final int outCol;
-    private final IUnnestingFunctionFactory unnestingFactory;
+    private final IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory unnestingFactory;
     private int outColPos;
     private final boolean outColIsProjected;
 
@@ -40,7 +41,7 @@
     // By convention, if the aggregate function writes nothing, it means it
     // produced the last value.
 
-    public UnnestRuntimeFactory(int outCol, IUnnestingFunctionFactory unnestingFactory, int[] projectionList) {
+    public UnnestRuntimeFactory(int outCol, IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory unnestingFactory, int[] projectionList) {
         super(projectionList);
         this.outCol = outCol;
         this.unnestingFactory = unnestingFactory;
@@ -59,21 +60,19 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final RuntimeContext context)
+    public AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime createOneOutputPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx)
             throws AlgebricksException {
 
         return new AbstractOneInputOneOutputOneFramePushRuntime() {
-
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage evalOutput;
-            private IUnnestingFunction agg;
+            private IPointable p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
+            private IUnnestingEvaluator agg;
             private ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder;
 
             @Override
             public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                initAccessAppendRef(context);
-                evalOutput = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+                initAccessAppendRef(ctx);
                 try {
-                    agg = unnestingFactory.createUnnestingFunction(evalOutput);
+                    agg = unnestingFactory.createUnnestingEvaluator(ctx);
                 } catch (AlgebricksException ae) {
                     throw new HyracksDataException(ae);
                 }
@@ -92,8 +91,7 @@
                         boolean goon = true;
                         do {
                             tupleBuilder.reset();
-                            evalOutput.reset();
-                            if (!agg.step()) {
+                            if (!agg.step(p)) {
                                 goon = false;
                             } else {
                                 if (!outColIsProjected) {
@@ -102,8 +100,7 @@
                                     for (int f = 0; f < outColPos; f++) {
                                         tupleBuilder.addField(tAccess, t, f);
                                     }
-                                    tupleBuilder.addField(evalOutput.getBytes(), evalOutput.getStartIndex(), evalOutput
-                                            .getLength());
+                                    tupleBuilder.addField(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset(), p.getLength());
                                     for (int f = outColPos + 1; f < projectionList.length; f++) {
                                         tupleBuilder.addField(tAccess, t, f);
                                     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/writers/PrinterBasedWriterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/writers/PrinterBasedWriterFactory.java
similarity index 73%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/writers/PrinterBasedWriterFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/writers/PrinterBasedWriterFactory.java
index 36ef827..9c53241 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/writers/PrinterBasedWriterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/writers/PrinterBasedWriterFactory.java
@@ -1,14 +1,14 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.writers;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.writers;
 
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IAWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IAWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IAWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IAWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 
 public class PrinterBasedWriterFactory implements IAWriterFactory {
 
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
             }
 
             @Override
-            public void printTuple(FrameTupleAccessor tAccess, int tIdx) throws AlgebricksException {
+            public void printTuple(IFrameTupleAccessor tAccess, int tIdx) throws AlgebricksException {
                 for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
                     int fldStart = tAccess.getTupleStartOffset(tIdx) + tAccess.getFieldSlotsLength()
                             + tAccess.getFieldStartOffset(tIdx, fields[i]);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/writers/SerializedDataWriterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/writers/SerializedDataWriterFactory.java
similarity index 74%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/writers/SerializedDataWriterFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/writers/SerializedDataWriterFactory.java
index 79d7a99..61f822e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/writers/SerializedDataWriterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-runtime/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/runtime/writers/SerializedDataWriterFactory.java
@@ -1,16 +1,16 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.writers;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.writers;
 
 import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.ObjectOutputStream;
 import java.io.PrintStream;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IAWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IAWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IAWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IAWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 
 public class SerializedDataWriterFactory implements IAWriterFactory {
 
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
             }
 
             @Override
-            public void printTuple(FrameTupleAccessor tAccess, int tIdx) throws AlgebricksException {
+            public void printTuple(IFrameTupleAccessor tAccess, int tIdx) throws AlgebricksException {
                 for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++) {
                     int fldStart = tAccess.getTupleStartOffset(tIdx) + tAccess.getFieldSlotsLength()
                             + tAccess.getFieldStartOffset(tIdx, fields[i]);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/pom.xml
index e700b0b..9afb096 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/pom.xml
@@ -20,19 +20,6 @@
         </configuration>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
-        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
-        <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
-        <version>2.7.2</version>
-        <configuration>
-          <forkMode>pertest</forkMode>
-          <argLine>-enableassertions -Djava.util.logging.config.file=src/test/resources/logging.properties</argLine>
-          <includes>
-            <include>**/*Test.java</include>
-            <include>**/*Suite.java</include>
-          </includes>
-        </configuration>
-      </plugin>
-      <plugin>
         <artifactId>maven-antrun-plugin</artifactId>
         <executions>
           <execution>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntArrayUnnester.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntArrayUnnester.java
index ed98eec..bab293c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntArrayUnnester.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntArrayUnnester.java
@@ -14,16 +14,17 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.tests.pushruntime;
 
-import java.io.DataOutput;
 import java.io.IOException;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IUnnestingFunction;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IUnnestingFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IUnnestingEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public class IntArrayUnnester implements IUnnestingFunctionFactory {
+public class IntArrayUnnester implements IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory {
 
     private int[] x;
 
@@ -34,11 +35,9 @@
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     @Override
-    public IUnnestingFunction createUnnestingFunction(IDataOutputProvider provider) throws AlgebricksException {
-
-        final DataOutput out = provider.getDataOutput();
-
-        return new IUnnestingFunction() {
+    public IUnnestingEvaluator createUnnestingEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        final ArrayBackedValueStorage abvs = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
+        return new IUnnestingEvaluator() {
 
             private int pos;
 
@@ -48,12 +47,14 @@
             }
 
             @Override
-            public boolean step() throws AlgebricksException {
+            public boolean step(IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
                 try {
                     if (pos < x.length) {
                         // Writes one byte to distinguish between null
                         // values and end of sequence.
-                        out.writeInt(x[pos]);
+                        abvs.reset();
+                        abvs.getDataOutput().writeInt(x[pos]);
+                        result.set(abvs);
                         ++pos;
                         return true;
                     } else {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerAddEvalFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerAddEvalFactory.java
index 57c0789..cdfac91 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerAddEvalFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerAddEvalFactory.java
@@ -14,50 +14,50 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.tests.pushruntime;
 
-import java.io.DataOutput;
 import java.io.IOException;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 
-public class IntegerAddEvalFactory implements IEvaluatorFactory {
+public class IntegerAddEvalFactory implements IScalarEvaluatorFactory {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    private IEvaluatorFactory evalLeftFactory;
-    private IEvaluatorFactory evalRightFactory;
+    private IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalLeftFactory;
+    private IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalRightFactory;
 
-    public IntegerAddEvalFactory(IEvaluatorFactory evalLeftFactory, IEvaluatorFactory evalRightFactory) {
+    public IntegerAddEvalFactory(IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalLeftFactory, IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalRightFactory) {
         this.evalLeftFactory = evalLeftFactory;
         this.evalRightFactory = evalRightFactory;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return new IEvaluator() {
-
-            private DataOutput out = output.getDataOutput();
+    public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new IScalarEvaluator() {
+            private IPointable p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
             private ArrayBackedValueStorage argOut = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
 
-            private IEvaluator evalLeft = evalLeftFactory.createEvaluator(argOut);
-            private IEvaluator evalRight = evalRightFactory.createEvaluator(argOut);
+            private IScalarEvaluator evalLeft = evalLeftFactory.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
+            private IScalarEvaluator evalRight = evalRightFactory.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
 
             @SuppressWarnings("static-access")
             @Override
-            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
-                argOut.reset();
-                evalLeft.evaluate(tuple);
-                int v1 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.getInt(argOut.getBytes(), 0);
-                argOut.reset();
-                evalRight.evaluate(tuple);
-                int v2 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.getInt(argOut.getBytes(), 0);
+            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                evalLeft.evaluate(tuple, p);
+                int v1 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.getInt(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset());
+                evalRight.evaluate(tuple, p);
+                int v2 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.getInt(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset());
                 try {
-                    out.writeInt(v1 + v2);
+                    argOut.reset();
+                    argOut.getDataOutput().writeInt(v1 + v2);
+                    result.set(argOut);
                 } catch (IOException e) {
                     throw new AlgebricksException(e);
                 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerConstantEvalFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerConstantEvalFactory.java
index 880a4df..0eb9e88 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerConstantEvalFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerConstantEvalFactory.java
@@ -14,19 +14,17 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.tests.pushruntime;
 
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.IOException;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 
-public class IntegerConstantEvalFactory implements IEvaluatorFactory {
+public class IntegerConstantEvalFactory implements IScalarEvaluatorFactory {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
     private final int value;
@@ -41,31 +39,24 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return new IEvaluator() {
+    public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new IScalarEvaluator() {
 
-            private DataOutput out = output.getDataOutput();
             private ArrayBackedValueStorage buf = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-            boolean first = true;
 
-            @Override
-            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
-                if (first) {
-                    first = false;
-                    try {
-                        IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(value, buf.getDataOutput());
-                    } catch (HyracksDataException e) {
-                        throw new AlgebricksException(e);
-                    }
-                }
-
+            {
                 try {
-                    out.write(buf.getBytes(), 0, buf.getLength());
-                } catch (IOException e) {
+                    IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(value, buf.getDataOutput());
+                } catch (HyracksDataException e) {
                     throw new AlgebricksException(e);
                 }
             }
+
+            @Override
+            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                result.set(buf);
+            }
         };
     }
 
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerEqualsEvalFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerEqualsEvalFactory.java
index e15851b..d3d2938 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerEqualsEvalFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerEqualsEvalFactory.java
@@ -14,52 +14,44 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.tests.pushruntime;
 
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.IOException;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.BooleanPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 
-public class IntegerEqualsEvalFactory implements IEvaluatorFactory {
+public class IntegerEqualsEvalFactory implements IScalarEvaluatorFactory {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    private IEvaluatorFactory evalFact1, evalFact2;
+    private IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalFact1, evalFact2;
 
-    public IntegerEqualsEvalFactory(IEvaluatorFactory evalFact1, IEvaluatorFactory evalFact2) {
+    public IntegerEqualsEvalFactory(IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalFact1, IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalFact2) {
         this.evalFact1 = evalFact1;
         this.evalFact2 = evalFact2;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return new IEvaluator() {
-            private DataOutput dataout = output.getDataOutput();
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage out1 = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage out2 = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-            private IEvaluator eval1 = evalFact1.createEvaluator(out1);
-            private IEvaluator eval2 = evalFact2.createEvaluator(out2);
+    public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new IScalarEvaluator() {
+            private IPointable p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
+            private IScalarEvaluator eval1 = evalFact1.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
+            private IScalarEvaluator eval2 = evalFact2.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
+            private byte[] rBytes = new byte[1];
 
             @Override
-            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
-                out1.reset();
-                eval1.evaluate(tuple);
-                out2.reset();
-                eval2.evaluate(tuple);
-                int v1 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(out1.getBytes(), 0);
-                int v2 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(out2.getBytes(), 0);
-                boolean r = v1 == v2;
-                try {
-                    dataout.writeBoolean(r);
-                } catch (IOException ioe) {
-                    throw new AlgebricksException(ioe);
-                }
+            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                eval1.evaluate(tuple, p);
+                int v1 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset());
+                eval2.evaluate(tuple, p);
+                int v2 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset());
+                BooleanPointable.setBoolean(rBytes, 0, v1 == v2);
+                result.set(rBytes, 0, 1);
             }
         };
     }
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory.java
index 5c5d6d4..8f37922 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory.java
@@ -14,52 +14,44 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.tests.pushruntime;
 
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.IOException;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ArrayBackedValueStorage;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.BooleanPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.VoidPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 
-public class IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory implements IEvaluatorFactory {
+public class IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory implements IScalarEvaluatorFactory {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    private IEvaluatorFactory evalFact1, evalFact2;
+    private IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalFact1, evalFact2;
 
-    public IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory(IEvaluatorFactory evalFact1, IEvaluatorFactory evalFact2) {
+    public IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory(IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalFact1, IScalarEvaluatorFactory evalFact2) {
         this.evalFact1 = evalFact1;
         this.evalFact2 = evalFact2;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IEvaluator createEvaluator(final IDataOutputProvider output) throws AlgebricksException {
-        return new IEvaluator() {
-            private DataOutput dataout = output.getDataOutput();
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage out1 = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-            private ArrayBackedValueStorage out2 = new ArrayBackedValueStorage();
-            private IEvaluator eval1 = evalFact1.createEvaluator(out1);
-            private IEvaluator eval2 = evalFact2.createEvaluator(out2);
+    public IScalarEvaluator createScalarEvaluator(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return new IScalarEvaluator() {
+            private IPointable p = VoidPointable.FACTORY.createPointable();
+            private IScalarEvaluator eval1 = evalFact1.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
+            private IScalarEvaluator eval2 = evalFact2.createScalarEvaluator(ctx);
+            private byte[] rBytes = new byte[1];
 
             @Override
-            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException {
-                out1.reset();
-                eval1.evaluate(tuple);
-                out2.reset();
-                eval2.evaluate(tuple);
-                int v1 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(out1.getBytes(), 0);
-                int v2 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(out2.getBytes(), 0);
-                boolean r = v1 > v2;
-                try {
-                    dataout.writeBoolean(r);
-                } catch (IOException ioe) {
-                    throw new AlgebricksException(ioe);
-                }
+            public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple, IPointable result) throws AlgebricksException {
+                eval1.evaluate(tuple, p);
+                int v1 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset());
+                eval2.evaluate(tuple, p);
+                int v2 = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(p.getByteArray(), p.getStartOffset());
+                BooleanPointable.setBoolean(rBytes, 0, v1 > v2);
+                result.set(rBytes, 0, 1);
             }
         };
     }
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/PushRuntimeTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/PushRuntimeTest.java
index 0370632..3de0966 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/PushRuntimeTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/pushruntime/PushRuntimeTest.java
@@ -11,40 +11,40 @@
 import org.junit.BeforeClass;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data.IPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.aggregators.TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.aggregators.TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IEvaluatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base.IUnnestingFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.evaluators.ColumnAccessEvalFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data.BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data.BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data.IntegerPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data.NoopNullWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.jobgen.data.UTF8StringPrinterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg.AggregateRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg.NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.aggreg.SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.group.MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.meta.AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.meta.SubplanRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.sort.InMemorySortRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.AssignRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.PrinterRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.SinkWriterRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.StreamLimitRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.StreamProjectRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.StreamSelectRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.StringStreamingRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.operators.std.UnnestRuntimeFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.writers.PrinterBasedWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.IPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl.BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl.BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl.IntegerPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl.NoopNullWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.impl.UTF8StringPrinterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.aggregators.TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.aggregators.TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.AlgebricksPipeline;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IPushRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IScalarEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.base.IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.evaluators.TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg.AggregateRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg.NestedPlansAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.aggreg.SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.group.MicroPreClusteredGroupRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.meta.AlgebricksMetaOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.meta.SubplanRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.sort.InMemorySortRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.AssignRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.PrinterRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.SinkWriterRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.StreamLimitRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.StreamProjectRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.StreamSelectRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.StringStreamingRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.operators.std.UnnestRuntimeFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.runtime.writers.PrinterBasedWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.tests.util.AlgebricksHyracksIntegrationUtil;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.PartitionConstraintHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
@@ -75,9 +75,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.FileSplit;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.misc.SplitOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor;
 
@@ -115,8 +115,8 @@
 
         EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory ets = new EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
         RecordDescriptor etsDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {});
-        AssignRuntimeFactory assign = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0, 1 }, new IEvaluatorFactory[] { const1,
-                const2 }, new int[] { 0, 1 });
+        AssignRuntimeFactory assign = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0, 1 }, new IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] {
+                const1, const2 }, new int[] { 0, 1 });
         RecordDescriptor assignDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
@@ -139,8 +139,8 @@
 
         EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory ets = new EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
         RecordDescriptor etsDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {});
-        AssignRuntimeFactory assign = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0, 1 }, new IEvaluatorFactory[] { const1,
-                const2 }, new int[] { 0, 1 });
+        AssignRuntimeFactory assign = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0, 1 }, new IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] {
+                const1, const2 }, new int[] { 0, 1 });
         RecordDescriptor assignDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
@@ -179,10 +179,10 @@
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, intScanner, DEFAULT_NODES);
 
         // the algebricks op.
-        IEvaluatorFactory cond = new IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory(new IntegerConstantEvalFactory(2),
-                new ColumnAccessEvalFactory(0));
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond = new IntegerGreaterThanEvalFactory(new IntegerConstantEvalFactory(2),
+                new TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory(0));
         StreamSelectRuntimeFactory select = new StreamSelectRuntimeFactory(cond, new int[] { 0 },
-                BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.INSTANCE);
+                BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.FACTORY);
         RecordDescriptor selectDesc = intScannerDesc;
 
         String filePath = PATH_ACTUAL + SEPARATOR + "scanSelectWrite.out";
@@ -216,8 +216,8 @@
 
         EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory ets = new EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
         RecordDescriptor etsDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {});
-        AssignRuntimeFactory assign = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0, 1 }, new IEvaluatorFactory[] { const1,
-                const2 }, new int[] { 0, 1 });
+        AssignRuntimeFactory assign = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0, 1 }, new IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] {
+                const1, const2 }, new int[] { 0, 1 });
         RecordDescriptor assignDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
         StreamProjectRuntimeFactory project = new StreamProjectRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 1 });
@@ -270,7 +270,7 @@
 
         // the algebricks op.
         StreamLimitRuntimeFactory limit = new StreamLimitRuntimeFactory(new IntegerConstantEvalFactory(2), null,
-                new int[] { 0 }, BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl.INSTANCE);
+                new int[] { 0 }, BinaryIntegerInspectorImpl.FACTORY);
         RecordDescriptor limitDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
@@ -302,7 +302,7 @@
 
         EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory ets = new EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
         RecordDescriptor etsDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {});
-        IUnnestingFunctionFactory aggregFactory = new IntArrayUnnester(new int[] { 100, 200, 300 });
+        IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory aggregFactory = new IntArrayUnnester(new int[] { 100, 200, 300 });
         UnnestRuntimeFactory unnest = new UnnestRuntimeFactory(0, aggregFactory, new int[] { 0 });
         RecordDescriptor unnestDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@
 
         // the algebricks op.
         AggregateRuntimeFactory agg = new AggregateRuntimeFactory(
-                new IAggregateFunctionFactory[] { new TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory() });
+                new IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] { new TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory() });
         RecordDescriptor aggDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
@@ -415,7 +415,7 @@
         NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory nts = new NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
         RecordDescriptor ntsDesc = sortDesc;
         AggregateRuntimeFactory agg = new AggregateRuntimeFactory(
-                new IAggregateFunctionFactory[] { new TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory() });
+                new IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] { new TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory() });
         RecordDescriptor aggDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
         AlgebricksPipeline pipeline = new AlgebricksPipeline(new IPushRuntimeFactory[] { nts, agg },
@@ -432,10 +432,10 @@
                 new String[] { AlgebricksHyracksIntegrationUtil.NC1_ID });
 
         // the algebricks op.
-        IEvaluatorFactory cond = new IntegerEqualsEvalFactory(new IntegerConstantEvalFactory(3),
-                new ColumnAccessEvalFactory(0)); // Canadian customers
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond = new IntegerEqualsEvalFactory(new IntegerConstantEvalFactory(3),
+                new TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory(0)); // Canadian customers
         StreamSelectRuntimeFactory select = new StreamSelectRuntimeFactory(cond, new int[] { 1 },
-                BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.INSTANCE);
+                BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.FACTORY);
         RecordDescriptor selectDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
@@ -491,7 +491,7 @@
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
         ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf = new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(new int[] { 3 },
                 new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] { PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY) });
-        IAggregateFunctionFactory[] aggFuns = new IAggregateFunctionFactory[] { new TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory() };
+        IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] aggFuns = new IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] { new TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory() };
         IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggFactory = new SimpleAlgebricksAccumulatingAggregatorFactory(aggFuns,
                 new int[] { 3 }, new int[] {});
         HashGroupOperatorDescriptor gby = new HashGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec, new int[] { 3 }, tpcf,
@@ -502,10 +502,10 @@
                 new String[] { AlgebricksHyracksIntegrationUtil.NC1_ID });
 
         // the algebricks op.
-        IEvaluatorFactory cond = new IntegerEqualsEvalFactory(new IntegerConstantEvalFactory(3),
-                new ColumnAccessEvalFactory(0)); // Canadian customers
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond = new IntegerEqualsEvalFactory(new IntegerConstantEvalFactory(3),
+                new TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory(0)); // Canadian customers
         StreamSelectRuntimeFactory select = new StreamSelectRuntimeFactory(cond, new int[] { 1 },
-                BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.INSTANCE);
+                BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.FACTORY);
         RecordDescriptor selectDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
@@ -538,13 +538,13 @@
 
         EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory ets = new EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
         RecordDescriptor etsDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {});
-        IUnnestingFunctionFactory aggregFactory = new IntArrayUnnester(new int[] { 100, 200, 300 });
+        IUnnestingEvaluatorFactory aggregFactory = new IntArrayUnnester(new int[] { 100, 200, 300 });
         UnnestRuntimeFactory unnest = new UnnestRuntimeFactory(0, aggregFactory, new int[] { 0 });
         RecordDescriptor unnestDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
         RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory ragg = new RunningAggregateRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 1 },
-                new IRunningAggregateFunctionFactory[] { new TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory() }, new int[] {
+                new IRunningAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] { new TupleCountRunningAggregateFunctionFactory() }, new int[] {
                         0, 1 });
         RecordDescriptor raggDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
@@ -579,8 +579,8 @@
 
         EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory ets = new EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
         RecordDescriptor etsDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {});
-        AssignRuntimeFactory assign = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0, 1 }, new IEvaluatorFactory[] { const1,
-                const2 }, new int[] { 0, 1 });
+        AssignRuntimeFactory assign = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0, 1 }, new IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] {
+                const1, const2 }, new int[] { 0, 1 });
         RecordDescriptor assignDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
@@ -737,15 +737,15 @@
         EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory ets = new EmptyTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
         RecordDescriptor etsDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {});
 
-        AssignRuntimeFactory assign1 = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0 }, new IEvaluatorFactory[] { const1 },
-                new int[] { 0 });
+        AssignRuntimeFactory assign1 = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 0 },
+                new IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] { const1 }, new int[] { 0 });
         RecordDescriptor assign1Desc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
         NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory nts = new NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
 
         AssignRuntimeFactory assign2 = new AssignRuntimeFactory(new int[] { 1 },
-                new IEvaluatorFactory[] { new IntegerAddEvalFactory(new ColumnAccessEvalFactory(0), const2) },
+                new IScalarEvaluatorFactory[] { new IntegerAddEvalFactory(new TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory(0), const2) },
                 new int[] { 0, 1 });
         RecordDescriptor assign2Desc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
@@ -821,7 +821,7 @@
         NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory nts = new NestedTupleSourceRuntimeFactory();
         RecordDescriptor ntsDesc = sortDesc;
         AggregateRuntimeFactory agg = new AggregateRuntimeFactory(
-                new IAggregateFunctionFactory[] { new TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory() });
+                new IAggregateEvaluatorFactory[] { new TupleCountAggregateFunctionFactory() });
         RecordDescriptor aggDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
         AlgebricksPipeline pipeline = new AlgebricksPipeline(new IPushRuntimeFactory[] { nts, agg },
@@ -835,10 +835,10 @@
                 npaaf, sortDesc, gbyDesc, null);
 
         // the algebricks op.
-        IEvaluatorFactory cond = new IntegerEqualsEvalFactory(new IntegerConstantEvalFactory(3),
-                new ColumnAccessEvalFactory(0)); // Canadian customers
+        IScalarEvaluatorFactory cond = new IntegerEqualsEvalFactory(new IntegerConstantEvalFactory(3),
+                new TupleFieldEvaluatorFactory(0)); // Canadian customers
         StreamSelectRuntimeFactory select = new StreamSelectRuntimeFactory(cond, new int[] { 1 },
-                BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.INSTANCE);
+                BinaryBooleanInspectorImpl.FACTORY);
         RecordDescriptor selectDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
                 new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/tools/WriteValueTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/tools/WriteValueTest.java
index 18f0e75..25f2dc0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/tools/WriteValueTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/tools/WriteValueTest.java
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@
 
 import org.junit.Test;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.utils.WriteValueTools;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.data.utils.WriteValueTools;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream;
 
 public class WriteValueTest {
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/util/AlgebricksHyracksIntegrationUtil.java b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/util/AlgebricksHyracksIntegrationUtil.java
index 922b0fd..b5c4b47 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/util/AlgebricksHyracksIntegrationUtil.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/tests/util/AlgebricksHyracksIntegrationUtil.java
@@ -79,9 +79,8 @@
     }
 
     public static void runJob(JobSpecification spec) throws Exception {
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob(AlgebricksConfig.HYRACKS_APP_NAME, spec, EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME));
         AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.info(spec.toJSON().toString());
-        hcc.start(jobId);
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob(AlgebricksConfig.HYRACKS_APP_NAME, spec, EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME));
         AlgebricksConfig.ALGEBRICKS_LOGGER.info(jobId.toString());
         hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/pom.xml
index 1e17864..962b6a1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/pom.xml
@@ -11,7 +11,10 @@
 
   <modules>
     <module>hyracks-algebricks-compiler</module>
+    <module>hyracks-algebricks-common</module>
+    <module>hyracks-algebricks-data</module>
     <module>hyracks-algebricks-core</module>
+    <module>hyracks-algebricks-runtime</module>
     <module>hyracks-algebricks-rewriter</module>
     <module>hyracks-algebricks-tests</module>
     <module>hyracks-algebricks-examples</module>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/application/IApplicationContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/application/IApplicationContext.java
index c07de41..81cf511 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/application/IApplicationContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/application/IApplicationContext.java
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.messages.IMessageBroker;
+
 /**
  * Base class of the {@link ICCApplicationContext} and the
  * {@link INCApplicationContext}.
@@ -39,4 +41,10 @@
      * @return
      */
     public Serializable getDistributedState();
+
+    public void setMessageBroker(IMessageBroker messageBroker);
+
+    public IMessageBroker getMessageBroker();
+
+    public String getApplicationName();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/application/ICCApplicationContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/application/ICCApplicationContext.java
index 2e02101..2792d29 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/application/ICCApplicationContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/application/ICCApplicationContext.java
@@ -18,21 +18,16 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.ICCContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IJobLifecycleListener;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IJobSpecificationFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 
 /**
  * Application Context at the Cluster Controller for an application.
  * 
  * @author vinayakb
- * 
  */
 public interface ICCApplicationContext extends IApplicationContext {
     /**
      * Sets the state that must be distributed by the infrastructure to all the
-     * NC application contects. Any state set by calling thsi method in the
-     * {@link ICCBootstrap#start()} call is made available to all the
-     * {@link INCApplicationContext} objects at each Node Controller. The state
+     * NC application contects. Any state set by calling thsi method in the {@link ICCBootstrap#start()} call is made available to all the {@link INCApplicationContext} objects at each Node Controller. The state
      * is then available to be inspected by the application at the NC during or
      * after the {@link INCBootstrap#start()} call.
      * 
@@ -42,17 +37,6 @@
     public void setDistributedState(Serializable state);
 
     /**
-     * A factory class specific to this application that may accept incoming
-     * {@link JobSpecification} and produce modified {@link JobSpecification}
-     * that is executed on the cluster. If a {@link IJobSpecificationFactory} is
-     * not set, the incoming {@link JobSpecification} is executed unmodified.
-     * 
-     * @param jobSpecFactory
-     *            - The Job Specification Factory.
-     */
-    public void setJobSpecificationFactory(IJobSpecificationFactory jobSpecFactory);
-
-    /**
      * A listener that listens to Job Lifecycle events at the Cluster
      * Controller.
      * 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/channels/IInputChannel.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/channels/IInputChannel.java
index f79a464..a8f2fda 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/channels/IInputChannel.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/channels/IInputChannel.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 
 public interface IInputChannel {
@@ -29,7 +30,7 @@
 
     public void recycleBuffer(ByteBuffer buffer);
 
-    public void open() throws HyracksDataException;
+    public void open(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException;
 
     public void close() throws HyracksDataException;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.java
index a7f324d..e34e60d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.java
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 public class HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions {
     public enum FunctionId {
         GET_CLUSTER_CONTROLLER_INFO,
+        GET_CLUSTER_TOPOLOGY,
         CREATE_APPLICATION,
         START_APPLICATION,
         DESTROY_APPLICATION,
@@ -105,37 +106,6 @@
         }
     }
 
-    public static class CreateJobFunction extends Function {
-        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-        private final String appName;
-        private final byte[] jobSpec;
-        private final EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags;
-
-        public CreateJobFunction(String appName, byte[] jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) {
-            this.appName = appName;
-            this.jobSpec = jobSpec;
-            this.jobFlags = jobFlags;
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public FunctionId getFunctionId() {
-            return FunctionId.CREATE_JOB;
-        }
-
-        public String getAppName() {
-            return appName;
-        }
-
-        public byte[] getJobSpec() {
-            return jobSpec;
-        }
-
-        public EnumSet<JobFlag> getJobFlags() {
-            return jobFlags;
-        }
-    }
-
     public static class GetJobStatusFunction extends Function {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
@@ -158,10 +128,14 @@
     public static class StartJobFunction extends Function {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-        private final JobId jobId;
+        private final String appName;
+        private final byte[] acggfBytes;
+        private final EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags;
 
-        public StartJobFunction(JobId jobId) {
-            this.jobId = jobId;
+        public StartJobFunction(String appName, byte[] acggfBytes, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) {
+            this.appName = appName;
+            this.acggfBytes = acggfBytes;
+            this.jobFlags = jobFlags;
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -169,8 +143,16 @@
             return FunctionId.START_JOB;
         }
 
-        public JobId getJobId() {
-            return jobId;
+        public String getAppName() {
+            return appName;
+        }
+
+        public byte[] getACGGFBytes() {
+            return acggfBytes;
+        }
+
+        public EnumSet<JobFlag> getJobFlags() {
+            return jobFlags;
         }
     }
 
@@ -201,4 +183,13 @@
             return FunctionId.GET_NODE_CONTROLLERS_INFO;
         }
     }
+
+    public static class GetClusterTopologyFunction extends Function {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        @Override
+        public FunctionId getFunctionId() {
+            return FunctionId.GET_CLUSTER_TOPOLOGY;
+        }
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksClientInterfaceRemoteProxy.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksClientInterfaceRemoteProxy.java
index 602288c..4c06d42 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksClientInterfaceRemoteProxy.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksClientInterfaceRemoteProxy.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology.ClusterTopology;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.ipc.api.IIPCHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.ipc.api.RPCInterface;
 
@@ -61,13 +62,6 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public JobId createJob(String appName, byte[] jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws Exception {
-        HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.CreateJobFunction cjf = new HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.CreateJobFunction(
-                appName, jobSpec, jobFlags);
-        return (JobId) rpci.call(ipcHandle, cjf);
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public JobStatus getJobStatus(JobId jobId) throws Exception {
         HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.GetJobStatusFunction gjsf = new HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.GetJobStatusFunction(
                 jobId);
@@ -75,10 +69,10 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void startJob(JobId jobId) throws Exception {
+    public JobId startJob(String appName, byte[] acggfBytes, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws Exception {
         HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.StartJobFunction sjf = new HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.StartJobFunction(
-                jobId);
-        rpci.call(ipcHandle, sjf);
+                appName, acggfBytes, jobFlags);
+        return (JobId) rpci.call(ipcHandle, sjf);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -93,4 +87,10 @@
         HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.GetNodeControllersInfoFunction gncif = new HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.GetNodeControllersInfoFunction();
         return (Map<String, NodeControllerInfo>) rpci.call(ipcHandle, gncif);
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public ClusterTopology getClusterTopology() throws Exception {
+        HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.GetClusterTopologyFunction gctf = new HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.GetClusterTopologyFunction();
+        return (ClusterTopology) rpci.call(ipcHandle, gctf);
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksConnection.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksConnection.java
index 8c9409c..227524c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksConnection.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/HyracksConnection.java
@@ -25,11 +25,14 @@
 import org.apache.http.entity.FileEntity;
 import org.apache.http.impl.client.DefaultHttpClient;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.impl.JobSpecificationActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology.ClusterTopology;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.util.JavaSerializationUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.ipc.api.IIPCHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.ipc.api.RPCInterface;
@@ -41,7 +44,6 @@
  * Controller.
  * 
  * @author vinayakb
- * 
  */
 public final class HyracksConnection implements IHyracksClientConnection {
     private final String ccHost;
@@ -95,23 +97,25 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public JobId createJob(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec) throws Exception {
-        return createJob(appName, jobSpec, EnumSet.noneOf(JobFlag.class));
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public JobId createJob(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws Exception {
-        return hci.createJob(appName, JavaSerializationUtils.serialize(jobSpec), jobFlags);
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public JobStatus getJobStatus(JobId jobId) throws Exception {
         return hci.getJobStatus(jobId);
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void start(JobId jobId) throws Exception {
-        hci.startJob(jobId);
+    public JobId startJob(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec) throws Exception {
+        return startJob(appName, jobSpec, EnumSet.noneOf(JobFlag.class));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public JobId startJob(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws Exception {
+        JobSpecificationActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory jsacggf = new JobSpecificationActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory(
+                jobSpec);
+        return startJob(appName, jsacggf, jobFlags);
+    }
+
+    public JobId startJob(String appName, IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory acggf, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags)
+            throws Exception {
+        return hci.startJob(appName, JavaSerializationUtils.serialize(acggf), jobFlags);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -123,4 +127,9 @@
     public Map<String, NodeControllerInfo> getNodeControllerInfos() throws Exception {
         return hci.getNodeControllersInfo();
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public ClusterTopology getClusterTopology() throws Exception {
+        return hci.getClusterTopology();
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/IHyracksClientConnection.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/IHyracksClientConnection.java
index 37a746b..bdbb544 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/IHyracksClientConnection.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/IHyracksClientConnection.java
@@ -18,16 +18,17 @@
 import java.util.EnumSet;
 import java.util.Map;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology.ClusterTopology;
 
 /**
  * Interface used by clients to communicate with the Hyracks Cluster Controller.
  * 
  * @author vinayakb
- * 
  */
 public interface IHyracksClientConnection {
     /**
@@ -51,35 +52,6 @@
     public void destroyApplication(String appName) throws Exception;
 
     /**
-     * Creates a Job Instance in the specified Hyracks application using the
-     * specified {@link JobSpecification}.
-     * 
-     * @param appName
-     *            Name of the application
-     * @param jobSpec
-     *            Job Specification
-     * @return
-     * @throws Exception
-     */
-    public JobId createJob(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec) throws Exception;
-
-    /**
-     * Creates a Job Instance in the specified Hyracks application using the
-     * specified {@link JobSpecification}. The specified flags are used to
-     * configure the Job creation process.
-     * 
-     * @param appName
-     *            Name of the application
-     * @param jobSpec
-     *            Job Specification
-     * @param jobFlags
-     *            Flags
-     * @return
-     * @throws Exception
-     */
-    public JobId createJob(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws Exception;
-
-    /**
      * Gets the status of the specified Job.
      * 
      * @param jobId
@@ -92,11 +64,40 @@
     /**
      * Start the specified Job.
      * 
-     * @param jobId
-     *            JobId of the Job.
+     * @param appName
+     *            Name of the application
+     * @param jobSpec
+     *            Job Specification
      * @throws Exception
      */
-    public void start(JobId jobId) throws Exception;
+    public JobId startJob(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec) throws Exception;
+
+    /**
+     * Start the specified Job.
+     * 
+     * @param appName
+     *            Name of the application
+     * @param jobSpec
+     *            Job Specification
+     * @param jobFlags
+     *            Flags
+     * @throws Exception
+     */
+    public JobId startJob(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws Exception;
+
+    /**
+     * Start the specified Job.
+     * 
+     * @param appName
+     *            Name of the application
+     * @param acggf
+     *            Activity Cluster Graph Generator Factory
+     * @param jobFlags
+     *            Flags
+     * @throws Exception
+     */
+    public JobId startJob(String appName, IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory acggf, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags)
+            throws Exception;
 
     /**
      * Waits until the specified job has completed, either successfully or has
@@ -114,4 +115,12 @@
      * @return Map of node name to node information.
      */
     public Map<String, NodeControllerInfo> getNodeControllerInfos() throws Exception;
+
+    /**
+     * Get the cluster topology
+     * 
+     * @return the cluster topology
+     * @throws Exception
+     */
+    public ClusterTopology getClusterTopology() throws Exception;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/IHyracksClientInterface.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/IHyracksClientInterface.java
index 866d307..ef5906e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/IHyracksClientInterface.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/IHyracksClientInterface.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology.ClusterTopology;
 
 public interface IHyracksClientInterface {
     public ClusterControllerInfo getClusterControllerInfo() throws Exception;
@@ -30,13 +31,13 @@
 
     public void destroyApplication(String appName) throws Exception;
 
-    public JobId createJob(String appName, byte[] jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws Exception;
-
     public JobStatus getJobStatus(JobId jobId) throws Exception;
 
-    public void startJob(JobId jobId) throws Exception;
+    public JobId startJob(String appName, byte[] acggfBytes, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws Exception;
 
     public void waitForCompletion(JobId jobId) throws Exception;
 
     public Map<String, NodeControllerInfo> getNodeControllersInfo() throws Exception;
+
+    public ClusterTopology getClusterTopology() throws Exception;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/ActivityClusterGraphBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/ActivityClusterGraphBuilder.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c6c211
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/ActivityClusterGraphBuilder.java
@@ -0,0 +1,176 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.impl;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.tuple.Pair;
+import org.json.JSONException;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivity;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
+
+public class ActivityClusterGraphBuilder {
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ActivityClusterGraphBuilder.class.getName());
+
+    public ActivityClusterGraphBuilder() {
+    }
+
+    private static Pair<ActivityId, ActivityId> findMergePair(JobActivityGraph jag, Set<Set<ActivityId>> eqSets) {
+        for (Set<ActivityId> eqSet : eqSets) {
+            for (ActivityId t : eqSet) {
+                List<IConnectorDescriptor> inputList = jag.getActivityInputMap().get(t);
+                if (inputList != null) {
+                    for (IConnectorDescriptor conn : inputList) {
+                        ActivityId inTask = jag.getProducerActivity(conn.getConnectorId());
+                        if (!eqSet.contains(inTask)) {
+                            return Pair.<ActivityId, ActivityId> of(t, inTask);
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputList = jag.getActivityOutputMap().get(t);
+                if (outputList != null) {
+                    for (IConnectorDescriptor conn : outputList) {
+                        ActivityId outTask = jag.getConsumerActivity(conn.getConnectorId());
+                        if (!eqSet.contains(outTask)) {
+                            return Pair.<ActivityId, ActivityId> of(t, outTask);
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    public ActivityClusterGraph inferActivityClusters(JobId jobId, JobActivityGraph jag) {
+        /*
+         * Build initial equivalence sets map. We create a map such that for each IOperatorTask, t -> { t }
+         */
+        Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> stageMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>>();
+        Set<Set<ActivityId>> stages = new HashSet<Set<ActivityId>>();
+        for (ActivityId taskId : jag.getActivityMap().keySet()) {
+            Set<ActivityId> eqSet = new HashSet<ActivityId>();
+            eqSet.add(taskId);
+            stageMap.put(taskId, eqSet);
+            stages.add(eqSet);
+        }
+
+        boolean changed = true;
+        while (changed) {
+            changed = false;
+            Pair<ActivityId, ActivityId> pair = findMergePair(jag, stages);
+            if (pair != null) {
+                merge(stageMap, stages, pair.getLeft(), pair.getRight());
+                changed = true;
+            }
+        }
+
+        ActivityClusterGraph acg = new ActivityClusterGraph();
+        Map<ActivityId, ActivityCluster> acMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, ActivityCluster>();
+        int acCounter = 0;
+        Map<ActivityId, IActivity> activityNodeMap = jag.getActivityMap();
+        List<ActivityCluster> acList = new ArrayList<ActivityCluster>();
+        for (Set<ActivityId> stage : stages) {
+            ActivityCluster ac = new ActivityCluster(acg, new ActivityClusterId(jobId, acCounter++));
+            acList.add(ac);
+            for (ActivityId aid : stage) {
+                IActivity activity = activityNodeMap.get(aid);
+                ac.addActivity(activity);
+                acMap.put(aid, ac);
+            }
+        }
+
+        for (Set<ActivityId> stage : stages) {
+            for (ActivityId aid : stage) {
+                IActivity activity = activityNodeMap.get(aid);
+                ActivityCluster ac = acMap.get(aid);
+                List<IConnectorDescriptor> aOutputs = jag.getActivityOutputMap().get(aid);
+                if (aOutputs == null || aOutputs.isEmpty()) {
+                    ac.addRoot(activity);
+                } else {
+                    int nActivityOutputs = aOutputs.size();
+                    for (int i = 0; i < nActivityOutputs; ++i) {
+                        IConnectorDescriptor conn = aOutputs.get(i);
+                        ac.addConnector(conn);
+                        Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>> pcPair = jag.getConnectorActivityMap()
+                                .get(conn.getConnectorId());
+                        ac.connect(conn, activity, i, pcPair.getRight().getLeft(), pcPair.getRight().getRight(), jag
+                                .getConnectorRecordDescriptorMap().get(conn.getConnectorId()));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> blocked2BlockerMap = jag.getBlocked2BlockerMap();
+        for (ActivityCluster s : acList) {
+            Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> acBlocked2BlockerMap = s.getBlocked2BlockerMap();
+            Set<ActivityCluster> blockerStages = new HashSet<ActivityCluster>();
+            for (ActivityId t : s.getActivityMap().keySet()) {
+                Set<ActivityId> blockerTasks = blocked2BlockerMap.get(t);
+                acBlocked2BlockerMap.put(t, blockerTasks);
+                if (blockerTasks != null) {
+                    for (ActivityId bt : blockerTasks) {
+                        blockerStages.add(acMap.get(bt));
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            for (ActivityCluster bs : blockerStages) {
+                s.getDependencies().add(bs);
+            }
+        }
+        acg.addActivityClusters(acList);
+
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
+            try {
+                LOGGER.fine(acg.toJSON().toString(2));
+            } catch (JSONException e) {
+                e.printStackTrace();
+                throw new RuntimeException(e);
+            }
+        }
+        return acg;
+    }
+
+    private void merge(Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> eqSetMap, Set<Set<ActivityId>> eqSets, ActivityId t1,
+            ActivityId t2) {
+        Set<ActivityId> stage1 = eqSetMap.get(t1);
+        Set<ActivityId> stage2 = eqSetMap.get(t2);
+
+        Set<ActivityId> mergedSet = new HashSet<ActivityId>();
+        mergedSet.addAll(stage1);
+        mergedSet.addAll(stage2);
+
+        eqSets.remove(stage1);
+        eqSets.remove(stage2);
+        eqSets.add(mergedSet);
+
+        for (ActivityId t : mergedSet) {
+            eqSetMap.put(t, mergedSet);
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IConnectorDescriptorVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/IConnectorDescriptorVisitor.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IConnectorDescriptorVisitor.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/IConnectorDescriptorVisitor.java
index 1c8446f..5b508b3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IConnectorDescriptorVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/IConnectorDescriptorVisitor.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.impl;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IOperatorDescriptorVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/IOperatorDescriptorVisitor.java
similarity index 94%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IOperatorDescriptorVisitor.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/IOperatorDescriptorVisitor.java
index 840faef..fcdf9f0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IOperatorDescriptorVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/IOperatorDescriptorVisitor.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.impl;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/JobActivityGraphBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/JobActivityGraphBuilder.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4b9b3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/JobActivityGraphBuilder.java
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.impl;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.EnumSet;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.tuple.Pair;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivity;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+
+public class JobActivityGraphBuilder implements IActivityGraphBuilder {
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(JobActivityGraphBuilder.class.getName());
+
+    private final Map<ActivityId, IOperatorDescriptor> activityOperatorMap;
+
+    private final JobActivityGraph jag;
+
+    private final JobSpecification jobSpec;
+
+    private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<IActivity, Integer>> connectorProducerMap;
+
+    private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<IActivity, Integer>> connectorConsumerMap;
+
+    public JobActivityGraphBuilder(JobSpecification jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) {
+        activityOperatorMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, IOperatorDescriptor>();
+        jag = new JobActivityGraph();
+        this.jobSpec = jobSpec;
+        connectorProducerMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<IActivity, Integer>>();
+        connectorConsumerMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<IActivity, Integer>>();
+    }
+
+    public void addConnector(IConnectorDescriptor conn) {
+        jag.getConnectorMap().put(conn.getConnectorId(), conn);
+        jag.getConnectorRecordDescriptorMap().put(conn.getConnectorId(), jobSpec.getConnectorRecordDescriptor(conn));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void addBlockingEdge(IActivity blocker, IActivity blocked) {
+        addToValueSet(jag.getBlocked2BlockerMap(), blocked.getActivityId(), blocker.getActivityId());
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void addSourceEdge(int operatorInputIndex, IActivity task, int taskInputIndex) {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINEST)) {
+            LOGGER.finest("Adding source edge: " + task.getActivityId() + ":" + operatorInputIndex + " -> "
+                    + task.getActivityId() + ":" + taskInputIndex);
+        }
+        IOperatorDescriptor op = activityOperatorMap.get(task.getActivityId());
+        IConnectorDescriptor conn = jobSpec.getInputConnectorDescriptor(op, operatorInputIndex);
+        insertIntoIndexedMap(jag.getActivityInputMap(), task.getActivityId(), taskInputIndex, conn);
+        connectorConsumerMap.put(conn.getConnectorId(), Pair.of(task, taskInputIndex));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void addTargetEdge(int operatorOutputIndex, IActivity task, int taskOutputIndex) {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINEST)) {
+            LOGGER.finest("Adding target edge: " + task.getActivityId() + ":" + operatorOutputIndex + " -> "
+                    + task.getActivityId() + ":" + taskOutputIndex);
+        }
+        IOperatorDescriptor op = activityOperatorMap.get(task.getActivityId());
+        IConnectorDescriptor conn = jobSpec.getOutputConnectorDescriptor(op, operatorOutputIndex);
+        insertIntoIndexedMap(jag.getActivityOutputMap(), task.getActivityId(), taskOutputIndex, conn);
+        connectorProducerMap.put(conn.getConnectorId(), Pair.of(task, taskOutputIndex));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void addActivity(IOperatorDescriptor op, IActivity task) {
+        activityOperatorMap.put(task.getActivityId(), op);
+        ActivityId activityId = task.getActivityId();
+        jag.getActivityMap().put(activityId, task);
+    }
+
+    public void finish() {
+        Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>>> caMap = jag
+                .getConnectorActivityMap();
+        for (Map.Entry<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<IActivity, Integer>> e : connectorProducerMap.entrySet()) {
+            ConnectorDescriptorId cdId = e.getKey();
+            Pair<IActivity, Integer> producer = e.getValue();
+            Pair<IActivity, Integer> consumer = connectorConsumerMap.get(cdId);
+            caMap.put(cdId, Pair.of(producer, consumer));
+        }
+    }
+
+    private <K, V> void addToValueSet(Map<K, Set<V>> map, K n1, V n2) {
+        Set<V> targets = map.get(n1);
+        if (targets == null) {
+            targets = new HashSet<V>();
+            map.put(n1, targets);
+        }
+        targets.add(n2);
+    }
+
+    private <T> void extend(List<T> list, int index) {
+        int n = list.size();
+        for (int i = n; i <= index; ++i) {
+            list.add(null);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private <K, V> void insertIntoIndexedMap(Map<K, List<V>> map, K key, int index, V value) {
+        List<V> vList = map.get(key);
+        if (vList == null) {
+            vList = new ArrayList<V>();
+            map.put(key, vList);
+        }
+        extend(vList, index);
+        vList.set(index, value);
+    }
+
+    public JobActivityGraph getActivityGraph() {
+        return jag;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/JobSpecificationActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/JobSpecificationActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..791f312
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/JobSpecificationActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.impl;
+
+import java.util.EnumSet;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCApplicationContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.Constraint;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.IConstraintAcceptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IActivityClusterGraphGenerator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+
+public class JobSpecificationActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory implements IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private final JobSpecification spec;
+
+    public JobSpecificationActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory(JobSpecification jobSpec) {
+        this.spec = jobSpec;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IActivityClusterGraphGenerator createActivityClusterGraphGenerator(String appName, JobId jobId,
+            final ICCApplicationContext ccAppCtx, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws HyracksException {
+        final JobActivityGraphBuilder builder = new JobActivityGraphBuilder(spec, jobFlags);
+        PlanUtils.visit(spec, new IConnectorDescriptorVisitor() {
+            @Override
+            public void visit(IConnectorDescriptor conn) throws HyracksException {
+                builder.addConnector(conn);
+            }
+        });
+        PlanUtils.visit(spec, new IOperatorDescriptorVisitor() {
+            @Override
+            public void visit(IOperatorDescriptor op) {
+                op.contributeActivities(builder);
+            }
+        });
+        builder.finish();
+        final JobActivityGraph jag = builder.getActivityGraph();
+        ActivityClusterGraphBuilder acgb = new ActivityClusterGraphBuilder();
+
+        final ActivityClusterGraph acg = acgb.inferActivityClusters(jobId, jag);
+        acg.setFrameSize(spec.getFrameSize());
+        acg.setMaxReattempts(spec.getMaxReattempts());
+        acg.setJobletEventListenerFactory(spec.getJobletEventListenerFactory());
+        acg.setGlobalJobDataFactory(spec.getGlobalJobDataFactory());
+        final Set<Constraint> constraints = new HashSet<Constraint>();
+        final IConstraintAcceptor acceptor = new IConstraintAcceptor() {
+            @Override
+            public void addConstraint(Constraint constraint) {
+                constraints.add(constraint);
+            }
+        };
+        PlanUtils.visit(spec, new IOperatorDescriptorVisitor() {
+            @Override
+            public void visit(IOperatorDescriptor op) {
+                op.contributeSchedulingConstraints(acceptor, ccAppCtx);
+            }
+        });
+        PlanUtils.visit(spec, new IConnectorDescriptorVisitor() {
+            @Override
+            public void visit(IConnectorDescriptor conn) {
+                conn.contributeSchedulingConstraints(acceptor, acg.getConnectorMap().get(conn.getConnectorId()),
+                        ccAppCtx);
+            }
+        });
+        constraints.addAll(spec.getUserConstraints());
+        return new IActivityClusterGraphGenerator() {
+            @Override
+            public ActivityClusterGraph initialize() {
+                return acg;
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public Set<Constraint> getConstraints() {
+                return constraints;
+            }
+        };
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/PlanUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/PlanUtils.java
similarity index 97%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/PlanUtils.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/PlanUtils.java
index 754094a..30f26c7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/PlanUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/client/impl/PlanUtils.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.impl;
 
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Set;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/Endpoint.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/Endpoint.java
deleted file mode 100644
index c0d23c1..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/Endpoint.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
-
-import java.io.Serializable;
-import java.util.UUID;
-
-public final class Endpoint implements Serializable {
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-    private final UUID id;
-
-    private final NetworkAddress address;
-
-    private final int receiverIndex;
-
-    public Endpoint(NetworkAddress address, int receiverIndex) throws Exception {
-        id = UUID.randomUUID();
-        this.address = address;
-        this.receiverIndex = receiverIndex;
-    }
-
-    public UUID getEndpointId() {
-        return id;
-    }
-
-    public NetworkAddress getNetworkAddress() {
-        return address;
-    }
-
-    public int getReceiverIndex() {
-        return receiverIndex;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public int hashCode() {
-        return id.hashCode() + address.hashCode();
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public boolean equals(Object o) {
-        if (!(o instanceof Endpoint)) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        Endpoint oe = (Endpoint) o;
-        return oe.id.equals(id) && oe.address.equals(address);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String toString() {
-        return "[" + address + ":" + id + "]";
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IConnectionDemultiplexer.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IConnectionDemultiplexer.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 0587722..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IConnectionDemultiplexer.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-
-public interface IConnectionDemultiplexer {
-    public int getSenderCount();
-
-    public IConnectionEntry findNextReadyEntry(int lastReadSender);
-
-    public void unreadyEntry(int index);
-
-    public int closeEntry(int index) throws HyracksDataException;
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IConnectionEntry.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IConnectionEntry.java
deleted file mode 100644
index ec05d0b..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IConnectionEntry.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
-
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-import java.nio.channels.SelectionKey;
-import java.util.UUID;
-
-public interface IConnectionEntry {
-    ByteBuffer getReadBuffer();
-
-    SelectionKey getSelectionKey();
-
-    void attach(Object attachment);
-
-    Object getAttachment();
-
-    void close() throws IOException;
-
-    void write(ByteBuffer buffer);
-
-    UUID getJobId();
-
-    UUID getStageId();
-
-    boolean aborted();
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiver.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiver.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 8ae10c4..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiver.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,27 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
-
-import java.util.BitSet;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
-
-public interface IReceiver {
-    public void setReceiverEventListener(IReceiverEventListener listener) throws HyracksException;
-
-    public void init(int sender) throws HyracksException;
-
-    public ISenderProxy getReadySender(BitSet senderMask, int senderIndexPreference);
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/ISender.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/ISender.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 88c8f27..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/ISender.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
-
-public interface ISender {
-    public IFrameWriter createSenderWriter(int receiverIndex);
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/ICCContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/ICCContext.java
index 7466276..1e49fe2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/ICCContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/ICCContext.java
@@ -18,9 +18,12 @@
 import java.util.Set;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.ClusterControllerInfo;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology.ClusterTopology;
 
 public interface ICCContext {
     public ClusterControllerInfo getClusterControllerInfo();
 
     public void getIPAddressNodeMap(Map<String, Set<String>> map) throws Exception;
+
+    public ClusterTopology getClusterTopology();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksCommonContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksCommonContext.java
index 62112f5..9cb8f10 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksCommonContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksCommonContext.java
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 
 public interface IHyracksCommonContext {
-    public ByteBuffer allocateFrame();
-
     public int getFrameSize();
 
     public IIOManager getIOManager();
+
+    public ByteBuffer allocateFrame();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksJobletContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksJobletContext.java
index e3c71ea..fad4300 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksJobletContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksJobletContext.java
@@ -20,10 +20,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.profiling.counters.ICounterContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.resources.IDeallocatableRegistry;
 
-public interface IHyracksJobletContext extends IHyracksCommonContext, IWorkspaceFileFactory, IDeallocatableRegistry {
+public interface IHyracksJobletContext extends IWorkspaceFileFactory, IDeallocatableRegistry {
     public INCApplicationContext getApplicationContext();
 
     public JobId getJobId();
 
     public ICounterContext getCounterContext();
+
+    public Object getGlobalJobData();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksRootContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksRootContext.java
index 2ad2e7f..a94c6de 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksRootContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksRootContext.java
@@ -14,5 +14,8 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context;
 
-public interface IHyracksRootContext extends IHyracksCommonContext {
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
+
+public interface IHyracksRootContext {
+    public IIOManager getIOManager();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksTaskContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksTaskContext.java
index 042d341..e964d66 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksTaskContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/context/IHyracksTaskContext.java
@@ -27,4 +27,6 @@
     public TaskAttemptId getTaskAttemptId();
 
     public ICounterContext getCounterContext();
+
+    public void sendApplicationMessageToCC(byte[] message, String nodeId) throws Exception;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IActivityGraphBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IActivityGraphBuilder.java
index 56870b2..bbda23c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IActivityGraphBuilder.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IActivityGraphBuilder.java
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow;
 
 public interface IActivityGraphBuilder {
-    public void addActivity(IActivity task);
+    public void addActivity(IOperatorDescriptor op, IActivity task);
 
     public void addBlockingEdge(IActivity blocker, IActivity blocked);
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IConnectorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IConnectorDescriptor.java
index 0ac3658..3a6ee7a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IConnectorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IConnectorDescriptor.java
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
 
 /**
  * Connector that connects operators in a Job.
@@ -91,10 +91,10 @@
      * 
      * @param constraintAcceptor
      *            - Constraint Acceptor
-     * @param plan
-     *            - Job Plan
+     * @param ac
+     *            - Activity Cluster
      */
-    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, JobActivityGraph plan,
+    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, ActivityCluster ac,
             ICCApplicationContext appCtx);
 
     /**
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IOperatorDescriptor.java
index c37a530..43bf141 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/IOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCApplicationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.IConstraintAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
 
 /**
  * Descriptor for operators in Hyracks.
@@ -75,8 +74,7 @@
      * @param plan
      *            - Job Plan
      */
-    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, JobActivityGraph plan,
-            ICCApplicationContext appCtx);
+    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, ICCApplicationContext appCtx);
 
     /**
      * Gets the display name.
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/state/ITaskState.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/state/IStateObject.java
similarity index 89%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/state/ITaskState.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/state/IStateObject.java
index c24e488..f216773 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/state/ITaskState.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/state/IStateObject.java
@@ -18,13 +18,12 @@
 import java.io.DataOutput;
 import java.io.IOException;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 
-public interface ITaskState {
+public interface IStateObject {
     public JobId getJobId();
 
-    public TaskId getTaskId();
+    public Object getId();
 
     public long getMemoryOccupancy();
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/value/IRecordDescriptorProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/value/IRecordDescriptorProvider.java
index 96d43a7..c480446 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/value/IRecordDescriptorProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/value/IRecordDescriptorProvider.java
@@ -14,10 +14,10 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.OperatorDescriptorId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
 
 public interface IRecordDescriptorProvider {
-    public RecordDescriptor getInputRecordDescriptor(OperatorDescriptorId opId, int inputIndex);
+    public RecordDescriptor getInputRecordDescriptor(ActivityId aid, int inputIndex);
 
-    public RecordDescriptor getOutputRecordDescriptor(OperatorDescriptorId opId, int outputIndex);
+    public RecordDescriptor getOutputRecordDescriptor(ActivityId aid, int outputIndex);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/value/ITuplePairComparatorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/value/ITuplePairComparatorFactory.java
index 26cb525..297b56c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/value/ITuplePairComparatorFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/dataflow/value/ITuplePairComparatorFactory.java
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface ITuplePairComparatorFactory extends Serializable {
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 
-    public ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator();
-}
+public interface ITuplePairComparatorFactory extends Serializable {
+    public ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/IFileHandle.java
similarity index 71%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/IFileHandle.java
index 98c083e..10fcef0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/IFileHandle.java
@@ -12,10 +12,11 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io;
 
-public interface IReceiverEventListener {
-    public void notifySenderAvailability(int sender);
-
-    public void notifySenderCount(int senderCount);
+/**
+ * IFileHandle is an interface that exists only for Java compilers to perform static typing
+ * when handling file handle objects. Users must not implement this interface.
+ */
+public interface IFileHandle {
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/IIOManager.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/IIOManager.java
index 939cfc2..2e7feb5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/IIOManager.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/IIOManager.java
@@ -33,16 +33,18 @@
 
     public List<IODeviceHandle> getIODevices();
 
-    public FileHandle open(FileReference fileRef, FileReadWriteMode rwMode, FileSyncMode syncMode)
+    public IFileHandle open(FileReference fileRef, FileReadWriteMode rwMode, FileSyncMode syncMode)
             throws HyracksDataException;
 
-    public int syncWrite(FileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) throws HyracksDataException;
+    public int syncWrite(IFileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) throws HyracksDataException;
 
-    public int syncRead(FileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) throws HyracksDataException;
+    public int syncRead(IFileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) throws HyracksDataException;
 
-    public IIOFuture asyncWrite(FileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data);
+    public IIOFuture asyncWrite(IFileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data);
 
-    public IIOFuture asyncRead(FileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data);
+    public IIOFuture asyncRead(IFileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data);
 
-    public void close(FileHandle fHandle) throws HyracksDataException;
+    public void close(IFileHandle fHandle) throws HyracksDataException;
+
+    public void sync(IFileHandle fileHandle, boolean metadata) throws HyracksDataException;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/ActivityCluster.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/ActivityCluster.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6698ff7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/ActivityCluster.java
@@ -0,0 +1,232 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+
+import org.apache.commons.lang3.tuple.Pair;
+import org.json.JSONArray;
+import org.json.JSONException;
+import org.json.JSONObject;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivity;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+
+public final class ActivityCluster implements Serializable {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private final ActivityClusterGraph acg;
+
+    private final ActivityClusterId id;
+
+    private final List<IActivity> roots;
+
+    private final Map<ActivityId, IActivity> activities;
+
+    private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorDescriptor> connectors;
+
+    private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, RecordDescriptor> connectorRecordDescriptorMap;
+
+    private final Map<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>> activityInputMap;
+
+    private final Map<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>> activityOutputMap;
+
+    private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>>> connectorActivityMap;
+
+    private final Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> blocked2blockerMap;
+
+    private final List<ActivityCluster> dependencies;
+
+    private IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy cpap;
+
+    public ActivityCluster(ActivityClusterGraph acg, ActivityClusterId id) {
+        this.acg = acg;
+        this.id = id;
+        roots = new ArrayList<IActivity>();
+        activities = new HashMap<ActivityId, IActivity>();
+        connectors = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorDescriptor>();
+        connectorRecordDescriptorMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, RecordDescriptor>();
+        activityInputMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>>();
+        activityOutputMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>>();
+        connectorActivityMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>>>();
+        blocked2blockerMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>>();
+        dependencies = new ArrayList<ActivityCluster>();
+    }
+
+    public ActivityClusterGraph getActivityClusterGraph() {
+        return acg;
+    }
+
+    public ActivityClusterId getId() {
+        return id;
+    }
+
+    public void addRoot(IActivity activity) {
+        roots.add(activity);
+    }
+
+    public void addActivity(IActivity activity) {
+        activities.put(activity.getActivityId(), activity);
+    }
+
+    public void addConnector(IConnectorDescriptor connector) {
+        connectors.put(connector.getConnectorId(), connector);
+    }
+
+    public void connect(IConnectorDescriptor connector, IActivity producerActivity, int producerPort,
+            IActivity consumerActivity, int consumerPort, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
+        if (!activities.containsKey(producerActivity.getActivityId())
+                || !activities.containsKey(consumerActivity.getActivityId())) {
+            throw new IllegalStateException("Connected Activities belong to different Activity Clusters: "
+                    + producerActivity.getActivityId() + " and " + consumerActivity.getActivityId());
+        }
+        insertIntoIndexedMap(activityInputMap, consumerActivity.getActivityId(), consumerPort, connector);
+        insertIntoIndexedMap(activityOutputMap, producerActivity.getActivityId(), producerPort, connector);
+        connectorActivityMap.put(
+                connector.getConnectorId(),
+                Pair.<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>> of(
+                        Pair.<IActivity, Integer> of(producerActivity, producerPort),
+                        Pair.<IActivity, Integer> of(consumerActivity, consumerPort)));
+        connectorRecordDescriptorMap.put(connector.getConnectorId(), recordDescriptor);
+    }
+
+    public List<IActivity> getRoots() {
+        return roots;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ActivityId, IActivity> getActivityMap() {
+        return activities;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorDescriptor> getConnectorMap() {
+        return connectors;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, RecordDescriptor> getConnectorRecordDescriptorMap() {
+        return connectorRecordDescriptorMap;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>>> getConnectorActivityMap() {
+        return connectorActivityMap;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>> getActivityInputMap() {
+        return activityInputMap;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>> getActivityOutputMap() {
+        return activityOutputMap;
+    }
+
+    public ActivityId getConsumerActivity(ConnectorDescriptorId cdId) {
+        Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>> connEdge = connectorActivityMap.get(cdId);
+        return connEdge.getRight().getLeft().getActivityId();
+    }
+
+    public ActivityId getProducerActivity(ConnectorDescriptorId cdId) {
+        Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>> connEdge = connectorActivityMap.get(cdId);
+        return connEdge.getLeft().getLeft().getActivityId();
+    }
+
+    public Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> getBlocked2BlockerMap() {
+        return blocked2blockerMap;
+    }
+
+    public List<ActivityCluster> getDependencies() {
+        return dependencies;
+    }
+
+    public IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy getConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy() {
+        return cpap;
+    }
+
+    public void setConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy(IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy cpap) {
+        this.cpap = cpap;
+    }
+
+    private <T> void extend(List<T> list, int index) {
+        int n = list.size();
+        for (int i = n; i <= index; ++i) {
+            list.add(null);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private <K, V> void insertIntoIndexedMap(Map<K, List<V>> map, K key, int index, V value) {
+        List<V> vList = map.get(key);
+        if (vList == null) {
+            vList = new ArrayList<V>();
+            map.put(key, vList);
+        }
+        extend(vList, index);
+        vList.set(index, value);
+    }
+
+    public JSONObject toJSON() throws JSONException {
+        JSONObject jac = new JSONObject();
+
+        JSONArray jans = new JSONArray();
+        for (IActivity an : activities.values()) {
+            JSONObject jan = new JSONObject();
+            jan.put("id", an.getActivityId().toString());
+            jan.put("java-class", an.getClass().getName());
+
+            List<IConnectorDescriptor> inputs = activityInputMap.get(an.getActivityId());
+            if (inputs != null) {
+                JSONArray jInputs = new JSONArray();
+                for (int i = 0; i < inputs.size(); ++i) {
+                    JSONObject jInput = new JSONObject();
+                    jInput.put("input-port", i);
+                    jInput.put("connector-id", inputs.get(i).getConnectorId().toString());
+                    jInputs.put(jInput);
+                }
+                jan.put("inputs", jInputs);
+            }
+
+            List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputs = activityOutputMap.get(an.getActivityId());
+            if (outputs != null) {
+                JSONArray jOutputs = new JSONArray();
+                for (int i = 0; i < outputs.size(); ++i) {
+                    JSONObject jOutput = new JSONObject();
+                    jOutput.put("output-port", i);
+                    jOutput.put("connector-id", outputs.get(i).getConnectorId().toString());
+                    jOutputs.put(jOutput);
+                }
+                jan.put("outputs", jOutputs);
+            }
+
+            Set<ActivityId> blockers = getBlocked2BlockerMap().get(an.getActivityId());
+            if (blockers != null) {
+                JSONArray jDeps = new JSONArray();
+                for (ActivityId blocker : blockers) {
+                    jDeps.put(blocker.toString());
+                }
+                jan.put("depends-on", jDeps);
+            }
+            jans.put(jan);
+        }
+        jac.put("activities", jans);
+
+        return jac;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/ActivityClusterGraph.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/ActivityClusterGraph.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dd68747
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/ActivityClusterGraph.java
@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+/*
+2 * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.json.JSONArray;
+import org.json.JSONException;
+import org.json.JSONObject;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
+
+public class ActivityClusterGraph implements Serializable {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private int version;
+
+    private final Map<ActivityClusterId, ActivityCluster> activityClusterMap;
+
+    private final Map<ActivityId, ActivityCluster> activityMap;
+
+    private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, ActivityCluster> connectorMap;
+
+    private int frameSize;
+
+    private int maxReattempts;
+
+    private IJobletEventListenerFactory jobletEventListenerFactory;
+
+    private IGlobalJobDataFactory globalJobDataFactory;
+
+    public ActivityClusterGraph() {
+        version = 0;
+        activityClusterMap = new HashMap<ActivityClusterId, ActivityCluster>();
+        activityMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, ActivityCluster>();
+        connectorMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, ActivityCluster>();
+        frameSize = 32768;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ActivityId, ActivityCluster> getActivityMap() {
+        return activityMap;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, ActivityCluster> getConnectorMap() {
+        return connectorMap;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ActivityClusterId, ActivityCluster> getActivityClusterMap() {
+        return activityClusterMap;
+    }
+
+    public void addActivityClusters(Collection<ActivityCluster> newActivityClusters) {
+        for (ActivityCluster ac : newActivityClusters) {
+            activityClusterMap.put(ac.getId(), ac);
+            for (ActivityId aid : ac.getActivityMap().keySet()) {
+                activityMap.put(aid, ac);
+            }
+            for (ConnectorDescriptorId cid : ac.getConnectorMap().keySet()) {
+                connectorMap.put(cid, ac);
+            }
+        }
+        ++version;
+    }
+
+    public int getVersion() {
+        return version;
+    }
+
+    public void setFrameSize(int frameSize) {
+        this.frameSize = frameSize;
+    }
+
+    public int getFrameSize() {
+        return frameSize;
+    }
+
+    public void setMaxReattempts(int maxReattempts) {
+        this.maxReattempts = maxReattempts;
+    }
+
+    public int getMaxReattempts() {
+        return maxReattempts;
+    }
+
+    public IJobletEventListenerFactory getJobletEventListenerFactory() {
+        return jobletEventListenerFactory;
+    }
+
+    public void setJobletEventListenerFactory(IJobletEventListenerFactory jobletEventListenerFactory) {
+        this.jobletEventListenerFactory = jobletEventListenerFactory;
+    }
+
+    public IGlobalJobDataFactory getGlobalJobDataFactory() {
+        return globalJobDataFactory;
+    }
+
+    public void setGlobalJobDataFactory(IGlobalJobDataFactory globalJobDataFactory) {
+        this.globalJobDataFactory = globalJobDataFactory;
+    }
+
+    public JSONObject toJSON() throws JSONException {
+        JSONObject acgj = new JSONObject();
+
+        JSONArray acl = new JSONArray();
+        for (ActivityCluster ac : activityClusterMap.values()) {
+            acl.put(ac.toJSON());
+        }
+        acgj.put("version", version);
+        acgj.put("activity-clusters", acl);
+        return acgj;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/ActivityClusterId.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/ActivityClusterId.java
similarity index 66%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/ActivityClusterId.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/ActivityClusterId.java
index 46628a4..cba63959 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/ActivityClusterId.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/ActivityClusterId.java
@@ -12,19 +12,26 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
 public final class ActivityClusterId implements Serializable {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
+    private final JobId jobId;
+
     private final int id;
 
-    public ActivityClusterId(int id) {
+    public ActivityClusterId(JobId jobId, int id) {
+        this.jobId = jobId;
         this.id = id;
     }
 
+    public JobId getJobId() {
+        return jobId;
+    }
+
     public int getId() {
         return id;
     }
@@ -34,25 +41,37 @@
         final int prime = 31;
         int result = 1;
         result = prime * result + id;
+        result = prime * result + ((jobId == null) ? 0 : jobId.hashCode());
         return result;
     }
 
     @Override
     public boolean equals(Object obj) {
-        if (this == obj)
+        if (this == obj) {
             return true;
-        if (obj == null)
+        }
+        if (obj == null) {
             return false;
-        if (getClass() != obj.getClass())
+        }
+        if (getClass() != obj.getClass()) {
             return false;
+        }
         ActivityClusterId other = (ActivityClusterId) obj;
-        if (id != other.id)
+        if (id != other.id) {
             return false;
+        }
+        if (jobId == null) {
+            if (other.jobId != null) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        } else if (!jobId.equals(other.jobId)) {
+            return false;
+        }
         return true;
     }
 
     @Override
     public String toString() {
-        return "AC:" + id;
+        return "ACID:" + jobId + ":" + id;
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/ISenderProxy.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IActivityClusterGraphGenerator.java
similarity index 71%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/ISenderProxy.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IActivityClusterGraphGenerator.java
index 6b40bae..b837066 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/ISenderProxy.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IActivityClusterGraphGenerator.java
@@ -12,12 +12,14 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
 
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.Set;
 
-public interface ISenderProxy {
-    public ByteBuffer getReadBuffer();
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.Constraint;
 
-    public int getSenderIndex();
+public interface IActivityClusterGraphGenerator {
+    public Set<Constraint> getConstraints();
+
+    public ActivityClusterGraph initialize();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IJobSpecificationFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory.java
similarity index 70%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IJobSpecificationFactory.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory.java
index 722aaae..d801dd1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IJobSpecificationFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory.java
@@ -14,11 +14,13 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
 
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.EnumSet;
+
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCApplicationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCBootstrap;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
 
-public interface IJobSpecificationFactory {
-    public JobSpecification createJobSpecification(byte[] bytes, ICCBootstrap bootstrap, ICCApplicationContext appCtx)
-            throws HyracksException;
+public interface IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory extends Serializable {
+    public IActivityClusterGraphGenerator createActivityClusterGraphGenerator(String appName, JobId jobId,
+            ICCApplicationContext ccAppCtx, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) throws HyracksException;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IConnectorDescriptorVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IConnectorDescriptorRegistry.java
similarity index 74%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IConnectorDescriptorVisitor.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IConnectorDescriptorRegistry.java
index 1c8446f..65b27e3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IConnectorDescriptorVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IConnectorDescriptorRegistry.java
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
 
-public interface IConnectorDescriptorVisitor {
-    public void visit(IConnectorDescriptor conn) throws HyracksException;
+public interface IConnectorDescriptorRegistry {
+    public ConnectorDescriptorId createConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptor conn);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IGlobalJobDataFactory.java
similarity index 74%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IGlobalJobDataFactory.java
index 871fe43..bee495a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IGlobalJobDataFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IPrinterFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPrinter createPrinter();
-}
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksJobletContext;
+
+public interface IGlobalJobDataFactory extends Serializable {
+    public Object createGlobalJobData(IHyracksJobletContext ctx);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IJobLifecycleListener.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IJobLifecycleListener.java
index c3a0f7e..2f0f025 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IJobLifecycleListener.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IJobLifecycleListener.java
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
 
 public interface IJobLifecycleListener {
-    public void notifyJobCreation(JobId jobId, JobSpecification jobSpec) throws HyracksException;
+    public void notifyJobCreation(JobId jobId, IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory acggf) throws HyracksException;
 
     public void notifyJobStart(JobId jobId) throws HyracksException;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IOperatorDescriptorVisitor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IOperatorDescriptorRegistry.java
similarity index 74%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IOperatorDescriptorVisitor.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IOperatorDescriptorRegistry.java
index 840faef..4ea84d6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/IOperatorDescriptorVisitor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IOperatorDescriptorRegistry.java
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.OperatorDescriptorId;
 
-public interface IOperatorDescriptorVisitor {
-    public void visit(IOperatorDescriptor op) throws HyracksException;
+public interface IOperatorDescriptorRegistry {
+    public OperatorDescriptorId createOperatorDescriptorId(IOperatorDescriptor op);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IOperatorEnvironment.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IOperatorEnvironment.java
index ecc44c1..eaa1ec2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IOperatorEnvironment.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/IOperatorEnvironment.java
@@ -14,11 +14,10 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.ITaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.IStateObject;
 
 public interface IOperatorEnvironment {
-    public void setTaskState(ITaskState taskState);
+    public void setStateObject(IStateObject taskState);
 
-    public ITaskState getTaskState(TaskId taskId);
+    public IStateObject getStateObject(Object id);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/JobActivityGraph.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/JobActivityGraph.java
index 2b6d361..5b62b5c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/JobActivityGraph.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/JobActivityGraph.java
@@ -15,245 +15,91 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.EnumSet;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.tuple.Pair;
-import org.json.JSONArray;
-import org.json.JSONException;
-import org.json.JSONObject;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivity;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.OperatorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
 public class JobActivityGraph implements Serializable {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    private final String appName;
+    private final Map<ActivityId, IActivity> activityMap;
 
-    private final JobSpecification jobSpec;
+    private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorDescriptor> connectorMap;
 
-    private final EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags;
+    private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, RecordDescriptor> connectorRecordDescriptorMap;
 
-    private final Map<ActivityId, IActivity> activityNodes;
+    private final Map<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>> activityInputMap;
 
-    private final Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> blocker2blockedMap;
+    private final Map<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>> activityOutputMap;
+
+    private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>>> connectorActivityMap;
 
     private final Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> blocked2blockerMap;
 
-    private final Map<OperatorDescriptorId, Set<ActivityId>> operatorActivityMap;
-
-    private final Map<ActivityId, List<Integer>> activityInputMap;
-
-    private final Map<ActivityId, List<Integer>> activityOutputMap;
-
-    private final Map<OperatorDescriptorId, List<ActivityId>> operatorInputMap;
-
-    private final Map<OperatorDescriptorId, List<ActivityId>> operatorOutputMap;
-
-    public JobActivityGraph(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) {
-        this.appName = appName;
-        this.jobSpec = jobSpec;
-        this.jobFlags = jobFlags;
-        activityNodes = new HashMap<ActivityId, IActivity>();
-        blocker2blockedMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>>();
+    public JobActivityGraph() {
+        activityMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, IActivity>();
+        connectorMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorDescriptor>();
+        connectorRecordDescriptorMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, RecordDescriptor>();
+        activityInputMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>>();
+        activityOutputMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>>();
+        connectorActivityMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>>>();
         blocked2blockerMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>>();
-        operatorActivityMap = new HashMap<OperatorDescriptorId, Set<ActivityId>>();
-        activityInputMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, List<Integer>>();
-        activityOutputMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, List<Integer>>();
-        operatorInputMap = new HashMap<OperatorDescriptorId, List<ActivityId>>();
-        operatorOutputMap = new HashMap<OperatorDescriptorId, List<ActivityId>>();
     }
 
-    public String getApplicationName() {
-        return appName;
+    public Map<ActivityId, IActivity> getActivityMap() {
+        return activityMap;
     }
 
-    public JobSpecification getJobSpecification() {
-        return jobSpec;
+    public Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorDescriptor> getConnectorMap() {
+        return connectorMap;
     }
 
-    public EnumSet<JobFlag> getJobFlags() {
-        return jobFlags;
-    }
-
-    public Map<ActivityId, IActivity> getActivityNodeMap() {
-        return activityNodes;
-    }
-
-    public Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> getBlocker2BlockedMap() {
-        return blocker2blockedMap;
+    public Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, RecordDescriptor> getConnectorRecordDescriptorMap() {
+        return connectorRecordDescriptorMap;
     }
 
     public Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> getBlocked2BlockerMap() {
         return blocked2blockerMap;
     }
 
-    public Map<OperatorDescriptorId, Set<ActivityId>> getOperatorActivityMap() {
-        return operatorActivityMap;
-    }
-
-    public Map<ActivityId, List<Integer>> getActivityInputMap() {
+    public Map<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>> getActivityInputMap() {
         return activityInputMap;
     }
 
-    public Map<ActivityId, List<Integer>> getActivityOutputMap() {
+    public Map<ActivityId, List<IConnectorDescriptor>> getActivityOutputMap() {
         return activityOutputMap;
     }
 
-    public Map<OperatorDescriptorId, List<ActivityId>> getOperatorInputMap() {
-        return operatorInputMap;
-    }
-
-    public Map<OperatorDescriptorId, List<ActivityId>> getOperatorOutputMap() {
-        return operatorOutputMap;
-    }
-
-    public List<IConnectorDescriptor> getActivityInputConnectorDescriptors(ActivityId hanId) {
-        List<Integer> inputIndexes = activityInputMap.get(hanId);
-        if (inputIndexes == null) {
-            return null;
-        }
-        OperatorDescriptorId ownerId = hanId.getOperatorDescriptorId();
-        List<IConnectorDescriptor> inputs = new ArrayList<IConnectorDescriptor>();
-        for (Integer i : inputIndexes) {
-            inputs.add(jobSpec.getInputConnectorDescriptor(ownerId, i));
-        }
-        return inputs;
-    }
-
-    public List<IConnectorDescriptor> getActivityOutputConnectorDescriptors(ActivityId hanId) {
-        List<Integer> outputIndexes = activityOutputMap.get(hanId);
-        if (outputIndexes == null) {
-            return null;
-        }
-        OperatorDescriptorId ownerId = hanId.getOperatorDescriptorId();
-        List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputs = new ArrayList<IConnectorDescriptor>();
-        for (Integer i : outputIndexes) {
-            outputs.add(jobSpec.getOutputConnectorDescriptor(ownerId, i));
-        }
-        return outputs;
+    public Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>>> getConnectorActivityMap() {
+        return connectorActivityMap;
     }
 
     public ActivityId getConsumerActivity(ConnectorDescriptorId cdId) {
-        Pair<Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, Integer>, Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, Integer>> connEdge = jobSpec
-                .getConnectorOperatorMap().get(cdId);
-
-        OperatorDescriptorId consumerOpId = connEdge.getRight().getLeft().getOperatorId();
-        int consumerInputIdx = connEdge.getRight().getRight();
-
-        for (ActivityId anId : operatorActivityMap.get(consumerOpId)) {
-            List<Integer> anInputs = activityInputMap.get(anId);
-            if (anInputs != null) {
-                for (Integer idx : anInputs) {
-                    if (idx.intValue() == consumerInputIdx) {
-                        return anId;
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        return null;
+        Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>> connEdge = connectorActivityMap.get(cdId);
+        return connEdge.getRight().getLeft().getActivityId();
     }
 
     public ActivityId getProducerActivity(ConnectorDescriptorId cdId) {
-        Pair<Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, Integer>, Pair<IOperatorDescriptor, Integer>> connEdge = jobSpec
-                .getConnectorOperatorMap().get(cdId);
-
-        OperatorDescriptorId producerOpId = connEdge.getLeft().getLeft().getOperatorId();
-        int producerInputIdx = connEdge.getLeft().getRight();
-
-        for (ActivityId anId : operatorActivityMap.get(producerOpId)) {
-            List<Integer> anOutputs = activityOutputMap.get(anId);
-            if (anOutputs != null) {
-                for (Integer idx : anOutputs) {
-                    if (idx.intValue() == producerInputIdx) {
-                        return anId;
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    public RecordDescriptor getActivityInputRecordDescriptor(ActivityId hanId, int inputIndex) {
-        int opInputIndex = getActivityInputMap().get(hanId).get(inputIndex);
-        return jobSpec.getOperatorInputRecordDescriptor(hanId.getOperatorDescriptorId(), opInputIndex);
-    }
-
-    public RecordDescriptor getActivityOutputRecordDescriptor(ActivityId hanId, int outputIndex) {
-        int opOutputIndex = getActivityOutputMap().get(hanId).get(outputIndex);
-        return jobSpec.getOperatorOutputRecordDescriptor(hanId.getOperatorDescriptorId(), opOutputIndex);
+        Pair<Pair<IActivity, Integer>, Pair<IActivity, Integer>> connEdge = connectorActivityMap.get(cdId);
+        return connEdge.getLeft().getLeft().getActivityId();
     }
 
     @Override
     public String toString() {
         StringBuilder buffer = new StringBuilder();
-        buffer.append("ActivityNodes: " + activityNodes);
+        buffer.append("ActivityNodes: " + activityMap);
         buffer.append('\n');
-        buffer.append("Blocker->Blocked: " + blocker2blockedMap);
-        buffer.append('\n');
-        buffer.append("Blocked->Blocker: " + blocked2blockerMap);
+        buffer.append("Blocker->Blocked: " + blocked2blockerMap);
         buffer.append('\n');
         return buffer.toString();
     }
-
-    public JSONObject toJSON() throws JSONException {
-        JSONObject jplan = new JSONObject();
-
-        jplan.put("flags", jobFlags.toString());
-
-        JSONArray jans = new JSONArray();
-        for (IActivity an : activityNodes.values()) {
-            JSONObject jan = new JSONObject();
-            jan.put("id", an.getActivityId().toString());
-            jan.put("java-class", an.getClass().getName());
-            jan.put("operator-id", an.getActivityId().getOperatorDescriptorId().toString());
-
-            List<IConnectorDescriptor> inputs = getActivityInputConnectorDescriptors(an.getActivityId());
-            if (inputs != null) {
-                JSONArray jInputs = new JSONArray();
-                for (int i = 0; i < inputs.size(); ++i) {
-                    JSONObject jInput = new JSONObject();
-                    jInput.put("input-port", i);
-                    jInput.put("connector-id", inputs.get(i).getConnectorId().toString());
-                    jInputs.put(jInput);
-                }
-                jan.put("inputs", jInputs);
-            }
-
-            List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputs = getActivityOutputConnectorDescriptors(an.getActivityId());
-            if (outputs != null) {
-                JSONArray jOutputs = new JSONArray();
-                for (int i = 0; i < outputs.size(); ++i) {
-                    JSONObject jOutput = new JSONObject();
-                    jOutput.put("output-port", i);
-                    jOutput.put("connector-id", outputs.get(i).getConnectorId().toString());
-                    jOutputs.put(jOutput);
-                }
-                jan.put("outputs", jOutputs);
-            }
-
-            Set<ActivityId> blockers = getBlocked2BlockerMap().get(an.getActivityId());
-            if (blockers != null) {
-                JSONArray jDeps = new JSONArray();
-                for (ActivityId blocker : blockers) {
-                    jDeps.put(blocker.toString());
-                }
-                jan.put("depends-on", jDeps);
-            }
-            jans.put(jan);
-        }
-        jplan.put("activities", jans);
-
-        return jplan;
-    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/JobSpecification.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/JobSpecification.java
index 90c799d..cf2eec2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/JobSpecification.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/job/JobSpecification.java
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 
-public class JobSpecification implements Serializable {
+public class JobSpecification implements Serializable, IOperatorDescriptorRegistry, IConnectorDescriptorRegistry {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     private final List<OperatorDescriptorId> roots;
@@ -56,10 +56,14 @@
 
     private IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy connectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy;
 
+    private int frameSize;
+
     private int maxReattempts;
 
     private IJobletEventListenerFactory jobletEventListenerFactory;
 
+    private IGlobalJobDataFactory globalJobDataFactory;
+
     private transient int operatorIdCounter;
 
     private transient int connectorIdCounter;
@@ -75,15 +79,22 @@
         userConstraints = new HashSet<Constraint>();
         operatorIdCounter = 0;
         connectorIdCounter = 0;
+        frameSize = 32768;
         maxReattempts = 2;
     }
 
-    public OperatorDescriptorId createOperatorDescriptorId() {
-        return new OperatorDescriptorId(operatorIdCounter++);
+    @Override
+    public OperatorDescriptorId createOperatorDescriptorId(IOperatorDescriptor op) {
+        OperatorDescriptorId odId = new OperatorDescriptorId(operatorIdCounter++);
+        opMap.put(odId, op);
+        return odId;
     }
 
-    public ConnectorDescriptorId createConnectorDescriptor() {
-        return new ConnectorDescriptorId(connectorIdCounter++);
+    @Override
+    public ConnectorDescriptorId createConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptor conn) {
+        ConnectorDescriptorId cdId = new ConnectorDescriptorId(connectorIdCounter++);
+        connMap.put(cdId, conn);
+        return cdId;
     }
 
     public void addRoot(IOperatorDescriptor op) {
@@ -202,6 +213,14 @@
         this.connectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy = connectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy;
     }
 
+    public void setFrameSize(int frameSize) {
+        this.frameSize = frameSize;
+    }
+
+    public int getFrameSize() {
+        return frameSize;
+    }
+
     public void setMaxReattempts(int maxReattempts) {
         this.maxReattempts = maxReattempts;
     }
@@ -226,6 +245,14 @@
         this.jobletEventListenerFactory = jobletEventListenerFactory;
     }
 
+    public IGlobalJobDataFactory getGlobalJobDataFactory() {
+        return globalJobDataFactory;
+    }
+
+    public void setGlobalJobDataFactory(IGlobalJobDataFactory globalJobDataFactory) {
+        this.globalJobDataFactory = globalJobDataFactory;
+    }
+
     private <K, V> void insertIntoIndexedMap(Map<K, List<V>> map, K key, int index, V value) {
         List<V> vList = map.get(key);
         if (vList == null) {
@@ -259,6 +286,8 @@
             }
         }
 
+        buffer.append("\n").append("Constraints:\n").append(userConstraints);
+
         return buffer.toString();
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/IThingDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/messages/IMessage.java
similarity index 82%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/IThingDescriptor.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/messages/IMessage.java
index 1269e35..96ad7fe 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/IThingDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/messages/IMessage.java
@@ -12,10 +12,14 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.things;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.messages;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IThingDescriptor extends Serializable {
-    public ThingDescriptorId getThingId();
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+/**
+ * @author rico
+ * 
+ */
+public interface IMessage extends Serializable {
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/IThingDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/messages/IMessageBroker.java
similarity index 78%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/IThingDescriptor.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/messages/IMessageBroker.java
index 1269e35..35ae813 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/IThingDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/messages/IMessageBroker.java
@@ -12,10 +12,14 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.things;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.messages;
 
-import java.io.Serializable;
+/**
+ * @author rico
+ * 
+ */
+public interface IMessageBroker {
 
-public interface IThingDescriptor extends Serializable {
-    public ThingDescriptorId getThingId();
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+    public void receivedMessage(IMessage message, String nodeId);
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/naming/MultipartName.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/naming/MultipartName.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 7310606..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/naming/MultipartName.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,42 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.naming;
-
-import java.util.Arrays;
-
-public final class MultipartName {
-    private Object[] parts;
-
-    public MultipartName(Object... parts) {
-        this.parts = parts;
-    }
-
-    public Object[] getParts() {
-        return parts;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public int hashCode() {
-        return Arrays.deepHashCode(parts);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public boolean equals(Object o) {
-        if (!(o instanceof MultipartName)) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        return Arrays.deepEquals(parts, ((MultipartName) o).parts);
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/partitions/IPartition.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/partitions/IPartition.java
index 02eb891..c3dfad0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/partitions/IPartition.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/partitions/IPartition.java
@@ -15,9 +15,12 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.resources.IDeallocatable;
 
 public interface IPartition extends IDeallocatable {
+    public IHyracksTaskContext getTaskContext();
+
     public void writeTo(IFrameWriter writer);
 
     public boolean isReusable();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/ISliver.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/ISliver.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 135a77c..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/ISliver.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.things;
-
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-
-public interface ISliver {
-    public void open() throws HyracksDataException;
-
-    public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException;
-
-    public void commit() throws HyracksDataException;
-
-    public void abort();
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/ThingDescriptorId.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/ThingDescriptorId.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 5d42ce9..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/ThingDescriptorId.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,47 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.things;
-
-import java.io.Serializable;
-
-public final class ThingDescriptorId implements Serializable {
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-    private final long id;
-
-    public ThingDescriptorId(long id) {
-        this.id = id;
-    }
-
-    public long getId() {
-        return id;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public String toString() {
-        return "ThID: " + id;
-    }
-
-    public int hashCode() {
-        return (int) (id & 0xffffffff);
-    }
-
-    public boolean equals(Object o) {
-        if (!(o instanceof ThingDescriptorId)) {
-            return false;
-        }
-        return id == ((ThingDescriptorId) o).id;
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/ClusterTopology.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/ClusterTopology.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f566d1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/ClusterTopology.java
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology;
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.List;
+
+public class ClusterTopology implements Serializable {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private final NetworkSwitch clusterSwitch;
+
+    public ClusterTopology(NetworkSwitch clusterSwitch) {
+        this.clusterSwitch = clusterSwitch;
+    }
+
+    public NetworkSwitch getClusterSwitch() {
+        return clusterSwitch;
+    }
+
+    public boolean lookupNetworkTerminal(String terminalName, List<Integer> path) {
+        return clusterSwitch.lookupNetworkTerminal(terminalName, path);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/NetworkEndpoint.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/NetworkEndpoint.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0aaee2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/NetworkEndpoint.java
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology;
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+public abstract class NetworkEndpoint implements Serializable {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    public enum EndpointType {
+        NETWORK_SWITCH,
+        NETWORK_TERMINAL,
+    }
+
+    protected final String name;
+
+    protected final Map<String, String> properties;
+
+    public NetworkEndpoint(String name, Map<String, String> properties) {
+        this.name = name;
+        this.properties = properties;
+    }
+
+    public abstract EndpointType getType();
+
+    public final String getName() {
+        return name;
+    }
+
+    public final Map<String, String> getProperties() {
+        return properties;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/NetworkSwitch.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/NetworkSwitch.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3c89044
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/NetworkSwitch.java
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology;
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+public class NetworkSwitch extends NetworkEndpoint {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private final Port[] ports;
+
+    private final Map<String, Integer> terminalNamePortIndexMap;
+
+    public NetworkSwitch(String name, Map<String, String> properties, Port[] ports) {
+        super(name, properties);
+        this.ports = ports;
+        terminalNamePortIndexMap = new HashMap<String, Integer>();
+        for (int i = 0; i < ports.length; ++i) {
+            Port port = ports[i];
+            NetworkEndpoint endpoint = port.getEndpoint();
+            Integer portIndex = Integer.valueOf(i);
+            switch (endpoint.getType()) {
+                case NETWORK_SWITCH: {
+                    NetworkSwitch s = (NetworkSwitch) endpoint;
+                    for (String t : s.terminalNamePortIndexMap.keySet()) {
+                        terminalNamePortIndexMap.put(t, portIndex);
+                    }
+                    break;
+                }
+
+                case NETWORK_TERMINAL: {
+                    NetworkTerminal t = (NetworkTerminal) endpoint;
+                    terminalNamePortIndexMap.put(t.getName(), portIndex);
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    public Port[] getPorts() {
+        return ports;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public EndpointType getType() {
+        return EndpointType.NETWORK_SWITCH;
+    }
+
+    boolean lookupNetworkTerminal(String terminalName, List<Integer> path) {
+        if (terminalNamePortIndexMap.containsKey(terminalName)) {
+            Integer portIndex = terminalNamePortIndexMap.get(terminalName);
+            path.add(portIndex);
+            NetworkEndpoint endpoint = ports[portIndex.intValue()].getEndpoint();
+            if (endpoint.getType() == EndpointType.NETWORK_SWITCH) {
+                ((NetworkSwitch) endpoint).lookupNetworkTerminal(terminalName, path);
+            }
+            return true;
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    void getPortList(List<Integer> path, int stepIndex, List<Port> portList) {
+        if (stepIndex >= path.size()) {
+            return;
+        }
+        int portIndex = path.get(stepIndex);
+        Port port = ports[portIndex];
+        portList.add(port);
+        ++stepIndex;
+        if (stepIndex >= path.size()) {
+            return;
+        }
+        NetworkEndpoint endpoint = port.getEndpoint();
+        if (endpoint.getType() != EndpointType.NETWORK_SWITCH) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Path provided, " + path + ", longer than depth of topology tree");
+        }
+        ((NetworkSwitch) endpoint).getPortList(path, stepIndex, portList);
+    }
+
+    public static class Port implements Serializable {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        private final NetworkEndpoint endpoint;
+
+        public Port(NetworkEndpoint endpoint) {
+            this.endpoint = endpoint;
+        }
+
+        public NetworkEndpoint getEndpoint() {
+            return endpoint;
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/exceptions/AlgebricksException.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/NetworkTerminal.java
similarity index 63%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/exceptions/AlgebricksException.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/NetworkTerminal.java
index c852ecd..f36da76 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/api/exceptions/AlgebricksException.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/NetworkTerminal.java
@@ -12,23 +12,19 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology;
 
-public class AlgebricksException extends Exception {
+import java.util.Map;
+
+public class NetworkTerminal extends NetworkEndpoint {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    public AlgebricksException() {
+    public NetworkTerminal(String name, Map<String, String> properties) {
+        super(name, properties);
     }
 
-    public AlgebricksException(String message) {
-        super(message);
-    }
-
-    public AlgebricksException(Throwable cause) {
-        super(cause);
-    }
-
-    public AlgebricksException(String message, Throwable cause) {
-        super(message, cause);
+    @Override
+    public EndpointType getType() {
+        return EndpointType.NETWORK_TERMINAL;
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/TopologyDefinitionParser.java b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/TopologyDefinitionParser.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0ca6127
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/topology/TopologyDefinitionParser.java
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Stack;
+
+import org.xml.sax.Attributes;
+import org.xml.sax.InputSource;
+import org.xml.sax.SAXException;
+import org.xml.sax.XMLReader;
+import org.xml.sax.helpers.DefaultHandler;
+import org.xml.sax.helpers.XMLReaderFactory;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology.NetworkEndpoint.EndpointType;
+
+public class TopologyDefinitionParser {
+    private final Stack<ElementStackEntry> stack;
+
+    private boolean inPropertyElement;
+
+    private TopologyDefinitionParser() {
+        stack = new Stack<ElementStackEntry>();
+        inPropertyElement = false;
+    }
+
+    public static ClusterTopology parse(InputSource in) throws IOException, SAXException {
+        TopologyDefinitionParser parser = new TopologyDefinitionParser();
+        return parser.parseInternal(in);
+    }
+
+    private ClusterTopology parseInternal(InputSource in) throws IOException, SAXException {
+        XMLReader parser;
+        parser = XMLReaderFactory.createXMLReader();
+        SAXContentHandler handler = new SAXContentHandler();
+        parser.setContentHandler(handler);
+        parser.parse(in);
+        if (stack.size() != 1) {
+            throw new IllegalStateException("Malformed topology definition");
+        }
+        ElementStackEntry e = stack.pop();
+        if (e.ports.size() != 1) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Malformed topology definition");
+        }
+        NetworkEndpoint endpoint = e.ports.get(0).getEndpoint();
+        if (endpoint.getType() != EndpointType.NETWORK_SWITCH) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("Top level content in cluster-topology must be network-switch");
+        }
+        return new ClusterTopology((NetworkSwitch) endpoint);
+    }
+
+    private class SAXContentHandler extends DefaultHandler {
+        @Override
+        public void endElement(String uri, String localName, String qName) throws SAXException {
+            if ("network-switch".equals(localName) || "terminal".equals(localName)) {
+                ElementStackEntry e = stack.pop();
+                NetworkEndpoint endpoint = e.type == EndpointType.NETWORK_SWITCH ? new NetworkSwitch(e.name,
+                        e.properties, e.ports.toArray(new NetworkSwitch.Port[e.ports.size()])) : new NetworkTerminal(
+                        e.name, e.properties);
+                stack.peek().ports.add(new NetworkSwitch.Port(endpoint));
+            } else if ("property".equals(localName)) {
+                if (!inPropertyElement) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException("Improperly nested property element encountered");
+                }
+                inPropertyElement = false;
+            }
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void startElement(String uri, String localName, String qName, Attributes atts) throws SAXException {
+            if ("cluster-topology".equals(localName)) {
+                if (!stack.isEmpty()) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException("Encountered unexpected " + qName);
+                }
+                stack.push(new ElementStackEntry(null, ""));
+            } else if ("network-switch".equals(localName) || "terminal".equals(localName)) {
+                String name = atts.getValue("", "name");
+                if (name == null) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException("Encountered " + localName + " element with no name attribute");
+                }
+                EndpointType type = "network-switch".equals(localName) ? EndpointType.NETWORK_SWITCH
+                        : EndpointType.NETWORK_TERMINAL;
+                ElementStackEntry e = new ElementStackEntry(type, name);
+                stack.push(e);
+            } else if ("property".equals(localName)) {
+                if (inPropertyElement) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException("Improperly nested property element encountered");
+                }
+                String name = atts.getValue("", "name");
+                if (name == null) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException("Encountered " + localName + " element with no name attribute");
+                }
+                String value = atts.getValue("", "value");
+                if (value == null) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException("Encountered " + localName + " element with no value attribute");
+                }
+                stack.peek().properties.put(name, value);
+                inPropertyElement = true;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static class ElementStackEntry {
+        private final EndpointType type;
+
+        private final String name;
+
+        private final Map<String, String> properties;
+
+        private final List<NetworkSwitch.Port> ports;
+
+        public ElementStackEntry(EndpointType type, String name) {
+            this.type = type;
+            this.name = name;
+            this.properties = new HashMap<String, String>();
+            ports = new ArrayList<NetworkSwitch.Port>();
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/ClusterControllerService.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/ClusterControllerService.java
index ebeb8a6..32b031d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/ClusterControllerService.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/ClusterControllerService.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc;
 
 import java.io.File;
+import java.io.FileReader;
 import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Hashtable;
@@ -24,27 +25,32 @@
 import java.util.Timer;
 import java.util.TimerTask;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
 import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
+import org.xml.sax.InputSource;
+
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.ClusterControllerInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.NodeControllerInfo;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.ICCContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology.ClusterTopology;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.topology.TopologyDefinitionParser;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.application.CCApplicationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.web.WebServer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.ApplicationCreateWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.ApplicationDestroyWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.ApplicationMessageWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.ApplicationStartWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.ApplicationStateChangeWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetIpAddressNodeNameMapWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetJobStatusWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetNodeControllersInfoWork;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.JobCreateWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.JobStartWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.JobletCleanupNotificationWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.NodeHeartbeatWork;
@@ -100,7 +106,7 @@
 
     private final WorkQueue workQueue;
 
-    private final Executor executor;
+    private final ExecutorService executor;
 
     private final Timer timer;
 
@@ -136,6 +142,7 @@
         };
         workQueue = new WorkQueue();
         this.timer = new Timer(true);
+        final ClusterTopology topology = computeClusterTopology(ccConfig);
         ccContext = new ICCContext() {
             @Override
             public void getIPAddressNodeMap(Map<String, Set<String>> map) throws Exception {
@@ -147,11 +154,29 @@
             public ClusterControllerInfo getClusterControllerInfo() {
                 return info;
             }
+
+            @Override
+            public ClusterTopology getClusterTopology() {
+                return topology;
+            }
         };
         sweeper = new DeadNodeSweeper();
         jobCounter = 0;
     }
 
+    private static ClusterTopology computeClusterTopology(CCConfig ccConfig) throws Exception {
+        if (ccConfig.clusterTopologyDefinition == null) {
+            return null;
+        }
+        FileReader fr = new FileReader(ccConfig.clusterTopologyDefinition);
+        InputSource in = new InputSource(fr);
+        try {
+            return TopologyDefinitionParser.parse(in);
+        } finally {
+            fr.close();
+        }
+    }
+
     @Override
     public void start() throws Exception {
         LOGGER.log(Level.INFO, "Starting ClusterControllerService: " + this);
@@ -170,6 +195,7 @@
     @Override
     public void stop() throws Exception {
         LOGGER.log(Level.INFO, "Stopping ClusterControllerService");
+        executor.shutdownNow();
         webServer.stop();
         sweeper.cancel();
         workQueue.stop();
@@ -279,14 +305,6 @@
                     return;
                 }
 
-                case CREATE_JOB: {
-                    HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.CreateJobFunction cjf = (HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.CreateJobFunction) fn;
-                    JobId jobId = createJobId();
-                    workQueue.schedule(new JobCreateWork(ClusterControllerService.this, jobId, cjf.getAppName(), cjf
-                            .getJobSpec(), cjf.getJobFlags(), new IPCResponder<JobId>(handle, mid)));
-                    return;
-                }
-
                 case GET_JOB_STATUS: {
                     HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.GetJobStatusFunction gjsf = (HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.GetJobStatusFunction) fn;
                     workQueue.schedule(new GetJobStatusWork(ClusterControllerService.this, gjsf.getJobId(),
@@ -296,8 +314,9 @@
 
                 case START_JOB: {
                     HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.StartJobFunction sjf = (HyracksClientInterfaceFunctions.StartJobFunction) fn;
-                    workQueue.schedule(new JobStartWork(ClusterControllerService.this, sjf.getJobId(),
-                            new IPCResponder<Object>(handle, mid)));
+                    JobId jobId = createJobId();
+                    workQueue.schedule(new JobStartWork(ClusterControllerService.this, sjf.getAppName(), sjf
+                            .getACGGFBytes(), sjf.getJobFlags(), jobId, new IPCResponder<JobId>(handle, mid)));
                     return;
                 }
 
@@ -313,6 +332,15 @@
                             new IPCResponder<Map<String, NodeControllerInfo>>(handle, mid)));
                     return;
                 }
+
+                case GET_CLUSTER_TOPOLOGY: {
+                    try {
+                        handle.send(mid, ccContext.getClusterTopology(), null);
+                    } catch (IPCException e) {
+                        e.printStackTrace();
+                    }
+                    return;
+                }
             }
             try {
                 handle.send(mid, null, new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown function " + fn.getFunctionId()));
@@ -391,6 +419,12 @@
                     workQueue.schedule(new ApplicationStateChangeWork(ClusterControllerService.this, astrf));
                     return;
                 }
+                case SEND_APPLICATION_MESSAGE: {
+                    CCNCFunctions.SendApplicationMessageFunction rsf = (CCNCFunctions.SendApplicationMessageFunction) fn;
+                    workQueue.schedule(new ApplicationMessageWork(ClusterControllerService.this, rsf.getMessage(), rsf
+                            .getAppName(), rsf.getNodeId()));
+                    return;
+                }
             }
             LOGGER.warning("Unknown function: " + fn.getFunctionId());
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/adminconsole/pages/JobDetailsPage.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/adminconsole/pages/JobDetailsPage.java
index 1d96a71..e165415 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/adminconsole/pages/JobDetailsPage.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/adminconsole/pages/JobDetailsPage.java
@@ -33,9 +33,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetJobRunJSONWork;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetJobSpecificationJSONWork;
 
 public class JobDetailsPage extends AbstractPage {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
@@ -49,19 +48,13 @@
 
         JobId jobId = JobId.parse(jobIdStr.toString());
 
-        GetJobSpecificationJSONWork gjsw = new GetJobSpecificationJSONWork(ccs, jobId);
-        ccs.getWorkQueue().scheduleAndSync(gjsw);
-        Label jobspec = new Label("job-specification", gjsw.getJSON().toString());
-        jobspec.setEscapeModelStrings(false);
-        add(jobspec);
-
-        GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork gjagw = new GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork(ccs, jobId);
-        ccs.getWorkQueue().scheduleAndSync(gjagw);
-        Label jag = new Label("job-activity-graph", gjagw.getJSON().toString());
+        GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork gacgw = new GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork(ccs, jobId);
+        ccs.getWorkQueue().scheduleAndSync(gacgw);
+        Label jag = new Label("activity-cluster-graph", gacgw.getJSON().toString());
         jag.setEscapeModelStrings(false);
         add(jag);
 
-        JSONObject jagO = gjagw.getJSON();
+        JSONObject jagO = gacgw.getJSON();
 
         Map<ActivityId, String> activityMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, String>();
         if (jagO.has("activities")) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/application/CCApplicationContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/application/CCApplicationContext.java
index 28f7c59..24dfa7c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/application/CCApplicationContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/application/CCApplicationContext.java
@@ -25,11 +25,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCBootstrap;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.ICCContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IJobLifecycleListener;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IJobSpecificationFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.DeserializingJobSpecificationFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.util.JavaSerializationUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.application.ApplicationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.context.ServerContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.IResultCallback;
@@ -43,8 +42,6 @@
     protected IResultCallback<Object> initializationCallback;
     protected IResultCallback<Object> deinitializationCallback;
 
-    private IJobSpecificationFactory jobSpecFactory;
-
     private List<IJobLifecycleListener> jobLifecycleListeners;
 
     public CCApplicationContext(ServerContext serverCtx, ICCContext ccContext, String appName) throws IOException {
@@ -52,7 +49,6 @@
         this.ccContext = ccContext;
         initPendingNodeIds = new HashSet<String>();
         deinitPendingNodeIds = new HashSet<String>();
-        jobSpecFactory = DeserializingJobSpecificationFactory.INSTANCE;
         jobLifecycleListeners = new ArrayList<IJobLifecycleListener>();
     }
 
@@ -66,13 +62,15 @@
         return ccContext;
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public void setJobSpecificationFactory(IJobSpecificationFactory jobSpecFactory) {
-        this.jobSpecFactory = jobSpecFactory;
-    }
-
-    public JobSpecification createJobSpecification(byte[] bytes) throws HyracksException {
-        return jobSpecFactory.createJobSpecification(bytes, (ICCBootstrap) bootstrap, this);
+    public IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory createActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory(byte[] bytes)
+            throws HyracksException {
+        try {
+            return (IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory) JavaSerializationUtils.deserialize(bytes, getClassLoader());
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new HyracksException(e);
+        } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
+            throw new HyracksException(e);
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -104,9 +102,10 @@
         }
     }
 
-    public synchronized void notifyJobCreation(JobId jobId, JobSpecification specification) throws HyracksException {
+    public synchronized void notifyJobCreation(JobId jobId, IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory acggf)
+            throws HyracksException {
         for (IJobLifecycleListener l : jobLifecycleListeners) {
-            l.notifyJobCreation(jobId, specification);
+            l.notifyJobCreation(jobId, acggf);
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/ActivityCluster.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/ActivityCluster.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 13db627..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/ActivityCluster.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,85 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
-
-import java.util.HashSet;
-import java.util.Set;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
-
-public class ActivityCluster {
-    private final JobRun jobRun;
-
-    private final Set<ActivityId> activities;
-
-    private final Set<ActivityCluster> dependencies;
-
-    private final Set<ActivityCluster> dependents;
-
-    private ActivityClusterId id;
-
-    private ActivityClusterPlan acp;
-
-    public ActivityCluster(JobRun jobRun, Set<ActivityId> activities) {
-        this.jobRun = jobRun;
-        this.activities = activities;
-        dependencies = new HashSet<ActivityCluster>();
-        dependents = new HashSet<ActivityCluster>();
-    }
-
-    public Set<ActivityId> getActivities() {
-        return activities;
-    }
-
-    public void addDependency(ActivityCluster stage) {
-        dependencies.add(stage);
-    }
-
-    public void addDependent(ActivityCluster stage) {
-        dependents.add(stage);
-    }
-
-    public Set<ActivityCluster> getDependencies() {
-        return dependencies;
-    }
-
-    public Set<ActivityCluster> getDependents() {
-        return dependents;
-    }
-
-    public JobRun getJobRun() {
-        return jobRun;
-    }
-
-    public ActivityClusterId getActivityClusterId() {
-        return id;
-    }
-
-    public void setActivityClusterId(ActivityClusterId id) {
-        this.id = id;
-    }
-
-    public int getMaxTaskClusterReattempts() {
-        return jobRun.getJobActivityGraph().getJobSpecification().getMaxReattempts();
-    }
-
-    public ActivityClusterPlan getPlan() {
-        return acp;
-    }
-
-    public void setPlan(ActivityClusterPlan acp) {
-        this.acp = acp;
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/DeserializingJobSpecificationFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/DeserializingJobSpecificationFactory.java
deleted file mode 100644
index c746f34..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/DeserializingJobSpecificationFactory.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,43 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
-
-import java.io.IOException;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCApplicationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCBootstrap;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IJobSpecificationFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.util.JavaSerializationUtils;
-
-public class DeserializingJobSpecificationFactory implements IJobSpecificationFactory {
-    public static final IJobSpecificationFactory INSTANCE = new DeserializingJobSpecificationFactory();
-
-    private DeserializingJobSpecificationFactory() {
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public JobSpecification createJobSpecification(byte[] bytes, ICCBootstrap bootstrap, ICCApplicationContext appCtx)
-            throws HyracksException {
-        try {
-            return (JobSpecification) JavaSerializationUtils.deserialize(bytes, appCtx.getClassLoader());
-        } catch (IOException e) {
-            throw new HyracksException(e);
-        } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
-            throw new HyracksException(e);
-        }
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/JobActivityGraphBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/JobActivityGraphBuilder.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 6effd84..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/JobActivityGraphBuilder.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,92 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
-
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.EnumSet;
-import java.util.HashSet;
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.Set;
-import java.util.logging.Level;
-import java.util.logging.Logger;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivity;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-
-public class JobActivityGraphBuilder implements IActivityGraphBuilder {
-    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(JobActivityGraphBuilder.class.getName());
-
-    private JobActivityGraph jag;
-
-    @Override
-    public void addBlockingEdge(IActivity blocker, IActivity blocked) {
-        addToValueSet(jag.getBlocker2BlockedMap(), blocker.getActivityId(), blocked.getActivityId());
-        addToValueSet(jag.getBlocked2BlockerMap(), blocked.getActivityId(), blocker.getActivityId());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void addSourceEdge(int operatorInputIndex, IActivity task, int taskInputIndex) {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINEST)) {
-            LOGGER.finest("Adding source edge: " + task.getActivityId().getOperatorDescriptorId() + ":"
-                    + operatorInputIndex + " -> " + task.getActivityId() + ":" + taskInputIndex);
-        }
-        insertIntoIndexedMap(jag.getActivityInputMap(), task.getActivityId(), taskInputIndex, operatorInputIndex);
-        insertIntoIndexedMap(jag.getOperatorInputMap(), task.getActivityId().getOperatorDescriptorId(),
-                operatorInputIndex, task.getActivityId());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void addTargetEdge(int operatorOutputIndex, IActivity task, int taskOutputIndex) {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINEST)) {
-            LOGGER.finest("Adding target edge: " + task.getActivityId().getOperatorDescriptorId() + ":"
-                    + operatorOutputIndex + " -> " + task.getActivityId() + ":" + taskOutputIndex);
-        }
-        insertIntoIndexedMap(jag.getActivityOutputMap(), task.getActivityId(), taskOutputIndex, operatorOutputIndex);
-        insertIntoIndexedMap(jag.getOperatorOutputMap(), task.getActivityId().getOperatorDescriptorId(),
-                operatorOutputIndex, task.getActivityId());
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void addActivity(IActivity task) {
-        ActivityId activityId = task.getActivityId();
-        jag.getActivityNodeMap().put(activityId, task);
-        addToValueSet(jag.getOperatorActivityMap(), activityId.getOperatorDescriptorId(), activityId);
-    }
-
-    private <K, V> void addToValueSet(Map<K, Set<V>> map, K n1, V n2) {
-        Set<V> targets = map.get(n1);
-        if (targets == null) {
-            targets = new HashSet<V>();
-            map.put(n1, targets);
-        }
-        targets.add(n2);
-    }
-
-    private <T> void extend(List<T> list, int index) {
-        int n = list.size();
-        for (int i = n; i <= index; ++i) {
-            list.add(null);
-        }
-    }
-
-    public void init(String appName, JobSpecification jobSpec, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) {
-        jag = new JobActivityGraph(appName, jobSpec, jobFlags);
-    }
-
-    private <K, V> void insertIntoIndexedMap(Map<K, List<V>> map, K key, int index, V value) {
-        List<V> vList = map.get(key);
-        if (vList == null) {
-            vList = new ArrayList<V>();
-            map.put(key, vList);
-        }
-        extend(vList, index);
-        vList.set(index, value);
-    }
-
-    public JobActivityGraph getActivityGraph() {
-        return jag;
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/JobRun.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/JobRun.java
index 707ef1f..6f26de2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/JobRun.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/JobRun.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job;
 
+import java.util.EnumSet;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -29,10 +30,15 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IActivityClusterGraphGenerator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.partitions.PartitionMatchMaker;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.scheduler.ActivityPartitionDetails;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.scheduler.JobScheduler;
@@ -41,7 +47,17 @@
 public class JobRun implements IJobStatusConditionVariable {
     private final JobId jobId;
 
-    private final JobActivityGraph jag;
+    private final String applicationName;
+
+    private final IActivityClusterGraphGenerator acgg;
+
+    private final ActivityClusterGraph acg;
+
+    private final JobScheduler scheduler;
+
+    private final EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags;
+
+    private final Map<ActivityClusterId, ActivityClusterPlan> activityClusterPlanMap;
 
     private final PartitionMatchMaker pmm;
 
@@ -51,14 +67,8 @@
 
     private final JobProfile profile;
 
-    private Set<ActivityCluster> activityClusters;
-
-    private final Map<ActivityId, ActivityCluster> activityClusterMap;
-
     private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicyMap;
 
-    private JobScheduler js;
-
     private long createTime;
 
     private long startTime;
@@ -73,14 +83,19 @@
 
     private Exception pendingException;
 
-    public JobRun(JobId jobId, JobActivityGraph plan) {
+    public JobRun(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobId jobId, String applicationName,
+            IActivityClusterGraphGenerator acgg, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags) {
         this.jobId = jobId;
-        this.jag = plan;
+        this.applicationName = applicationName;
+        this.acgg = acgg;
+        this.acg = acgg.initialize();
+        this.scheduler = new JobScheduler(ccs, this, acgg.getConstraints());
+        this.jobFlags = jobFlags;
+        activityClusterPlanMap = new HashMap<ActivityClusterId, ActivityClusterPlan>();
         pmm = new PartitionMatchMaker();
         participatingNodeIds = new HashSet<String>();
         cleanupPendingNodeIds = new HashSet<String>();
         profile = new JobProfile(jobId);
-        activityClusterMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, ActivityCluster>();
         connectorPolicyMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy>();
     }
 
@@ -88,8 +103,20 @@
         return jobId;
     }
 
-    public JobActivityGraph getJobActivityGraph() {
-        return jag;
+    public String getApplicationName() {
+        return applicationName;
+    }
+
+    public ActivityClusterGraph getActivityClusterGraph() {
+        return acg;
+    }
+
+    public EnumSet<JobFlag> getFlags() {
+        return jobFlags;
+    }
+
+    public Map<ActivityClusterId, ActivityClusterPlan> getActivityClusterPlanMap() {
+        return activityClusterPlanMap;
     }
 
     public PartitionMatchMaker getPartitionMatchMaker() {
@@ -169,24 +196,8 @@
         return profile;
     }
 
-    public void setScheduler(JobScheduler js) {
-        this.js = js;
-    }
-
     public JobScheduler getScheduler() {
-        return js;
-    }
-
-    public Map<ActivityId, ActivityCluster> getActivityClusterMap() {
-        return activityClusterMap;
-    }
-
-    public Set<ActivityCluster> getActivityClusters() {
-        return activityClusters;
-    }
-
-    public void setActivityClusters(Set<ActivityCluster> activityClusters) {
-        this.activityClusters = activityClusters;
+        return scheduler;
     }
 
     public Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> getConnectorPolicyMap() {
@@ -197,37 +208,31 @@
         JSONObject result = new JSONObject();
 
         result.put("job-id", jobId.toString());
-        result.put("application-name", jag.getApplicationName());
+        result.put("application-name", applicationName);
         result.put("status", getStatus());
         result.put("create-time", getCreateTime());
         result.put("start-time", getCreateTime());
         result.put("end-time", getCreateTime());
 
         JSONArray aClusters = new JSONArray();
-        for (ActivityCluster ac : activityClusters) {
+        for (ActivityCluster ac : acg.getActivityClusterMap().values()) {
             JSONObject acJSON = new JSONObject();
 
-            acJSON.put("activity-cluster-id", String.valueOf(ac.getActivityClusterId()));
+            acJSON.put("activity-cluster-id", String.valueOf(ac.getId()));
 
             JSONArray activitiesJSON = new JSONArray();
-            for (ActivityId aid : ac.getActivities()) {
+            for (ActivityId aid : ac.getActivityMap().keySet()) {
                 activitiesJSON.put(aid);
             }
             acJSON.put("activities", activitiesJSON);
 
-            JSONArray dependentsJSON = new JSONArray();
-            for (ActivityCluster dependent : ac.getDependents()) {
-                dependentsJSON.put(String.valueOf(dependent.getActivityClusterId()));
-            }
-            acJSON.put("dependents", dependentsJSON);
-
             JSONArray dependenciesJSON = new JSONArray();
             for (ActivityCluster dependency : ac.getDependencies()) {
-                dependenciesJSON.put(String.valueOf(dependency.getActivityClusterId()));
+                dependenciesJSON.put(String.valueOf(dependency.getId()));
             }
             acJSON.put("dependencies", dependenciesJSON);
 
-            ActivityClusterPlan acp = ac.getPlan();
+            ActivityClusterPlan acp = activityClusterPlanMap.get(ac.getId());
             if (acp == null) {
                 acJSON.put("plan", (Object) null);
             } else {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/TaskCluster.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/TaskCluster.java
index f41cda9..17beb2d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/TaskCluster.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/TaskCluster.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
 
 public class TaskCluster {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/TaskClusterId.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/TaskClusterId.java
index b1000dd..1218c14 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/TaskClusterId.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/job/TaskClusterId.java
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterId;
+
 public final class TaskClusterId implements Serializable {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/ActivityClusterGraphBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/ActivityClusterGraphBuilder.java
deleted file mode 100644
index f407ae3..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/ActivityClusterGraphBuilder.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,166 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.scheduler;
-
-import java.util.HashMap;
-import java.util.HashSet;
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.Set;
-import java.util.logging.Level;
-import java.util.logging.Logger;
-
-import org.apache.commons.lang3.tuple.Pair;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivity;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.OperatorDescriptorId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityCluster;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityClusterId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
-
-public class ActivityClusterGraphBuilder {
-    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ActivityClusterGraphBuilder.class.getName());
-
-    private final JobRun jobRun;
-
-    public ActivityClusterGraphBuilder(JobRun jobRun) {
-        this.jobRun = jobRun;
-    }
-
-    private static Pair<ActivityId, ActivityId> findMergePair(JobActivityGraph jag, JobSpecification spec,
-            Set<ActivityCluster> eqSets) {
-        Map<ActivityId, IActivity> activityNodeMap = jag.getActivityNodeMap();
-        for (ActivityCluster eqSet : eqSets) {
-            for (ActivityId t : eqSet.getActivities()) {
-                IActivity activity = activityNodeMap.get(t);
-                List<Integer> inputList = jag.getActivityInputMap().get(t);
-                if (inputList != null) {
-                    for (Integer idx : inputList) {
-                        IConnectorDescriptor conn = spec.getInputConnectorDescriptor(activity.getActivityId()
-                                .getOperatorDescriptorId(), idx);
-                        OperatorDescriptorId producerId = spec.getProducer(conn).getOperatorId();
-                        int producerOutputIndex = spec.getProducerOutputIndex(conn);
-                        ActivityId inTask = jag.getOperatorOutputMap().get(producerId).get(producerOutputIndex);
-                        if (!eqSet.getActivities().contains(inTask)) {
-                            return Pair.<ActivityId, ActivityId> of(t, inTask);
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-                List<Integer> outputList = jag.getActivityOutputMap().get(t);
-                if (outputList != null) {
-                    for (Integer idx : outputList) {
-                        IConnectorDescriptor conn = spec.getOutputConnectorDescriptor(activity.getActivityId()
-                                .getOperatorDescriptorId(), idx);
-                        OperatorDescriptorId consumerId = spec.getConsumer(conn).getOperatorId();
-                        int consumerInputIndex = spec.getConsumerInputIndex(conn);
-                        ActivityId outTask = jag.getOperatorInputMap().get(consumerId).get(consumerInputIndex);
-                        if (!eqSet.getActivities().contains(outTask)) {
-                            return Pair.<ActivityId, ActivityId> of(t, outTask);
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        return null;
-    }
-
-    public Set<ActivityCluster> inferActivityClusters(JobActivityGraph jag) {
-        JobSpecification spec = jag.getJobSpecification();
-
-        /*
-         * Build initial equivalence sets map. We create a map such that for each IOperatorTask, t -> { t }
-         */
-        Map<ActivityId, ActivityCluster> stageMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, ActivityCluster>();
-        Set<ActivityCluster> stages = new HashSet<ActivityCluster>();
-        for (Set<ActivityId> taskIds : jag.getOperatorActivityMap().values()) {
-            for (ActivityId taskId : taskIds) {
-                Set<ActivityId> eqSet = new HashSet<ActivityId>();
-                eqSet.add(taskId);
-                ActivityCluster stage = new ActivityCluster(jobRun, eqSet);
-                stageMap.put(taskId, stage);
-                stages.add(stage);
-            }
-        }
-
-        boolean changed = true;
-        while (changed) {
-            changed = false;
-            Pair<ActivityId, ActivityId> pair = findMergePair(jag, spec, stages);
-            if (pair != null) {
-                merge(stageMap, stages, pair.getLeft(), pair.getRight());
-                changed = true;
-            }
-        }
-
-        Map<ActivityId, Set<ActivityId>> blocker2BlockedMap = jag.getBlocker2BlockedMap();
-        for (ActivityCluster s : stages) {
-            Set<ActivityCluster> blockedStages = new HashSet<ActivityCluster>();
-            for (ActivityId t : s.getActivities()) {
-                Set<ActivityId> blockedTasks = blocker2BlockedMap.get(t);
-                if (blockedTasks != null) {
-                    for (ActivityId bt : blockedTasks) {
-                        blockedStages.add(stageMap.get(bt));
-                    }
-                }
-            }
-            for (ActivityCluster bs : blockedStages) {
-                bs.addDependency(s);
-                s.addDependent(bs);
-            }
-        }
-        Set<ActivityCluster> roots = new HashSet<ActivityCluster>();
-        int idCounter = 0;
-        for (ActivityCluster s : stages) {
-            s.setActivityClusterId(new ActivityClusterId(idCounter++));
-            if (s.getDependents().isEmpty()) {
-                roots.add(s);
-            }
-        }
-        jobRun.setActivityClusters(stages);
-        jobRun.getActivityClusterMap().putAll(stageMap);
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Inferred " + stages.size() + " stages");
-            for (ActivityCluster s : stages) {
-                LOGGER.info(s.toString());
-            }
-        }
-        return roots;
-    }
-
-    private void merge(Map<ActivityId, ActivityCluster> eqSetMap, Set<ActivityCluster> eqSets, ActivityId t1,
-            ActivityId t2) {
-        ActivityCluster stage1 = eqSetMap.get(t1);
-        Set<ActivityId> s1 = stage1.getActivities();
-        ActivityCluster stage2 = eqSetMap.get(t2);
-        Set<ActivityId> s2 = stage2.getActivities();
-
-        Set<ActivityId> mergedSet = new HashSet<ActivityId>();
-        mergedSet.addAll(s1);
-        mergedSet.addAll(s2);
-
-        eqSets.remove(stage1);
-        eqSets.remove(stage2);
-        ActivityCluster mergedStage = new ActivityCluster(jobRun, mergedSet);
-        eqSets.add(mergedStage);
-
-        for (ActivityId t : mergedSet) {
-            eqSetMap.put(t, mergedStage);
-        }
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/ActivityClusterPlanner.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/ActivityClusterPlanner.java
index e6e6c2f..6c52aac 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/ActivityClusterPlanner.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/ActivityClusterPlanner.java
@@ -38,9 +38,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.PipeliningConnectorPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterGraph;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityCluster;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityClusterPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
         partitionProducingTaskClusterMap = new HashMap<PartitionId, TaskCluster>();
     }
 
-    public void planActivityCluster(ActivityCluster ac) throws HyracksException {
+    public ActivityClusterPlan planActivityCluster(ActivityCluster ac) throws HyracksException {
         JobRun jobRun = scheduler.getJobRun();
         Map<ActivityId, ActivityPartitionDetails> pcMap = computePartitionCounts(ac);
 
@@ -80,16 +80,16 @@
             }
         }
 
-        ac.setPlan(new ActivityClusterPlan(taskClusters, activityPlanMap));
+        return new ActivityClusterPlan(taskClusters, activityPlanMap);
     }
 
     private Map<ActivityId, ActivityPlan> buildActivityPlanMap(ActivityCluster ac, JobRun jobRun,
             Map<ActivityId, ActivityPartitionDetails> pcMap) {
         Map<ActivityId, ActivityPlan> activityPlanMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, ActivityPlan>();
         Set<ActivityId> depAnIds = new HashSet<ActivityId>();
-        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivities()) {
+        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivityMap().keySet()) {
             depAnIds.clear();
-            getDependencyActivityIds(depAnIds, anId);
+            getDependencyActivityIds(depAnIds, anId, ac);
             ActivityPartitionDetails apd = pcMap.get(anId);
             Task[] tasks = new Task[apd.getPartitionCount()];
             ActivityPlan activityPlan = new ActivityPlan(apd);
@@ -97,8 +97,8 @@
                 TaskId tid = new TaskId(anId, i);
                 tasks[i] = new Task(tid, activityPlan);
                 for (ActivityId danId : depAnIds) {
-                    ActivityCluster dAC = jobRun.getActivityClusterMap().get(danId);
-                    ActivityClusterPlan dACP = dAC.getPlan();
+                    ActivityCluster dAC = ac.getActivityClusterGraph().getActivityMap().get(danId);
+                    ActivityClusterPlan dACP = jobRun.getActivityClusterPlanMap().get(dAC.getId());
                     assert dACP != null : "IllegalStateEncountered: Dependent AC is being planned without a plan for dependency AC: Encountered no plan for ActivityID "
                             + danId;
                     Task[] dATasks = dACP.getActivityPlanMap().get(danId).getTasks();
@@ -120,7 +120,7 @@
 
     private TaskCluster[] computeTaskClusters(ActivityCluster ac, JobRun jobRun,
             Map<ActivityId, ActivityPlan> activityPlanMap) {
-        Set<ActivityId> activities = ac.getActivities();
+        Set<ActivityId> activities = ac.getActivityMap().keySet();
         Map<TaskId, List<Pair<TaskId, ConnectorDescriptorId>>> taskConnectivity = computeTaskConnectivity(jobRun,
                 activityPlanMap, activities);
 
@@ -161,15 +161,15 @@
     private TaskCluster[] buildConnectorPolicyUnawareTaskClusters(ActivityCluster ac,
             Map<ActivityId, ActivityPlan> activityPlanMap) {
         List<Task> taskStates = new ArrayList<Task>();
-        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivities()) {
+        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivityMap().keySet()) {
             ActivityPlan ap = activityPlanMap.get(anId);
             Task[] tasks = ap.getTasks();
             for (Task t : tasks) {
                 taskStates.add(t);
             }
         }
-        TaskCluster tc = new TaskCluster(new TaskClusterId(ac.getActivityClusterId(), 0), ac,
-                taskStates.toArray(new Task[taskStates.size()]));
+        TaskCluster tc = new TaskCluster(new TaskClusterId(ac.getId(), 0), ac, taskStates.toArray(new Task[taskStates
+                .size()]));
         for (Task t : tc.getTasks()) {
             t.setTaskCluster(tc);
         }
@@ -179,16 +179,17 @@
     private Map<TaskId, List<Pair<TaskId, ConnectorDescriptorId>>> computeTaskConnectivity(JobRun jobRun,
             Map<ActivityId, ActivityPlan> activityPlanMap, Set<ActivityId> activities) {
         Map<TaskId, List<Pair<TaskId, ConnectorDescriptorId>>> taskConnectivity = new HashMap<TaskId, List<Pair<TaskId, ConnectorDescriptorId>>>();
-        JobActivityGraph jag = jobRun.getJobActivityGraph();
+        ActivityClusterGraph acg = jobRun.getActivityClusterGraph();
         BitSet targetBitmap = new BitSet();
         for (ActivityId ac1 : activities) {
+            ActivityCluster ac = acg.getActivityMap().get(ac1);
             Task[] ac1TaskStates = activityPlanMap.get(ac1).getTasks();
             int nProducers = ac1TaskStates.length;
-            List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputConns = jag.getActivityOutputConnectorDescriptors(ac1);
+            List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputConns = ac.getActivityOutputMap().get(ac1);
             if (outputConns != null) {
                 for (IConnectorDescriptor c : outputConns) {
                     ConnectorDescriptorId cdId = c.getConnectorId();
-                    ActivityId ac2 = jag.getConsumerActivity(cdId);
+                    ActivityId ac2 = ac.getConsumerActivity(cdId);
                     Task[] ac2TaskStates = activityPlanMap.get(ac2).getTasks();
                     int nConsumers = ac2TaskStates.length;
                     for (int i = 0; i < nProducers; ++i) {
@@ -214,7 +215,7 @@
             Map<ActivityId, ActivityPlan> activityPlanMap,
             Map<TaskId, List<Pair<TaskId, ConnectorDescriptorId>>> taskConnectivity) {
         Map<TaskId, Set<TaskId>> taskClusterMap = new HashMap<TaskId, Set<TaskId>>();
-        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivities()) {
+        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivityMap().keySet()) {
             ActivityPlan ap = activityPlanMap.get(anId);
             Task[] tasks = ap.getTasks();
             for (Task t : tasks) {
@@ -225,7 +226,7 @@
             }
         }
 
-        JobRun jobRun = ac.getJobRun();
+        JobRun jobRun = scheduler.getJobRun();
         Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies = jobRun.getConnectorPolicyMap();
         for (Map.Entry<TaskId, List<Pair<TaskId, ConnectorDescriptorId>>> e : taskConnectivity.entrySet()) {
             Set<TaskId> cluster = taskClusterMap.get(e.getKey());
@@ -298,7 +299,7 @@
             for (TaskId tid : cluster) {
                 taskStates.add(activityPlanMap.get(tid.getActivityId()).getTasks()[tid.getPartition()]);
             }
-            TaskCluster tc = new TaskCluster(new TaskClusterId(ac.getActivityClusterId(), counter++), ac,
+            TaskCluster tc = new TaskCluster(new TaskClusterId(ac.getId(), counter++), ac,
                     taskStates.toArray(new Task[taskStates.size()]));
             tcSet.add(tc);
             for (TaskId tid : cluster) {
@@ -310,35 +311,34 @@
     }
 
     private TaskCluster getTaskCluster(TaskId tid) {
-        ActivityCluster ac = scheduler.getJobRun().getActivityClusterMap().get(tid.getActivityId());
-        ActivityClusterPlan acp = ac.getPlan();
+        JobRun run = scheduler.getJobRun();
+        ActivityCluster ac = run.getActivityClusterGraph().getActivityMap().get(tid.getActivityId());
+        ActivityClusterPlan acp = run.getActivityClusterPlanMap().get(ac.getId());
         Task[] tasks = acp.getActivityPlanMap().get(tid.getActivityId()).getTasks();
         Task task = tasks[tid.getPartition()];
         assert task.getTaskId().equals(tid);
         return task.getTaskCluster();
     }
 
-    private void getDependencyActivityIds(Set<ActivityId> depAnIds, ActivityId anId) {
-        JobActivityGraph jag = scheduler.getJobRun().getJobActivityGraph();
-        Set<ActivityId> blockers = jag.getBlocked2BlockerMap().get(anId);
+    private void getDependencyActivityIds(Set<ActivityId> depAnIds, ActivityId anId, ActivityCluster ac) {
+        Set<ActivityId> blockers = ac.getBlocked2BlockerMap().get(anId);
         if (blockers != null) {
             depAnIds.addAll(blockers);
         }
     }
 
     private void assignConnectorPolicy(ActivityCluster ac, Map<ActivityId, ActivityPlan> taskMap) {
-        JobActivityGraph jag = scheduler.getJobRun().getJobActivityGraph();
         Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> cPolicyMap = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy>();
-        Set<ActivityId> activities = ac.getActivities();
+        Set<ActivityId> activities = ac.getActivityMap().keySet();
         BitSet targetBitmap = new BitSet();
         for (ActivityId a1 : activities) {
             Task[] ac1TaskStates = taskMap.get(a1).getTasks();
             int nProducers = ac1TaskStates.length;
-            List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputConns = jag.getActivityOutputConnectorDescriptors(a1);
+            List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputConns = ac.getActivityOutputMap().get(a1);
             if (outputConns != null) {
                 for (IConnectorDescriptor c : outputConns) {
                     ConnectorDescriptorId cdId = c.getConnectorId();
-                    ActivityId a2 = jag.getConsumerActivity(cdId);
+                    ActivityId a2 = ac.getConsumerActivity(cdId);
                     Task[] ac2TaskStates = taskMap.get(a2).getTasks();
                     int nConsumers = ac2TaskStates.length;
 
@@ -347,17 +347,17 @@
                         c.indicateTargetPartitions(nProducers, nConsumers, i, targetBitmap);
                         fanouts[i] = targetBitmap.cardinality();
                     }
-                    IConnectorPolicy cp = assignConnectorPolicy(c, nProducers, nConsumers, fanouts);
+                    IConnectorPolicy cp = assignConnectorPolicy(ac, c, nProducers, nConsumers, fanouts);
                     cPolicyMap.put(cdId, cp);
                 }
             }
         }
-        ac.getJobRun().getConnectorPolicyMap().putAll(cPolicyMap);
+        scheduler.getJobRun().getConnectorPolicyMap().putAll(cPolicyMap);
     }
 
-    private IConnectorPolicy assignConnectorPolicy(IConnectorDescriptor c, int nProducers, int nConsumers, int[] fanouts) {
-        IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy cpap = scheduler.getJobRun().getJobActivityGraph().getJobSpecification()
-                .getConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy();
+    private IConnectorPolicy assignConnectorPolicy(ActivityCluster ac, IConnectorDescriptor c, int nProducers,
+            int nConsumers, int[] fanouts) {
+        IConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy cpap = ac.getConnectorPolicyAssignmentPolicy();
         if (cpap != null) {
             return cpap.getConnectorPolicyAssignment(c, nProducers, nConsumers, fanouts);
         }
@@ -367,9 +367,8 @@
     private Map<ActivityId, ActivityPartitionDetails> computePartitionCounts(ActivityCluster ac)
             throws HyracksException {
         PartitionConstraintSolver solver = scheduler.getSolver();
-        JobRun jobRun = scheduler.getJobRun();
         Set<LValueConstraintExpression> lValues = new HashSet<LValueConstraintExpression>();
-        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivities()) {
+        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivityMap().keySet()) {
             lValues.add(new PartitionCountExpression(anId.getOperatorDescriptorId()));
         }
         solver.solve(lValues);
@@ -390,25 +389,28 @@
             nPartMap.put(((PartitionCountExpression) lv).getOperatorDescriptorId(), Integer.valueOf(nParts));
         }
         Map<ActivityId, ActivityPartitionDetails> activityPartsMap = new HashMap<ActivityId, ActivityPartitionDetails>();
-        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivities()) {
+        for (ActivityId anId : ac.getActivityMap().keySet()) {
             int nParts = nPartMap.get(anId.getOperatorDescriptorId());
             int[] nInputPartitions = null;
-            List<IConnectorDescriptor> inputs = jobRun.getJobActivityGraph().getActivityInputConnectorDescriptors(anId);
+            List<IConnectorDescriptor> inputs = ac.getActivityInputMap().get(anId);
             if (inputs != null) {
                 nInputPartitions = new int[inputs.size()];
                 for (int i = 0; i < nInputPartitions.length; ++i) {
-                    nInputPartitions[i] = nPartMap.get(jobRun.getJobActivityGraph()
-                            .getProducerActivity(inputs.get(i).getConnectorId()).getOperatorDescriptorId());
+                    ConnectorDescriptorId cdId = inputs.get(i).getConnectorId();
+                    ActivityId aid = ac.getProducerActivity(cdId);
+                    Integer nPartInt = nPartMap.get(aid.getOperatorDescriptorId());
+                    nInputPartitions[i] = nPartInt;
                 }
             }
             int[] nOutputPartitions = null;
-            List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputs = jobRun.getJobActivityGraph().getActivityOutputConnectorDescriptors(
-                    anId);
+            List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputs = ac.getActivityOutputMap().get(anId);
             if (outputs != null) {
                 nOutputPartitions = new int[outputs.size()];
                 for (int i = 0; i < nOutputPartitions.length; ++i) {
-                    nOutputPartitions[i] = nPartMap.get(jobRun.getJobActivityGraph()
-                            .getConsumerActivity(outputs.get(i).getConnectorId()).getOperatorDescriptorId());
+                    ConnectorDescriptorId cdId = outputs.get(i).getConnectorId();
+                    ActivityId aid = ac.getConsumerActivity(cdId);
+                    Integer nPartInt = nPartMap.get(aid.getOperatorDescriptorId());
+                    nOutputPartitions[i] = nPartInt;
                 }
             }
             ActivityPartitionDetails apd = new ActivityPartitionDetails(nParts, nInputPartitions, nOutputPartitions);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/JobScheduler.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/JobScheduler.java
index e0eee00..b163db5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/JobScheduler.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/scheduler/JobScheduler.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.scheduler;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
@@ -25,34 +26,25 @@
 import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.ICCApplicationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.NetworkAddress;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.Constraint;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.IConstraintAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.expressions.LValueConstraintExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.expressions.PartitionLocationExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterGraph;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.util.JavaSerializationUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.NodeControllerState;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityCluster;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityPlan;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.IConnectorDescriptorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.IOperatorDescriptorVisitor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityClusterPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.PlanUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.Task;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.TaskAttempt;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.TaskCluster;
@@ -75,14 +67,13 @@
 
     private final Set<TaskCluster> inProgressTaskClusters;
 
-    private Set<ActivityCluster> rootActivityClusters;
-
-    public JobScheduler(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobRun jobRun) {
+    public JobScheduler(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobRun jobRun, Collection<Constraint> constraints) {
         this.ccs = ccs;
         this.jobRun = jobRun;
         solver = new PartitionConstraintSolver();
         partitionProducingTaskClusterMap = new HashMap<PartitionId, TaskCluster>();
         inProgressTaskClusters = new HashSet<TaskCluster>();
+        solver.addConstraints(constraints);
     }
 
     public JobRun getJobRun() {
@@ -94,41 +85,10 @@
     }
 
     public void startJob() throws HyracksException {
-        analyze();
         startRunnableActivityClusters();
     }
 
-    private void analyze() throws HyracksException {
-        final JobActivityGraph jag = jobRun.getJobActivityGraph();
-        final ICCApplicationContext appCtx = ccs.getApplicationMap().get(jag.getApplicationName());
-        JobSpecification spec = jag.getJobSpecification();
-        final Set<Constraint> contributedConstraints = new HashSet<Constraint>();
-        final IConstraintAcceptor acceptor = new IConstraintAcceptor() {
-            @Override
-            public void addConstraint(Constraint constraint) {
-                contributedConstraints.add(constraint);
-            }
-        };
-        PlanUtils.visit(spec, new IOperatorDescriptorVisitor() {
-            @Override
-            public void visit(IOperatorDescriptor op) {
-                op.contributeSchedulingConstraints(acceptor, jag, appCtx);
-            }
-        });
-        PlanUtils.visit(spec, new IConnectorDescriptorVisitor() {
-            @Override
-            public void visit(IConnectorDescriptor conn) {
-                conn.contributeSchedulingConstraints(acceptor, jag, appCtx);
-            }
-        });
-        contributedConstraints.addAll(spec.getUserConstraints());
-        solver.addConstraints(contributedConstraints);
-
-        ActivityClusterGraphBuilder acgb = new ActivityClusterGraphBuilder(jobRun);
-        rootActivityClusters = acgb.inferActivityClusters(jag);
-    }
-
-    private void findRunnableTaskClusterRoots(Set<TaskCluster> frontier, Set<ActivityCluster> roots)
+    private void findRunnableTaskClusterRoots(Set<TaskCluster> frontier, Collection<ActivityCluster> roots)
             throws HyracksException {
         for (ActivityCluster root : roots) {
             findRunnableTaskClusterRoots(frontier, root);
@@ -144,14 +104,13 @@
                 findRunnableTaskClusterRoots(frontier, depAC);
             } else {
                 boolean tcRootsComplete = true;
-                Set<TaskCluster> depACTCRoots = new HashSet<TaskCluster>();
-                for (TaskCluster tc : depAC.getPlan().getTaskClusters()) {
+                for (TaskCluster tc : getActivityClusterPlan(depAC).getTaskClusters()) {
                     if (tc.getProducedPartitions().isEmpty()) {
                         TaskClusterAttempt tca = findLastTaskClusterAttempt(tc);
                         if (tca == null || tca.getStatus() != TaskClusterAttempt.TaskClusterStatus.COMPLETED) {
                             tcRootsComplete = false;
+                            break;
                         }
-                        depACTCRoots.add(tc);
                     }
                 }
                 if (!tcRootsComplete) {
@@ -163,10 +122,11 @@
         if (depsComplete) {
             if (!isPlanned(candidate)) {
                 ActivityClusterPlanner acp = new ActivityClusterPlanner(this);
-                acp.planActivityCluster(candidate);
+                ActivityClusterPlan acPlan = acp.planActivityCluster(candidate);
+                jobRun.getActivityClusterPlanMap().put(candidate.getId(), acPlan);
                 partitionProducingTaskClusterMap.putAll(acp.getPartitionProducingTaskClusterMap());
             }
-            for (TaskCluster tc : candidate.getPlan().getTaskClusters()) {
+            for (TaskCluster tc : getActivityClusterPlan(candidate).getTaskClusters()) {
                 if (tc.getProducedPartitions().isEmpty()) {
                     TaskClusterAttempt tca = findLastTaskClusterAttempt(tc);
                     if (tca == null || tca.getStatus() != TaskClusterAttempt.TaskClusterStatus.COMPLETED) {
@@ -177,13 +137,18 @@
         }
     }
 
+    private ActivityClusterPlan getActivityClusterPlan(ActivityCluster ac) {
+        return jobRun.getActivityClusterPlanMap().get(ac.getId());
+    }
+
     private boolean isPlanned(ActivityCluster ac) {
-        return ac.getPlan() != null;
+        return jobRun.getActivityClusterPlanMap().get(ac.getId()) != null;
     }
 
     private void startRunnableActivityClusters() throws HyracksException {
         Set<TaskCluster> taskClusterRoots = new HashSet<TaskCluster>();
-        findRunnableTaskClusterRoots(taskClusterRoots, rootActivityClusters);
+        findRunnableTaskClusterRoots(taskClusterRoots, jobRun.getActivityClusterGraph().getActivityClusterMap()
+                .values());
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
             LOGGER.fine("Runnable TC roots: " + taskClusterRoots + ", inProgressTaskClusters: "
                     + inProgressTaskClusters);
@@ -323,7 +288,7 @@
 
     private void assignTaskLocations(TaskCluster tc, Map<String, List<TaskAttemptDescriptor>> taskAttemptMap)
             throws HyracksException {
-        JobActivityGraph jag = jobRun.getJobActivityGraph();
+        ActivityClusterGraph acg = jobRun.getActivityClusterGraph();
         Task[] tasks = tc.getTasks();
         List<TaskClusterAttempt> tcAttempts = tc.getAttempts();
         int attempts = tcAttempts.size();
@@ -346,7 +311,7 @@
             Task ts = tasks[i];
             TaskId tid = ts.getTaskId();
             TaskAttempt taskAttempt = taskAttempts.get(tid);
-            String nodeId = assignLocation(jag, locationMap, tid, taskAttempt);
+            String nodeId = assignLocation(acg, locationMap, tid, taskAttempt);
             taskAttempt.setNodeId(nodeId);
             taskAttempt.setStatus(TaskAttempt.TaskStatus.RUNNING, null);
             taskAttempt.setStartTime(System.currentTimeMillis());
@@ -392,10 +357,11 @@
         inProgressTaskClusters.add(tc);
     }
 
-    private String assignLocation(JobActivityGraph jag, Map<TaskId, LValueConstraintExpression> locationMap,
+    private String assignLocation(ActivityClusterGraph acg, Map<TaskId, LValueConstraintExpression> locationMap,
             TaskId tid, TaskAttempt taskAttempt) throws HyracksException {
         ActivityId aid = tid.getActivityId();
-        Set<ActivityId> blockers = jag.getBlocked2BlockerMap().get(aid);
+        ActivityCluster ac = acg.getActivityMap().get(aid);
+        Set<ActivityId> blockers = ac.getBlocked2BlockerMap().get(aid);
         String nodeId = null;
         if (blockers != null) {
             for (ActivityId blocker : blockers) {
@@ -441,8 +407,8 @@
 
     private String findTaskLocation(TaskId tid) {
         ActivityId aid = tid.getActivityId();
-        ActivityCluster ac = jobRun.getActivityClusterMap().get(aid);
-        Task[] tasks = ac.getPlan().getActivityPlanMap().get(aid).getTasks();
+        ActivityCluster ac = jobRun.getActivityClusterGraph().getActivityMap().get(aid);
+        Task[] tasks = getActivityClusterPlan(ac).getActivityPlanMap().get(aid).getTasks();
         List<TaskClusterAttempt> tcAttempts = tasks[tid.getPartition()].getTaskCluster().getAttempts();
         if (tcAttempts == null || tcAttempts.isEmpty()) {
             return null;
@@ -462,9 +428,10 @@
 
     private void startTasks(Map<String, List<TaskAttemptDescriptor>> taskAttemptMap) throws HyracksException {
         final JobId jobId = jobRun.getJobId();
-        final JobActivityGraph jag = jobRun.getJobActivityGraph();
-        final String appName = jag.getApplicationName();
-        final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies = jobRun.getConnectorPolicyMap();
+        final ActivityClusterGraph acg = jobRun.getActivityClusterGraph();
+        final String appName = jobRun.getApplicationName();
+        final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies = new HashMap<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy>(
+                jobRun.getConnectorPolicyMap());
         for (Map.Entry<String, List<TaskAttemptDescriptor>> entry : taskAttemptMap.entrySet()) {
             String nodeId = entry.getKey();
             final List<TaskAttemptDescriptor> taskDescriptors = entry.getValue();
@@ -476,8 +443,9 @@
                     LOGGER.fine("Starting: " + taskDescriptors + " at " + entry.getKey());
                 }
                 try {
-                    byte[] jagBytes = changed ? JavaSerializationUtils.serialize(jag) : null;
-                    node.getNodeController().startTasks(appName, jobId, jagBytes, taskDescriptors, connectorPolicies);
+                    byte[] jagBytes = changed ? JavaSerializationUtils.serialize(acg) : null;
+                    node.getNodeController().startTasks(appName, jobId, jagBytes, taskDescriptors, connectorPolicies,
+                            jobRun.getFlags());
                 } catch (Exception e) {
                     e.printStackTrace();
                 }
@@ -642,7 +610,7 @@
                 lastAttempt.setStatus(TaskClusterAttempt.TaskClusterStatus.FAILED);
                 lastAttempt.setEndTime(System.currentTimeMillis());
                 abortDoomedTaskClusters();
-                if (lastAttempt.getAttempt() >= ac.getMaxTaskClusterReattempts()) {
+                if (lastAttempt.getAttempt() >= jobRun.getActivityClusterGraph().getMaxReattempts()) {
                     abortJob(new HyracksException(details));
                     return;
                 }
@@ -665,8 +633,8 @@
     public void notifyNodeFailures(Set<String> deadNodes) {
         try {
             jobRun.getPartitionMatchMaker().notifyNodeFailures(deadNodes);
-            for (ActivityCluster ac : jobRun.getActivityClusters()) {
-                TaskCluster[] taskClusters = ac.getPlan().getTaskClusters();
+            for (ActivityCluster ac : jobRun.getActivityClusterGraph().getActivityClusterMap().values()) {
+                TaskCluster[] taskClusters = getActivityClusterPlan(ac).getTaskClusters();
                 if (taskClusters != null) {
                     for (TaskCluster tc : taskClusters) {
                         TaskClusterAttempt lastTaskClusterAttempt = findLastTaskClusterAttempt(tc);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/web/JobsRESTAPIFunction.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/web/JobsRESTAPIFunction.java
index 4135b18..98cef8d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/web/JobsRESTAPIFunction.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/web/JobsRESTAPIFunction.java
@@ -19,9 +19,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.web.util.IJSONOutputFunction;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetJobRunJSONWork;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetJobSpecificationJSONWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work.GetJobSummariesJSONWork;
 
 public class JobsRESTAPIFunction implements IJSONOutputFunction {
@@ -49,12 +48,8 @@
             case 2: {
                 JobId jobId = JobId.parse(arguments[0]);
 
-                if ("job-specification".equalsIgnoreCase(arguments[1])) {
-                    GetJobSpecificationJSONWork gjse = new GetJobSpecificationJSONWork(ccs, jobId);
-                    ccs.getWorkQueue().scheduleAndSync(gjse);
-                    result.put("result", gjse.getJSON());
-                } else if ("job-activity-graph".equalsIgnoreCase(arguments[1])) {
-                    GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork gjage = new GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork(ccs, jobId);
+                if ("job-activity-graph".equalsIgnoreCase(arguments[1])) {
+                    GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork gjage = new GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork(ccs, jobId);
                     ccs.getWorkQueue().scheduleAndSync(gjage);
                     result.put("result", gjage.getJSON());
                 } else if ("job-run".equalsIgnoreCase(arguments[1])) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/AbstractTaskLifecycleWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/AbstractTaskLifecycleWork.java
index 01f14f3..8a552f5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/AbstractTaskLifecycleWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/AbstractTaskLifecycleWork.java
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityCluster;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityPlan;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.Task;
@@ -49,10 +49,11 @@
         JobRun run = ccs.getActiveRunMap().get(jobId);
         if (run != null) {
             TaskId tid = taId.getTaskId();
-            Map<ActivityId, ActivityCluster> activityClusterMap = run.getActivityClusterMap();
+            Map<ActivityId, ActivityCluster> activityClusterMap = run.getActivityClusterGraph().getActivityMap();
             ActivityCluster ac = activityClusterMap.get(tid.getActivityId());
             if (ac != null) {
-                Map<ActivityId, ActivityPlan> taskStateMap = ac.getPlan().getActivityPlanMap();
+                Map<ActivityId, ActivityPlan> taskStateMap = run.getActivityClusterPlanMap().get(ac.getId())
+                        .getActivityPlanMap();
                 Task[] taskStates = taskStateMap.get(tid.getActivityId()).getTasks();
                 if (taskStates != null && taskStates.length > tid.getPartition()) {
                     Task ts = taskStates[tid.getPartition()];
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/ApplicationMessageWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/ApplicationMessageWork.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..22ff84d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/ApplicationMessageWork.java
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.messages.IMessage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.application.ApplicationContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.AbstractWork;
+
+/**
+ * @author rico
+ * 
+ */
+public class ApplicationMessageWork extends AbstractWork {
+
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ApplicationMessageWork.class.getName());
+    private byte[] message;
+    private String nodeId;
+    private ClusterControllerService ccs;
+    private String appName;
+
+    public ApplicationMessageWork(ClusterControllerService ccs, byte[] message, String appName, String nodeId) {
+        this.ccs = ccs;
+        this.nodeId = nodeId;
+        this.message = message;
+        this.appName = appName;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void run() {
+
+        final ApplicationContext ctx = ccs.getApplicationMap().get(appName);
+        try {
+            final IMessage data = (IMessage) ctx.deserialize(message);
+            (new Thread() {
+                public void run() {
+                    ctx.getMessageBroker().receivedMessage(data, nodeId);
+                }
+            }).start();
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            LOGGER.log(Level.WARNING, "Error in stats reporting", e);
+        } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
+            Logger.getLogger(this.getClass().getName()).log(Level.WARNING, "Error in stats reporting", e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        return "nodeID: " + nodeId;
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork.java
similarity index 87%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork.java
index 677bece..1f79763 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork.java
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
 
-public class GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork extends SynchronizableWork {
+public class GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork extends SynchronizableWork {
     private final ClusterControllerService ccs;
     private final JobId jobId;
     private JSONObject json;
 
-    public GetJobActivityGraphJSONWork(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobId jobId) {
+    public GetActivityClusterGraphJSONWork(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobId jobId) {
         this.ccs = ccs;
         this.jobId = jobId;
     }
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
                 return;
             }
         }
-        json = run.getJobActivityGraph().toJSON();
+        json = run.getActivityClusterGraph().toJSON();
     }
 
     public JSONObject getJSON() {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobSpecificationJSONWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobSpecificationJSONWork.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 05b7cae..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobSpecificationJSONWork.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,50 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work;
-
-import org.json.JSONObject;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
-
-public class GetJobSpecificationJSONWork extends SynchronizableWork {
-    private final ClusterControllerService ccs;
-    private final JobId jobId;
-    private JSONObject json;
-
-    public GetJobSpecificationJSONWork(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobId jobId) {
-        this.ccs = ccs;
-        this.jobId = jobId;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    protected void doRun() throws Exception {
-        JobRun run = ccs.getActiveRunMap().get(jobId);
-        if (run == null) {
-            run = ccs.getRunMapArchive().get(jobId);
-            if (run == null) {
-                json = new JSONObject();
-                return;
-            }
-        }
-        json = run.getJobActivityGraph().getJobSpecification().toJSON();
-    }
-
-    public JSONObject getJSON() {
-        return json;
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobSummariesJSONWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobSummariesJSONWork.java
index 5cc31f6..a0afd61 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobSummariesJSONWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/GetJobSummariesJSONWork.java
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
             JSONObject jo = new JSONObject();
             jo.put("type", "job-summary");
             jo.put("job-id", run.getJobId().toString());
-            jo.put("application-name", run.getJobActivityGraph().getApplicationName());
+            jo.put("application-name", run.getApplicationName());
             jo.put("create-time", run.getCreateTime());
             jo.put("start-time", run.getCreateTime());
             jo.put("end-time", run.getCreateTime());
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobCleanupWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobCleanupWork.java
index 07088bb..6b5ff03 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobCleanupWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobCleanupWork.java
@@ -17,10 +17,16 @@
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
+import org.json.JSONException;
+import org.json.JSONObject;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterGraph;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.NodeControllerState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.application.CCApplicationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.AbstractWork;
 
@@ -53,13 +59,44 @@
         Set<String> targetNodes = run.getParticipatingNodeIds();
         run.getCleanupPendingNodeIds().addAll(targetNodes);
         run.setPendingStatus(status, exception);
-        for (String n : targetNodes) {
-            NodeControllerState ncs = ccs.getNodeMap().get(n);
+        if (targetNodes != null && !targetNodes.isEmpty()) {
+            for (String n : targetNodes) {
+                NodeControllerState ncs = ccs.getNodeMap().get(n);
+                try {
+                    ncs.getNodeController().cleanUpJoblet(jobId, status);
+                } catch (Exception e) {
+                    e.printStackTrace();
+                }
+            }
+        } else {
+            CCApplicationContext appCtx = ccs.getApplicationMap().get(run.getApplicationName());
+            if (appCtx != null) {
+                try {
+                    appCtx.notifyJobFinish(jobId);
+                } catch (HyracksException e) {
+                    e.printStackTrace();
+                }
+            }
+            run.setStatus(run.getPendingStatus(), run.getPendingException());
+            ccs.getActiveRunMap().remove(jobId);
+            ccs.getRunMapArchive().put(jobId, run);
             try {
-                ncs.getNodeController().cleanUpJoblet(jobId, status);
+                ccs.getJobLogFile().log(createJobLogObject(run));
             } catch (Exception e) {
-                e.printStackTrace();
+                throw new RuntimeException(e);
             }
         }
     }
+
+    private JSONObject createJobLogObject(final JobRun run) {
+        JSONObject jobLogObject = new JSONObject();
+        try {
+            ActivityClusterGraph acg = run.getActivityClusterGraph();
+            jobLogObject.put("activity-cluster-graph", acg.toJSON());
+            jobLogObject.put("job-run", run.toJSON());
+        } catch (JSONException e) {
+            throw new RuntimeException(e);
+        }
+        return jobLogObject;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobCreateWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobCreateWork.java
deleted file mode 100644
index b7cf629..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobCreateWork.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,91 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work;
-
-import java.util.EnumSet;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.application.CCApplicationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.IOperatorDescriptorVisitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobActivityGraphBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.PlanUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.scheduler.JobScheduler;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.IResultCallback;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
-
-public class JobCreateWork extends SynchronizableWork {
-    private final ClusterControllerService ccs;
-    private final byte[] jobSpec;
-    private final EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags;
-    private final JobId jobId;
-    private final String appName;
-    private final IResultCallback<JobId> callback;
-
-    public JobCreateWork(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobId jobId, String appName, byte[] jobSpec,
-            EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags, IResultCallback<JobId> callback) {
-        this.jobId = jobId;
-        this.ccs = ccs;
-        this.jobSpec = jobSpec;
-        this.jobFlags = jobFlags;
-        this.appName = appName;
-        this.callback = callback;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    protected void doRun() throws Exception {
-        try {
-            CCApplicationContext appCtx = ccs.getApplicationMap().get(appName);
-            if (appCtx == null) {
-                throw new HyracksException("No application with id " + appName + " found");
-            }
-            JobSpecification spec = appCtx.createJobSpecification(jobSpec);
-
-            final JobActivityGraphBuilder builder = new JobActivityGraphBuilder();
-            builder.init(appName, spec, jobFlags);
-            PlanUtils.visit(spec, new IOperatorDescriptorVisitor() {
-                @Override
-                public void visit(IOperatorDescriptor op) {
-                    op.contributeActivities(builder);
-                }
-            });
-            final JobActivityGraph jag = builder.getActivityGraph();
-
-            JobRun run = new JobRun(jobId, jag);
-
-            run.setStatus(JobStatus.INITIALIZED, null);
-
-            ccs.getActiveRunMap().put(jobId, run);
-            JobScheduler jrs = new JobScheduler(ccs, run);
-            run.setScheduler(jrs);
-            appCtx.notifyJobCreation(jobId, spec);
-            callback.setValue(jobId);
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            callback.setException(e);
-            return;
-        }
-    }
-
-    public JobId getJobId() {
-        return jobId;
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobStartWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobStartWork.java
index dd834ed..b6a33cd 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobStartWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobStartWork.java
@@ -14,41 +14,59 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work;
 
+import java.util.EnumSet;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IActivityClusterGraphGenerator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.application.CCApplicationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.IResultCallback;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
 
 public class JobStartWork extends SynchronizableWork {
     private final ClusterControllerService ccs;
+    private final byte[] acggfBytes;
+    private final EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags;
     private final JobId jobId;
-    private final IResultCallback<Object> callback;
+    private final String appName;
+    private final IResultCallback<JobId> callback;
 
-    public JobStartWork(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobId jobId, IResultCallback<Object> callback) {
-        this.ccs = ccs;
+    public JobStartWork(ClusterControllerService ccs, String appName, byte[] acggfBytes, EnumSet<JobFlag> jobFlags,
+            JobId jobId, IResultCallback<JobId> callback) {
         this.jobId = jobId;
+        this.ccs = ccs;
+        this.acggfBytes = acggfBytes;
+        this.jobFlags = jobFlags;
+        this.appName = appName;
         this.callback = callback;
     }
 
     @Override
     protected void doRun() throws Exception {
         try {
-            JobRun run = ccs.getActiveRunMap().get(jobId);
-            if (run == null) {
-                throw new Exception("Unable to find job with id = " + jobId);
+            final CCApplicationContext appCtx = ccs.getApplicationMap().get(appName);
+            if (appCtx == null) {
+                throw new HyracksException("No application with id " + appName + " found");
             }
-            if (run.getStatus() != JobStatus.INITIALIZED) {
-                throw new Exception("Job already started");
-            }
+            IActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory acggf = appCtx.createActivityClusterGraphGeneratorFactory(acggfBytes);
+            IActivityClusterGraphGenerator acgg = acggf.createActivityClusterGraphGenerator(appName, jobId, appCtx,
+                    jobFlags);
+            JobRun run = new JobRun(ccs, jobId, appName, acgg, jobFlags);
+            run.setStatus(JobStatus.INITIALIZED, null);
+            ccs.getActiveRunMap().put(jobId, run);
+            appCtx.notifyJobCreation(jobId, acggf);
             run.setStatus(JobStatus.RUNNING, null);
             try {
                 run.getScheduler().startJob();
             } catch (Exception e) {
                 ccs.getWorkQueue().schedule(new JobCleanupWork(ccs, run.getJobId(), JobStatus.FAILURE, e));
             }
-            callback.setValue(null);
+            callback.setValue(jobId);
         } catch (Exception e) {
             callback.setException(e);
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobletCleanupNotificationWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobletCleanupNotificationWork.java
index 80ab5ec..9927289 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobletCleanupNotificationWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/JobletCleanupNotificationWork.java
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 import org.json.JSONObject;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterGraph;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.NodeControllerState;
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
             ncs.getActiveJobIds().remove(jobId);
         }
         if (cleanupPendingNodes.isEmpty()) {
-            CCApplicationContext appCtx = ccs.getApplicationMap().get(run.getJobActivityGraph().getApplicationName());
+            CCApplicationContext appCtx = ccs.getApplicationMap().get(run.getApplicationName());
             if (appCtx != null) {
                 try {
                     appCtx.notifyJobFinish(jobId);
@@ -82,9 +82,8 @@
     private JSONObject createJobLogObject(final JobRun run) {
         JSONObject jobLogObject = new JSONObject();
         try {
-            JobActivityGraph jag = run.getJobActivityGraph();
-            jobLogObject.put("job-specification", jag.getJobSpecification().toJSON());
-            jobLogObject.put("job-activity-graph", jag.toJSON());
+            ActivityClusterGraph acg = run.getActivityClusterGraph();
+            jobLogObject.put("activity-cluster-graph", acg.toJSON());
             jobLogObject.put("job-run", run.toJSON());
         } catch (JSONException e) {
             throw new RuntimeException(e);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/RegisterPartitionAvailibilityWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/RegisterPartitionAvailibilityWork.java
index 2456c25..2a844ad 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/RegisterPartitionAvailibilityWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/RegisterPartitionAvailibilityWork.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work;
 
 import java.util.List;
-import java.util.logging.Level;
 
 import org.apache.commons.lang3.tuple.Pair;
 
@@ -57,11 +56,6 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public Level logLevel() {
-        return Level.FINEST;
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public String toString() {
         return "PartitionAvailable@" + partitionDescriptor;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/TaskCompleteWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/TaskCompleteWork.java
index 2694af4..fee0832 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/TaskCompleteWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/TaskCompleteWork.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityCluster;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.TaskAttempt;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.job.profiling.om.JobProfile;
@@ -39,8 +38,7 @@
     @Override
     protected void performEvent(TaskAttempt ta) {
         try {
-            ActivityCluster ac = ta.getTask().getTaskCluster().getActivityCluster();
-            JobRun run = ac.getJobRun();
+            JobRun run = ccs.getActiveRunMap().get(jobId);
             if (statistics != null) {
                 JobProfile jobProfile = run.getJobProfile();
                 Map<String, JobletProfile> jobletProfiles = jobProfile.getJobletProfiles();
@@ -51,7 +49,7 @@
                 }
                 jobletProfile.getTaskProfiles().put(taId, statistics);
             }
-            ac.getJobRun().getScheduler().notifyTaskComplete(ta);
+            run.getScheduler().notifyTaskComplete(ta);
         } catch (HyracksException e) {
             e.printStackTrace();
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/TaskFailureWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/TaskFailureWork.java
index 3201bec..0fff257 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/TaskFailureWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-cc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/cc/work/TaskFailureWork.java
@@ -15,24 +15,25 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.work;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.ClusterControllerService;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.ActivityCluster;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.JobRun;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.cc.job.TaskAttempt;
 
 public class TaskFailureWork extends AbstractTaskLifecycleWork {
     private final String details;
 
-    public TaskFailureWork(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobId jobId, TaskAttemptId taId, String nodeId,
-            String details) {
+    public TaskFailureWork(ClusterControllerService ccs, JobId jobId, TaskAttemptId taId, String nodeId, String details) {
         super(ccs, jobId, taId, nodeId);
         this.details = details;
     }
 
     @Override
     protected void performEvent(TaskAttempt ta) {
+        JobRun run = ccs.getActiveRunMap().get(jobId);
         ActivityCluster ac = ta.getTask().getTaskCluster().getActivityCluster();
-        ac.getJobRun().getScheduler().notifyTaskFailure(ta, ac, details);
+        run.getScheduler().notifyTaskFailure(ta, ac, details);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/application/ApplicationContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/application/ApplicationContext.java
index 9f29fbd..fc755a5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/application/ApplicationContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/application/ApplicationContext.java
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.IApplicationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.IBootstrap;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.messages.IMessageBroker;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.util.JavaSerializationUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.context.ServerContext;
 
@@ -54,6 +55,7 @@
     protected Properties deploymentDescriptor;
     protected IBootstrap bootstrap;
     protected Serializable distributedState;
+    protected IMessageBroker messageBroker;
 
     public ApplicationContext(ServerContext serverCtx, String appName) throws IOException {
         this.serverCtx = serverCtx;
@@ -205,4 +207,14 @@
     public ApplicationStatus getStatus() {
         return status;
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setMessageBroker(IMessageBroker messageBroker) {
+        this.messageBroker = messageBroker;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IMessageBroker getMessageBroker() {
+        return this.messageBroker;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/base/IClusterController.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/base/IClusterController.java
index a03f5c9..a25250a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/base/IClusterController.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/base/IClusterController.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.messages.IMessage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.application.ApplicationStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.controllers.NodeRegistration;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.heartbeat.HeartbeatData;
@@ -47,4 +48,6 @@
     public void registerPartitionRequest(PartitionRequest partitionRequest) throws Exception;
 
     public void notifyApplicationStateChange(String nodeId, String appName, ApplicationStatus status) throws Exception;
+
+    public void sendApplicationMessageToCC(byte[] data, String appName, String nodeId) throws Exception;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/base/INodeController.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/base/INodeController.java
index 47f4ceb..049adf8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/base/INodeController.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/base/INodeController.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.base;
 
+import java.util.EnumSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicy;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
@@ -28,7 +30,7 @@
 
 public interface INodeController {
     public void startTasks(String appName, JobId jobId, byte[] planBytes, List<TaskAttemptDescriptor> taskDescriptors,
-            Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies) throws Exception;
+            Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies, EnumSet<JobFlag> flags) throws Exception;
 
     public void abortTasks(JobId jobId, List<TaskAttemptId> tasks) throws Exception;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/controllers/CCConfig.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/controllers/CCConfig.java
index 350f527..6c208fe 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/controllers/CCConfig.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/controllers/CCConfig.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.controllers;
 
+import java.io.File;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
@@ -52,6 +53,9 @@
     @Option(name = "-cc-root", usage = "Sets the root folder used for file operations. (default: ClusterControllerService)")
     public String ccRoot = "ClusterControllerService";
 
+    @Option(name = "-cluster-topology", usage = "Sets the XML file that defines the cluster topology. (default: null)")
+    public File clusterTopologyDefinition = null;
+
     public void toCommandLine(List<String> cList) {
         cList.add("-client-net-ip-address");
         cList.add(clientNetIpAddress);
@@ -75,5 +79,9 @@
         cList.add(String.valueOf(jobHistorySize));
         cList.add("-cc-root");
         cList.add(ccRoot);
+        if (clusterTopologyDefinition != null) {
+            cList.add("-cluster-topology");
+            cList.add(clusterTopologyDefinition.getAbsolutePath());
+        }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/controllers/NCConfig.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/controllers/NCConfig.java
index 574f552..167eb4b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/controllers/NCConfig.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/controllers/NCConfig.java
@@ -37,9 +37,6 @@
     @Option(name = "-data-ip-address", usage = "IP Address to bind data listener", required = true)
     public String dataIPAddress;
 
-    @Option(name = "-frame-size", usage = "Frame Size to use for data communication (default: 32768)")
-    public int frameSize = 32768;
-
     @Option(name = "-iodevices", usage = "Comma separated list of IO Device mount points (default: One device in default temp folder)", required = false)
     public String ioDevices = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");
 
@@ -55,6 +52,9 @@
     @Option(name = "-net-thread-count", usage = "Number of threads to use for Network I/O (default: 1)")
     public int nNetThreads = 1;
 
+    @Option(name = "-max-memory", usage = "Maximum memory usable at this Node Controller in bytes (default: -1 auto)")
+    public int maxMemory = -1;
+
     public void toCommandLine(List<String> cList) {
         cList.add("-cc-host");
         cList.add(ccHost);
@@ -66,8 +66,6 @@
         cList.add(nodeId);
         cList.add("-data-ip-address");
         cList.add(dataIPAddress);
-        cList.add("-frame-size");
-        cList.add(String.valueOf(frameSize));
         cList.add("-iodevices");
         cList.add(ioDevices);
         cList.add("-dcache-client-servers");
@@ -80,5 +78,7 @@
         cList.add(dcacheClientPath);
         cList.add("-net-thread-count");
         cList.add(String.valueOf(nNetThreads));
+        cList.add("-max-memory");
+        cList.add(String.valueOf(maxMemory));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/CCNCFunctions.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/CCNCFunctions.java
index 9ea4636..8f0056f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/CCNCFunctions.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/CCNCFunctions.java
@@ -22,8 +22,11 @@
 import java.io.OutputStream;
 import java.io.Serializable;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.EnumSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.NetworkAddress;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
@@ -32,6 +35,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicy;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
@@ -49,6 +53,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.ipc.impl.JavaSerializationBasedPayloadSerializerDeserializer;
 
 public class CCNCFunctions {
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(CCNCFunctions.class.getName());
+
     private static final int FID_CODE_SIZE = 1;
 
     public enum FunctionId {
@@ -70,10 +76,47 @@
         CREATE_APPLICATION,
         DESTROY_APPLICATION,
         REPORT_PARTITION_AVAILABILITY,
+        SEND_APPLICATION_MESSAGE,
 
         OTHER
     }
 
+    public static class SendApplicationMessageFunction extends Function {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+        private byte[] serializedMessage;
+        private String nodeId;
+        private String appName;
+
+        public String getNodeId() {
+            return nodeId;
+        }
+
+        public void setNodeId(String nodeId) {
+            this.nodeId = nodeId;
+        }
+
+        public byte[] getMessage() {
+            return serializedMessage;
+        }
+
+        public SendApplicationMessageFunction(byte[] data, String appName, String nodeId) {
+            super();
+            this.serializedMessage = data;
+            this.nodeId = nodeId;
+            this.appName = appName;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public FunctionId getFunctionId() {
+            return FunctionId.SEND_APPLICATION_MESSAGE;
+        }
+
+        public String getAppName() {
+            return appName;
+        }
+
+    }
+
     public static abstract class Function implements Serializable {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
@@ -457,15 +500,17 @@
         private final byte[] planBytes;
         private final List<TaskAttemptDescriptor> taskDescriptors;
         private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies;
+        private final EnumSet<JobFlag> flags;
 
         public StartTasksFunction(String appName, JobId jobId, byte[] planBytes,
                 List<TaskAttemptDescriptor> taskDescriptors,
-                Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies) {
+                Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies, EnumSet<JobFlag> flags) {
             this.appName = appName;
             this.jobId = jobId;
             this.planBytes = planBytes;
             this.taskDescriptors = taskDescriptors;
             this.connectorPolicies = connectorPolicies;
+            this.flags = flags;
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -492,6 +537,10 @@
         public Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> getConnectorPolicies() {
             return connectorPolicies;
         }
+
+        public EnumSet<JobFlag> getFlags() {
+            return flags;
+        }
     }
 
     public static class AbortTasksFunction extends Function {
@@ -690,8 +739,12 @@
         private byte[] serialize(Object object, byte fid) throws Exception {
             ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
             baos.write(fid);
-            serialize(baos, object, fid);
-            JavaSerializationBasedPayloadSerializerDeserializer.serialize(baos, object);
+            try {
+                serialize(baos, object, fid);
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                LOGGER.log(Level.SEVERE, "Error serializing " + object, e);
+                throw e;
+            }
             baos.close();
             return baos.toByteArray();
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/ClusterControllerRemoteProxy.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/ClusterControllerRemoteProxy.java
index a0dabdd..d789768 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/ClusterControllerRemoteProxy.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/ClusterControllerRemoteProxy.java
@@ -43,44 +43,40 @@
 
     @Override
     public void unregisterNode(String nodeId) throws Exception {
-        CCNCFunctions.UnregisterNodeFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.UnregisterNodeFunction(
-                nodeId);
+        CCNCFunctions.UnregisterNodeFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.UnregisterNodeFunction(nodeId);
         ipcHandle.send(-1, fn, null);
     }
 
     @Override
     public void notifyTaskComplete(JobId jobId, TaskAttemptId taskId, String nodeId, TaskProfile statistics)
             throws Exception {
-        CCNCFunctions.NotifyTaskCompleteFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.NotifyTaskCompleteFunction(
-                jobId, taskId, nodeId, statistics);
+        CCNCFunctions.NotifyTaskCompleteFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.NotifyTaskCompleteFunction(jobId, taskId,
+                nodeId, statistics);
         ipcHandle.send(-1, fn, null);
     }
 
     @Override
     public void notifyTaskFailure(JobId jobId, TaskAttemptId taskId, String nodeId, String details) throws Exception {
-        CCNCFunctions.NotifyTaskFailureFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.NotifyTaskFailureFunction(
-                jobId, taskId, nodeId, details);
+        CCNCFunctions.NotifyTaskFailureFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.NotifyTaskFailureFunction(jobId, taskId, nodeId,
+                details);
         ipcHandle.send(-1, fn, null);
     }
 
     @Override
     public void notifyJobletCleanup(JobId jobId, String nodeId) throws Exception {
-        CCNCFunctions.NotifyJobletCleanupFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.NotifyJobletCleanupFunction(
-                jobId, nodeId);
+        CCNCFunctions.NotifyJobletCleanupFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.NotifyJobletCleanupFunction(jobId, nodeId);
         ipcHandle.send(-1, fn, null);
     }
 
     @Override
     public void nodeHeartbeat(String id, HeartbeatData hbData) throws Exception {
-        CCNCFunctions.NodeHeartbeatFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.NodeHeartbeatFunction(id,
-                hbData);
+        CCNCFunctions.NodeHeartbeatFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.NodeHeartbeatFunction(id, hbData);
         ipcHandle.send(-1, fn, null);
     }
 
     @Override
     public void reportProfile(String id, List<JobProfile> profiles) throws Exception {
-        CCNCFunctions.ReportProfileFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.ReportProfileFunction(id,
-                profiles);
+        CCNCFunctions.ReportProfileFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.ReportProfileFunction(id, profiles);
         ipcHandle.send(-1, fn, null);
     }
 
@@ -104,4 +100,10 @@
                 nodeId, appName, status);
         ipcHandle.send(-1, fn, null);
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public void sendApplicationMessageToCC(byte[] data, String appName, String nodeId) throws Exception {
+        CCNCFunctions.SendApplicationMessageFunction fn = new CCNCFunctions.SendApplicationMessageFunction(data, appName, nodeId);
+        ipcHandle.send(-1, fn, null);
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/NodeControllerRemoteProxy.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/NodeControllerRemoteProxy.java
index 8176cb7..10c0a7c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/NodeControllerRemoteProxy.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/ipc/NodeControllerRemoteProxy.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.ipc;
 
+import java.util.EnumSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
@@ -21,6 +22,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicy;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
@@ -37,9 +39,9 @@
 
     @Override
     public void startTasks(String appName, JobId jobId, byte[] planBytes, List<TaskAttemptDescriptor> taskDescriptors,
-            Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies) throws Exception {
+            Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPolicies, EnumSet<JobFlag> flags) throws Exception {
         CCNCFunctions.StartTasksFunction stf = new CCNCFunctions.StartTasksFunction(appName, jobId, planBytes,
-                taskDescriptors, connectorPolicies);
+                taskDescriptors, connectorPolicies, flags);
         ipcHandle.send(-1, stf, null);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/job/profiling/om/TaskProfile.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/job/profiling/om/TaskProfile.java
index 2116f61..0f82844 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/job/profiling/om/TaskProfile.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/job/profiling/om/TaskProfile.java
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.job.profiling.om;
 
+import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.json.JSONArray;
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@
 
     public TaskProfile(TaskAttemptId taskAttemptId, Map<PartitionId, PartitionProfile> partitionSendProfile) {
         this.taskAttemptId = taskAttemptId;
-        this.partitionSendProfile = partitionSendProfile;
+        this.partitionSendProfile = new HashMap<PartitionId, PartitionProfile>(partitionSendProfile);
     }
 
     public TaskAttemptId getTaskId() {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/work/WorkQueue.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/work/WorkQueue.java
index 36f0c49..26e5412 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/work/WorkQueue.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/common/work/WorkQueue.java
@@ -70,11 +70,11 @@
 
     public void schedule(AbstractWork event) {
         enqueueCount.incrementAndGet();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
-            LOGGER.fine("Enqueue: " + enqueueCount);
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINEST)) {
+            LOGGER.finest("Enqueue: " + enqueueCount);
         }
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(event.logLevel())) {
-            LOGGER.log(event.logLevel(), "Scheduling: " + event);
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINER)) {
+            LOGGER.finer("Scheduling: " + event);
         }
         queue.offer(event);
     }
@@ -105,8 +105,8 @@
                         continue;
                     }
                     dequeueCount.incrementAndGet();
-                    if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
-                        LOGGER.fine("Dequeue: " + dequeueCount + "/" + enqueueCount);
+                    if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINEST)) {
+                        LOGGER.finest("Dequeue: " + dequeueCount + "/" + enqueueCount);
                     }
                     try {
                         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(r.logLevel())) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Joblet.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Joblet.java
index 8f7bc4a..3855b4d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Joblet.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Joblet.java
@@ -26,16 +26,17 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.PartitionChannel;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksJobletContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.ITaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.IStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IWorkspaceFileFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IGlobalJobDataFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IJobletEventListener;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IJobletEventListenerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorEnvironment;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.profiling.counters.ICounter;
@@ -59,13 +60,13 @@
 
     private final JobId jobId;
 
-    private final JobActivityGraph jag;
+    private final ActivityClusterGraph acg;
 
     private final Map<PartitionId, IPartitionCollector> partitionRequestMap;
 
     private final IOperatorEnvironment env;
 
-    private final Map<TaskId, ITaskState> taskStateMap;
+    private final Map<Object, IStateObject> stateObjectMap;
 
     private final Map<TaskAttemptId, Task> taskMap;
 
@@ -75,25 +76,41 @@
 
     private final IWorkspaceFileFactory fileFactory;
 
-    private IJobletEventListener jobletEventListener;
+    private final Object globalJobData;
+
+    private final IJobletEventListener jobletEventListener;
+
+    private final int frameSize;
 
     private JobStatus cleanupStatus;
 
     private boolean cleanupPending;
 
-    public Joblet(NodeControllerService nodeController, JobId jobId, INCApplicationContext appCtx, JobActivityGraph jag) {
+    public Joblet(NodeControllerService nodeController, JobId jobId, INCApplicationContext appCtx,
+            ActivityClusterGraph acg) {
         this.nodeController = nodeController;
         this.appCtx = appCtx;
         this.jobId = jobId;
-        this.jag = jag;
+        this.frameSize = acg.getFrameSize();
+        this.acg = acg;
         partitionRequestMap = new HashMap<PartitionId, IPartitionCollector>();
         env = new OperatorEnvironmentImpl(nodeController.getId());
-        taskStateMap = new HashMap<TaskId, ITaskState>();
+        stateObjectMap = new HashMap<Object, IStateObject>();
         taskMap = new HashMap<TaskAttemptId, Task>();
         counterMap = new HashMap<String, Counter>();
         deallocatableRegistry = new DefaultDeallocatableRegistry();
         fileFactory = new WorkspaceFileFactory(this, (IOManager) appCtx.getRootContext().getIOManager());
         cleanupPending = false;
+        IJobletEventListenerFactory jelf = acg.getJobletEventListenerFactory();
+        if (jelf != null) {
+            IJobletEventListener listener = jelf.createListener(this);
+            this.jobletEventListener = listener;
+            listener.jobletStart();
+        } else {
+            jobletEventListener = null;
+        }
+        IGlobalJobDataFactory gjdf = acg.getGlobalJobDataFactory();
+        globalJobData = gjdf != null ? gjdf.createGlobalJobData(this) : null;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -101,8 +118,8 @@
         return jobId;
     }
 
-    public JobActivityGraph getJobActivityGraph() {
-        return jag;
+    public ActivityClusterGraph getActivityClusterGraph() {
+        return acg;
     }
 
     public IOperatorEnvironment getEnvironment() {
@@ -136,13 +153,13 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public void setTaskState(ITaskState taskState) {
-            taskStateMap.put(taskState.getTaskId(), taskState);
+        public synchronized void setStateObject(IStateObject taskState) {
+            stateObjectMap.put(taskState.getId(), taskState);
         }
 
         @Override
-        public ITaskState getTaskState(TaskId taskId) {
-            return taskStateMap.get(taskId);
+        public synchronized IStateObject getStateObject(Object id) {
+            return stateObjectMap.get(id);
         }
     }
 
@@ -187,18 +204,15 @@
         });
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public ByteBuffer allocateFrame() {
-        return appCtx.getRootContext().allocateFrame();
+    ByteBuffer allocateFrame() {
+        return ByteBuffer.allocate(getFrameSize());
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public int getFrameSize() {
-        return appCtx.getRootContext().getFrameSize();
+    int getFrameSize() {
+        return frameSize;
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public IIOManager getIOManager() {
+    IIOManager getIOManager() {
         return appCtx.getRootContext().getIOManager();
     }
 
@@ -222,6 +236,11 @@
         return counter;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public Object getGlobalJobData() {
+        return globalJobData;
+    }
+
     public synchronized void advertisePartitionRequest(TaskAttemptId taId, Collection<PartitionId> pids,
             IPartitionCollector collector, PartitionState minState) throws Exception {
         for (PartitionId pid : pids) {
@@ -242,10 +261,6 @@
         return jobletEventListener;
     }
 
-    public void setJobletEventListener(IJobletEventListener jobletEventListener) {
-        this.jobletEventListener = jobletEventListener;
-    }
-
     public void cleanup(JobStatus status) {
         cleanupStatus = status;
         cleanupPending = true;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/NodeControllerService.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/NodeControllerService.java
index f3d00ac..58a173c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/NodeControllerService.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/NodeControllerService.java
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
 import java.util.Timer;
 import java.util.TimerTask;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
+import java.util.concurrent.ExecutorService;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
 import java.util.logging.Level;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
@@ -61,6 +62,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.partitions.PartitionManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.runtime.RootHyracksContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.work.AbortTasksWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.work.ApplicationMessageWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.work.BuildJobProfilesWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.work.CleanupJobletWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.work.CreateApplicationWork;
@@ -100,7 +102,7 @@
 
     private final Map<JobId, Joblet> jobletMap;
 
-    private final Executor executor;
+    private final ExecutorService executor;
 
     private NodeParameters nodeParameters;
 
@@ -127,12 +129,12 @@
         NodeControllerIPCI ipci = new NodeControllerIPCI();
         ipc = new IPCSystem(new InetSocketAddress(ncConfig.clusterNetIPAddress, 0), ipci,
                 new CCNCFunctions.SerializerDeserializer());
-        this.ctx = new RootHyracksContext(ncConfig.frameSize, new IOManager(getDevices(ncConfig.ioDevices), executor));
+        this.ctx = new RootHyracksContext(new IOManager(getDevices(ncConfig.ioDevices), executor));
         if (id == null) {
             throw new Exception("id not set");
         }
         partitionManager = new PartitionManager(this);
-        netManager = new NetworkManager(ctx, getIpAddress(ncConfig), partitionManager, ncConfig.nNetThreads);
+        netManager = new NetworkManager(getIpAddress(ncConfig), partitionManager, ncConfig.nNetThreads);
 
         queue = new WorkQueue();
         jobletMap = new Hashtable<JobId, Joblet>();
@@ -214,6 +216,7 @@
     @Override
     public void stop() throws Exception {
         LOGGER.log(Level.INFO, "Stopping NodeControllerService");
+        executor.shutdownNow();
         partitionManager.close();
         heartbeatTask.cancel();
         netManager.stop();
@@ -257,7 +260,7 @@
         return executor;
     }
 
-    public NCConfig getConfiguration() throws Exception {
+    public NCConfig getConfiguration() {
         return ncConfig;
     }
 
@@ -365,10 +368,16 @@
         public void deliverIncomingMessage(IIPCHandle handle, long mid, long rmid, Object payload, Exception exception) {
             CCNCFunctions.Function fn = (CCNCFunctions.Function) payload;
             switch (fn.getFunctionId()) {
+                case SEND_APPLICATION_MESSAGE: {
+                    CCNCFunctions.SendApplicationMessageFunction amf = (CCNCFunctions.SendApplicationMessageFunction) fn;
+                    queue.schedule(new ApplicationMessageWork(NodeControllerService.this, amf.getMessage(), amf
+                            .getAppName(), amf.getNodeId()));
+                    return;
+                }
                 case START_TASKS: {
                     CCNCFunctions.StartTasksFunction stf = (CCNCFunctions.StartTasksFunction) fn;
                     queue.schedule(new StartTasksWork(NodeControllerService.this, stf.getAppName(), stf.getJobId(), stf
-                            .getPlanBytes(), stf.getTaskDescriptors(), stf.getConnectorPolicies()));
+                            .getPlanBytes(), stf.getTaskDescriptors(), stf.getConnectorPolicies(), stf.getFlags()));
                     return;
                 }
 
@@ -414,4 +423,8 @@
 
         }
     }
+
+    public void sendApplicationMessageToCC(byte[] data, String appName, String nodeId) throws Exception {
+        ccs.sendApplicationMessageToCC(data, appName, nodeId);
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Task.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Task.java
index 1bb0b2f..eba3ec9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Task.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/Task.java
@@ -33,8 +33,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.ITaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.IStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
@@ -88,7 +87,9 @@
 
     private volatile boolean aborted;
 
-    public Task(Joblet joblet, TaskAttemptId taskId, String displayName, Executor executor) {
+    private NodeControllerService ncs;
+
+    public Task(Joblet joblet, TaskAttemptId taskId, String displayName, Executor executor, NodeControllerService ncs) {
         this.joblet = joblet;
         this.taskAttemptId = taskId;
         this.displayName = displayName;
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@
         failed = false;
         errorBaos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
         errorWriter = new PrintWriter(errorBaos, true);
+        this.ncs = ncs;
     }
 
     public void setTaskRuntime(IPartitionCollector[] collectors, IOperatorNodePushable operator) {
@@ -306,19 +308,22 @@
                 reader.open();
                 try {
                     writer.open();
-                    ByteBuffer buffer = allocateFrame();
-                    while (reader.nextFrame(buffer)) {
-                        if (aborted) {
-                            return;
+                    try {
+                        ByteBuffer buffer = allocateFrame();
+                        while (reader.nextFrame(buffer)) {
+                            if (aborted) {
+                                return;
+                            }
+                            buffer.flip();
+                            writer.nextFrame(buffer);
+                            buffer.compact();
                         }
-                        buffer.flip();
-                        writer.nextFrame(buffer);
-                        buffer.compact();
+                    } catch (Exception e) {
+                        writer.fail();
+                        throw e;
+                    } finally {
+                        writer.close();
                     }
-                    writer.close();
-                } catch (Exception e) {
-                    writer.fail();
-                    throw e;
                 } finally {
                     reader.close();
                 }
@@ -333,12 +338,18 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void setTaskState(ITaskState taskState) {
-        opEnv.setTaskState(taskState);
+    public void setStateObject(IStateObject taskState) {
+        opEnv.setStateObject(taskState);
     }
 
     @Override
-    public ITaskState getTaskState(TaskId taskId) {
-        return opEnv.getTaskState(taskId);
+    public IStateObject getStateObject(Object id) {
+        return opEnv.getStateObject(id);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void sendApplicationMessageToCC(byte[] message, String nodeId) throws Exception {
+        this.ncs.sendApplicationMessageToCC(message, this.getJobletContext().getApplicationContext()
+                .getApplicationName(), nodeId);
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/FileHandle.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/io/FileHandle.java
similarity index 87%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/FileHandle.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/io/FileHandle.java
index 31e9821..8916fb1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/io/FileHandle.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/io/FileHandle.java
@@ -12,13 +12,17 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.io;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.RandomAccessFile;
 import java.nio.channels.FileChannel;
 
-public class FileHandle {
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
+
+public class FileHandle implements IFileHandle {
     private final FileReference fileRef;
 
     private RandomAccessFile raf;
@@ -79,4 +83,8 @@
     public FileChannel getFileChannel() {
         return channel;
     }
+
+    public void sync(boolean metadata) throws IOException {
+        channel.force(metadata);
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/io/IOManager.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/io/IOManager.java
index c3105ab..3b13f32 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/io/IOManager.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/io/IOManager.java
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOFuture;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IODeviceHandle;
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public FileHandle open(FileReference fileRef, FileReadWriteMode rwMode, FileSyncMode syncMode)
+    public IFileHandle open(FileReference fileRef, FileReadWriteMode rwMode, FileSyncMode syncMode)
             throws HyracksDataException {
         FileHandle fHandle = new FileHandle(fileRef);
         try {
@@ -73,14 +73,15 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public int syncWrite(FileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) throws HyracksDataException {
+    public int syncWrite(IFileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) throws HyracksDataException {
         try {
             int n = 0;
             int remaining = data.remaining();
             while (remaining > 0) {
-                int len = fHandle.getFileChannel().write(data, offset);
+                int len = ((FileHandle) fHandle).getFileChannel().write(data, offset);
                 if (len < 0) {
-                    throw new HyracksDataException("Error writing to file: " + fHandle.getFileReference().toString());
+                    throw new HyracksDataException("Error writing to file: "
+                            + ((FileHandle) fHandle).getFileReference().toString());
                 }
                 remaining -= len;
                 offset += len;
@@ -95,12 +96,12 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public int syncRead(FileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) throws HyracksDataException {
+    public int syncRead(IFileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) throws HyracksDataException {
         try {
             int n = 0;
             int remaining = data.remaining();
             while (remaining > 0) {
-                int len = fHandle.getFileChannel().read(data, offset);
+                int len = ((FileHandle) fHandle).getFileChannel().read(data, offset);
                 if (len < 0) {
                     return -1;
                 }
@@ -117,23 +118,23 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IIOFuture asyncWrite(FileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) {
-        AsyncWriteRequest req = new AsyncWriteRequest(fHandle, offset, data);
+    public IIOFuture asyncWrite(IFileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) {
+        AsyncWriteRequest req = new AsyncWriteRequest((FileHandle) fHandle, offset, data);
         executor.execute(req);
         return req;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IIOFuture asyncRead(FileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) {
-        AsyncReadRequest req = new AsyncReadRequest(fHandle, offset, data);
+    public IIOFuture asyncRead(IFileHandle fHandle, long offset, ByteBuffer data) {
+        AsyncReadRequest req = new AsyncReadRequest((FileHandle) fHandle, offset, data);
         executor.execute(req);
         return req;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void close(FileHandle fHandle) throws HyracksDataException {
+    public void close(IFileHandle fHandle) throws HyracksDataException {
         try {
-            fHandle.close();
+            ((FileHandle) fHandle).close();
         } catch (IOException e) {
             throw new HyracksDataException(e);
         }
@@ -225,4 +226,13 @@
             return syncWrite(fHandle, offset, data);
         }
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public void sync(IFileHandle fileHandle, boolean metadata) throws HyracksDataException {
+        try {
+            ((FileHandle) fileHandle).sync(metadata);
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+        }
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkInputChannel.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkInputChannel.java
index 609d7f0..1d5af84 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkInputChannel.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkInputChannel.java
@@ -23,9 +23,8 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.channels.IInputChannel;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.channels.IInputChannelMonitor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers.IBufferAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers.ICloseableBufferAcceptor;
@@ -34,8 +33,6 @@
 public class NetworkInputChannel implements IInputChannel {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(NetworkInputChannel.class.getName());
 
-    private IHyracksRootContext ctx;
-
     private final NetworkManager netManager;
 
     private final SocketAddress remoteAddress;
@@ -52,9 +49,8 @@
 
     private Object attachment;
 
-    public NetworkInputChannel(IHyracksRootContext ctx, NetworkManager netManager, SocketAddress remoteAddress,
-            PartitionId partitionId, int nBuffers) {
-        this.ctx = ctx;
+    public NetworkInputChannel(NetworkManager netManager, SocketAddress remoteAddress, PartitionId partitionId,
+            int nBuffers) {
         this.netManager = netManager;
         this.remoteAddress = remoteAddress;
         this.partitionId = partitionId;
@@ -89,7 +85,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+    public void open(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
         try {
             ccb = netManager.connect(remoteAddress);
         } catch (Exception e) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkManager.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkManager.java
index 68e3120..b805595 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkManager.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkManager.java
@@ -23,12 +23,11 @@
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.NetworkAddress;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.partitions.IPartitionRequestListener;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.partitions.PartitionManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers.ICloseableBufferAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.exceptions.NetException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.protocols.muxdemux.ChannelControlBlock;
@@ -40,21 +39,20 @@
 public class NetworkManager {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(NetworkManager.class.getName());
 
+    private static final int MAX_CONNECTION_ATTEMPTS = 5;
+
     static final int INITIAL_MESSAGE_SIZE = 20;
 
-    private final IHyracksRootContext ctx;
-
-    private final IPartitionRequestListener partitionRequestListener;
+    private final PartitionManager partitionManager;
 
     private final MuxDemux md;
 
     private NetworkAddress networkAddress;
 
-    public NetworkManager(IHyracksRootContext ctx, InetAddress inetAddress,
-            IPartitionRequestListener partitionRequestListener, int nThreads) throws IOException {
-        this.ctx = ctx;
-        this.partitionRequestListener = partitionRequestListener;
-        md = new MuxDemux(new InetSocketAddress(inetAddress, 0), new ChannelOpenListener(), nThreads);
+    public NetworkManager(InetAddress inetAddress, PartitionManager partitionManager, int nThreads) throws IOException {
+        this.partitionManager = partitionManager;
+        md = new MuxDemux(new InetSocketAddress(inetAddress, 0), new ChannelOpenListener(), nThreads,
+                MAX_CONNECTION_ATTEMPTS);
     }
 
     public void start() throws IOException {
@@ -99,9 +97,9 @@
             if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
                 LOGGER.fine("Received initial partition request: " + pid + " on channel: " + ccb);
             }
-            noc = new NetworkOutputChannel(ctx, ccb, 5);
+            noc = new NetworkOutputChannel(ccb, 1);
             try {
-                partitionRequestListener.registerPartitionRequest(pid, noc);
+                partitionManager.registerPartitionRequest(pid, noc);
             } catch (HyracksException e) {
                 noc.abort();
             }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkOutputChannel.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkOutputChannel.java
index 185768e..9024e18 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkOutputChannel.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/net/NetworkOutputChannel.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 import java.util.Deque;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers.IBufferAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.protocols.muxdemux.ChannelControlBlock;
@@ -27,17 +27,23 @@
 public class NetworkOutputChannel implements IFrameWriter {
     private final ChannelControlBlock ccb;
 
+    private final int nBuffers;
+
     private final Deque<ByteBuffer> emptyStack;
 
     private boolean aborted;
 
-    public NetworkOutputChannel(IHyracksRootContext ctx, ChannelControlBlock ccb, int nBuffers) {
+    public NetworkOutputChannel(ChannelControlBlock ccb, int nBuffers) {
         this.ccb = ccb;
+        this.nBuffers = nBuffers;
         emptyStack = new ArrayDeque<ByteBuffer>(nBuffers);
+        ccb.getWriteInterface().setEmptyBufferAcceptor(new WriteEmptyBufferAcceptor());
+    }
+
+    public void setTaskContext(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
         for (int i = 0; i < nBuffers; ++i) {
             emptyStack.push(ByteBuffer.allocateDirect(ctx.getFrameSize()));
         }
-        ccb.getWriteInterface().setEmptyBufferAcceptor(new WriteEmptyBufferAcceptor());
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/IPartitionRequestListener.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/IPartitionRequestListener.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 20ed49c..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/IPartitionRequestListener.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,23 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.partitions;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
-
-public interface IPartitionRequestListener {
-    public void registerPartitionRequest(PartitionId partitionId, IFrameWriter writer) throws HyracksException;
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartition.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartition.java
index 97f82d9..ae4fd2b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartition.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartition.java
@@ -18,16 +18,16 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.IPartition;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.io.IOManager;
 
 public class MaterializedPartition implements IPartition {
-    private final IHyracksRootContext ctx;
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
 
     private final FileReference partitionFile;
 
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 
     private final IOManager ioManager;
 
-    public MaterializedPartition(IHyracksRootContext ctx, FileReference partitionFile, Executor executor,
+    public MaterializedPartition(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, FileReference partitionFile, Executor executor,
             IOManager ioManager) {
         this.ctx = ctx;
         this.partitionFile = partitionFile;
@@ -44,6 +44,11 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public IHyracksTaskContext getTaskContext() {
+        return ctx;
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public void deallocate() {
         partitionFile.delete();
     }
@@ -54,7 +59,7 @@
             @Override
             public void run() {
                 try {
-                    FileHandle fh = ioManager.open(partitionFile, IIOManager.FileReadWriteMode.READ_ONLY,
+                    IFileHandle fh = ioManager.open(partitionFile, IIOManager.FileReadWriteMode.READ_ONLY,
                             IIOManager.FileSyncMode.METADATA_ASYNC_DATA_ASYNC);
                     try {
                         writer.open();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartitionInputChannel.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartitionInputChannel.java
index 0ea3124..16e31f7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartitionInputChannel.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartitionInputChannel.java
@@ -21,12 +21,14 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.channels.IInputChannel;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.channels.IInputChannelMonitor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.IPartition;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
 
 public class MaterializedPartitionInputChannel implements IInputChannel {
+    private final int nBuffers;
+
     private final Queue<ByteBuffer> emptyQueue;
 
     private final Queue<ByteBuffer> fullQueue;
@@ -41,12 +43,9 @@
 
     private Object attachment;
 
-    public MaterializedPartitionInputChannel(IHyracksRootContext ctx, int nBuffers, PartitionId pid,
-            PartitionManager manager) {
+    public MaterializedPartitionInputChannel(int nBuffers, PartitionId pid, PartitionManager manager) {
+        this.nBuffers = nBuffers;
         this.emptyQueue = new ArrayDeque<ByteBuffer>(nBuffers);
-        for (int i = 0; i < nBuffers; ++i) {
-            emptyQueue.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
-        }
         fullQueue = new ArrayDeque<ByteBuffer>(nBuffers);
         this.pid = pid;
         this.manager = manager;
@@ -83,7 +82,10 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+    public void open(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
+        for (int i = 0; i < nBuffers; ++i) {
+            emptyQueue.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
+        }
         IPartition partition = manager.getPartition(pid);
         partition.writeTo(writer);
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartitionWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartitionWriter.java
index 1a1b15f..7bd0eb1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartitionWriter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializedPartitionWriter.java
@@ -20,11 +20,11 @@
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.job.PartitionState;
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
 public class MaterializedPartitionWriter implements IFrameWriter {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(MaterializedPartitionWriter.class.getName());
 
-    private final IHyracksRootContext ctx;
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
 
     private final PartitionManager manager;
 
@@ -45,13 +45,13 @@
 
     private FileReference fRef;
 
-    private FileHandle handle;
+    private IFileHandle handle;
 
     private long size;
 
     private boolean failed;
 
-    public MaterializedPartitionWriter(IHyracksRootContext ctx, PartitionManager manager, PartitionId pid,
+    public MaterializedPartitionWriter(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, PartitionManager manager, PartitionId pid,
             TaskAttemptId taId, Executor executor) {
         this.ctx = ctx;
         this.manager = manager;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializingPipelinedPartition.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializingPipelinedPartition.java
index 143fd2c..62320c5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializingPipelinedPartition.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/MaterializingPipelinedPartition.java
@@ -20,11 +20,11 @@
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.IPartition;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 public class MaterializingPipelinedPartition implements IFrameWriter, IPartition {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(MaterializingPipelinedPartition.class.getName());
 
-    private final IHyracksRootContext ctx;
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
 
     private final Executor executor;
 
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
 
     private FileReference fRef;
 
-    private FileHandle handle;
+    private IFileHandle handle;
 
     private long size;
 
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
 
     private boolean failed;
 
-    public MaterializingPipelinedPartition(IHyracksRootContext ctx, PartitionManager manager, PartitionId pid,
+    public MaterializingPipelinedPartition(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, PartitionManager manager, PartitionId pid,
             TaskAttemptId taId, Executor executor) {
         this.ctx = ctx;
         this.executor = executor;
@@ -67,6 +67,11 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public IHyracksTaskContext getTaskContext() {
+        return ctx;
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public void deallocate() {
         fRef.delete();
     }
@@ -77,7 +82,7 @@
             @Override
             public void run() {
                 try {
-                    FileHandle fh = ioManager.open(fRef, IIOManager.FileReadWriteMode.READ_ONLY,
+                    IFileHandle fh = ioManager.open(fRef, IIOManager.FileReadWriteMode.READ_ONLY,
                             IIOManager.FileSyncMode.METADATA_ASYNC_DATA_ASYNC);
                     try {
                         writer.open();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/PartitionManager.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/PartitionManager.java
index ce40fe6..45c091a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/PartitionManager.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/PartitionManager.java
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
@@ -34,9 +33,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.NodeControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.io.IOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.io.WorkspaceFileFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.net.NetworkOutputChannel;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.resources.DefaultDeallocatableRegistry;
 
-public class PartitionManager implements IPartitionRequestListener {
+public class PartitionManager {
     private final NodeControllerService ncs;
 
     private final Map<PartitionId, List<IPartition>> partitionMap;
@@ -93,12 +93,12 @@
         }
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public synchronized void registerPartitionRequest(PartitionId partitionId, IFrameWriter writer)
+    public synchronized void registerPartitionRequest(PartitionId partitionId, NetworkOutputChannel writer)
             throws HyracksException {
         List<IPartition> pList = partitionMap.get(partitionId);
         if (pList != null && !pList.isEmpty()) {
             IPartition partition = pList.get(0);
+            writer.setTaskContext(partition.getTaskContext());
             partition.writeTo(writer);
             if (!partition.isReusable()) {
                 partitionMap.remove(partitionId);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/PipelinedPartition.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/PipelinedPartition.java
index 92dc0b2..e427cf3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/PipelinedPartition.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/PipelinedPartition.java
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.IPartition;
@@ -24,6 +25,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.job.PartitionState;
 
 public class PipelinedPartition implements IFrameWriter, IPartition {
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+
     private final PartitionManager manager;
 
     private final PartitionId pid;
@@ -36,13 +39,19 @@
 
     private boolean failed;
 
-    public PipelinedPartition(PartitionManager manager, PartitionId pid, TaskAttemptId taId) {
+    public PipelinedPartition(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, PartitionManager manager, PartitionId pid, TaskAttemptId taId) {
+        this.ctx = ctx;
         this.manager = manager;
         this.pid = pid;
         this.taId = taId;
     }
 
     @Override
+    public IHyracksTaskContext getTaskContext() {
+        return ctx;
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public boolean isReusable() {
         return false;
     }
@@ -89,7 +98,6 @@
 
     @Override
     public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
-        ensureConnected();
         failed = true;
         if (delegate != null) {
             delegate.fail();
@@ -98,10 +106,10 @@
 
     @Override
     public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-        ensureConnected();
         if (!failed) {
+            ensureConnected();
             manager.updatePartitionState(pid, taId, this, PartitionState.COMMITTED);
+            delegate.close();
         }
-        delegate.close();
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector.java
index f93f874..b1e58fc 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/partitions/ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector.java
@@ -18,13 +18,15 @@
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executor;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.channels.IInputChannel;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.channels.IInputChannelMonitor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IPartitionCollector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.PartitionChannel;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
@@ -33,7 +35,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
 
 public class ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector implements IPartitionCollector {
-    private final IHyracksRootContext ctx;
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
 
     private PartitionManager manager;
 
@@ -43,7 +45,7 @@
 
     private final Executor executor;
 
-    public ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector(IHyracksRootContext ctx, PartitionManager manager,
+    public ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, PartitionManager manager,
             IPartitionCollector collector, TaskAttemptId taId, Executor executor) {
         this.ctx = ctx;
         this.manager = manager;
@@ -83,58 +85,63 @@
     private class PartitionWriter implements Runnable, IInputChannelMonitor {
         private PartitionChannel pc;
 
-        private int nAvailableFrames;
+        private final AtomicInteger nAvailableFrames;
 
-        private boolean eos;
+        private final AtomicBoolean eos;
 
-        private boolean failed;
+        private final AtomicBoolean failed;
 
         public PartitionWriter(PartitionChannel pc) {
             this.pc = pc;
-            nAvailableFrames = 0;
-            eos = false;
+            nAvailableFrames = new AtomicInteger(0);
+            eos = new AtomicBoolean(false);
+            failed = new AtomicBoolean(false);
         }
 
         @Override
         public synchronized void notifyFailure(IInputChannel channel) {
-            failed = true;
+            failed.set(true);
             notifyAll();
         }
 
         @Override
         public synchronized void notifyDataAvailability(IInputChannel channel, int nFrames) {
-            nAvailableFrames += nFrames;
+            nAvailableFrames.addAndGet(nFrames);
             notifyAll();
         }
 
         @Override
         public synchronized void notifyEndOfStream(IInputChannel channel) {
-            eos = true;
+            eos.set(true);
             notifyAll();
         }
 
         @Override
-        public synchronized void run() {
+        public void run() {
             PartitionId pid = pc.getPartitionId();
             MaterializedPartitionWriter mpw = new MaterializedPartitionWriter(ctx, manager, pid, taId, executor);
             IInputChannel channel = pc.getInputChannel();
             try {
                 channel.registerMonitor(this);
-                channel.open();
+                channel.open(ctx);
                 mpw.open();
                 while (true) {
-                    if (nAvailableFrames > 0) {
+                    if (nAvailableFrames.get() > 0) {
                         ByteBuffer buffer = channel.getNextBuffer();
-                        --nAvailableFrames;
+                        nAvailableFrames.decrementAndGet();
                         mpw.nextFrame(buffer);
                         channel.recycleBuffer(buffer);
-                    } else if (eos) {
+                    } else if (eos.get()) {
                         break;
-                    } else if (failed) {
+                    } else if (failed.get()) {
                         throw new HyracksDataException("Failure occurred on input");
                     } else {
                         try {
-                            wait();
+                            synchronized (this) {
+                                if (nAvailableFrames.get() <= 0 && !eos.get() && !failed.get()) {
+                                    wait();
+                                }
+                            }
                         } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                             throw new HyracksDataException(e);
                         }
@@ -143,7 +150,7 @@
                 mpw.close();
                 channel.close();
                 delegate.addPartitions(Collections.singleton(new PartitionChannel(pid,
-                        new MaterializedPartitionInputChannel(ctx, 5, pid, manager))));
+                        new MaterializedPartitionInputChannel(1, pid, manager))));
             } catch (HyracksException e) {
             }
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/runtime/RootHyracksContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/runtime/RootHyracksContext.java
index 045fa52..9e42277 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/runtime/RootHyracksContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/runtime/RootHyracksContext.java
@@ -14,33 +14,18 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.runtime;
 
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 
 public class RootHyracksContext implements IHyracksRootContext {
-    private final int frameSize;
-
     private final IIOManager ioManager;
 
-    public RootHyracksContext(int frameSize, IIOManager ioManager) {
-        this.frameSize = frameSize;
+    public RootHyracksContext(IIOManager ioManager) {
         this.ioManager = ioManager;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public int getFrameSize() {
-        return frameSize;
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public IIOManager getIOManager() {
         return ioManager;
     }
-
-    @Override
-    public ByteBuffer allocateFrame() {
-        return ByteBuffer.allocate(frameSize);
-    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/AbortTasksWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/AbortTasksWork.java
index e8c4052..8f8c032 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/AbortTasksWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/AbortTasksWork.java
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.AbstractWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.Joblet;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.NodeControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.Task;
 
-public class AbortTasksWork extends SynchronizableWork {
+public class AbortTasksWork extends AbstractWork {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(AbortTasksWork.class.getName());
 
     private final NodeControllerService ncs;
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected void doRun() throws Exception {
+    public void run() {
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Aborting Tasks: " + jobId + ":" + tasks);
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/ApplicationMessageWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/ApplicationMessageWork.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..deb1b75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/ApplicationMessageWork.java
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.work;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.messages.IMessage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.AbstractWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.NodeControllerService;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.application.NCApplicationContext;
+
+/**
+ * @author rico
+ * 
+ */
+public class ApplicationMessageWork extends AbstractWork {
+
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ApplicationMessageWork.class.getName());
+    private byte[] message;
+    private String nodeId;
+    private NodeControllerService ncs;
+    private String appName;
+
+    public ApplicationMessageWork(NodeControllerService ncs, byte[] message, String appName, String nodeId) {
+        this.ncs = ncs;
+        this.nodeId = nodeId;
+        this.message = message;
+        this.appName = appName;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void run() {
+
+        NCApplicationContext ctx = ncs.getApplications().get(appName);
+        try {
+            IMessage data = (IMessage) ctx.deserialize(message);
+            if (ctx.getMessageBroker() != null) {
+                ctx.getMessageBroker().receivedMessage(data, nodeId);
+            } else {
+                LOGGER.log(Level.WARNING, "Messsage was sent, but no Message Broker set!");
+            }
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            Logger.getLogger(this.getClass().getName()).log(Level.WARNING, "Error in application message delivery!", e);
+        } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
+            Logger.getLogger(this.getClass().getName()).log(Level.WARNING, "Error in application message delivery!", e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public String toString() {
+        return "nodeID: " + nodeId;
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/CleanupJobletWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/CleanupJobletWork.java
index b75a1fc..173ab92 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/CleanupJobletWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/CleanupJobletWork.java
@@ -23,11 +23,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.IPartition;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.AbstractWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.Joblet;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.NodeControllerService;
 
-public class CleanupJobletWork extends SynchronizableWork {
+public class CleanupJobletWork extends AbstractWork {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(CleanupJobletWork.class.getName());
 
     private final NodeControllerService ncs;
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected void doRun() throws Exception {
+    public void run() {
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Cleaning up after job: " + jobId);
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/CreateApplicationWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/CreateApplicationWork.java
index eb982df..6eb1a95 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/CreateApplicationWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/CreateApplicationWork.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 import java.io.OutputStream;
 import java.io.Serializable;
 import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import org.apache.commons.io.IOUtils;
 import org.apache.http.HttpResponse;
@@ -30,13 +29,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.application.ApplicationStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.controllers.NCConfig;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.controllers.NodeParameters;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.AbstractWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.NodeControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.application.NCApplicationContext;
 
-public class CreateApplicationWork extends SynchronizableWork {
-    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(CreateApplicationWork.class.getName());
-
+public class CreateApplicationWork extends AbstractWork {
     private final NodeControllerService ncs;
 
     private final String appName;
@@ -54,7 +51,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected void doRun() throws Exception {
+    public void run() {
         try {
             NCApplicationContext appCtx;
             Map<String, NCApplicationContext> applications = ncs.getApplications();
@@ -85,7 +82,7 @@
             ncs.getClusterController()
                     .notifyApplicationStateChange(ncs.getId(), appName, ApplicationStatus.INITIALIZED);
         } catch (Exception e) {
-            LOGGER.warning("Error creating application: " + e.getMessage());
+            throw new RuntimeException(e);
         }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/DestroyApplicationWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/DestroyApplicationWork.java
index cfe00f6..b104ce8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/DestroyApplicationWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/DestroyApplicationWork.java
@@ -15,17 +15,14 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.work;
 
 import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.application.ApplicationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.application.ApplicationStatus;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.AbstractWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.NodeControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.application.NCApplicationContext;
 
-public class DestroyApplicationWork extends SynchronizableWork {
-    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(DestroyApplicationWork.class.getName());
-
+public class DestroyApplicationWork extends AbstractWork {
     private final NodeControllerService ncs;
 
     private final String appName;
@@ -36,16 +33,17 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected void doRun() throws Exception {
+    public void run() {
         try {
             Map<String, NCApplicationContext> applications = ncs.getApplications();
             ApplicationContext appCtx = applications.remove(appName);
             if (appCtx != null) {
                 appCtx.deinitialize();
             }
+            ncs.getClusterController().notifyApplicationStateChange(ncs.getId(), appName,
+                    ApplicationStatus.DEINITIALIZED);
         } catch (Exception e) {
-            LOGGER.warning("Error destroying application: " + e.getMessage());
+            throw new RuntimeException(e);
         }
-        ncs.getClusterController().notifyApplicationStateChange(ncs.getId(), appName, ApplicationStatus.DEINITIALIZED);
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/ReportPartitionAvailabilityWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/ReportPartitionAvailabilityWork.java
index 9734567..bb9669d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/ReportPartitionAvailabilityWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/ReportPartitionAvailabilityWork.java
@@ -17,20 +17,17 @@
 import java.net.InetAddress;
 import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
 import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.NetworkAddress;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.PartitionChannel;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.AbstractWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.Joblet;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.NodeControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.net.NetworkInputChannel;
 
-public class ReportPartitionAvailabilityWork extends SynchronizableWork {
-    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ReportPartitionAvailabilityWork.class.getName());
-
+public class ReportPartitionAvailabilityWork extends AbstractWork {
     private final NodeControllerService ncs;
 
     private final PartitionId pid;
@@ -44,14 +41,18 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected void doRun() throws Exception {
-        Map<JobId, Joblet> jobletMap = ncs.getJobletMap();
-        Joblet ji = jobletMap.get(pid.getJobId());
-        if (ji != null) {
-            PartitionChannel channel = new PartitionChannel(pid, new NetworkInputChannel(ncs.getRootContext(),
-                    ncs.getNetworkManager(), new InetSocketAddress(InetAddress.getByAddress(networkAddress
-                            .getIpAddress()), networkAddress.getPort()), pid, 5));
-            ji.reportPartitionAvailability(channel);
+    public void run() {
+        try {
+            Map<JobId, Joblet> jobletMap = ncs.getJobletMap();
+            Joblet ji = jobletMap.get(pid.getJobId());
+            if (ji != null) {
+                PartitionChannel channel = new PartitionChannel(pid, new NetworkInputChannel(ncs.getNetworkManager(),
+                        new InetSocketAddress(InetAddress.getByAddress(networkAddress.getIpAddress()),
+                                networkAddress.getPort()), pid, 5));
+                ji.reportPartitionAvailability(channel);
+            }
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            throw new RuntimeException(e);
         }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/StartTasksWork.java b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/StartTasksWork.java
index a101612..0c0fa3d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/StartTasksWork.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-control/hyracks-control-nc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/control/nc/work/StartTasksWork.java
@@ -26,25 +26,24 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IPartitionCollector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IPartitionWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivity;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.OperatorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.connectors.IConnectorPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IJobletEventListener;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IJobletEventListenerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityClusterGraph;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobFlag;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.partitions.PartitionId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.job.TaskAttemptDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.SynchronizableWork;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.common.work.AbstractWork;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.Joblet;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.NodeControllerService;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.Task;
@@ -55,7 +54,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.partitions.ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.profiling.ProfilingPartitionWriterFactory;
 
-public class StartTasksWork extends SynchronizableWork {
+public class StartTasksWork extends AbstractWork {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(StartTasksWork.class.getName());
 
     private final NodeControllerService ncs;
@@ -64,58 +63,67 @@
 
     private final JobId jobId;
 
-    private final byte[] jagBytes;
+    private final byte[] acgBytes;
 
     private final List<TaskAttemptDescriptor> taskDescriptors;
 
     private final Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPoliciesMap;
 
-    public StartTasksWork(NodeControllerService ncs, String appName, JobId jobId, byte[] jagBytes,
+    private final EnumSet<JobFlag> flags;
+
+    public StartTasksWork(NodeControllerService ncs, String appName, JobId jobId, byte[] acgBytes,
             List<TaskAttemptDescriptor> taskDescriptors,
-            Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPoliciesMap) {
+            Map<ConnectorDescriptorId, IConnectorPolicy> connectorPoliciesMap, EnumSet<JobFlag> flags) {
         this.ncs = ncs;
         this.appName = appName;
         this.jobId = jobId;
-        this.jagBytes = jagBytes;
+        this.acgBytes = acgBytes;
         this.taskDescriptors = taskDescriptors;
         this.connectorPoliciesMap = connectorPoliciesMap;
+        this.flags = flags;
     }
 
     @Override
-    protected void doRun() throws Exception {
+    public void run() {
         try {
             Map<String, NCApplicationContext> applications = ncs.getApplications();
             NCApplicationContext appCtx = applications.get(appName);
-            final Joblet joblet = getOrCreateLocalJoblet(jobId, appCtx, jagBytes == null ? null
-                    : (JobActivityGraph) appCtx.deserialize(jagBytes));
-            final JobActivityGraph jag = joblet.getJobActivityGraph();
+            final Joblet joblet = getOrCreateLocalJoblet(jobId, appCtx, acgBytes == null ? null
+                    : (ActivityClusterGraph) appCtx.deserialize(acgBytes));
+            final ActivityClusterGraph acg = joblet.getActivityClusterGraph();
 
             IRecordDescriptorProvider rdp = new IRecordDescriptorProvider() {
                 @Override
-                public RecordDescriptor getOutputRecordDescriptor(OperatorDescriptorId opId, int outputIndex) {
-                    return jag.getJobSpecification().getOperatorOutputRecordDescriptor(opId, outputIndex);
+                public RecordDescriptor getOutputRecordDescriptor(ActivityId aid, int outputIndex) {
+                    ActivityCluster ac = acg.getActivityMap().get(aid);
+                    IConnectorDescriptor conn = ac.getActivityOutputMap().get(aid).get(outputIndex);
+                    return ac.getConnectorRecordDescriptorMap().get(conn.getConnectorId());
                 }
 
                 @Override
-                public RecordDescriptor getInputRecordDescriptor(OperatorDescriptorId opId, int inputIndex) {
-                    return jag.getJobSpecification().getOperatorInputRecordDescriptor(opId, inputIndex);
+                public RecordDescriptor getInputRecordDescriptor(ActivityId aid, int inputIndex) {
+                    ActivityCluster ac = acg.getActivityMap().get(aid);
+                    IConnectorDescriptor conn = ac.getActivityInputMap().get(aid).get(inputIndex);
+                    return ac.getConnectorRecordDescriptorMap().get(conn.getConnectorId());
                 }
             };
 
             for (TaskAttemptDescriptor td : taskDescriptors) {
                 TaskAttemptId taId = td.getTaskAttemptId();
                 TaskId tid = taId.getTaskId();
-                IActivity han = jag.getActivityNodeMap().get(tid.getActivityId());
+                ActivityId aid = tid.getActivityId();
+                ActivityCluster ac = acg.getActivityMap().get(aid);
+                IActivity han = ac.getActivityMap().get(aid);
                 if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
                     LOGGER.info("Initializing " + taId + " -> " + han);
                 }
                 final int partition = tid.getPartition();
-                Task task = new Task(joblet, taId, han.getClass().getName(), ncs.getExecutor());
+                Task task = new Task(joblet, taId, han.getClass().getName(), ncs.getExecutor(), ncs);
                 IOperatorNodePushable operator = han.createPushRuntime(task, rdp, partition, td.getPartitionCount());
 
                 List<IPartitionCollector> collectors = new ArrayList<IPartitionCollector>();
 
-                List<IConnectorDescriptor> inputs = jag.getActivityInputConnectorDescriptors(tid.getActivityId());
+                List<IConnectorDescriptor> inputs = ac.getActivityInputMap().get(aid);
                 if (inputs != null) {
                     for (int i = 0; i < inputs.size(); ++i) {
                         IConnectorDescriptor conn = inputs.get(i);
@@ -123,21 +131,21 @@
                         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
                             LOGGER.info("input: " + i + ": " + conn.getConnectorId());
                         }
-                        RecordDescriptor recordDesc = jag.getJobSpecification().getConnectorRecordDescriptor(conn);
+                        RecordDescriptor recordDesc = ac.getConnectorRecordDescriptorMap().get(conn.getConnectorId());
                         IPartitionCollector collector = createPartitionCollector(td, partition, task, i, conn,
                                 recordDesc, cPolicy);
                         collectors.add(collector);
                     }
                 }
-                List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputs = jag.getActivityOutputConnectorDescriptors(tid.getActivityId());
+                List<IConnectorDescriptor> outputs = ac.getActivityOutputMap().get(aid);
                 if (outputs != null) {
                     for (int i = 0; i < outputs.size(); ++i) {
                         final IConnectorDescriptor conn = outputs.get(i);
-                        RecordDescriptor recordDesc = jag.getJobSpecification().getConnectorRecordDescriptor(conn);
+                        RecordDescriptor recordDesc = ac.getConnectorRecordDescriptorMap().get(conn.getConnectorId());
                         IConnectorPolicy cPolicy = connectorPoliciesMap.get(conn.getConnectorId());
 
                         IPartitionWriterFactory pwFactory = createPartitionWriterFactory(task, cPolicy, jobId, conn,
-                                partition, taId, jag.getJobFlags());
+                                partition, taId, flags);
 
                         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
                             LOGGER.info("output: " + i + ": " + conn.getConnectorId());
@@ -155,25 +163,19 @@
             }
         } catch (Exception e) {
             e.printStackTrace();
-            throw e;
+            throw new RuntimeException(e);
         }
     }
 
-    private Joblet getOrCreateLocalJoblet(JobId jobId, INCApplicationContext appCtx, JobActivityGraph jag)
+    private Joblet getOrCreateLocalJoblet(JobId jobId, INCApplicationContext appCtx, ActivityClusterGraph acg)
             throws Exception {
         Map<JobId, Joblet> jobletMap = ncs.getJobletMap();
         Joblet ji = jobletMap.get(jobId);
         if (ji == null) {
-            if (jag == null) {
+            if (acg == null) {
                 throw new NullPointerException("JobActivityGraph was null");
             }
-            ji = new Joblet(ncs, jobId, appCtx, jag);
-            IJobletEventListenerFactory jelf = jag.getJobSpecification().getJobletEventListenerFactory();
-            if (jelf != null) {
-                IJobletEventListener listener = jelf.createListener(ji);
-                ji.setJobletEventListener(listener);
-                listener.jobletStart();
-            }
+            ji = new Joblet(ncs, jobId, appCtx, acg);
             jobletMap.put(jobId, ji);
         }
         return ji;
@@ -185,34 +187,32 @@
         IPartitionCollector collector = conn.createPartitionCollector(task, recordDesc, partition,
                 td.getInputPartitionCounts()[i], td.getPartitionCount());
         if (cPolicy.materializeOnReceiveSide()) {
-            return new ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector(ncs.getRootContext(), ncs.getPartitionManager(), collector,
+            return new ReceiveSideMaterializingCollector(task, ncs.getPartitionManager(), collector,
                     task.getTaskAttemptId(), ncs.getExecutor());
         } else {
             return collector;
         }
     }
 
-    private IPartitionWriterFactory createPartitionWriterFactory(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, IConnectorPolicy cPolicy,
-            final JobId jobId, final IConnectorDescriptor conn, final int senderIndex, final TaskAttemptId taId,
-            EnumSet<JobFlag> flags) {
+    private IPartitionWriterFactory createPartitionWriterFactory(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            IConnectorPolicy cPolicy, final JobId jobId, final IConnectorDescriptor conn, final int senderIndex,
+            final TaskAttemptId taId, EnumSet<JobFlag> flags) {
         IPartitionWriterFactory factory;
         if (cPolicy.materializeOnSendSide()) {
             if (cPolicy.consumerWaitsForProducerToFinish()) {
                 factory = new IPartitionWriterFactory() {
                     @Override
                     public IFrameWriter createFrameWriter(int receiverIndex) throws HyracksDataException {
-                        return new MaterializedPartitionWriter(ncs.getRootContext(), ncs.getPartitionManager(),
-                                new PartitionId(jobId, conn.getConnectorId(), senderIndex, receiverIndex), taId,
-                                ncs.getExecutor());
+                        return new MaterializedPartitionWriter(ctx, ncs.getPartitionManager(), new PartitionId(jobId,
+                                conn.getConnectorId(), senderIndex, receiverIndex), taId, ncs.getExecutor());
                     }
                 };
             } else {
                 factory = new IPartitionWriterFactory() {
                     @Override
                     public IFrameWriter createFrameWriter(int receiverIndex) throws HyracksDataException {
-                        return new MaterializingPipelinedPartition(ncs.getRootContext(), ncs.getPartitionManager(),
-                                new PartitionId(jobId, conn.getConnectorId(), senderIndex, receiverIndex), taId,
-                                ncs.getExecutor());
+                        return new MaterializingPipelinedPartition(ctx, ncs.getPartitionManager(), new PartitionId(
+                                jobId, conn.getConnectorId(), senderIndex, receiverIndex), taId, ncs.getExecutor());
                     }
                 };
             }
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@
             factory = new IPartitionWriterFactory() {
                 @Override
                 public IFrameWriter createFrameWriter(int receiverIndex) throws HyracksDataException {
-                    return new PipelinedPartition(ncs.getPartitionManager(), new PartitionId(jobId,
+                    return new PipelinedPartition(ctx, ncs.getPartitionManager(), new PartitionId(jobId,
                             conn.getConnectorId(), senderIndex, receiverIndex), taId);
                 }
             };
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/accessors/UTF8StringBinaryHashFunctionFamily.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/accessors/UTF8StringBinaryHashFunctionFamily.java
index e5beadf..8fd0116 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/accessors/UTF8StringBinaryHashFunctionFamily.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/accessors/UTF8StringBinaryHashFunctionFamily.java
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
             @Override
             public int hash(byte[] bytes, int offset, int length) {
                 int h = 0;
-                int utflen = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLen(bytes, offset);
+                int utflen = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLength(bytes, offset);
                 int sStart = offset + 2;
                 int c = 0;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/algorithms/BinarySearchAlgorithm.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/algorithms/BinarySearchAlgorithm.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e631428
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/algorithms/BinarySearchAlgorithm.java
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.algorithms;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IComparable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.collections.api.IValueReferenceVector;
+
+/**
+ * Performs Binary Search over a vector of value references.
+ * Assumption: The items in the vector are sorted in ascending order with respect
+ * to the specified key.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
+public class BinarySearchAlgorithm {
+    private int index;
+
+    public BinarySearchAlgorithm() {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Perform binary search on the given vector for the specified key. It returns the result of the search
+     * and sets the {@link #index} value that is retrievable by calling {@link #getIndex()} to refer to
+     * the index in the array where the key was found (if it was found), and where it should have been (if
+     * not found).
+     * 
+     * @param vector
+     *            - Sorted vector of items
+     * @param key
+     *            - Search key
+     * @return <code>true</code> if the key is found, <code>false</code> otherwise.
+     */
+    public boolean find(IValueReferenceVector vector, IComparable key) {
+        index = 0;
+        int left = 0;
+        int right = vector.getSize() - 1;
+        while (left <= right) {
+            index = (left + right) / 2;
+            int cmp = key.compareTo(vector.getBytes(index), vector.getStart(index), vector.getLength(index));
+            if (cmp > 0) {
+                left = index + 1;
+                index = left;
+            } else if (cmp < 0) {
+                right = index - 1;
+                index = left;
+            } else {
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Get the index as a result of binary search.
+     * 
+     * @return the index in the array where the key was found (if it was found), and where it should have been (if
+     *         not found).
+     */
+    public int getIndex() {
+        return index;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/AbstractPointable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/AbstractPointable.java
index 2d0d87c..3ee6b0e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/AbstractPointable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/AbstractPointable.java
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void set(IPointable pointer) {
+    public void set(IValueReference pointer) {
         set(pointer.getByteArray(), pointer.getStartOffset(), pointer.getLength());
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/IDataOutputProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IDataOutputProvider.java
similarity index 92%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/IDataOutputProvider.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IDataOutputProvider.java
index fdfe2ec..d64a23a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/IDataOutputProvider.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IDataOutputProvider.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api;
 
 import java.io.DataOutput;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IMutableValueStorage.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IMutableValueStorage.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..173a4e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IMutableValueStorage.java
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api;
+
+public interface IMutableValueStorage extends IValueReference, IDataOutputProvider {
+    public void reset();
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IPointable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IPointable.java
index 17e9b03..d3accba 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IPointable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IPointable.java
@@ -14,14 +14,8 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api;
 
-public interface IPointable {
+public interface IPointable extends IValueReference {
     public void set(byte[] bytes, int start, int length);
 
-    public void set(IPointable pointer);
-
-    public byte[] getByteArray();
-
-    public int getStartOffset();
-
-    public int getLength();
+    public void set(IValueReference pointer);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/IValueReference.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IValueReference.java
similarity index 84%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/IValueReference.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IValueReference.java
index 3c005de..ebe8e1f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/IValueReference.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/api/IValueReference.java
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api;
 
 public interface IValueReference {
-    public byte[] getBytes();
+    public byte[] getByteArray();
 
-    public int getStartIndex();
+    public int getStartOffset();
 
     public int getLength();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/collections/api/IValueReferenceVector.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/collections/api/IValueReferenceVector.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..090f9d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/collections/api/IValueReferenceVector.java
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.collections.api;
+
+/**
+ * Represents an immutable vector of ValueReferences. Users of this interface make the assumption
+ * that it provides random access to the items in it. In other words, each of the getXXX(index) calls
+ * have O(1) complexity.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
+public interface IValueReferenceVector {
+    /**
+     * Number of items in this vector.
+     * 
+     * @return - the number of items in this vector.
+     */
+    public int getSize();
+
+    /**
+     * Get the byte array that contains the item referenced by <code>index</code>
+     * 
+     * @param index
+     *            - Index of the item in the vector
+     * @return Byte Array that contains the item.
+     */
+    public byte[] getBytes(int index);
+
+    /**
+     * Get the start offset of the item referenced by <code>index</code>
+     * 
+     * @param index
+     *            - Index of the item in the vector
+     * @return Start Offset in the Byte Array of the item
+     */
+    public int getStart(int index);
+
+    /**
+     * Get the length of the item referenced by <code>index</code>
+     * 
+     * @param index
+     *            - Index of the item in the vector
+     * @return Length in the Byte Array of the item
+     */
+    public int getLength(int index);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/ShortPointable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/ShortPointable.java
index 57b9a1b..c9022ab 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/ShortPointable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/ShortPointable.java
@@ -56,8 +56,8 @@
     }
 
     public static void setShort(byte[] bytes, int start, short value) {
-        bytes[start] = (byte) ((value >>> 24) & 0xFF);
-        bytes[start + 1] = (byte) ((value >>> 16) & 0xFF);
+        bytes[start] = (byte) ((value >>> 8) & 0xFF);
+        bytes[start + 1] = (byte) ((value >>> 0) & 0xFF);
     }
 
     public short getShort() {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointable.java
index 21caf77..f6d6093 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringPointable.java
@@ -50,6 +50,18 @@
         }
     };
 
+    /**
+     * Returns the character at the given byte offset. The caller is responsible for making sure that
+     * the provided offset is within bounds and points to the beginning of a valid UTF8 character.
+     * 
+     * @param offset
+     *            - Byte offset
+     * @return Character at the given offset.
+     */
+    public char charAt(int offset) {
+        return charAt(bytes, start + offset);
+    }
+
     public static char charAt(byte[] b, int s) {
         int c = b[s] & 0xff;
         switch (c >> 4) {
@@ -75,6 +87,10 @@
         }
     }
 
+    public int charSize(int offset) {
+        return charSize(bytes, start + offset);
+    }
+
     public static int charSize(byte[] b, int s) {
         int c = b[s] & 0xff;
         switch (c >> 4) {
@@ -108,9 +124,18 @@
         }
     }
 
-    public static int getStrLen(byte[] b, int s) {
+    /**
+     * Gets the length of the string in characters.
+     * 
+     * @return length of string in characters
+     */
+    public int getStringLength() {
+        return getStringLength(bytes, start);
+    }
+
+    public static int getStringLength(byte[] b, int s) {
         int pos = s + 2;
-        int end = pos + getUTFLen(b, s);
+        int end = pos + getUTFLength(b, s);
         int charCount = 0;
         while (pos < end) {
             charCount++;
@@ -119,7 +144,16 @@
         return charCount;
     }
 
-    public static int getUTFLen(byte[] b, int s) {
+    /**
+     * Gets the length of the UTF-8 encoded string in bytes.
+     * 
+     * @return length of UTF-8 encoded string in bytes
+     */
+    public int getUTFLength() {
+        return getUTFLength(bytes, start);
+    }
+
+    public static int getUTFLength(byte[] b, int s) {
         return ((b[s] & 0xff) << 8) + ((b[s + 1] & 0xff) << 0);
     }
 
@@ -130,8 +164,8 @@
 
     @Override
     public int compareTo(byte[] bytes, int start, int length) {
-        int utflen1 = getUTFLen(this.bytes, this.start);
-        int utflen2 = getUTFLen(bytes, start);
+        int utflen1 = getUTFLength(this.bytes, this.start);
+        int utflen2 = getUTFLength(bytes, start);
 
         int c1 = 0;
         int c2 = 0;
@@ -155,7 +189,7 @@
     @Override
     public int hash() {
         int h = 0;
-        int utflen = getUTFLen(bytes, start);
+        int utflen = getUTFLength(bytes, start);
         int sStart = start + 2;
         int c = 0;
 
@@ -166,4 +200,20 @@
         }
         return h;
     }
+
+    public static void toString(StringBuilder buffer, byte[] bytes, int start) {
+        int utfLen = getUTFLength(bytes, start);
+        int offset = 2;
+        while (utfLen > 0) {
+            char c = charAt(bytes, start + offset);
+            buffer.append(c);
+            int cLen = UTF8StringPointable.getModifiedUTF8Len(c);
+            offset += cLen;
+            utfLen -= cLen;
+        }
+    }
+
+    public void toString(StringBuilder buffer) {
+        toString(buffer, bytes, start);
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringWriter.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4eb489f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/primitive/UTF8StringWriter.java
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive;
+
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.UTFDataFormatException;
+
+public class UTF8StringWriter {
+    private byte[] tempBytes;
+
+    public void writeUTF8String(CharSequence str, DataOutput out) throws IOException {
+        int strlen = str.length();
+        int utflen = 0;
+        int c, count = 0;
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < strlen; i++) {
+            c = str.charAt(i);
+            if ((c >= 0x0001) && (c <= 0x007F)) {
+                utflen++;
+            } else if (c > 0x07FF) {
+                utflen += 3;
+            } else {
+                utflen += 2;
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (utflen > 65535) {
+            throw new UTFDataFormatException("encoded string too long: " + utflen + " bytes");
+        }
+
+        if (tempBytes == null || tempBytes.length < utflen + 2) {
+            tempBytes = new byte[utflen + 2];
+        }
+
+        tempBytes[count++] = (byte) ((utflen >>> 8) & 0xFF);
+        tempBytes[count++] = (byte) ((utflen >>> 0) & 0xFF);
+
+        int i = 0;
+        for (i = 0; i < strlen; i++) {
+            c = str.charAt(i);
+            if (!((c >= 0x0001) && (c <= 0x007F))) {
+                break;
+            }
+            tempBytes[count++] = (byte) c;
+        }
+
+        for (; i < strlen; i++) {
+            c = str.charAt(i);
+            if ((c >= 0x0001) && (c <= 0x007F)) {
+                tempBytes[count++] = (byte) c;
+            } else if (c > 0x07FF) {
+                tempBytes[count++] = (byte) (0xE0 | ((c >> 12) & 0x0F));
+                tempBytes[count++] = (byte) (0x80 | ((c >> 6) & 0x3F));
+                tempBytes[count++] = (byte) (0x80 | ((c >> 0) & 0x3F));
+            } else {
+                tempBytes[count++] = (byte) (0xC0 | ((c >> 6) & 0x1F));
+                tempBytes[count++] = (byte) (0x80 | ((c >> 0) & 0x3F));
+            }
+        }
+        out.write(tempBytes, 0, utflen + 2);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/util/ArrayBackedValueStorage.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/util/ArrayBackedValueStorage.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8dc9b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/util/ArrayBackedValueStorage.java
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util;
+
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.io.DataOutputStream;
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IMutableValueStorage;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IValueReference;
+
+public class ArrayBackedValueStorage implements IMutableValueStorage {
+    private final ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream baaos;
+    private final DataOutputStream dos;
+
+    public ArrayBackedValueStorage() {
+        baaos = new ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream();
+        dos = new DataOutputStream(baaos);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void reset() {
+        baaos.reset();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public DataOutput getDataOutput() {
+        return dos;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public byte[] getByteArray() {
+        return baaos.getByteArray();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getStartOffset() {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getLength() {
+        return baaos.size();
+    }
+
+    public void append(IValueReference value) {
+        try {
+            dos.write(value.getByteArray(), value.getStartOffset(), value.getLength());
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            e.printStackTrace();
+        }
+    }
+
+    public void assign(IValueReference value) {
+        reset();
+        append(value);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream.java b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/util/ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream.java
similarity index 96%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/util/ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream.java
index 31bf554..8508287 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-data/hyracks-data-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/data/std/util/ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util;
 
 import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
 import java.util.logging.Level;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/ArrayTupleBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/ArrayTupleBuilder.java
index 0e9e3c0..989bc6b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/ArrayTupleBuilder.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/ArrayTupleBuilder.java
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IDataOutputProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream;
 
 /**
  * Array backed tuple builder.
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/FrameDeserializingDataWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/FrameDeserializingDataWriter.java
index 2ec4b47..b095332 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/FrameDeserializingDataWriter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/comm/io/FrameDeserializingDataWriter.java
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOpenableDataWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
     private final IOpenableDataWriter<Object[]> writer;
     private final FrameDeserializer frameDeserializer;
 
-    public FrameDeserializingDataWriter(IHyracksRootContext ctx, IOpenableDataWriter<Object[]> writer,
+    public FrameDeserializingDataWriter(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, IOpenableDataWriter<Object[]> writer,
             RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         this.writer = writer;
         this.frameDeserializer = new FrameDeserializer(ctx.getFrameSize(), recordDescriptor);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/ArrayBackedValueStorage.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/ArrayBackedValueStorage.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 44a7a73..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/ArrayBackedValueStorage.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors;
-
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.DataOutputStream;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream;
-
-public class ArrayBackedValueStorage implements IValueReference, IDataOutputProvider {
-    private final ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream baaos;
-    private final DataOutputStream dos;
-
-    public ArrayBackedValueStorage() {
-        baaos = new ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream();
-        dos = new DataOutputStream(baaos);
-    }
-
-    public void reset() {
-        baaos.reset();
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public DataOutput getDataOutput() {
-        return dos;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public byte[] getBytes() {
-        return baaos.getByteArray();
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public int getStartIndex() {
-        return 0;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public int getLength() {
-        return baaos.size();
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/FrameTupleFieldValueReference.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/FrameTupleFieldValueReference.java
index 3cddbac..375be2d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/FrameTupleFieldValueReference.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/accessors/FrameTupleFieldValueReference.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IValueReference;
 
 public class FrameTupleFieldValueReference implements IValueReference {
     private IFrameTupleAccessor fta;
@@ -31,12 +32,12 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public byte[] getBytes() {
+    public byte[] getByteArray() {
         return fta.getBuffer().array();
     }
 
     @Override
-    public int getStartIndex() {
+    public int getStartOffset() {
         return fta.getFieldStartOffset(tupleIndex, fieldIndex);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/normalizers/UTF8StringNormalizedKeyComputerFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/normalizers/UTF8StringNormalizedKeyComputerFactory.java
index 60fd395..7d7ebac 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/normalizers/UTF8StringNormalizedKeyComputerFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/normalizers/UTF8StringNormalizedKeyComputerFactory.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
         return new INormalizedKeyComputer() {
             @Override
             public int normalize(byte[] bytes, int start, int length) {
-                int len = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLen(bytes, start);
+                int len = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLength(bytes, start);
                 int nk = 0;
                 int offset = start + 2;
                 for (int i = 0; i < 2; ++i) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/partition/FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/partition/FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory.java
index 7769539..f6d4d51 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/partition/FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/data/partition/FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory.java
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
                     h = h * 31 + fh;
                 }
                 if (h < 0) {
-                    h = -h;
+                    h = -(h + 1);
                 }
                 return h % nParts;
             }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/io/RunFileReader.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/io/RunFileReader.java
index d0148f3..a706692 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/io/RunFileReader.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/io/RunFileReader.java
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 
 public class RunFileReader implements IFrameReader {
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
     private final IIOManager ioManager;
     private final long size;
 
-    private FileHandle handle;
+    private IFileHandle handle;
     private long readPtr;
 
     public RunFileReader(FileReference file, IIOManager ioManager, long size) {
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
     public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
         ioManager.close(handle);
     }
-    
+
     public long getFileSize() {
         return size;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/io/RunFileWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/io/RunFileWriter.java
index 6c5a957..37a1a2c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/io/RunFileWriter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/io/RunFileWriter.java
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 
 public class RunFileWriter implements IFrameWriter {
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
     private final IIOManager ioManager;
     private boolean failed;
 
-    private FileHandle handle;
+    private IFileHandle handle;
     private long size;
 
     public RunFileWriter(FileReference file, IIOManager ioManager) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/util/SerdeUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/util/SerdeUtils.java
index 87d9b35..00575f4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/util/SerdeUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/util/SerdeUtils.java
@@ -35,13 +35,41 @@
 
 @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
 public class SerdeUtils {
-    public static ITypeTraits[] serdesToTypeTraits(ISerializerDeserializer[] serdes, int numSerdes) {
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[numSerdes];
-        for (int i = 0; i < numSerdes; i++) {
+	public static class PayloadTypeTraits implements ITypeTraits {
+		private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+		final int payloadSize;
+		
+		public PayloadTypeTraits(int payloadSize) {
+			this.payloadSize = payloadSize;
+		}
+		
+		@Override
+		public boolean isFixedLength() {
+			return true;
+		}
+
+		@Override
+		public int getFixedLength() {
+			return payloadSize;
+		}
+	}
+	
+	public static ITypeTraits[] serdesToTypeTraits(ISerializerDeserializer[] serdes) {
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[serdes.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < serdes.length; i++) {
             typeTraits[i] = serdeToTypeTrait(serdes[i]);
         }
         return typeTraits;
     }
+    
+    public static ITypeTraits[] serdesToTypeTraits(ISerializerDeserializer[] serdes, int payloadSize) {
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[serdes.length + 1];
+        for (int i = 0; i < serdes.length; i++) {
+            typeTraits[i] = serdeToTypeTrait(serdes[i]);
+        }
+        typeTraits[serdes.length] = new PayloadTypeTraits(payloadSize);
+        return typeTraits;
+    }
 
     public static ITypeTraits serdeToTypeTrait(ISerializerDeserializer serde) {
         if (serde instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/util/TupleUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/util/TupleUtils.java
index 14c4d66..b35dd75 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/util/TupleUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/common/util/TupleUtils.java
@@ -25,29 +25,32 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 
-@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes") 
-public class TupleUtils {    
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class TupleUtils {
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    public static void createTuple(ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder, ArrayTupleReference tuple, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, final Object... fields) throws HyracksDataException {
+    public static void createTuple(ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder, ArrayTupleReference tuple,
+            ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, final Object... fields) throws HyracksDataException {
         DataOutput dos = tupleBuilder.getDataOutput();
         tupleBuilder.reset();
         int numFields = Math.min(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets().length, fields.length);
-        for (int i = 0; i < numFields; i++) {  
+        for (int i = 0; i < numFields; i++) {
             fieldSerdes[i].serialize(fields[i], dos);
             tupleBuilder.addFieldEndOffset();
         }
         tuple.reset(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), tupleBuilder.getByteArray());
     }
 
-    public static ITupleReference createTuple(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, final Object... fields) throws HyracksDataException {
+    public static ITupleReference createTuple(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, final Object... fields)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
         ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fields.length);
         ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
         createTuple(tupleBuilder, tuple, fieldSerdes, fields);
         return tuple;
     }
-    
+
     public static void createIntegerTuple(ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder, ArrayTupleReference tuple,
             final int... fields) throws HyracksDataException {
         DataOutput dos = tupleBuilder.getDataOutput();
@@ -65,14 +68,31 @@
         createIntegerTuple(tupleBuilder, tuple, fields);
         return tuple;
     }
-    
-    public static String printTuple(ITupleReference tuple,
-            ISerializerDeserializer[] fields) throws HyracksDataException {
+
+    public static void createDoubleTuple(ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder, ArrayTupleReference tuple,
+            final double... fields) throws HyracksDataException {
+        DataOutput dos = tupleBuilder.getDataOutput();
+        tupleBuilder.reset();
+        for (final double i : fields) {
+            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(i, dos);
+            tupleBuilder.addFieldEndOffset();
+        }
+        tuple.reset(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), tupleBuilder.getByteArray());
+    }
+
+    public static ITupleReference createDoubleTuple(final double... fields) throws HyracksDataException {
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fields.length);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        createDoubleTuple(tupleBuilder, tuple, fields);
+        return tuple;
+    }
+
+    public static String printTuple(ITupleReference tuple, ISerializerDeserializer[] fields)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
         StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
         int numPrintFields = Math.min(tuple.getFieldCount(), fields.length);
         for (int i = 0; i < numPrintFields; i++) {
-            ByteArrayInputStream inStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(
-                    tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
+            ByteArrayInputStream inStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
                     tuple.getFieldLength(i));
             DataInput dataIn = new DataInputStream(inStream);
             Object o = fields[i].deserialize(dataIn);
@@ -80,7 +100,30 @@
             if (i != fields.length - 1) {
                 strBuilder.append(" ");
             }
-        }        
+        }
         return strBuilder.toString();
     }
+
+    public static Object[] deserializeTuple(ITupleReference tuple, ISerializerDeserializer[] fields)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
+        int numFields = Math.min(tuple.getFieldCount(), fields.length);
+        Object[] objs = new Object[numFields];
+        for (int i = 0; i < numFields; i++) {
+            ByteArrayInputStream inStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
+                    tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+            DataInput dataIn = new DataInputStream(inStream);
+            objs[i] = fields[i].deserialize(dataIn);
+        }
+        return objs;
+    }
+
+    public static ITupleReference copyTuple(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException {
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(tuple.getFieldCount());
+        for (int i = 0; i < tuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
+            tupleBuilder.addField(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+        }
+        ArrayTupleReference tupleCopy = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        tupleCopy.reset(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), tupleBuilder.getByteArray());
+        return tupleCopy;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/AbstractHadoopOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/AbstractHadoopOperatorDescriptor.java
index 89831e8..70dfd9e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/AbstractHadoopOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/AbstractHadoopOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.dcache.client.DCacheClient;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IDataWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.util.DatatypeHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.util.IHadoopClassFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
     private final Map<String, String> jobConfMap;
     private IHadoopClassFactory hadoopClassFactory;
 
-    public AbstractHadoopOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int inputArity, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor,
+    public AbstractHadoopOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int inputArity, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor,
             JobConf jobConf, IHadoopClassFactory hadoopOperatorFactory) {
         super(spec, inputArity, 1);
         jobConfMap = DatatypeHelper.jobConf2Map(jobConf);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopMapperOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopMapperOperatorDescriptor.java
index 0ea56c4..34f3e9d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopMapperOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopMapperOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.SerializingDataWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.util.DatatypeHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.util.IHadoopClassFactory;
@@ -230,9 +230,7 @@
                             data[1] = value;
                             writer.writeData(data);
                         }
-                    };
-                    ;
-                    ;
+                    };;;
 
                     OutputCommitter outputCommitter = new org.apache.hadoop.mapreduce.lib.output.NullOutputFormat()
                             .getOutputCommitter(new TaskAttemptContext(conf, new TaskAttemptID()));
@@ -254,9 +252,7 @@
                         public Counter getCounter(Enum<?> arg0) {
                             return null;
                         }
-                    };
-                    ;
-                    ;
+                    };;;
                     context = new org.apache.hadoop.mapreduce.Mapper().new Context(conf, new TaskAttemptID(),
                             newReader, recordWriter, outputCommitter, statusReporter,
                             (org.apache.hadoop.mapreduce.InputSplit) inputSplit);
@@ -308,12 +304,12 @@
         inputSplitsProxy = new InputSplitsProxy(jobConf, splits);
     }
 
-    public HadoopMapperOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, JobConf jobConf, IHadoopClassFactory hadoopClassFactory)
-            throws IOException {
+    public HadoopMapperOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, JobConf jobConf,
+            IHadoopClassFactory hadoopClassFactory) throws IOException {
         super(spec, 1, getRecordDescriptor(jobConf, hadoopClassFactory), jobConf, hadoopClassFactory);
     }
 
-    public HadoopMapperOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, JobConf jobConf, Object[] splits,
+    public HadoopMapperOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, JobConf jobConf, Object[] splits,
             IHadoopClassFactory hadoopClassFactory) throws IOException {
         super(spec, 0, getRecordDescriptor(jobConf, hadoopClassFactory), jobConf, hadoopClassFactory);
         initializeSplitInfo(splits);
@@ -412,7 +408,7 @@
                 return createSelfReadingMapper(ctx, recordDescriptor, partition);
             } else {
                 return new DeserializedOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new MapperOperator(partition),
-                        recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(this.odId, 0));
+                        recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(this.activityNodeId, 0));
             }
         } catch (Exception e) {
             throw new HyracksDataException(e);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor.java
index 73a8c16..86a4c3c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.data.KeyComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.data.RawComparingComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.util.DatatypeHelper;
@@ -311,8 +311,8 @@
     private IComparatorFactory comparatorFactory;
     private boolean useAsCombiner = false;
 
-    public HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, JobConf conf, IComparatorFactory comparatorFactory,
-            IHadoopClassFactory classFactory, boolean useAsCombiner) {
+    public HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, JobConf conf,
+            IComparatorFactory comparatorFactory, IHadoopClassFactory classFactory, boolean useAsCombiner) {
         super(spec, 1, getRecordDescriptor(conf, classFactory), conf, classFactory);
         this.comparatorFactory = comparatorFactory;
         this.useAsCombiner = useAsCombiner;
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@
             IOpenableDataWriterOperator op = new DeserializedPreclusteredGroupOperator(new int[] { 0 },
                     new IComparator[] { comparatorFactory.createComparator() }, new ReducerAggregator(createReducer()));
             return new DeserializedOperatorNodePushable(ctx, op, recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(
-                    getOperatorId(), 0));
+                    getActivityId(), 0));
         } catch (Exception e) {
             throw new RuntimeException(e);
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopWriteOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopWriteOperatorDescriptor.java
index 2154f5a..7ce3b00 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopWriteOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/HadoopWriteOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@
 import org.apache.hadoop.util.ReflectionUtils;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.util.DatatypeHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.AbstractFileWriteOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.FileSplit;
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@
         }
     }
 
-    public HadoopWriteOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification jobSpec, JobConf jobConf, int numMapTasks) throws Exception {
+    public HadoopWriteOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry jobSpec, JobConf jobConf, int numMapTasks) throws Exception {
         super(jobSpec, getOutputSplits(jobConf, numMapTasks));
         this.jobConfMap = DatatypeHelper.jobConf2Map(jobConf);
         checkIfCanWriteToHDFS(super.splits);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/HashPartitioningShuffleConnectorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/HashPartitioningShuffleConnectorDescriptor.java
index 7c6bf86..5e00e96 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/HashPartitioningShuffleConnectorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/HashPartitioningShuffleConnectorDescriptor.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicChannelReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.PartitionCollector;
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
 
     private final MarshalledWritable<Configuration> mConfig;
 
-    public HashPartitioningShuffleConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, MarshalledWritable<Configuration> mConfig) {
+    public HashPartitioningShuffleConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec, MarshalledWritable<Configuration> mConfig) {
         super(spec);
         this.mConfig = mConfig;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/MapperOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/MapperOperatorDescriptor.java
index 4a61296..4b1144a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/MapperOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/MapperOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
@@ -53,7 +53,7 @@
     private final MarshalledWritable<Configuration> config;
     private final IInputSplitProviderFactory factory;
 
-    public MapperOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int jobId, MarshalledWritable<Configuration> config,
+    public MapperOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int jobId, MarshalledWritable<Configuration> config,
             IInputSplitProviderFactory factory) throws HyracksDataException {
         super(spec, 0, 1);
         this.jobId = jobId;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/ReducerOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/ReducerOperatorDescriptor.java
index bbb0d74..d6cab23 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/ReducerOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-hadoop/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/hadoop/mapreduce/ReducerOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@
 
     private MarshalledWritable<Configuration> mConfig;
 
-    public ReducerOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int jobId, MarshalledWritable<Configuration> mConfig) {
+    public ReducerOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int jobId, MarshalledWritable<Configuration> mConfig) {
         super(spec, 1, 0);
         this.jobId = jobId;
         this.mConfig = mConfig;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractConnectorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractConnectorDescriptor.java
index 7c50da9..ef479e1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractConnectorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractConnectorDescriptor.java
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.IConstraintAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ConnectorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 
 public abstract class AbstractConnectorDescriptor implements IConnectorDescriptor {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
@@ -30,9 +30,8 @@
 
     protected String displayName;
 
-    public AbstractConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec) {
-        this.id = spec.createConnectorDescriptor();
-        spec.getConnectorMap().put(id, this);
+    public AbstractConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
+        this.id = spec.createConnectorDescriptor(this);
         displayName = getClass().getName() + "[" + id + "]";
     }
 
@@ -60,7 +59,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, JobActivityGraph plan,
+    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, ActivityCluster ac,
             ICCApplicationContext appCtx) {
         // do nothing
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor.java
index ae1ead5..8e9f131 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor.java
@@ -16,12 +16,12 @@
 
 import java.util.BitSet;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 
 public abstract class AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor extends AbstractConnectorDescriptor {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    public AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec) {
+    public AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
         super(spec);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractOperatorDescriptor.java
index 983851e..153abd3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -22,8 +22,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.OperatorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 
 public abstract class AbstractOperatorDescriptor implements IOperatorDescriptor {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
@@ -40,12 +40,11 @@
 
     protected String displayName;
 
-    public AbstractOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int inputArity, int outputArity) {
-        odId = spec.createOperatorDescriptorId();
+    public AbstractOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int inputArity, int outputArity) {
+        odId = spec.createOperatorDescriptorId(this);
         this.inputArity = inputArity;
         this.outputArity = outputArity;
         recordDescriptors = new RecordDescriptor[outputArity];
-        spec.getOperatorMap().put(getOperatorId(), this);
         displayName = getClass().getName() + "[" + odId + "]";
     }
 
@@ -78,8 +77,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, JobActivityGraph plan,
-            ICCApplicationContext appCtx) {
+    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, ICCApplicationContext appCtx) {
         // do nothing
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor.java
index c4c3326..9048670 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -17,14 +17,14 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivity;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 
 public abstract class AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractOperatorDescriptor implements IActivity {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     protected final ActivityId activityNodeId;
 
-    public AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int inputArity, int outputArity) {
+    public AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int inputArity, int outputArity) {
         super(spec, inputArity, outputArity);
         activityNodeId = new ActivityId(odId, 0);
     }
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public final void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
-        builder.addActivity(this);
+        builder.addActivity(this, this);
         for (int i = 0; i < getInputArity(); ++i) {
             builder.addSourceEdge(i, this, i);
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractStateObject.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractStateObject.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..753fb98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractStateObject.java
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.IStateObject;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
+
+public abstract class AbstractStateObject implements IStateObject {
+    protected JobId jobId;
+
+    protected Object id;
+
+    protected long memoryOccupancy;
+
+    protected AbstractStateObject() {
+    }
+
+    protected AbstractStateObject(JobId jobId, Object id) {
+        this.jobId = jobId;
+        this.id = id;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public final JobId getJobId() {
+        return jobId;
+    }
+
+    public final void setJobId(JobId jobId) {
+        this.jobId = jobId;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public final Object getId() {
+        return id;
+    }
+
+    public final void setId(Object id) {
+        this.id = id;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public final long getMemoryOccupancy() {
+        return memoryOccupancy;
+    }
+
+    public void setMemoryOccupancy(long memoryOccupancy) {
+        this.memoryOccupancy = memoryOccupancy;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractTaskState.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractTaskState.java
deleted file mode 100644
index ba4dfd1..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/base/AbstractTaskState.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,48 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.ITaskState;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-
-public abstract class AbstractTaskState implements ITaskState {
-    protected JobId jobId;
-
-    protected TaskId taId;
-
-    protected long memoryOccupancy;
-
-    protected AbstractTaskState() {
-    }
-
-    protected AbstractTaskState(JobId jobId, TaskId taId) {
-        this.jobId = jobId;
-        this.taId = taId;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public final JobId getJobId() {
-        return jobId;
-    }
-
-    public final void setJobId(JobId jobId) {
-        this.jobId = jobId;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public final TaskId getTaskId() {
-        return taId;
-    }
-
-    public final void setTaskId(TaskId tId) {
-        this.taId = tId;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public final long getMemoryOccupancy() {
-        return memoryOccupancy;
-    }
-
-    public void setMemoryOccupancy(long memoryOccupancy) {
-        this.memoryOccupancy = memoryOccupancy;
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/collectors/PartitionCollector.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/collectors/PartitionCollector.java
index da5b0bc..23df4bb 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/collectors/PartitionCollector.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/collectors/PartitionCollector.java
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@
             PartitionId pid = pc.getPartitionId();
             IInputChannel channel = pc.getInputChannel();
             pa.addPartition(pid, channel);
-            channel.open();
+            channel.open(ctx);
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor.java
index 0e1e413..0349633 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor.java
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicChannelReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicFrameReader;
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
 
     private ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf;
 
-    public LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf,
+    public LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec, ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf,
             ILocalityMap localityMap) {
         super(spec);
         this.localityMap = localityMap;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor.java
index 291e149..451e208 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor.java
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicChannelReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicFrameReader;
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
     private ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf;
 
-    public MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf) {
+    public MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec, ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf) {
         super(spec);
         this.tpcf = tpcf;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor.java
index 2576423..0d80161 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.IPartitionBatchManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicPartitionBatchManager;
@@ -41,12 +41,12 @@
     private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
     private final boolean stable;
 
-    public MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf,
+    public MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec, ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf,
             int[] sortFields, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories) {
         this(spec, tpcf, sortFields, comparatorFactories, false);
     }
 
-    public MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf,
+    public MToNPartitioningMergingConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec, ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf,
             int[] sortFields, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, boolean stable) {
         super(spec);
         this.tpcf = tpcf;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor.java
index fd67f77..2d04938 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor.java
@@ -23,14 +23,14 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicChannelReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicFrameReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.PartitionCollector;
 
 public class MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor extends AbstractMToNConnectorDescriptor {
-    public MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec) {
+    public MToNReplicatingConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
         super(spec);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/OneToOneConnectorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/OneToOneConnectorDescriptor.java
index e8d9751..7d007a4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/OneToOneConnectorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/connectors/OneToOneConnectorDescriptor.java
@@ -24,11 +24,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.IConstraintAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.expressions.PartitionCountExpression;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.OperatorDescriptorId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobActivityGraph;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.ActivityCluster;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicChannelReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.collectors.NonDeterministicFrameReader;
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
 public class OneToOneConnectorDescriptor extends AbstractConnectorDescriptor {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    public OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec) {
+    public OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
         super(spec);
     }
 
@@ -60,14 +60,13 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, JobActivityGraph plan,
+    public void contributeSchedulingConstraints(IConstraintAcceptor constraintAcceptor, ActivityCluster ac,
             ICCApplicationContext appCtx) {
-        JobSpecification jobSpec = plan.getJobSpecification();
-        IOperatorDescriptor consumer = jobSpec.getConsumer(this);
-        IOperatorDescriptor producer = jobSpec.getProducer(this);
+        OperatorDescriptorId consumer = ac.getConsumerActivity(getConnectorId()).getOperatorDescriptorId();
+        OperatorDescriptorId producer = ac.getProducerActivity(getConnectorId()).getOperatorDescriptorId();
 
-        constraintAcceptor.addConstraint(new Constraint(new PartitionCountExpression(consumer.getOperatorId()),
-                new PartitionCountExpression(producer.getOperatorId())));
+        constraintAcceptor.addConstraint(new Constraint(new PartitionCountExpression(consumer),
+                new PartitionCountExpression(producer)));
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/AbstractDeserializedFileScanOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/AbstractDeserializedFileScanOperatorDescriptor.java
index 8544891..1cd898e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/AbstractDeserializedFileScanOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/AbstractDeserializedFileScanOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.IOpenableDataWriterOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.util.DeserializedOperatorNodePushable;
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 
     protected FileSplit[] splits;
 
-    public AbstractDeserializedFileScanOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, FileSplit[] splits,
+    public AbstractDeserializedFileScanOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, FileSplit[] splits,
             RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, 0, 1);
         recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/AbstractFileWriteOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/AbstractFileWriteOperatorDescriptor.java
index 1744b99..e05d80d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/AbstractFileWriteOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/AbstractFileWriteOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.IOpenableDataWriterOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.util.DeserializedOperatorNodePushable;
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@
         this.splits = splits;
     }
 
-    public AbstractFileWriteOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, FileSplit[] splits) {
+    public AbstractFileWriteOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, FileSplit[] splits) {
         super(spec, 1, 0);
         this.splits = splits;
     }
@@ -91,6 +91,6 @@
     public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
             IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
         return new DeserializedOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new FileWriteOperator(partition),
-                recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0));
+                recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/FileScanOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/FileScanOperatorDescriptor.java
index 76cb0ae..d78593b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/FileScanOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/FileScanOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
 
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
 
     private final ITupleParserFactory tupleParserFactory;
 
-    public FileScanOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider,
+    public FileScanOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider,
             ITupleParserFactory tupleParserFactory, RecordDescriptor rDesc) {
         super(spec, 0, 1);
         this.fileSplitProvider = fileSplitProvider;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/FrameFileWriterOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/FrameFileWriterOperatorDescriptor.java
index 8397d29..7f257ea 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/FrameFileWriterOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/FrameFileWriterOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
 
     private IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider;
 
-    public FrameFileWriterOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider) {
+    public FrameFileWriterOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider) {
         super(spec, 1, 0);
         this.fileSplitProvider = fileSplitProvider;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor.java
index 0760fa5..d5256ee 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 import java.io.FileOutputStream;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 
 public class LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractFileWriteOperatorDescriptor {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
@@ -39,15 +39,15 @@
     private int[] columns;
     private char separator;
 
-    public LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, FileSplit[] splits) {
+    public LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, FileSplit[] splits) {
         this(spec, splits, null, RecordWriter.COMMA);
     }
 
-    public LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, FileSplit[] splits, int[] columns) {
+    public LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, FileSplit[] splits, int[] columns) {
         this(spec, splits, columns, RecordWriter.COMMA);
     }
 
-    public LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, FileSplit[] splits, int[] columns, char separator) {
+    public LineFileWriteOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, FileSplit[] splits, int[] columns, char separator) {
         super(spec, splits);
         this.columns = columns;
         this.separator = separator;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor.java
index 6bf29d2..6fb0189 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.ByteBufferInputStream;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@
      * @param inputArity
      * @param outputArity
      */
-    public PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, String delim) {
+    public PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider,
+            String delim) {
         super(spec, 1, 0);
         this.fileSplitProvider = fileSplitProvider;
         this.delim = delim;
@@ -74,9 +75,9 @@
         final FileSplit[] splits = fileSplitProvider.getFileSplits();
         // Frame accessor
         final FrameTupleAccessor frameTupleAccessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(),
-                recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0));
+                recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0));
         // Record descriptor
-        final RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0);
+        final RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0);
         return new AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable() {
             private BufferedWriter out;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/RecordFileScanOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/RecordFileScanOperatorDescriptor.java
index af345aa..36e07c4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/RecordFileScanOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/file/RecordFileScanOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@
 import java.io.IOException;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 
 public class RecordFileScanOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractDeserializedFileScanOperatorDescriptor {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    public RecordFileScanOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, FileSplit[] splits, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
+    public RecordFileScanOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, FileSplit[] splits, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, splits, recordDescriptor);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 58f9ffa..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,675 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group;
-
-import java.io.DataInput;
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Comparator;
-import java.util.LinkedList;
-import java.util.List;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileReader;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.util.ReferenceEntry;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.util.ReferencedPriorityQueue;
-
-/**
- *
- */
-public class ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractOperatorDescriptor {
-
-    private static final int AGGREGATE_ACTIVITY_ID = 0;
-
-    private static final int MERGE_ACTIVITY_ID = 1;
-
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-    private final int[] keyFields;
-    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
-    private final INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstNormalizerFactory;
-
-    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory;
-    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory mergerFactory;
-
-    private final int framesLimit;
-    private final ISpillableTableFactory spillableTableFactory;
-    private final boolean isOutputSorted;
-
-    public ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int[] keyFields, int framesLimit,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstNormalizerFactory,
-            IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory, IAggregatorDescriptorFactory mergerFactory,
-            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, ISpillableTableFactory spillableTableFactory, boolean isOutputSorted) {
-        super(spec, 1, 1);
-        this.framesLimit = framesLimit;
-        if (framesLimit <= 1) {
-            /**
-             * Minimum of 2 frames: 1 for input records, and 1 for output
-             * aggregation results.
-             */
-            throw new IllegalStateException("frame limit should at least be 2, but it is " + framesLimit + "!");
-        }
-        this.aggregatorFactory = aggregatorFactory;
-        this.mergerFactory = mergerFactory;
-        this.keyFields = keyFields;
-        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
-        this.firstNormalizerFactory = firstNormalizerFactory;
-        this.spillableTableFactory = spillableTableFactory;
-        this.isOutputSorted = isOutputSorted;
-
-        /**
-         * Set the record descriptor. Note that since this operator is a unary
-         * operator, only the first record descriptor is used here.
-         */
-        recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
-    }
-
-    /*
-     * (non-Javadoc)
-     * 
-     * @see
-     * edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor#contributeActivities
-     * (edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder)
-     */
-    @Override
-    public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
-        AggregateActivity aggregateAct = new AggregateActivity(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), AGGREGATE_ACTIVITY_ID));
-        MergeActivity mergeAct = new MergeActivity(new ActivityId(odId, MERGE_ACTIVITY_ID));
-
-        builder.addActivity(aggregateAct);
-        builder.addSourceEdge(0, aggregateAct, 0);
-
-        builder.addActivity(mergeAct);
-        builder.addTargetEdge(0, mergeAct, 0);
-
-        builder.addBlockingEdge(aggregateAct, mergeAct);
-    }
-
-    public static class AggregateActivityState extends AbstractTaskState {
-        private LinkedList<RunFileReader> runs;
-
-        private ISpillableTable gTable;
-
-        public AggregateActivityState() {
-        }
-
-        private AggregateActivityState(JobId jobId, TaskId tId) {
-            super(jobId, tId);
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void toBytes(DataOutput out) throws IOException {
-            throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void fromBytes(DataInput in) throws IOException {
-            throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
-        }
-    }
-
-    private class AggregateActivity extends AbstractActivityNode {
-        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-        public AggregateActivity(ActivityId id) {
-            super(id);
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-                final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions)
-                throws HyracksDataException {
-            final FrameTupleAccessor accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(),
-                    recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0));
-            IOperatorNodePushable op = new AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable() {
-                private AggregateActivityState state;
-
-                @Override
-                public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    state = new AggregateActivityState(ctx.getJobletContext().getJobId(), new TaskId(getActivityId(),
-                            partition));
-                    state.runs = new LinkedList<RunFileReader>();
-                    state.gTable = spillableTableFactory.buildSpillableTable(ctx, keyFields, comparatorFactories,
-                            firstNormalizerFactory, aggregatorFactory,
-                            recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0), recordDescriptors[0],
-                            ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.this.framesLimit);
-                    state.gTable.reset();
-                }
-
-                @Override
-                public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
-                    accessor.reset(buffer);
-                    int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
-                    for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
-                        /**
-                         * If the group table is too large, flush the table into
-                         * a run file.
-                         */
-                        if (!state.gTable.insert(accessor, i)) {
-                            flushFramesToRun();
-                            if (!state.gTable.insert(accessor, i))
-                                throw new HyracksDataException(
-                                        "Failed to insert a new buffer into the aggregate operator!");
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-
-                @Override
-                public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    throw new HyracksDataException("failed");
-                }
-
-                @Override
-                public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    if (state.gTable.getFrameCount() >= 0) {
-                        if (state.runs.size() > 0) {
-                            /**
-                             * flush the memory into the run file.
-                             */
-                            flushFramesToRun();
-                            state.gTable.close();
-                            state.gTable = null;
-                        }
-                    }
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
-                }
-
-                private void flushFramesToRun() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    FileReference runFile;
-                    try {
-                        runFile = ctx.getJobletContext().createManagedWorkspaceFile(
-                                ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.class.getSimpleName());
-                    } catch (IOException e) {
-                        throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-                    }
-                    RunFileWriter writer = new RunFileWriter(runFile, ctx.getIOManager());
-                    writer.open();
-                    try {
-                        state.gTable.sortFrames();
-                        state.gTable.flushFrames(writer, true);
-                    } catch (Exception ex) {
-                        throw new HyracksDataException(ex);
-                    } finally {
-                        writer.close();
-                    }
-                    state.gTable.reset();
-                    state.runs.add(((RunFileWriter) writer).createReader());
-                }
-            };
-            return op;
-        }
-    }
-
-    private class MergeActivity extends AbstractActivityNode {
-        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-        public MergeActivity(ActivityId id) {
-            super(id);
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-                IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions)
-                throws HyracksDataException {
-            final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
-            for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
-                comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
-            }
-
-            int[] keyFieldsInPartialResults = new int[keyFields.length];
-            for (int i = 0; i < keyFieldsInPartialResults.length; i++) {
-                keyFieldsInPartialResults[i] = i;
-            }
-
-            final IAggregatorDescriptor aggregator = mergerFactory.createAggregator(ctx, recordDescriptors[0],
-                    recordDescriptors[0], keyFields, keyFieldsInPartialResults);
-            final AggregateState aggregateState = aggregator.createAggregateStates();
-
-            final int[] storedKeys = new int[keyFields.length];
-            /**
-             * Get the list of the fields in the stored records.
-             */
-            for (int i = 0; i < keyFields.length; ++i) {
-                storedKeys[i] = i;
-            }
-
-            final ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(recordDescriptors[0].getFields().length);
-
-            IOperatorNodePushable op = new AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable() {
-                /**
-                 * Input frames, one for each run file.
-                 */
-                private List<ByteBuffer> inFrames;
-
-                /**
-                 * Output frame.
-                 */
-                private ByteBuffer outFrame, writerFrame;
-                private final FrameTupleAppender outAppender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
-                private FrameTupleAppender writerAppender;
-
-                private LinkedList<RunFileReader> runs;
-
-                private AggregateActivityState aggState;
-
-                private ArrayTupleBuilder finalTupleBuilder;
-
-                /**
-                 * how many frames to be read ahead once
-                 */
-                private int runFrameLimit = 1;
-
-                private int[] currentFrameIndexInRun;
-                private int[] currentRunFrames;
-
-                private final FrameTupleAccessor outFrameAccessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(),
-                        recordDescriptors[0]);
-
-                public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    aggState = (AggregateActivityState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
-                            AGGREGATE_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
-                    runs = aggState.runs;
-                    writer.open();
-                    try {
-                        if (runs.size() <= 0) {
-                            ISpillableTable gTable = aggState.gTable;
-                            if (gTable != null) {
-                                if (isOutputSorted)
-                                    gTable.sortFrames();
-                                gTable.flushFrames(writer, false);
-                            }
-                            gTable = null;
-                            aggState = null;
-                            System.gc();
-                        } else {
-                            aggState = null;
-                            System.gc();
-                            runs = new LinkedList<RunFileReader>(runs);
-                            inFrames = new ArrayList<ByteBuffer>();
-                            outFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-                            outAppender.reset(outFrame, true);
-                            outFrameAccessor.reset(outFrame);
-                            while (runs.size() > 0) {
-                                try {
-                                    doPass(runs);
-                                } catch (Exception e) {
-                                    throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-                                }
-                            }
-                            inFrames.clear();
-                        }
-                    } catch (Exception e) {
-                        writer.fail();
-                        throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-                    } finally {
-                        aggregateState.close();
-                        writer.close();
-                    }
-                }
-
-                private void doPass(LinkedList<RunFileReader> runs) throws HyracksDataException {
-                    FileReference newRun = null;
-                    IFrameWriter writer = this.writer;
-                    boolean finalPass = false;
-
-                    while (inFrames.size() + 2 < framesLimit) {
-                        inFrames.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
-                    }
-                    int runNumber;
-                    if (runs.size() + 2 <= framesLimit) {
-                        finalPass = true;
-                        runFrameLimit = (framesLimit - 2) / runs.size();
-                        runNumber = runs.size();
-                    } else {
-                        runNumber = framesLimit - 2;
-                        newRun = ctx.getJobletContext().createManagedWorkspaceFile(
-                                ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.class.getSimpleName());
-                        writer = new RunFileWriter(newRun, ctx.getIOManager());
-                        writer.open();
-                    }
-                    try {
-                        currentFrameIndexInRun = new int[runNumber];
-                        currentRunFrames = new int[runNumber];
-                        /**
-                         * Create file readers for each input run file, only for
-                         * the ones fit into the inFrames
-                         */
-                        RunFileReader[] runFileReaders = new RunFileReader[runNumber];
-                        FrameTupleAccessor[] tupleAccessors = new FrameTupleAccessor[inFrames.size()];
-                        Comparator<ReferenceEntry> comparator = createEntryComparator(comparators);
-                        ReferencedPriorityQueue topTuples = new ReferencedPriorityQueue(ctx.getFrameSize(),
-                                recordDescriptors[0], runNumber, comparator);
-                        /**
-                         * current tuple index in each run
-                         */
-                        int[] tupleIndices = new int[runNumber];
-
-                        for (int i = 0; i < runNumber; i++) {
-                            int runIndex = topTuples.peek().getRunid();
-                            tupleIndices[runIndex] = 0;
-                            // Load the run file
-                            runFileReaders[runIndex] = runs.get(runIndex);
-                            runFileReaders[runIndex].open();
-
-                            currentRunFrames[runIndex] = 0;
-                            currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex] = runIndex * runFrameLimit;
-                            for (int j = 0; j < runFrameLimit; j++) {
-                                int frameIndex = currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex] + j;
-                                if (runFileReaders[runIndex].nextFrame(inFrames.get(frameIndex))) {
-                                    tupleAccessors[frameIndex] = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(),
-                                            recordDescriptors[0]);
-                                    tupleAccessors[frameIndex].reset(inFrames.get(frameIndex));
-                                    currentRunFrames[runIndex]++;
-                                    if (j == 0)
-                                        setNextTopTuple(runIndex, tupleIndices, runFileReaders, tupleAccessors,
-                                                topTuples);
-                                } else {
-                                    break;
-                                }
-                            }
-                        }
-
-                        /**
-                         * Start merging
-                         */
-                        while (!topTuples.areRunsExhausted()) {
-                            /**
-                             * Get the top record
-                             */
-                            ReferenceEntry top = topTuples.peek();
-                            int tupleIndex = top.getTupleIndex();
-                            int runIndex = topTuples.peek().getRunid();
-                            FrameTupleAccessor fta = top.getAccessor();
-
-                            int currentTupleInOutFrame = outFrameAccessor.getTupleCount() - 1;
-                            if (currentTupleInOutFrame < 0
-                                    || compareFrameTuples(fta, tupleIndex, outFrameAccessor, currentTupleInOutFrame) != 0) {
-                                /**
-                                 * Initialize the first output record Reset the
-                                 * tuple builder
-                                 */
-
-                                tupleBuilder.reset();
-                                
-                                for(int k = 0; k < storedKeys.length; k++){
-                                	tupleBuilder.addField(fta, tupleIndex, storedKeys[k]);
-                                }
-
-                                aggregator.init(tupleBuilder, fta, tupleIndex, aggregateState);
-
-                                if (!outAppender.appendSkipEmptyField(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(),
-                                        tupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, tupleBuilder.getSize())) {
-                                    flushOutFrame(writer, finalPass);
-                                    if (!outAppender.appendSkipEmptyField(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(),
-                                            tupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, tupleBuilder.getSize())) {
-                                        throw new HyracksDataException(
-                                                "The partial result is too large to be initialized in a frame.");
-                                    }
-                                }
-
-                            } else {
-                                /**
-                                 * if new tuple is in the same group of the
-                                 * current aggregator do merge and output to the
-                                 * outFrame
-                                 */
-
-                                aggregator.aggregate(fta, tupleIndex, outFrameAccessor, currentTupleInOutFrame,
-                                        aggregateState);
-
-                            }
-                            tupleIndices[runIndex]++;
-                            setNextTopTuple(runIndex, tupleIndices, runFileReaders, tupleAccessors, topTuples);
-                        }
-
-                        if (outAppender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
-                            flushOutFrame(writer, finalPass);
-                            outAppender.reset(outFrame, true);
-                        }
-
-                        aggregator.close();
-
-                        runs.subList(0, runNumber).clear();
-                        /**
-                         * insert the new run file into the beginning of the run
-                         * file list
-                         */
-                        if (!finalPass) {
-                            runs.add(0, ((RunFileWriter) writer).createReader());
-                        }
-                    } finally {
-                        if (!finalPass) {
-                            writer.close();
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-
-                private void flushOutFrame(IFrameWriter writer, boolean isFinal) throws HyracksDataException {
-
-                    if (finalTupleBuilder == null) {
-                        finalTupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(recordDescriptors[0].getFields().length);
-                    }
-
-                    if (writerFrame == null) {
-                        writerFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-                    }
-
-                    if (writerAppender == null) {
-                        writerAppender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
-                        writerAppender.reset(writerFrame, true);
-                    }
-
-                    outFrameAccessor.reset(outFrame);
-
-                    for (int i = 0; i < outFrameAccessor.getTupleCount(); i++) {
-
-                        finalTupleBuilder.reset();
-
-                        for (int k = 0; k < storedKeys.length; k++) {
-                            finalTupleBuilder.addField(outFrameAccessor, i, storedKeys[k]);
-                        }
-
-                        if (isFinal) {
-
-                            aggregator.outputFinalResult(finalTupleBuilder, outFrameAccessor, i, aggregateState);
-
-                        } else {
-
-                            aggregator.outputPartialResult(finalTupleBuilder, outFrameAccessor, i, aggregateState);
-                        }
-
-                        if (!writerAppender.appendSkipEmptyField(finalTupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(),
-                                finalTupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, finalTupleBuilder.getSize())) {
-                            FrameUtils.flushFrame(writerFrame, writer);
-                            writerAppender.reset(writerFrame, true);
-                            if (!writerAppender.appendSkipEmptyField(finalTupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(),
-                                    finalTupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, finalTupleBuilder.getSize())) {
-                                throw new HyracksDataException(
-                                        "Aggregation output is too large to be fit into a frame.");
-                            }
-                        }
-                    }
-                    if (writerAppender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
-                        FrameUtils.flushFrame(writerFrame, writer);
-                        writerAppender.reset(writerFrame, true);
-                    }
-
-                    outAppender.reset(outFrame, true);
-                }
-
-                private void setNextTopTuple(int runIndex, int[] tupleIndices, RunFileReader[] runCursors,
-                        FrameTupleAccessor[] tupleAccessors, ReferencedPriorityQueue topTuples)
-                        throws HyracksDataException {
-                    int runStart = runIndex * runFrameLimit;
-                    boolean existNext = false;
-                    if (tupleAccessors[currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]] == null || runCursors[runIndex] == null) {
-                        /**
-                         * run already closed
-                         */
-                        existNext = false;
-                    } else if (currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex] - runStart < currentRunFrames[runIndex] - 1) {
-                        /**
-                         * not the last frame for this run
-                         */
-                        existNext = true;
-                        if (tupleIndices[runIndex] >= tupleAccessors[currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]].getTupleCount()) {
-                            tupleIndices[runIndex] = 0;
-                            currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]++;
-                        }
-                    } else if (tupleIndices[runIndex] < tupleAccessors[currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]]
-                            .getTupleCount()) {
-                        /**
-                         * the last frame has expired
-                         */
-                        existNext = true;
-                    } else {
-                        /**
-                         * If all tuples in the targeting frame have been
-                         * checked.
-                         */
-                        tupleIndices[runIndex] = 0;
-                        currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex] = runStart;
-                        /**
-                         * read in batch
-                         */
-                        currentRunFrames[runIndex] = 0;
-                        for (int j = 0; j < runFrameLimit; j++) {
-                            int frameIndex = currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]
-                                    + j;
-                            if (runCursors[runIndex].nextFrame(inFrames
-                                    .get(frameIndex))) {
-                                tupleAccessors[frameIndex].reset(inFrames
-                                        .get(frameIndex));
-                                existNext = true;
-                                currentRunFrames[runIndex]++;
-                            } else {
-                                break;
-                            }
-                        }
-                    }
-
-                    if (existNext) {
-                        topTuples.popAndReplace(tupleAccessors[currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]],
-                                tupleIndices[runIndex]);
-                    } else {
-                        topTuples.pop();
-                        closeRun(runIndex, runCursors, tupleAccessors);
-                    }
-                }
-
-                /**
-                 * Close the run file, and also the corresponding readers and
-                 * input frame.
-                 * 
-                 * @param index
-                 * @param runCursors
-                 * @param tupleAccessor
-                 * @throws HyracksDataException
-                 */
-                private void closeRun(int index, RunFileReader[] runCursors, IFrameTupleAccessor[] tupleAccessor)
-                        throws HyracksDataException {
-                    if (runCursors[index] != null) {
-                        runCursors[index].close();
-                        runCursors[index] = null;
-                        int frameOffset = index * runFrameLimit;
-                        for (int j = 0; j < runFrameLimit; j++) {
-                            tupleAccessor[frameOffset + j] = null;
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-
-                private int compareFrameTuples(IFrameTupleAccessor fta1, int j1, IFrameTupleAccessor fta2, int j2) {
-                    byte[] b1 = fta1.getBuffer().array();
-                    byte[] b2 = fta2.getBuffer().array();
-                    for (int f = 0; f < keyFields.length; ++f) {
-                        int fIdx = f;
-                        int s1 = fta1.getTupleStartOffset(j1) + fta1.getFieldSlotsLength()
-                                + fta1.getFieldStartOffset(j1, fIdx);
-                        int l1 = fta1.getFieldLength(j1, fIdx);
-                        int s2 = fta2.getTupleStartOffset(j2) + fta2.getFieldSlotsLength()
-                                + fta2.getFieldStartOffset(j2, fIdx);
-                        int l2_start = fta2.getFieldStartOffset(j2, fIdx);
-                        int l2_end = fta2.getFieldEndOffset(j2, fIdx);
-                        int l2 = l2_end - l2_start;
-                        int c = comparators[f].compare(b1, s1, l1, b2, s2, l2);
-                        if (c != 0) {
-                            return c;
-                        }
-                    }
-                    return 0;
-                }
-            };
-            return op;
-        }
-
-        private Comparator<ReferenceEntry> createEntryComparator(final IBinaryComparator[] comparators) {
-            return new Comparator<ReferenceEntry>() {
-
-                @Override
-                public int compare(ReferenceEntry o1, ReferenceEntry o2) {
-                    FrameTupleAccessor fta1 = (FrameTupleAccessor) o1.getAccessor();
-                    FrameTupleAccessor fta2 = (FrameTupleAccessor) o2.getAccessor();
-                    int j1 = o1.getTupleIndex();
-                    int j2 = o2.getTupleIndex();
-                    byte[] b1 = fta1.getBuffer().array();
-                    byte[] b2 = fta2.getBuffer().array();
-                    for (int f = 0; f < keyFields.length; ++f) {
-                        int fIdx = f;
-                        int s1 = fta1.getTupleStartOffset(j1) + fta1.getFieldSlotsLength()
-                                + fta1.getFieldStartOffset(j1, fIdx);
-                        int l1 = fta1.getFieldEndOffset(j1, fIdx) - fta1.getFieldStartOffset(j1, fIdx);
-                        int s2 = fta2.getTupleStartOffset(j2) + fta2.getFieldSlotsLength()
-                                + fta2.getFieldStartOffset(j2, fIdx);
-                        int l2 = fta2.getFieldEndOffset(j2, fIdx) - fta2.getFieldStartOffset(j2, fIdx);
-                        int c = comparators[f].compare(b1, s1, l1, b2, s2, l2);
-                        if (c != 0) {
-                            return c;
-                        }
-                    }
-                    return 0;
-                }
-
-            };
-        }
-
-    }
-
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/HashGroupOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/HashGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 49443d1..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/HashGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,193 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group;
-
-import java.io.DataInput;
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
-
-/**
- *
- */
-public class HashGroupOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractOperatorDescriptor {
-
-    private static final int HASH_BUILD_ACTIVITY_ID = 0;
-
-    private static final int OUTPUT_ACTIVITY_ID = 1;
-
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-    private final int[] keys;
-    private final ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf;
-    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
-
-    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory;
-
-    private final int tableSize;
-
-    public HashGroupOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int[] keys, ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory,
-            RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor, int tableSize) {
-        super(spec, 1, 1);
-        this.keys = keys;
-        this.tpcf = tpcf;
-        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
-        this.aggregatorFactory = aggregatorFactory;
-        recordDescriptors[0] = outRecordDescriptor;
-        this.tableSize = tableSize;
-    }
-
-    /*
-     * (non-Javadoc)
-     * 
-     * @see
-     * edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor#contributeActivities
-     * (edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder)
-     */
-    @Override
-    public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
-        HashBuildActivity ha = new HashBuildActivity(new ActivityId(odId, HASH_BUILD_ACTIVITY_ID));
-        builder.addActivity(ha);
-
-        OutputActivity oa = new OutputActivity(new ActivityId(odId, OUTPUT_ACTIVITY_ID));
-        builder.addActivity(oa);
-
-        builder.addSourceEdge(0, ha, 0);
-        builder.addTargetEdge(0, oa, 0);
-        builder.addBlockingEdge(ha, oa);
-    }
-
-    public static class HashBuildActivityState extends AbstractTaskState {
-        private GroupingHashTable table;
-
-        public HashBuildActivityState() {
-        }
-
-        private HashBuildActivityState(JobId jobId, TaskId tId) {
-            super(jobId, tId);
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void toBytes(DataOutput out) throws IOException {
-
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void fromBytes(DataInput in) throws IOException {
-
-        }
-    }
-
-    private class HashBuildActivity extends AbstractActivityNode {
-        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-        public HashBuildActivity(ActivityId id) {
-            super(id);
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-                final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions) {
-            final FrameTupleAccessor accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(),
-                    recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0));
-            return new AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable() {
-                private HashBuildActivityState state;
-
-                @Override
-                public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    state = new HashBuildActivityState(ctx.getJobletContext().getJobId(), new TaskId(getActivityId(),
-                            partition));
-                    state.table = new GroupingHashTable(ctx, keys, comparatorFactories, tpcf, aggregatorFactory,
-                            recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0), recordDescriptors[0],
-                            tableSize);
-                }
-
-                @Override
-                public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
-                    accessor.reset(buffer);
-                    int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
-                    for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; ++i) {
-                        try {
-                            state.table.insert(accessor, i);
-                        } catch (Exception e) {
-                            System.out.println(e.toString());
-                            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-
-                @Override
-                public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
-                }
-
-                @Override
-                public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    throw new HyracksDataException("HashGroupOperator is failed.");
-                }
-            };
-        }
-    }
-
-    private class OutputActivity extends AbstractActivityNode {
-        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-        public OutputActivity(ActivityId id) {
-            super(id);
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-                IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions) {
-            return new AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable() {
-                @Override
-                public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    HashBuildActivityState buildState = (HashBuildActivityState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(
-                            new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), HASH_BUILD_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
-                    GroupingHashTable table = buildState.table;
-                    writer.open();
-                    try {
-                        table.write(writer);
-                    } catch (Exception e) {
-                        writer.fail();
-                        throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-                    } finally {
-                        writer.close();
-                    }
-                }
-            };
-        }
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/HashSpillableTableFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/HashSpillableTableFactory.java
index b0e092d..f2b56fa 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/HashSpillableTableFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/HashSpillableTableFactory.java
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
@@ -80,25 +79,10 @@
         }
 
         RecordDescriptor internalRecordDescriptor = outRecordDescriptor;
-        final FrameTupleAccessor storedKeysAccessor1;
-        final FrameTupleAccessor storedKeysAccessor2;
-        if (keyFields.length >= outRecordDescriptor.getFields().length) {
-            // for the case of zero-aggregations
-            ISerializerDeserializer<?>[] fields = outRecordDescriptor.getFields();
-            ITypeTraits[] types = outRecordDescriptor.getTypeTraits();
-            ISerializerDeserializer<?>[] newFields = new ISerializerDeserializer[fields.length + 1];
-            for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; i++)
-                newFields[i] = fields[i];
-            ITypeTraits[] newTypes = null;
-            if (types != null) {
-                newTypes = new ITypeTraits[types.length + 1];
-                for (int i = 0; i < types.length; i++)
-                    newTypes[i] = types[i];
-            }
-            internalRecordDescriptor = new RecordDescriptor(newFields, newTypes);
-        }
-        storedKeysAccessor1 = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), internalRecordDescriptor);
-        storedKeysAccessor2 = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), internalRecordDescriptor);
+        final FrameTupleAccessor storedKeysAccessor1 = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(),
+                internalRecordDescriptor);
+        final FrameTupleAccessor storedKeysAccessor2 = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(),
+                internalRecordDescriptor);
 
         final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
         for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
@@ -225,7 +209,7 @@
                     for (int k = 0; k < keyFields.length; k++) {
                         stateTupleBuilder.addField(accessor, tIndex, keyFields[k]);
                     }
-                    
+
                     aggregator.init(stateTupleBuilder, accessor, tIndex, aggregateState);
                     if (!stateAppender.appendSkipEmptyField(stateTupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(),
                             stateTupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, stateTupleBuilder.getSize())) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
deleted file mode 100644
index c718ee4..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,91 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group;
-
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
-
-public class PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor {
-    private final int[] groupFields;
-    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
-    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory;
-
-    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-    public PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int[] groupFields,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory,
-            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
-        super(spec, 1, 1);
-        this.groupFields = groupFields;
-        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
-        this.aggregatorFactory = aggregatorFactory;
-        recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) throws HyracksDataException {
-        final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
-        for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
-            comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
-        }
-        final RecordDescriptor inRecordDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0);
-        final IAggregatorDescriptor aggregator = aggregatorFactory.createAggregator(ctx, inRecordDesc,
-                recordDescriptors[0], groupFields, groupFields);
-        final ByteBuffer copyFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-        final FrameTupleAccessor copyFrameAccessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), inRecordDesc);
-        copyFrameAccessor.reset(copyFrame);
-        ByteBuffer outFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-        final FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
-        appender.reset(outFrame, true);
-        return new AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable() {
-            private PreclusteredGroupWriter pgw;
-
-            @Override
-            public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                pgw = new PreclusteredGroupWriter(ctx, groupFields, comparators, aggregator, inRecordDesc,
-                        recordDescriptors[0], writer);
-                pgw.open();
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
-                pgw.nextFrame(buffer);
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
-                pgw.fail();
-            }
-
-            @Override
-            public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-                pgw.close();
-            }
-        };
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ede6728
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,138 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.external;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.LinkedList;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileReader;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.ISpillableTable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.ISpillableTableFactory;
+
+class ExternalGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable {
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    private final Object stateId;
+    private final int[] keyFields;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
+    private final INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstNormalizerFactory;
+    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory;
+    private final int framesLimit;
+    private final ISpillableTableFactory spillableTableFactory;
+    private final RecordDescriptor inRecordDescriptor;
+    private final RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor;
+    private final FrameTupleAccessor accessor;
+
+    private ExternalGroupState state;
+
+    ExternalGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, Object stateId, int[] keyFields, int framesLimit,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstNormalizerFactory,
+            IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory, RecordDescriptor inRecordDescriptor,
+            RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor, ISpillableTableFactory spillableTableFactory) {
+        this.ctx = ctx;
+        this.stateId = stateId;
+        this.framesLimit = framesLimit;
+        this.aggregatorFactory = aggregatorFactory;
+        this.keyFields = keyFields;
+        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
+        this.firstNormalizerFactory = firstNormalizerFactory;
+        this.spillableTableFactory = spillableTableFactory;
+        this.inRecordDescriptor = inRecordDescriptor;
+        this.outRecordDescriptor = outRecordDescriptor;
+        this.accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), inRecordDescriptor);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+        state = new ExternalGroupState(ctx.getJobletContext().getJobId(), stateId);
+        state.setRuns(new LinkedList<RunFileReader>());
+        ISpillableTable table = spillableTableFactory.buildSpillableTable(ctx, keyFields, comparatorFactories,
+                firstNormalizerFactory, aggregatorFactory, inRecordDescriptor, outRecordDescriptor, framesLimit);
+        table.reset();
+        state.setSpillableTable(table);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
+        accessor.reset(buffer);
+        int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
+        ISpillableTable gTable = state.getSpillableTable();
+        for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
+            /**
+             * If the group table is too large, flush the table into
+             * a run file.
+             */
+            if (!gTable.insert(accessor, i)) {
+                flushFramesToRun();
+                if (!gTable.insert(accessor, i))
+                    throw new HyracksDataException("Failed to insert a new buffer into the aggregate operator!");
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+        //do nothing for failures
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+        ISpillableTable gTable = state.getSpillableTable();
+        if (gTable.getFrameCount() >= 0) {
+            if (state.getRuns().size() > 0) {
+                /**
+                 * flush the memory into the run file.
+                 */
+                flushFramesToRun();
+                gTable.close();
+                gTable = null;
+            }
+        }
+        ctx.setStateObject(state);
+    }
+
+    private void flushFramesToRun() throws HyracksDataException {
+        FileReference runFile;
+        try {
+            runFile = ctx.getJobletContext().createManagedWorkspaceFile(
+                    ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.class.getSimpleName());
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+        }
+        RunFileWriter writer = new RunFileWriter(runFile, ctx.getIOManager());
+        writer.open();
+        ISpillableTable gTable = state.getSpillableTable();
+        try {
+            gTable.sortFrames();
+            gTable.flushFrames(writer, true);
+        } catch (Exception ex) {
+            throw new HyracksDataException(ex);
+        } finally {
+            writer.close();
+        }
+        gTable.reset();
+        state.getRuns().add(((RunFileWriter) writer).createReader());
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupMergeOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupMergeOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..297b75c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupMergeOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,462 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.external;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Comparator;
+import java.util.LinkedList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileReader;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.AggregateState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.ISpillableTable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.util.ReferenceEntry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.util.ReferencedPriorityQueue;
+
+class ExternalGroupMergeOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable {
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    private final Object stateId;
+    private final int[] keyFields;
+    private final IBinaryComparator[] comparators;
+    private final AggregateState aggregateState;
+    private final ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder;
+    private final int[] storedKeys;
+    private final IAggregatorDescriptor aggregator;
+    private final boolean isOutputSorted;
+    private final int framesLimit;
+    private final RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor;
+    /**
+     * Input frames, one for each run file.
+     */
+    private List<ByteBuffer> inFrames;
+    /**
+     * Output frame.
+     */
+    private ByteBuffer outFrame, writerFrame;
+    private final FrameTupleAppender outAppender;
+    private FrameTupleAppender writerAppender;
+    private LinkedList<RunFileReader> runs;
+    private ExternalGroupState aggState;
+    private ArrayTupleBuilder finalTupleBuilder;
+    /**
+     * how many frames to be read ahead once
+     */
+    private int runFrameLimit = 1;
+    private int[] currentFrameIndexInRun;
+    private int[] currentRunFrames;
+    private final FrameTupleAccessor outFrameAccessor;
+
+    ExternalGroupMergeOperatorNodePushable(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, Object stateId,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, int[] keyFields,
+            IAggregatorDescriptorFactory mergerFactory, boolean isOutputSorted, int framesLimit,
+            RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor) throws HyracksDataException {
+        this.stateId = stateId;
+        this.keyFields = keyFields;
+        comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
+            comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
+        }
+        int[] keyFieldsInPartialResults = new int[keyFields.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < keyFieldsInPartialResults.length; i++) {
+            keyFieldsInPartialResults[i] = i;
+        }
+
+        aggregator = mergerFactory.createAggregator(ctx, outRecordDescriptor, outRecordDescriptor, keyFields,
+                keyFieldsInPartialResults);
+        aggregateState = aggregator.createAggregateStates();
+
+        storedKeys = new int[keyFields.length];
+        /**
+         * Get the list of the fields in the stored records.
+         */
+        for (int i = 0; i < keyFields.length; ++i) {
+            storedKeys[i] = i;
+        }
+
+        tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(outRecordDescriptor.getFields().length);
+        this.ctx = ctx;
+        outAppender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
+        outFrameAccessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), outRecordDescriptor);
+        this.isOutputSorted = isOutputSorted;
+        this.framesLimit = framesLimit;
+        this.outRecordDescriptor = outRecordDescriptor;
+    }
+
+    public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
+        aggState = (ExternalGroupState) ctx.getStateObject(stateId);
+        runs = aggState.getRuns();
+        writer.open();
+        try {
+            if (runs.size() <= 0) {
+                ISpillableTable gTable = aggState.getSpillableTable();
+                if (gTable != null) {
+                    if (isOutputSorted)
+                        gTable.sortFrames();
+                    gTable.flushFrames(writer, false);
+                }
+                gTable = null;
+                aggState = null;
+            } else {
+                aggState = null;
+                runs = new LinkedList<RunFileReader>(runs);
+                inFrames = new ArrayList<ByteBuffer>();
+                outFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
+                outAppender.reset(outFrame, true);
+                outFrameAccessor.reset(outFrame);
+                while (runs.size() > 0) {
+                    try {
+                        doPass(runs);
+                    } catch (Exception e) {
+                        throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+                    }
+                }
+                inFrames.clear();
+            }
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            writer.fail();
+            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+        } finally {
+            aggregateState.close();
+            writer.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void doPass(LinkedList<RunFileReader> runs) throws HyracksDataException {
+        FileReference newRun = null;
+        IFrameWriter writer = this.writer;
+        boolean finalPass = false;
+
+        while (inFrames.size() + 2 < framesLimit) {
+            inFrames.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
+        }
+        int runNumber;
+        if (runs.size() + 2 <= framesLimit) {
+            finalPass = true;
+            runFrameLimit = (framesLimit - 2) / runs.size();
+            runNumber = runs.size();
+        } else {
+            runNumber = framesLimit - 2;
+            newRun = ctx.getJobletContext().createManagedWorkspaceFile(
+                    ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.class.getSimpleName());
+            writer = new RunFileWriter(newRun, ctx.getIOManager());
+            writer.open();
+        }
+        try {
+            currentFrameIndexInRun = new int[runNumber];
+            currentRunFrames = new int[runNumber];
+            /**
+             * Create file readers for each input run file, only for
+             * the ones fit into the inFrames
+             */
+            RunFileReader[] runFileReaders = new RunFileReader[runNumber];
+            FrameTupleAccessor[] tupleAccessors = new FrameTupleAccessor[inFrames.size()];
+            Comparator<ReferenceEntry> comparator = createEntryComparator(comparators);
+            ReferencedPriorityQueue topTuples = new ReferencedPriorityQueue(ctx.getFrameSize(), outRecordDescriptor,
+                    runNumber, comparator);
+            /**
+             * current tuple index in each run
+             */
+            int[] tupleIndices = new int[runNumber];
+
+            for (int i = 0; i < runNumber; i++) {
+                int runIndex = topTuples.peek().getRunid();
+                tupleIndices[runIndex] = 0;
+                // Load the run file
+                runFileReaders[runIndex] = runs.get(runIndex);
+                runFileReaders[runIndex].open();
+
+                currentRunFrames[runIndex] = 0;
+                currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex] = runIndex * runFrameLimit;
+                for (int j = 0; j < runFrameLimit; j++) {
+                    int frameIndex = currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex] + j;
+                    if (runFileReaders[runIndex].nextFrame(inFrames.get(frameIndex))) {
+                        tupleAccessors[frameIndex] = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), outRecordDescriptor);
+                        tupleAccessors[frameIndex].reset(inFrames.get(frameIndex));
+                        currentRunFrames[runIndex]++;
+                        if (j == 0)
+                            setNextTopTuple(runIndex, tupleIndices, runFileReaders, tupleAccessors, topTuples);
+                    } else {
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+
+            /**
+             * Start merging
+             */
+            while (!topTuples.areRunsExhausted()) {
+                /**
+                 * Get the top record
+                 */
+                ReferenceEntry top = topTuples.peek();
+                int tupleIndex = top.getTupleIndex();
+                int runIndex = topTuples.peek().getRunid();
+                FrameTupleAccessor fta = top.getAccessor();
+
+                int currentTupleInOutFrame = outFrameAccessor.getTupleCount() - 1;
+                if (currentTupleInOutFrame < 0
+                        || compareFrameTuples(fta, tupleIndex, outFrameAccessor, currentTupleInOutFrame) != 0) {
+                    /**
+                     * Initialize the first output record Reset the
+                     * tuple builder
+                     */
+
+                    tupleBuilder.reset();
+
+                    for (int k = 0; k < storedKeys.length; k++) {
+                        tupleBuilder.addField(fta, tupleIndex, storedKeys[k]);
+                    }
+
+                    aggregator.init(tupleBuilder, fta, tupleIndex, aggregateState);
+
+                    if (!outAppender.appendSkipEmptyField(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(),
+                            tupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, tupleBuilder.getSize())) {
+                        flushOutFrame(writer, finalPass);
+                        if (!outAppender.appendSkipEmptyField(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(),
+                                tupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, tupleBuilder.getSize())) {
+                            throw new HyracksDataException(
+                                    "The partial result is too large to be initialized in a frame.");
+                        }
+                    }
+
+                } else {
+                    /**
+                     * if new tuple is in the same group of the
+                     * current aggregator do merge and output to the
+                     * outFrame
+                     */
+
+                    aggregator.aggregate(fta, tupleIndex, outFrameAccessor, currentTupleInOutFrame, aggregateState);
+
+                }
+                tupleIndices[runIndex]++;
+                setNextTopTuple(runIndex, tupleIndices, runFileReaders, tupleAccessors, topTuples);
+            }
+
+            if (outAppender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
+                flushOutFrame(writer, finalPass);
+                outAppender.reset(outFrame, true);
+            }
+
+            aggregator.close();
+
+            runs.subList(0, runNumber).clear();
+            /**
+             * insert the new run file into the beginning of the run
+             * file list
+             */
+            if (!finalPass) {
+                runs.add(0, ((RunFileWriter) writer).createReader());
+            }
+        } finally {
+            if (!finalPass) {
+                writer.close();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void flushOutFrame(IFrameWriter writer, boolean isFinal) throws HyracksDataException {
+
+        if (finalTupleBuilder == null) {
+            finalTupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(outRecordDescriptor.getFields().length);
+        }
+
+        if (writerFrame == null) {
+            writerFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
+        }
+
+        if (writerAppender == null) {
+            writerAppender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
+            writerAppender.reset(writerFrame, true);
+        }
+
+        outFrameAccessor.reset(outFrame);
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < outFrameAccessor.getTupleCount(); i++) {
+
+            finalTupleBuilder.reset();
+
+            for (int k = 0; k < storedKeys.length; k++) {
+                finalTupleBuilder.addField(outFrameAccessor, i, storedKeys[k]);
+            }
+
+            if (isFinal) {
+
+                aggregator.outputFinalResult(finalTupleBuilder, outFrameAccessor, i, aggregateState);
+
+            } else {
+
+                aggregator.outputPartialResult(finalTupleBuilder, outFrameAccessor, i, aggregateState);
+            }
+
+            if (!writerAppender.appendSkipEmptyField(finalTupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(),
+                    finalTupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, finalTupleBuilder.getSize())) {
+                FrameUtils.flushFrame(writerFrame, writer);
+                writerAppender.reset(writerFrame, true);
+                if (!writerAppender.appendSkipEmptyField(finalTupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(),
+                        finalTupleBuilder.getByteArray(), 0, finalTupleBuilder.getSize())) {
+                    throw new HyracksDataException("Aggregation output is too large to be fit into a frame.");
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        if (writerAppender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
+            FrameUtils.flushFrame(writerFrame, writer);
+            writerAppender.reset(writerFrame, true);
+        }
+
+        outAppender.reset(outFrame, true);
+    }
+
+    private void setNextTopTuple(int runIndex, int[] tupleIndices, RunFileReader[] runCursors,
+            FrameTupleAccessor[] tupleAccessors, ReferencedPriorityQueue topTuples) throws HyracksDataException {
+        int runStart = runIndex * runFrameLimit;
+        boolean existNext = false;
+        if (tupleAccessors[currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]] == null || runCursors[runIndex] == null) {
+            /**
+             * run already closed
+             */
+            existNext = false;
+        } else if (currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex] - runStart < currentRunFrames[runIndex] - 1) {
+            /**
+             * not the last frame for this run
+             */
+            existNext = true;
+            if (tupleIndices[runIndex] >= tupleAccessors[currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]].getTupleCount()) {
+                tupleIndices[runIndex] = 0;
+                currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]++;
+            }
+        } else if (tupleIndices[runIndex] < tupleAccessors[currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]].getTupleCount()) {
+            /**
+             * the last frame has expired
+             */
+            existNext = true;
+        } else {
+            /**
+             * If all tuples in the targeting frame have been
+             * checked.
+             */
+            tupleIndices[runIndex] = 0;
+            currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex] = runStart;
+            /**
+             * read in batch
+             */
+            currentRunFrames[runIndex] = 0;
+            for (int j = 0; j < runFrameLimit; j++) {
+                int frameIndex = currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex] + j;
+                if (runCursors[runIndex].nextFrame(inFrames.get(frameIndex))) {
+                    tupleAccessors[frameIndex].reset(inFrames.get(frameIndex));
+                    existNext = true;
+                    currentRunFrames[runIndex]++;
+                } else {
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        if (existNext) {
+            topTuples.popAndReplace(tupleAccessors[currentFrameIndexInRun[runIndex]], tupleIndices[runIndex]);
+        } else {
+            topTuples.pop();
+            closeRun(runIndex, runCursors, tupleAccessors);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Close the run file, and also the corresponding readers and
+     * input frame.
+     * 
+     * @param index
+     * @param runCursors
+     * @param tupleAccessor
+     * @throws HyracksDataException
+     */
+    private void closeRun(int index, RunFileReader[] runCursors, IFrameTupleAccessor[] tupleAccessor)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
+        if (runCursors[index] != null) {
+            runCursors[index].close();
+            runCursors[index] = null;
+            int frameOffset = index * runFrameLimit;
+            for (int j = 0; j < runFrameLimit; j++) {
+                tupleAccessor[frameOffset + j] = null;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private int compareFrameTuples(IFrameTupleAccessor fta1, int j1, IFrameTupleAccessor fta2, int j2) {
+        byte[] b1 = fta1.getBuffer().array();
+        byte[] b2 = fta2.getBuffer().array();
+        for (int f = 0; f < keyFields.length; ++f) {
+            int fIdx = f;
+            int s1 = fta1.getTupleStartOffset(j1) + fta1.getFieldSlotsLength() + fta1.getFieldStartOffset(j1, fIdx);
+            int l1 = fta1.getFieldLength(j1, fIdx);
+            int s2 = fta2.getTupleStartOffset(j2) + fta2.getFieldSlotsLength() + fta2.getFieldStartOffset(j2, fIdx);
+            int l2_start = fta2.getFieldStartOffset(j2, fIdx);
+            int l2_end = fta2.getFieldEndOffset(j2, fIdx);
+            int l2 = l2_end - l2_start;
+            int c = comparators[f].compare(b1, s1, l1, b2, s2, l2);
+            if (c != 0) {
+                return c;
+            }
+        }
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    private Comparator<ReferenceEntry> createEntryComparator(final IBinaryComparator[] comparators) {
+        return new Comparator<ReferenceEntry>() {
+
+            @Override
+            public int compare(ReferenceEntry o1, ReferenceEntry o2) {
+                FrameTupleAccessor fta1 = (FrameTupleAccessor) o1.getAccessor();
+                FrameTupleAccessor fta2 = (FrameTupleAccessor) o2.getAccessor();
+                int j1 = o1.getTupleIndex();
+                int j2 = o2.getTupleIndex();
+                byte[] b1 = fta1.getBuffer().array();
+                byte[] b2 = fta2.getBuffer().array();
+                for (int f = 0; f < keyFields.length; ++f) {
+                    int fIdx = f;
+                    int s1 = fta1.getTupleStartOffset(j1) + fta1.getFieldSlotsLength()
+                            + fta1.getFieldStartOffset(j1, fIdx);
+                    int l1 = fta1.getFieldEndOffset(j1, fIdx) - fta1.getFieldStartOffset(j1, fIdx);
+                    int s2 = fta2.getTupleStartOffset(j2) + fta2.getFieldSlotsLength()
+                            + fta2.getFieldStartOffset(j2, fIdx);
+                    int l2 = fta2.getFieldEndOffset(j2, fIdx) - fta2.getFieldStartOffset(j2, fIdx);
+                    int c = comparators[f].compare(b1, s1, l1, b2, s2, l2);
+                    if (c != 0) {
+                        return c;
+                    }
+                }
+                return 0;
+            }
+
+        };
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9fd45e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.external;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.ISpillableTableFactory;
+
+/**
+ *
+ */
+public class ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractOperatorDescriptor {
+
+    private static final int AGGREGATE_ACTIVITY_ID = 0;
+
+    private static final int MERGE_ACTIVITY_ID = 1;
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+    private final int[] keyFields;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
+    private final INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstNormalizerFactory;
+
+    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory;
+    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory mergerFactory;
+
+    private final int framesLimit;
+    private final ISpillableTableFactory spillableTableFactory;
+    private final boolean isOutputSorted;
+
+    public ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int[] keyFields, int framesLimit,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstNormalizerFactory,
+            IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory, IAggregatorDescriptorFactory mergerFactory,
+            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, ISpillableTableFactory spillableTableFactory, boolean isOutputSorted) {
+        super(spec, 1, 1);
+        this.framesLimit = framesLimit;
+        if (framesLimit <= 1) {
+            /**
+             * Minimum of 2 frames: 1 for input records, and 1 for output
+             * aggregation results.
+             */
+            throw new IllegalStateException("frame limit should at least be 2, but it is " + framesLimit + "!");
+        }
+        this.aggregatorFactory = aggregatorFactory;
+        this.mergerFactory = mergerFactory;
+        this.keyFields = keyFields;
+        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
+        this.firstNormalizerFactory = firstNormalizerFactory;
+        this.spillableTableFactory = spillableTableFactory;
+        this.isOutputSorted = isOutputSorted;
+
+        /**
+         * Set the record descriptor. Note that since this operator is a unary
+         * operator, only the first record descriptor is used here.
+         */
+        recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
+    }
+
+    /*
+     * (non-Javadoc)
+     * 
+     * @see
+     * edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor#contributeActivities
+     * (edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder)
+     */
+    @Override
+    public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
+        AggregateActivity aggregateAct = new AggregateActivity(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), AGGREGATE_ACTIVITY_ID));
+        MergeActivity mergeAct = new MergeActivity(new ActivityId(odId, MERGE_ACTIVITY_ID));
+
+        builder.addActivity(this, aggregateAct);
+        builder.addSourceEdge(0, aggregateAct, 0);
+
+        builder.addActivity(this, mergeAct);
+        builder.addTargetEdge(0, mergeAct, 0);
+
+        builder.addBlockingEdge(aggregateAct, mergeAct);
+    }
+
+    private class AggregateActivity extends AbstractActivityNode {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        public AggregateActivity(ActivityId id) {
+            super(id);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+                final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions)
+                throws HyracksDataException {
+            return new ExternalGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new TaskId(getActivityId(), partition), keyFields,
+                    framesLimit, comparatorFactories, firstNormalizerFactory, aggregatorFactory,
+                    recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0), recordDescriptors[0],
+                    spillableTableFactory);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private class MergeActivity extends AbstractActivityNode {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        public MergeActivity(ActivityId id) {
+            super(id);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+                IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions)
+                throws HyracksDataException {
+            return new ExternalGroupMergeOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
+                    AGGREGATE_ACTIVITY_ID), partition), comparatorFactories, keyFields, mergerFactory, isOutputSorted,
+                    framesLimit, recordDescriptors[0]);
+        }
+
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupState.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupState.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a3cf0e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/external/ExternalGroupState.java
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.external;
+
+import java.io.DataInput;
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.LinkedList;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileReader;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.ISpillableTable;
+
+public class ExternalGroupState extends AbstractStateObject {
+    private LinkedList<RunFileReader> runs;
+
+    private ISpillableTable gTable;
+
+    public ExternalGroupState() {
+    }
+
+    ExternalGroupState(JobId jobId, Object id) {
+        super(jobId, id);
+    }
+
+    public LinkedList<RunFileReader> getRuns() {
+        return runs;
+    }
+
+    public void setRuns(LinkedList<RunFileReader> runs) {
+        this.runs = runs;
+    }
+
+    public ISpillableTable getSpillableTable() {
+        return gTable;
+    }
+
+    public void setSpillableTable(ISpillableTable gTable) {
+        this.gTable = gTable;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void toBytes(DataOutput out) throws IOException {
+        throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void fromBytes(DataInput in) throws IOException {
+        throw new UnsupportedOperationException();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/GroupingHashTable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/GroupingHashTable.java
similarity index 97%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/GroupingHashTable.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/GroupingHashTable.java
index 43bb0ae..801e7c7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/GroupingHashTable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/GroupingHashTable.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
@@ -32,6 +32,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTuplePairComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.AggregateState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
 
 class GroupingHashTable {
     /**
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0b73766
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
+
+class HashGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable {
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    private final FrameTupleAccessor accessor;
+    private final Object stateId;
+    private final int[] keys;
+    private final ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
+    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory;
+    private final int tableSize;
+    private final RecordDescriptor inRecordDescriptor;
+    private final RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor;
+
+    private HashGroupState state;
+
+    HashGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, Object stateId, int[] keys,
+            ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
+            IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory, int tableSize, RecordDescriptor inRecordDescriptor,
+            RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor) {
+        this.ctx = ctx;
+        this.accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), inRecordDescriptor);
+        this.stateId = stateId;
+        this.keys = keys;
+        this.tpcf = tpcf;
+        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
+        this.aggregatorFactory = aggregatorFactory;
+        this.tableSize = tableSize;
+        this.inRecordDescriptor = inRecordDescriptor;
+        this.outRecordDescriptor = outRecordDescriptor;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+        state = new HashGroupState(ctx.getJobletContext().getJobId(), stateId);
+        state.setHashTable(new GroupingHashTable(ctx, keys, comparatorFactories, tpcf, aggregatorFactory,
+                inRecordDescriptor, outRecordDescriptor, tableSize));
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
+        GroupingHashTable table = state.getHashTable();
+        accessor.reset(buffer);
+        int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
+        for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; ++i) {
+            try {
+                table.insert(accessor, i);
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                System.out.println(e.toString());
+                throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+        ctx.setStateObject(state);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+        throw new HyracksDataException("HashGroupOperator is failed.");
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..034e13f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
+
+/**
+ *
+ */
+public class HashGroupOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractOperatorDescriptor {
+
+    private static final int HASH_BUILD_ACTIVITY_ID = 0;
+
+    private static final int OUTPUT_ACTIVITY_ID = 1;
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private final int[] keys;
+    private final ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
+
+    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory;
+
+    private final int tableSize;
+
+    public HashGroupOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int[] keys,
+            ITuplePartitionComputerFactory tpcf, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
+            IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory, RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor, int tableSize) {
+        super(spec, 1, 1);
+        this.keys = keys;
+        this.tpcf = tpcf;
+        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
+        this.aggregatorFactory = aggregatorFactory;
+        recordDescriptors[0] = outRecordDescriptor;
+        this.tableSize = tableSize;
+    }
+
+    /*
+     * (non-Javadoc)
+     * 
+     * @see
+     * edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor#contributeActivities
+     * (edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder)
+     */
+    @Override
+    public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
+        HashBuildActivity ha = new HashBuildActivity(new ActivityId(odId, HASH_BUILD_ACTIVITY_ID));
+        builder.addActivity(this, ha);
+
+        OutputActivity oa = new OutputActivity(new ActivityId(odId, OUTPUT_ACTIVITY_ID));
+        builder.addActivity(this, oa);
+
+        builder.addSourceEdge(0, ha, 0);
+        builder.addTargetEdge(0, oa, 0);
+        builder.addBlockingEdge(ha, oa);
+    }
+
+    private class HashBuildActivity extends AbstractActivityNode {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        public HashBuildActivity(ActivityId id) {
+            super(id);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+                final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions) {
+            return new HashGroupBuildOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new TaskId(getActivityId(), partition), keys, tpcf,
+                    comparatorFactories, aggregatorFactory, tableSize, recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(
+                            getActivityId(), 0), recordDescriptors[0]);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private class OutputActivity extends AbstractActivityNode {
+        private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+        public OutputActivity(ActivityId id) {
+            super(id);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+                IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions) {
+            return new HashGroupOutputOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
+                    HASH_BUILD_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupOutputOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupOutputOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e3ada0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupOutputOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
+
+class HashGroupOutputOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable {
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    private final Object stateId;
+
+    HashGroupOutputOperatorNodePushable(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, Object stateId) {
+        this.ctx = ctx;
+        this.stateId = stateId;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
+        HashGroupState buildState = (HashGroupState) ctx.getStateObject(stateId);
+        GroupingHashTable table = buildState.getHashTable();
+        writer.open();
+        try {
+            table.write(writer);
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            writer.fail();
+            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+        } finally {
+            writer.close();
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupState.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupState.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..adaaaa6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/hash/HashGroupState.java
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash;
+
+import java.io.DataInput;
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
+
+public class HashGroupState extends AbstractStateObject {
+    private GroupingHashTable table;
+
+    public HashGroupState() {
+    }
+
+    HashGroupState(JobId jobId, Object id) {
+        super(jobId, id);
+    }
+
+    public GroupingHashTable getHashTable() {
+        return table;
+    }
+
+    public void setHashTable(GroupingHashTable table) {
+        this.table = table;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void toBytes(DataOutput out) throws IOException {
+
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void fromBytes(DataInput in) throws IOException {
+
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/preclustered/PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/preclustered/PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d37b818
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/preclustered/PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
+
+public class PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor {
+    private final int[] groupFields;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
+    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory;
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    public PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int[] groupFields,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory,
+            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
+        super(spec, 1, 1);
+        this.groupFields = groupFields;
+        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
+        this.aggregatorFactory = aggregatorFactory;
+        recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
+        return new PreclusteredGroupOperatorNodePushable(ctx, groupFields, comparatorFactories, aggregatorFactory,
+                recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0), recordDescriptors[0]);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/preclustered/PreclusteredGroupOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/preclustered/PreclusteredGroupOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4acda14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/preclustered/PreclusteredGroupOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptorFactory;
+
+class PreclusteredGroupOperatorNodePushable extends
+        AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable {
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    private final int[] groupFields;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
+    private final IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory;
+    private final RecordDescriptor inRecordDescriptor;
+    private final RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor;
+    private PreclusteredGroupWriter pgw;
+
+    PreclusteredGroupOperatorNodePushable(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int[] groupFields,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, IAggregatorDescriptorFactory aggregatorFactory,
+            RecordDescriptor inRecordDescriptor, RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor) {
+        this.ctx = ctx;
+        this.groupFields = groupFields;
+        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
+        this.aggregatorFactory = aggregatorFactory;
+        this.inRecordDescriptor = inRecordDescriptor;
+        this.outRecordDescriptor = outRecordDescriptor;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+        final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
+            comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
+        }
+        final IAggregatorDescriptor aggregator = aggregatorFactory.createAggregator(ctx, inRecordDescriptor,
+                outRecordDescriptor, groupFields, groupFields);
+        final ByteBuffer copyFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
+        final FrameTupleAccessor copyFrameAccessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), inRecordDescriptor);
+        copyFrameAccessor.reset(copyFrame);
+        ByteBuffer outFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
+        final FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
+        appender.reset(outFrame, true);
+        pgw = new PreclusteredGroupWriter(ctx, groupFields, comparators, aggregator, inRecordDescriptor,
+                outRecordDescriptor, writer);
+        pgw.open();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
+        pgw.nextFrame(buffer);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+        pgw.fail();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+        pgw.close();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/PreclusteredGroupWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/preclustered/PreclusteredGroupWriter.java
similarity index 96%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/PreclusteredGroupWriter.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/preclustered/PreclusteredGroupWriter.java
index 89955c0..d1fec29 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/PreclusteredGroupWriter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/group/preclustered/PreclusteredGroupWriter.java
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered;
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.AggregateState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IAggregatorDescriptor;
 
 public class PreclusteredGroupWriter implements IFrameWriter {
     private final int[] groupFields;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
index 773e1e5..6c58d6f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -14,43 +14,19 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join;
 
-import java.io.DataInput;
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.IOException;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivityGraphBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTuplePairComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.RepartitionComputerFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileReader;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.structures.ISerializableTable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.structures.SerializableHashTable;
 
 public class GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractOperatorDescriptor {
     private static final int RPARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID = 0;
@@ -69,9 +45,10 @@
     private final boolean isLeftOuter;
     private final INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories1;
 
-    public GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int memsize, int inputsize0, int recordsPerFrame,
-            double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1, IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
+    public GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int memsize, int inputsize0,
+            int recordsPerFrame, double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1,
+            IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
+            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, 2, 1);
         this.memsize = memsize;
         this.inputsize0 = inputsize0;
@@ -86,10 +63,10 @@
         recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
     }
 
-    public GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int memsize, int inputsize0, int recordsPerFrame,
-            double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1, IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, boolean isLeftOuter,
-            INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories1) {
+    public GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int memsize, int inputsize0,
+            int recordsPerFrame, double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1,
+            IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
+            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, boolean isLeftOuter, INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories1) {
         super(spec, 2, 1);
         this.memsize = memsize;
         this.inputsize0 = inputsize0;
@@ -106,19 +83,19 @@
 
     @Override
     public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
-        HashPartitionActivityNode rpart = new HashPartitionActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId, RPARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID),
-                keys0, 0);
-        HashPartitionActivityNode spart = new HashPartitionActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId, SPARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID),
-                keys1, 1);
-        JoinActivityNode join = new JoinActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId, JOIN_ACTIVITY_ID));
+        ActivityId rpartAid = new ActivityId(odId, RPARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID);
+        HashPartitionActivityNode rpart = new HashPartitionActivityNode(rpartAid, keys0);
+        ActivityId spartAid = new ActivityId(odId, SPARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID);
+        HashPartitionActivityNode spart = new HashPartitionActivityNode(spartAid, keys1);
+        JoinActivityNode join = new JoinActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId, JOIN_ACTIVITY_ID), rpartAid, spartAid);
 
-        builder.addActivity(rpart);
+        builder.addActivity(this, rpart);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, rpart, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(spart);
+        builder.addActivity(this, spart);
         builder.addSourceEdge(1, spart, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(join);
+        builder.addActivity(this, join);
         builder.addBlockingEdge(rpart, spart);
         builder.addBlockingEdge(spart, join);
 
@@ -129,226 +106,49 @@
         return memsize;
     }
 
-    public static class HashPartitionTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
-        private RunFileWriter[] fWriters;
-
-        public HashPartitionTaskState(JobId jobId, TaskId taskId) {
-            super(jobId, taskId);
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void toBytes(DataOutput out) throws IOException {
-
-        }
-
-        @Override
-        public void fromBytes(DataInput in) throws IOException {
-
-        }
-    }
-
     private class HashPartitionActivityNode extends AbstractActivityNode {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-        private int operatorInputIndex;
         private int keys[];
 
-        public HashPartitionActivityNode(ActivityId id, int keys[], int operatorInputIndex) {
+        public HashPartitionActivityNode(ActivityId id, int keys[]) {
             super(id);
             this.keys = keys;
-            this.operatorInputIndex = operatorInputIndex;
         }
 
         @Override
-        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-                final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, final int nPartitions) {
-            final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
-            for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
-                comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
-            }
-            final int numPartitions = (int) Math.ceil(Math.sqrt(inputsize0 * factor / nPartitions));
-            IOperatorNodePushable op = new AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable() {
-                private final FrameTupleAccessor accessor0 = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(),
-                        recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), operatorInputIndex));
-
-                private final ITuplePartitionComputer hpc = new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keys,
-                        hashFunctionFactories).createPartitioner();
-
-                private final FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
-
-                private ByteBuffer[] outbufs;
-
-                private HashPartitionTaskState state;
-
-                @Override
-                public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    for (int i = 0; i < numPartitions; i++) {
-                        ByteBuffer head = outbufs[i];
-                        accessor0.reset(head);
-                        if (accessor0.getTupleCount() > 0) {
-                            write(i, head);
-                        }
-                        closeWriter(i);
-                    }
-
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
-                }
-
-                private void closeWriter(int i) throws HyracksDataException {
-                    RunFileWriter writer = state.fWriters[i];
-                    if (writer != null) {
-                        writer.close();
-                    }
-                }
-
-                private void write(int i, ByteBuffer head) throws HyracksDataException {
-                    RunFileWriter writer = state.fWriters[i];
-                    if (writer == null) {
-                        FileReference file = ctx.getJobletContext().createManagedWorkspaceFile(
-                                GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.class.getSimpleName());
-                        writer = new RunFileWriter(file, ctx.getIOManager());
-                        writer.open();
-                        state.fWriters[i] = writer;
-                    }
-                    writer.nextFrame(head);
-                }
-
-                @Override
-                public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
-                    accessor0.reset(buffer);
-                    int tCount = accessor0.getTupleCount();
-                    for (int i = 0; i < tCount; ++i) {
-
-                        int entry = hpc.partition(accessor0, i, numPartitions);
-                        ByteBuffer outbuf = outbufs[entry];
-                        appender.reset(outbuf, false);
-                        if (!appender.append(accessor0, i)) {
-                            // buffer is full, ie. we cannot fit the tuple
-                            // into the buffer -- write it to disk
-                            write(entry, outbuf);
-                            outbuf.clear();
-                            appender.reset(outbuf, true);
-                            if (!appender.append(accessor0, i)) {
-                                throw new HyracksDataException("Item too big to fit in frame");
-                            }
-                        }
-                    }
-                }
-
-                @Override
-                public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    state = new HashPartitionTaskState(ctx.getJobletContext().getJobId(), new TaskId(getActivityId(),
-                            partition));
-                    outbufs = new ByteBuffer[numPartitions];
-                    state.fWriters = new RunFileWriter[numPartitions];
-                    for (int i = 0; i < numPartitions; i++) {
-                        outbufs[i] = ctx.allocateFrame();
-                    }
-                }
-
-                @Override
-                public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
-                }
-            };
-            return op;
+        public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+                IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
+            return new GraceHashJoinPartitionBuildOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new TaskId(getActivityId(), partition),
+                    keys, hashFunctionFactories, comparatorFactories, (int) Math.ceil(Math.sqrt(inputsize0 * factor
+                            / nPartitions)), recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0));
         }
     }
 
     private class JoinActivityNode extends AbstractActivityNode {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-        public JoinActivityNode(ActivityId id) {
+        private final ActivityId rpartAid;
+
+        private final ActivityId spartAid;
+
+        public JoinActivityNode(ActivityId id, ActivityId rpartAid, ActivityId spartAid) {
             super(id);
+            this.rpartAid = rpartAid;
+            this.spartAid = spartAid;
         }
 
         @Override
         public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
                 final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, final int nPartitions) {
-            final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
-            for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
-                comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
-            }
-            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0);
-            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 1);
-            final INullWriter[] nullWriters1 = isLeftOuter ? new INullWriter[nullWriterFactories1.length] : null;
-            if (isLeftOuter) {
-                for (int i = 0; i < nullWriterFactories1.length; i++) {
-                    nullWriters1[i] = nullWriterFactories1[i].createNullWriter();
-                }
-            }
+            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(rpartAid, 0);
+            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(spartAid, 0);
+            int numPartitions = (int) Math.ceil(Math.sqrt(inputsize0 * factor / nPartitions));
 
-            IOperatorNodePushable op = new AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable() {
-                private InMemoryHashJoin joiner;
-
-                private RunFileWriter[] buildWriters;
-                private RunFileWriter[] probeWriters;
-                private final int numPartitions = (int) Math.ceil(Math.sqrt(inputsize0 * factor / nPartitions));
-
-                @Override
-                public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    HashPartitionTaskState rState = (HashPartitionTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(
-                            new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), RPARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
-                    HashPartitionTaskState sState = (HashPartitionTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(
-                            new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), SPARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
-                    buildWriters = sState.fWriters;
-                    probeWriters = rState.fWriters;
-
-                    ITuplePartitionComputer hpcRep0 = new RepartitionComputerFactory(numPartitions,
-                            new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keys0, hashFunctionFactories)).createPartitioner();
-                    ITuplePartitionComputer hpcRep1 = new RepartitionComputerFactory(numPartitions,
-                            new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keys1, hashFunctionFactories)).createPartitioner();
-
-                    writer.open();// open for probe
-
-                    try {
-
-                        ByteBuffer buffer = ctx.allocateFrame();// input
-                        // buffer
-                        int tableSize = (int) (numPartitions * recordsPerFrame * factor);
-                        ISerializableTable table = new SerializableHashTable(tableSize, ctx);
-                        
-                        for (int partitionid = 0; partitionid < numPartitions; partitionid++) {
-                            RunFileWriter buildWriter = buildWriters[partitionid];
-                            RunFileWriter probeWriter = probeWriters[partitionid];
-                            if ((buildWriter == null && !isLeftOuter) || probeWriter == null) {
-                                continue;
-                            }
-                            table.reset();
-                            joiner = new InMemoryHashJoin(ctx, tableSize, new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(),
-                                    rd0), hpcRep0, new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), rd1), hpcRep1,
-                                    new FrameTuplePairComparator(keys0, keys1, comparators), isLeftOuter, nullWriters1, table);
-
-                            // build
-                            if (buildWriter != null) {
-                                RunFileReader buildReader = buildWriter.createReader();
-                                buildReader.open();
-                                while (buildReader.nextFrame(buffer)) {
-                                    ByteBuffer copyBuffer = ctx.allocateFrame();
-                                    FrameUtils.copy(buffer, copyBuffer);
-                                    joiner.build(copyBuffer);
-                                    buffer.clear();
-                                }
-                                buildReader.close();
-                            }
-
-                            // probe
-                            RunFileReader probeReader = probeWriter.createReader();
-                            probeReader.open();
-                            while (probeReader.nextFrame(buffer)) {
-                                joiner.join(buffer, writer);
-                                buffer.clear();
-                            }
-                            probeReader.close();
-                            joiner.closeJoin(writer);
-                        }
-                    } catch (Exception e) {
-                        writer.fail();
-                        throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-                    } finally {
-                        writer.close();
-                    }
-                }
-            };
-            return op;
+            return new GraceHashJoinOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
+                    RPARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID), partition), new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
+                    SPARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID), partition), recordsPerFrame, factor, keys0, keys1, hashFunctionFactories,
+                    comparatorFactories, nullWriterFactories1, rd1, rd0, recordDescriptors[0], numPartitions,
+                    isLeftOuter);
         }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..91f509d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,149 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INullWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTuplePairComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.RepartitionComputerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileReader;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.structures.ISerializableTable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.structures.SerializableHashTable;
+
+class GraceHashJoinOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable {
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    private final Object state0Id;
+    private final Object state1Id;
+    private final int[] keys0;
+    private final int[] keys1;
+    private final IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
+    private final INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories;
+    private final RecordDescriptor rd0;
+    private final RecordDescriptor rd1;
+    private final int recordsPerFrame;
+    private final double factor;
+    private final int numPartitions;
+    private final boolean isLeftOuter;
+
+    GraceHashJoinOperatorNodePushable(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, Object state0Id, Object state1Id, int recordsPerFrame,
+            double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1, IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories,
+            RecordDescriptor rd1, RecordDescriptor rd0, RecordDescriptor outRecordDescriptor, int numPartitions,
+            boolean isLeftOuter) {
+        this.ctx = ctx;
+        this.state0Id = state0Id;
+        this.state1Id = state1Id;
+        this.keys0 = keys0;
+        this.keys1 = keys1;
+        this.hashFunctionFactories = hashFunctionFactories;
+        this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
+        this.nullWriterFactories = nullWriterFactories;
+        this.rd0 = rd0;
+        this.rd1 = rd1;
+        this.numPartitions = numPartitions;
+        this.recordsPerFrame = recordsPerFrame;
+        this.factor = factor;
+        this.isLeftOuter = isLeftOuter;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
+        GraceHashJoinPartitionState rState = (GraceHashJoinPartitionState) ctx.getStateObject(state0Id);
+        GraceHashJoinPartitionState sState = (GraceHashJoinPartitionState) ctx.getStateObject(state1Id);
+        RunFileWriter[] buildWriters = sState.getRunWriters();
+        RunFileWriter[] probeWriters = rState.getRunWriters();
+
+        IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
+            comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
+        }
+        ITuplePartitionComputer hpcRep0 = new RepartitionComputerFactory(numPartitions,
+                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keys0, hashFunctionFactories)).createPartitioner();
+        ITuplePartitionComputer hpcRep1 = new RepartitionComputerFactory(numPartitions,
+                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keys1, hashFunctionFactories)).createPartitioner();
+
+        final INullWriter[] nullWriters1 = isLeftOuter ? new INullWriter[nullWriterFactories.length] : null;
+        if (isLeftOuter) {
+            for (int i = 0; i < nullWriterFactories.length; i++) {
+                nullWriters1[i] = nullWriterFactories[i].createNullWriter();
+            }
+        }
+
+        writer.open();// open for probe
+
+        try {
+
+            ByteBuffer buffer = ctx.allocateFrame();// input
+            // buffer
+            int tableSize = (int) (numPartitions * recordsPerFrame * factor);
+            ISerializableTable table = new SerializableHashTable(tableSize, ctx);
+
+            for (int partitionid = 0; partitionid < numPartitions; partitionid++) {
+                RunFileWriter buildWriter = buildWriters[partitionid];
+                RunFileWriter probeWriter = probeWriters[partitionid];
+                if ((buildWriter == null && !isLeftOuter) || probeWriter == null) {
+                    continue;
+                }
+                table.reset();
+                InMemoryHashJoin joiner = new InMemoryHashJoin(ctx, tableSize, new FrameTupleAccessor(
+                        ctx.getFrameSize(), rd0), hpcRep0, new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), rd1), hpcRep1,
+                        new FrameTuplePairComparator(keys0, keys1, comparators), isLeftOuter, nullWriters1, table);
+
+                // build
+                if (buildWriter != null) {
+                    RunFileReader buildReader = buildWriter.createReader();
+                    buildReader.open();
+                    while (buildReader.nextFrame(buffer)) {
+                        ByteBuffer copyBuffer = ctx.allocateFrame();
+                        FrameUtils.copy(buffer, copyBuffer);
+                        joiner.build(copyBuffer);
+                        buffer.clear();
+                    }
+                    buildReader.close();
+                }
+
+                // probe
+                RunFileReader probeReader = probeWriter.createReader();
+                probeReader.open();
+                while (probeReader.nextFrame(buffer)) {
+                    joiner.join(buffer, writer);
+                    buffer.clear();
+                }
+                probeReader.close();
+                joiner.closeJoin(writer);
+            }
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            writer.fail();
+            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+        } finally {
+            writer.close();
+        }
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinPartitionBuildOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinPartitionBuildOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..719b736
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinPartitionBuildOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,128 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
+
+class GraceHashJoinPartitionBuildOperatorNodePushable extends
+        AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable {
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    private final Object stateId;
+    private final int numPartitions;
+    private final IBinaryComparator[] comparators;
+    private final FrameTupleAccessor accessor0;
+    private final ITuplePartitionComputer hpc;
+    private final FrameTupleAppender appender;
+    private ByteBuffer[] outbufs;
+    private GraceHashJoinPartitionState state;
+
+    GraceHashJoinPartitionBuildOperatorNodePushable(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, Object stateId, int[] keys,
+            IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
+            int numPartitions, RecordDescriptor inRecordDescriptor) {
+        this.ctx = ctx;
+        this.stateId = stateId;
+        this.numPartitions = numPartitions;
+        accessor0 = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), inRecordDescriptor);
+        appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
+        hpc = new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keys, hashFunctionFactories).createPartitioner();
+        comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
+            comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+        for (int i = 0; i < numPartitions; i++) {
+            ByteBuffer head = outbufs[i];
+            accessor0.reset(head);
+            if (accessor0.getTupleCount() > 0) {
+                write(i, head);
+            }
+            closeWriter(i);
+        }
+
+        ctx.setStateObject(state);
+    }
+
+    private void closeWriter(int i) throws HyracksDataException {
+        RunFileWriter writer = state.getRunWriters()[i];
+        if (writer != null) {
+            writer.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void write(int i, ByteBuffer head) throws HyracksDataException {
+        RunFileWriter writer = state.getRunWriters()[i];
+        if (writer == null) {
+            FileReference file = ctx.getJobletContext().createManagedWorkspaceFile(
+                    GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.class.getSimpleName());
+            writer = new RunFileWriter(file, ctx.getIOManager());
+            writer.open();
+            state.getRunWriters()[i] = writer;
+        }
+        writer.nextFrame(head);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
+        accessor0.reset(buffer);
+        int tCount = accessor0.getTupleCount();
+        for (int i = 0; i < tCount; ++i) {
+
+            int entry = hpc.partition(accessor0, i, numPartitions);
+            ByteBuffer outbuf = outbufs[entry];
+            appender.reset(outbuf, false);
+            if (!appender.append(accessor0, i)) {
+                // buffer is full, ie. we cannot fit the tuple
+                // into the buffer -- write it to disk
+                write(entry, outbuf);
+                outbuf.clear();
+                appender.reset(outbuf, true);
+                if (!appender.append(accessor0, i)) {
+                    throw new HyracksDataException("Item too big to fit in frame");
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+        state = new GraceHashJoinPartitionState(ctx.getJobletContext().getJobId(), stateId);
+        outbufs = new ByteBuffer[numPartitions];
+        state.setRunWriters(new RunFileWriter[numPartitions]);
+        for (int i = 0; i < numPartitions; i++) {
+            outbufs[i] = ctx.allocateFrame();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinPartitionState.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinPartitionState.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..906042e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/GraceHashJoinPartitionState.java
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join;
+
+import java.io.DataInput;
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
+
+public class GraceHashJoinPartitionState extends AbstractStateObject {
+    private RunFileWriter[] fWriters;
+
+    public GraceHashJoinPartitionState(JobId jobId, Object id) {
+        super(jobId, id);
+    }
+
+    public RunFileWriter[] getRunWriters() {
+        return fWriters;
+    }
+
+    public void setRunWriters(RunFileWriter[] fWriters) {
+        this.fWriters = fWriters;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void toBytes(DataOutput out) throws IOException {
+
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void fromBytes(DataInput in) throws IOException {
+
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
index 99f0020..4f9b987 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -35,8 +35,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTuplePairComparator;
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.structures.ISerializableTable;
@@ -84,10 +84,10 @@
      * @param recordDescriptor
      * @throws HyracksDataException
      */
-    public HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int memsize, int inputsize0, int recordsPerFrame,
-            double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1, IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor)
-            throws HyracksDataException {
+    public HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int memsize, int inputsize0,
+            int recordsPerFrame, double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1,
+            IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
+            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) throws HyracksDataException {
         super(spec, 2, 1);
         this.memsize = memsize;
         this.inputsize0 = inputsize0;
@@ -102,10 +102,11 @@
         recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
     }
 
-    public HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int memsize, int inputsize0, int recordsPerFrame,
-            double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1, IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, boolean isLeftOuter,
-            INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories1) throws HyracksDataException {
+    public HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int memsize, int inputsize0,
+            int recordsPerFrame, double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1,
+            IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
+            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, boolean isLeftOuter, INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories1)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
         super(spec, 2, 1);
         this.memsize = memsize;
         this.inputsize0 = inputsize0;
@@ -122,15 +123,15 @@
 
     @Override
     public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
-        BuildAndPartitionActivityNode phase1 = new BuildAndPartitionActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId,
-                BUILD_AND_PARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID));
-        PartitionAndJoinActivityNode phase2 = new PartitionAndJoinActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId,
-                PARTITION_AND_JOIN_ACTIVITY_ID));
+        ActivityId p1Aid = new ActivityId(odId, BUILD_AND_PARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID);
+        ActivityId p2Aid = new ActivityId(odId, PARTITION_AND_JOIN_ACTIVITY_ID);
+        BuildAndPartitionActivityNode phase1 = new BuildAndPartitionActivityNode(p1Aid, p2Aid);
+        PartitionAndJoinActivityNode phase2 = new PartitionAndJoinActivityNode(p2Aid, p1Aid);
 
-        builder.addActivity(phase1);
+        builder.addActivity(this, phase1);
         builder.addSourceEdge(1, phase1, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(phase2);
+        builder.addActivity(this, phase2);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, phase2, 0);
 
         builder.addBlockingEdge(phase1, phase2);
@@ -138,7 +139,7 @@
         builder.addTargetEdge(0, phase2, 0);
     }
 
-    public static class BuildAndPartitionTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
+    public static class BuildAndPartitionTaskState extends AbstractStateObject {
         private RunFileWriter[] fWriters;
         private InMemoryHashJoin joiner;
         private int nPartitions;
@@ -166,15 +167,18 @@
     private class BuildAndPartitionActivityNode extends AbstractActivityNode {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-        public BuildAndPartitionActivityNode(ActivityId id) {
+        private final ActivityId joinAid;
+
+        public BuildAndPartitionActivityNode(ActivityId id, ActivityId joinAid) {
             super(id);
+            this.joinAid = joinAid;
         }
 
         @Override
         public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
                 IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, final int nPartitions) {
-            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0);
-            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 1);
+            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(joinAid, 0);
+            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0);
             final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
             for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
                 comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
@@ -211,7 +215,7 @@
                         closeWriter(i);
                     }
 
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
+                    ctx.setStateObject(state);
                 }
 
                 @Override
@@ -351,15 +355,18 @@
     private class PartitionAndJoinActivityNode extends AbstractActivityNode {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-        public PartitionAndJoinActivityNode(ActivityId id) {
+        private final ActivityId buildAid;
+
+        public PartitionAndJoinActivityNode(ActivityId id, ActivityId buildAid) {
             super(id);
+            this.buildAid = buildAid;
         }
 
         @Override
         public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
                 IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, final int nPartitions) {
-            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0);
-            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 1);
+            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0);
+            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(buildAid, 0);
             final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
             for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
                 comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
@@ -390,7 +397,7 @@
 
                 @Override
                 public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    state = (BuildAndPartitionTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
+                    state = (BuildAndPartitionTaskState) ctx.getStateObject(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
                             BUILD_AND_PARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
                     writer.open();
                     buildWriters = state.fWriters;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
index 61fc0b3..e0a5613 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -33,24 +33,21 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTuplePairComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.structures.ISerializableTable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.structures.SerializableHashTable;
 
 public class InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractOperatorDescriptor {
-    private static final int BUILD_ACTIVITY_ID = 0;
-    private static final int PROBE_ACTIVITY_ID = 1;
-
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
     private final int[] keys0;
     private final int[] keys1;
@@ -60,7 +57,7 @@
     private final INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories1;
     private final int tableSize;
 
-    public InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int[] keys0, int[] keys1,
+    public InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int[] keys0, int[] keys1,
             IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
             RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, int tableSize) {
         super(spec, 2, 1);
@@ -74,7 +71,7 @@
         this.tableSize = tableSize;
     }
 
-    public InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int[] keys0, int[] keys1,
+    public InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int[] keys0, int[] keys1,
             IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFunctionFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
             RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, boolean isLeftOuter, INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories1,
             int tableSize) {
@@ -91,13 +88,15 @@
 
     @Override
     public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
-        HashBuildActivityNode hba = new HashBuildActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId, 0));
-        HashProbeActivityNode hpa = new HashProbeActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId, 1));
+        ActivityId hbaId = new ActivityId(odId, 0);
+        ActivityId hpaId = new ActivityId(odId, 1);
+        HashBuildActivityNode hba = new HashBuildActivityNode(hbaId, hpaId);
+        HashProbeActivityNode hpa = new HashProbeActivityNode(hpaId);
 
-        builder.addActivity(hba);
+        builder.addActivity(this, hba);
         builder.addSourceEdge(1, hba, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(hpa);
+        builder.addActivity(this, hpa);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, hpa, 0);
 
         builder.addTargetEdge(0, hpa, 0);
@@ -105,7 +104,7 @@
         builder.addBlockingEdge(hba, hpa);
     }
 
-    public static class HashBuildTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
+    public static class HashBuildTaskState extends AbstractStateObject {
         private InMemoryHashJoin joiner;
 
         public HashBuildTaskState() {
@@ -129,17 +128,18 @@
     private class HashBuildActivityNode extends AbstractActivityNode {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-        public HashBuildActivityNode(ActivityId id) {
+        private final ActivityId hpaId;
+
+        public HashBuildActivityNode(ActivityId id, ActivityId hpaId) {
             super(id);
+            this.hpaId = hpaId;
         }
 
         @Override
         public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
                 IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions) {
-            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider
-                    .getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), BUILD_ACTIVITY_ID);
-            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider
-                    .getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), PROBE_ACTIVITY_ID);
+            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(hpaId, 0);
+            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0);
             final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
             for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; ++i) {
                 comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@
 
                 @Override
                 public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
+                    ctx.setStateObject(state);
                 }
 
                 @Override
@@ -204,8 +204,8 @@
 
                 @Override
                 public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    state = (HashBuildTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
-                            BUILD_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
+                    state = (HashBuildTaskState) ctx.getStateObject(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), 0),
+                            partition));
                     writer.open();
                 }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/JoinComparatorFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/JoinComparatorFactory.java
index 6e120f0..377e9e0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/JoinComparatorFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/JoinComparatorFactory.java
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePairComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePairComparatorFactory;
 
-
 public class JoinComparatorFactory implements ITuplePairComparatorFactory {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator() {
+    public ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
         return new JoinComparator(bFactory.createBinaryComparator(), pos0, pos1);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/NestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/NestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
index 21a828c..a699703 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/NestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/NestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -30,13 +30,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePairComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
 
@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@
     private final ITuplePairComparatorFactory comparatorFactory;
     private final int memSize;
 
-    public NestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, ITuplePairComparatorFactory comparatorFactory,
-            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, int memSize) {
+    public NestedLoopJoinOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec,
+            ITuplePairComparatorFactory comparatorFactory, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor, int memSize) {
         super(spec, 2, 1);
         this.comparatorFactory = comparatorFactory;
         this.recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
@@ -58,21 +58,22 @@
 
     @Override
     public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
-        JoinCacheActivityNode jc = new JoinCacheActivityNode(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), JOIN_CACHE_ACTIVITY_ID));
-        NestedLoopJoinActivityNode nlj = new NestedLoopJoinActivityNode(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
-                NL_JOIN_ACTIVITY_ID));
+        ActivityId jcaId = new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), JOIN_CACHE_ACTIVITY_ID);
+        ActivityId nljAid = new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), NL_JOIN_ACTIVITY_ID);
+        JoinCacheActivityNode jc = new JoinCacheActivityNode(jcaId, nljAid);
+        NestedLoopJoinActivityNode nlj = new NestedLoopJoinActivityNode(nljAid);
 
-        builder.addActivity(jc);
+        builder.addActivity(this, jc);
         builder.addSourceEdge(1, jc, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(nlj);
+        builder.addActivity(this, nlj);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, nlj, 0);
 
         builder.addTargetEdge(0, nlj, 0);
         builder.addBlockingEdge(jc, nlj);
     }
 
-    public static class JoinCacheTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
+    public static class JoinCacheTaskState extends AbstractStateObject {
         private NestedLoopJoin joiner;
 
         public JoinCacheTaskState() {
@@ -96,16 +97,19 @@
     private class JoinCacheActivityNode extends AbstractActivityNode {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-        public JoinCacheActivityNode(ActivityId id) {
+        private final ActivityId nljAid;
+
+        public JoinCacheActivityNode(ActivityId id, ActivityId nljAid) {
             super(id);
+            this.nljAid = nljAid;
         }
 
         @Override
         public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
                 IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, int nPartitions) {
-            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0);
-            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 1);
-            final ITuplePairComparator comparator = comparatorFactory.createTuplePairComparator();
+            final RecordDescriptor rd0 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(nljAid, 0);
+            final RecordDescriptor rd1 = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0);
+            final ITuplePairComparator comparator = comparatorFactory.createTuplePairComparator(ctx);
 
             IOperatorNodePushable op = new AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable() {
                 private JoinCacheTaskState state;
@@ -129,7 +133,7 @@
                 @Override
                 public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
                     state.joiner.closeCache();
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
+                    ctx.setStateObject(state);
                 }
 
                 @Override
@@ -156,7 +160,7 @@
 
                 @Override
                 public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    state = (JoinCacheTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
+                    state = (JoinCacheTaskState) ctx.getStateObject(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
                             JOIN_CACHE_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
                     writer.open();
                 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/OptimizedHybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/OptimizedHybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
index 87e2b2c..3a7ee2c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/OptimizedHybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/join/OptimizedHybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFamily;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTuplePairComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.structures.ISerializableTable;
@@ -63,37 +63,36 @@
  *         of R (in terms of buffers). HHJ (Hybrid Hash Join) has two main phases: Build and Probe, where in our implementation Probe phase
  *         can apply HHJ recursively, based on the value of M and size of R and S. HHJ phases proceed as follow:
  *         BUILD:
- *         – Calculate number of partitions (Based on the size of R, fudge factor and M) [See Shapiro's paper for the detailed discussion].
- *         – Initialize the build phase (one frame per partition – all partitions considered resident at first)
- *         – Read tuples of R, frame by frame, and hash each tuple (based on a given hash function) to find
+ *         Calculate number of partitions (Based on the size of R, fudge factor and M) [See Shapiro's paper for the detailed discussion].
+ *         Initialize the build phase (one frame per partition, all partitions considered resident at first)
+ *         Read tuples of R, frame by frame, and hash each tuple (based on a given hash function) to find
  *         its target partition and try to append it to that partition:
- *         – If target partition's buffer is full, try to allocate a new buffer for it.
- *         – if no free buffer is available, find the largest resident partition and spill it. Using its freed
+ *         If target partition's buffer is full, try to allocate a new buffer for it.
+ *         if no free buffer is available, find the largest resident partition and spill it. Using its freed
  *         buffers after spilling, allocate a new buffer for the target partition.
- *         – Being done with R, close the build phase. (During closing we write the very last buffer of each
+ *         Being done with R, close the build phase. (During closing we write the very last buffer of each
  *         spilled partition to the disk, and we do partition tuning, where we try to bring back as many buffers, belonging to
  *         spilled partitions as possible into memory, based on the free buffers - We will stop at the point where remaining free buffers is not enough
  *         for reloading an entire partition back into memory)
- *         – Create the hash table for the resident partitions (basically we create an in-memory hash join here)
+ *         Create the hash table for the resident partitions (basically we create an in-memory hash join here)
  *         PROBE:
- *         – Initialize the probe phase on S (mainly allocate one buffer per spilled partition, and one buffer
+ *         Initialize the probe phase on S (mainly allocate one buffer per spilled partition, and one buffer
  *         for the whole resident partitions)
- *         – Read tuples of S, frame by frame and hash each tuple T to its target partition P
- *         – if P is a resident partition, pass T to the in-memory hash join and generate the output record,
+ *         Read tuples of S, frame by frame and hash each tuple T to its target partition P
+ *         if P is a resident partition, pass T to the in-memory hash join and generate the output record,
  *         if any matching(s) record found
- *         – if P is spilled, write T to the dedicated buffer for P (on the probe side)
- *         – Once scanning of S is done, we try to join partition pairs (Ri, Si) of the spilled partitions:
- *         – if any of Ri or Si is smaller than M, then we simply use an in-memory hash join to join them
- *         – otherwise we apply HHJ recursively:
- *         – if after applying HHJ recursively, we do not gain enough size reduction (max size of the
+ *         if P is spilled, write T to the dedicated buffer for P (on the probe side)
+ *         Once scanning of S is done, we try to join partition pairs (Ri, Si) of the spilled partitions:
+ *         if any of Ri or Si is smaller than M, then we simply use an in-memory hash join to join them
+ *         otherwise we apply HHJ recursively:
+ *         if after applying HHJ recursively, we do not gain enough size reduction (max size of the
  *         resulting partitions were more than 80% of the initial Ri,Si size) then we switch to
  *         nested loop join for joining.
- *         – (At each step of partition-pair joining, we consider role reversal, which means if size of Si were
+ *         (At each step of partition-pair joining, we consider role reversal, which means if size of Si were
  *         greater than Ri, then we make sure that we switch the roles of build/probe between them)
  */
 
 public class OptimizedHybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractOperatorDescriptor {
-
     private static final int BUILD_AND_PARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID = 0;
     private static final int PARTITION_AND_JOIN_ACTIVITY_ID = 1;
 
@@ -116,8 +115,8 @@
     private final boolean isLeftOuter;
     private final INullWriterFactory[] nullWriterFactories1;
 
-    public OptimizedHybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int memsize, int inputsize0, double factor,
-            int[] keys0, int[] keys1, IBinaryHashFunctionFamily[] hashFunctionGeneratorFactories,
+    public OptimizedHybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int memsize, int inputsize0,
+            double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1, IBinaryHashFunctionFamily[] hashFunctionGeneratorFactories,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor,
             ITuplePairComparatorFactory tupPaircomparatorFactory0,
             ITuplePairComparatorFactory tupPaircomparatorFactory1, boolean isLeftOuter,
@@ -139,8 +138,8 @@
 
     }
 
-    public OptimizedHybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int memsize, int inputsize0, double factor,
-            int[] keys0, int[] keys1, IBinaryHashFunctionFamily[] hashFunctionGeneratorFactories,
+    public OptimizedHybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int memsize, int inputsize0,
+            double factor, int[] keys0, int[] keys1, IBinaryHashFunctionFamily[] hashFunctionGeneratorFactories,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor,
             ITuplePairComparatorFactory tupPaircomparatorFactory0, ITuplePairComparatorFactory tupPaircomparatorFactory1)
             throws HyracksDataException {
@@ -162,15 +161,15 @@
 
     @Override
     public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
-        PartitionAndBuildActivityNode phase1 = new PartitionAndBuildActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId,
-                BUILD_AND_PARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID));
-        ProbeAndJoinActivityNode phase2 = new ProbeAndJoinActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId,
-                PARTITION_AND_JOIN_ACTIVITY_ID));
+        ActivityId buildAid = new ActivityId(odId, BUILD_AND_PARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID);
+        ActivityId probeAid = new ActivityId(odId, PARTITION_AND_JOIN_ACTIVITY_ID);
+        PartitionAndBuildActivityNode phase1 = new PartitionAndBuildActivityNode(buildAid, probeAid);
+        ProbeAndJoinActivityNode phase2 = new ProbeAndJoinActivityNode(probeAid, buildAid);
 
-        builder.addActivity(phase1);
+        builder.addActivity(this, phase1);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, phase1, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(phase2);
+        builder.addActivity(this, phase2);
         builder.addSourceEdge(1, phase2, 0);
 
         builder.addBlockingEdge(phase1, phase2);
@@ -201,7 +200,7 @@
         return numberOfPartitions;
     }
 
-    public static class BuildAndPartitionTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
+    public static class BuildAndPartitionTaskState extends AbstractStateObject {
 
         private int memForJoin;
         private int numOfPartitions;
@@ -236,16 +235,19 @@
     private class PartitionAndBuildActivityNode extends AbstractActivityNode {
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-        public PartitionAndBuildActivityNode(ActivityId id) {
+        private final ActivityId probeAid;
+
+        public PartitionAndBuildActivityNode(ActivityId id, ActivityId probeAid) {
             super(id);
+            this.probeAid = probeAid;
         }
 
         @Override
         public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
                 IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, final int nPartitions) {
 
-            final RecordDescriptor probeRd = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0);
-            final RecordDescriptor buildRd = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 1);
+            final RecordDescriptor probeRd = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0);
+            final RecordDescriptor buildRd = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(probeAid, 0);
 
             final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
             for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; i++) {
@@ -290,7 +292,7 @@
                 @Override
                 public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
                     state.hybridHJ.closeBuild();
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
+                    ctx.setStateObject(state);
                 }
 
                 @Override
@@ -314,19 +316,22 @@
 
         private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-        public ProbeAndJoinActivityNode(ActivityId id) {
+        private final ActivityId buildAid;
+
+        public ProbeAndJoinActivityNode(ActivityId id, ActivityId buildAid) {
             super(id);
+            this.buildAid = buildAid;
         }
 
         @Override
         public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
                 IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, final int partition, final int nPartitions) {
 
-            final RecordDescriptor probeRd = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0);
-            final RecordDescriptor buildRd = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 1);
+            final RecordDescriptor probeRd = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(buildAid, 0);
+            final RecordDescriptor buildRd = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0);
             final IBinaryComparator[] comparators = new IBinaryComparator[comparatorFactories.length];
-            final ITuplePairComparator nljComparator0 = tuplePairComparatorFactory0.createTuplePairComparator();
-            final ITuplePairComparator nljComparator1 = tuplePairComparatorFactory1.createTuplePairComparator();
+            final ITuplePairComparator nljComparator0 = tuplePairComparatorFactory0.createTuplePairComparator(ctx);
+            final ITuplePairComparator nljComparator1 = tuplePairComparatorFactory1.createTuplePairComparator(ctx);
 
             for (int i = 0; i < comparatorFactories.length; i++) {
                 comparators[i] = comparatorFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
@@ -353,7 +358,7 @@
 
                 @Override
                 public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    state = (BuildAndPartitionTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
+                    state = (BuildAndPartitionTaskState) ctx.getStateObject(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
                             BUILD_AND_PARTITION_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
 
                     writer.open();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/map/DeserializedMapperOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/map/DeserializedMapperOperatorDescriptor.java
index 84caadf..30aae7f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/map/DeserializedMapperOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/map/DeserializedMapperOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.IOpenableDataWriterOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.util.DeserializedOperatorNodePushable;
@@ -64,8 +64,8 @@
 
     private final IDeserializedMapperFactory mapperFactory;
 
-    public DeserializedMapperOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, IDeserializedMapperFactory mapperFactory,
-            RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
+    public DeserializedMapperOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec,
+            IDeserializedMapperFactory mapperFactory, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, 1, 1);
         this.mapperFactory = mapperFactory;
         recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
@@ -75,6 +75,6 @@
     public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
             IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
         return new DeserializedOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new MapperOperator(),
-                recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0));
+                recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/ConstantTupleSourceOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/ConstantTupleSourceOperatorDescriptor.java
index 85a6912..e22db5c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/ConstantTupleSourceOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/ConstantTupleSourceOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class ConstantTupleSourceOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor {
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
     private byte[] tupleData;
     private int tupleSize;
 
-    public ConstantTupleSourceOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc, int[] fieldSlots,
+    public ConstantTupleSourceOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc, int[] fieldSlots,
             byte[] tupleData, int tupleSize) {
         super(spec, 0, 1);
         this.tupleData = tupleData;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/IdentityOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/IdentityOperatorDescriptor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b58b1c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/IdentityOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.misc;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
+
+public class IdentityOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    public IdentityOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor rDesc) {
+        super(spec, 1, 1);
+        recordDescriptors[0] = rDesc;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
+        return new AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable() {
+            @Override
+            public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+                writer.open();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
+                writer.nextFrame(buffer);
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+                writer.fail();
+            }
+
+            @Override
+            public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+                writer.close();
+            }
+        };
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/LimitOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/LimitOperatorDescriptor.java
index 5d1d559..2d2f074 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/LimitOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/LimitOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
     private final int outputLimit;
 
-    public LimitOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor rDesc, int outputLimit) {
+    public LimitOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor rDesc, int outputLimit) {
         super(spec, 1, 1);
         recordDescriptors[0] = rDesc;
         this.outputLimit = outputLimit;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/MaterializingOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/MaterializingOperatorDescriptor.java
index 83160e5..ba8c00c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/MaterializingOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/MaterializingOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -28,13 +28,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileReader;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.io.RunFileWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
 
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@
     private final static int MATERIALIZER_ACTIVITY_ID = 0;
     private final static int READER_ACTIVITY_ID = 1;
 
-    public MaterializingOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
+    public MaterializingOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, 1, 1);
         recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
     }
@@ -54,16 +54,16 @@
         MaterializerActivityNode ma = new MaterializerActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId, MATERIALIZER_ACTIVITY_ID));
         ReaderActivityNode ra = new ReaderActivityNode(new ActivityId(odId, READER_ACTIVITY_ID));
 
-        builder.addActivity(ma);
+        builder.addActivity(this, ma);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, ma, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(ra);
+        builder.addActivity(this, ra);
         builder.addTargetEdge(0, ra, 0);
 
         builder.addBlockingEdge(ma, ra);
     }
 
-    public static class MaterializerTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
+    public static class MaterializerTaskState extends AbstractStateObject {
         private RunFileWriter out;
 
         public MaterializerTaskState() {
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@
                 @Override
                 public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
                     state.out.close();
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
+                    ctx.setStateObject(state);
                 }
 
                 @Override
@@ -139,7 +139,7 @@
                 @Override
                 public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
                     ByteBuffer frame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-                    MaterializerTaskState state = (MaterializerTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(
+                    MaterializerTaskState state = (MaterializerTaskState) ctx.getStateObject(new TaskId(new ActivityId(
                             getOperatorId(), MATERIALIZER_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
                     RunFileReader in = state.out.createReader();
                     writer.open();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/NullSinkOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/NullSinkOperatorDescriptor.java
index 8e0ac79..7c32c60 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/NullSinkOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/NullSinkOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -20,14 +20,14 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 
 public class NullSinkOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    public NullSinkOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec) {
+    public NullSinkOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
         super(spec, 1, 0);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/PrinterOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/PrinterOperatorDescriptor.java
index 7effbb0..47a8616 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/PrinterOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/PrinterOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.IOpenableDataWriterOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.util.DeserializedOperatorNodePushable;
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 public class PrinterOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    public PrinterOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec) {
+    public PrinterOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
         super(spec, 1, 0);
     }
 
@@ -64,6 +64,6 @@
     public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
             IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
         return new DeserializedOperatorNodePushable(ctx, new PrinterOperator(),
-                recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0));
+                recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0));
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/SplitOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/SplitOperatorDescriptor.java
index 6874f77..231a8d7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/SplitOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/SplitOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputOperatorNodePushable;
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 public class SplitOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    public SplitOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor rDesc, int outputArity) {
+    public SplitOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor rDesc, int outputArity) {
         super(spec, 1, outputArity);
         for (int i = 0; i < outputArity; i++) {
             recordDescriptors[i] = rDesc;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/SplitVectorOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/SplitVectorOperatorDescriptor.java
index 3e99000..aad0e66 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/SplitVectorOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/misc/SplitVectorOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -28,11 +28,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.IOpenableDataWriterOperator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.util.DeserializedOperatorNodePushable;
 
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
     private static final int COLLECT_ACTIVITY_ID = 0;
     private static final int SPLIT_ACTIVITY_ID = 1;
 
-    public static class CollectTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
+    public static class CollectTaskState extends AbstractStateObject {
         private ArrayList<Object[]> buffer;
 
         public CollectTaskState() {
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@
 
                 @Override
                 public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
+                    ctx.setStateObject(state);
                 }
 
                 @Override
@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@
                 }
             };
             return new DeserializedOperatorNodePushable(ctx, op, recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(
-                    getOperatorId(), 0));
+                    getActivityId(), 0));
         }
     }
 
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@
 
                 @Override
                 public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    state = (CollectTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
+                    state = (CollectTaskState) ctx.getStateObject(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
                             COLLECT_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
                 }
 
@@ -158,8 +158,8 @@
                     writer.fail();
                 }
             };
-            return new DeserializedOperatorNodePushable(ctx, op, recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(
-                    getOperatorId(), 0));
+            return new DeserializedOperatorNodePushable(ctx, op, recordDescProvider.getOutputRecordDescriptor(
+                    getActivityId(), 0));
         }
     }
 
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@
 
     private final int splits;
 
-    public SplitVectorOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int splits, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
+    public SplitVectorOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int splits, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, 1, 1);
         this.splits = splits;
         recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
@@ -178,10 +178,10 @@
         CollectActivity ca = new CollectActivity(new ActivityId(odId, COLLECT_ACTIVITY_ID));
         SplitActivity sa = new SplitActivity(new ActivityId(odId, SPLIT_ACTIVITY_ID));
 
-        builder.addActivity(ca);
+        builder.addActivity(this, ca);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, ca, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(sa);
+        builder.addActivity(this, sa);
         builder.addTargetEdge(0, sa, 0);
 
         builder.addBlockingEdge(ca, sa);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/BSTMemMgr.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/BSTMemMgr.java
index d07ba51..0c569f2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/BSTMemMgr.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/BSTMemMgr.java
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksCommonContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
  */
 public class BSTMemMgr implements IMemoryManager {
 
-    private final IHyracksCommonContext ctx;
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
     public static int frameSize;
 
     private ByteBuffer[] frames;
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
     private Slot[] parentRes;
     private int lastFrame;
 
-    public BSTMemMgr(IHyracksCommonContext ctx, int memSize) {
+    public BSTMemMgr(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int memSize) {
         this.ctx = ctx;
         frameSize = ctx.getFrameSize();
         convertBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(4);
@@ -167,7 +167,6 @@
         //clean up all frames
         for (int i = 0; i < frames.length; i++)
             frames[i] = null;
-        System.gc();
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor.java
index 0effefb..be71b44 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
 
@@ -51,12 +51,12 @@
     private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
     private final int framesLimit;
 
-    public ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int framesLimit, int[] sortFields,
+    public ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int framesLimit, int[] sortFields,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         this(spec, framesLimit, sortFields, null, comparatorFactories, recordDescriptor);
     }
 
-    public ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int framesLimit, int[] sortFields,
+    public ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int framesLimit, int[] sortFields,
             INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstKeyNormalizerFactory, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
             RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, 1, 1);
@@ -75,16 +75,16 @@
         SortActivity sa = new SortActivity(new ActivityId(odId, SORT_ACTIVITY_ID));
         MergeActivity ma = new MergeActivity(new ActivityId(odId, MERGE_ACTIVITY_ID));
 
-        builder.addActivity(sa);
+        builder.addActivity(this, sa);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, sa, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(ma);
+        builder.addActivity(this, ma);
         builder.addTargetEdge(0, ma, 0);
 
         builder.addBlockingEdge(sa, ma);
     }
 
-    public static class SortTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
+    public static class SortTaskState extends AbstractStateObject {
         private List<IFrameReader> runs;
         private FrameSorter frameSorter;
 
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@
                     runGen.close();
                     state.runs = runGen.getRuns();
                     state.frameSorter = runGen.getFrameSorter();
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
+                    ctx.setStateObject(state);
                 }
 
                 @Override
@@ -163,7 +163,7 @@
             IOperatorNodePushable op = new AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable() {
                 @Override
                 public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    SortTaskState state = (SortTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
+                    SortTaskState state = (SortTaskState) ctx.getStateObject(new TaskId(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(),
                             SORT_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
                     List<IFrameReader> runs = state.runs;
                     FrameSorter frameSorter = state.frameSorter;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/ExternalSortRunMerger.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/ExternalSortRunMerger.java
index 5e413da..b51132e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/ExternalSortRunMerger.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/ExternalSortRunMerger.java
@@ -100,12 +100,9 @@
                 }
                 /** recycle sort buffer */
                 frameSorter.close();
-                System.gc();
-
             } else {
                 /** recycle sort buffer */
                 frameSorter.close();
-                System.gc();
 
                 inFrames = new ArrayList<ByteBuffer>();
                 outFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
@@ -114,13 +111,32 @@
                 for (int i = 0; i < framesLimit - 1; ++i) {
                     inFrames.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
                 }
-                while (runs.size() > 0) {
-                    try {
-                        doPass(runs);
-                    } catch (Exception e) {
-                        throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+                int maxMergeWidth = framesLimit - 1;
+                while (runs.size() > maxMergeWidth) {
+                    int generationSeparator = 0;
+                    while (generationSeparator < runs.size() && runs.size() > maxMergeWidth) {
+                        int mergeWidth = Math.min(Math.min(runs.size() - generationSeparator, maxMergeWidth),
+                                runs.size() - maxMergeWidth + 1);
+                        FileReference newRun = ctx.createManagedWorkspaceFile(ExternalSortRunMerger.class
+                                .getSimpleName());
+                        IFrameWriter mergeResultWriter = new RunFileWriter(newRun, ctx.getIOManager());
+                        mergeResultWriter.open();
+                        IFrameReader[] runCursors = new RunFileReader[mergeWidth];
+                        for (int i = 0; i < mergeWidth; i++) {
+                            runCursors[i] = runs.get(generationSeparator + i);
+                        }
+                        merge(mergeResultWriter, runCursors);
+                        runs.subList(generationSeparator, mergeWidth + generationSeparator).clear();
+                        runs.add(generationSeparator++, ((RunFileWriter) mergeResultWriter).createReader());
                     }
                 }
+                if (!runs.isEmpty()) {
+                    IFrameReader[] runCursors = new RunFileReader[runs.size()];
+                    for (int i = 0; i < runCursors.length; i++) {
+                        runCursors[i] = runs.get(i);
+                    }
+                    merge(writer, runCursors);
+                }
             }
         } catch (Exception e) {
             writer.fail();
@@ -130,44 +146,16 @@
         }
     }
 
-    // creates a new run from runs that can fit in memory.
-    private void doPass(List<IFrameReader> runs) throws HyracksDataException {
-        FileReference newRun = null;
-        IFrameWriter writer = this.writer;
-        boolean finalPass = false;
-        if (runs.size() + 1 <= framesLimit) { // + 1 outFrame
-            finalPass = true;
-            for (int i = inFrames.size() - 1; i >= runs.size(); i--) {
-                inFrames.remove(i);
-            }
-        } else {
-            newRun = ctx.createManagedWorkspaceFile(ExternalSortRunMerger.class.getSimpleName());
-            writer = new RunFileWriter(newRun, ctx.getIOManager());
-            writer.open();
-        }
+    private void merge(IFrameWriter mergeResultWriter, IFrameReader[] runCursors) throws HyracksDataException {
+        RunMergingFrameReader merger = new RunMergingFrameReader(ctx, runCursors, inFrames, sortFields, comparators,
+                recordDesc);
+        merger.open();
         try {
-            IFrameReader[] runCursors = new RunFileReader[inFrames.size()];
-            for (int i = 0; i < inFrames.size(); i++) {
-                runCursors[i] = runs.get(i);
-            }
-            RunMergingFrameReader merger = new RunMergingFrameReader(ctx, runCursors, inFrames, sortFields,
-                    comparators, recordDesc);
-            merger.open();
-            try {
-                while (merger.nextFrame(outFrame)) {
-                    FrameUtils.flushFrame(outFrame, writer);
-                }
-            } finally {
-                merger.close();
-            }
-            runs.subList(0, inFrames.size()).clear();
-            if (!finalPass) {
-                runs.add(0, ((RunFileWriter) writer).createReader());
+            while (merger.nextFrame(outFrame)) {
+                FrameUtils.flushFrame(outFrame, mergeResultWriter);
             }
         } finally {
-            if (!finalPass) {
-                writer.close();
-            }
+            merger.close();
         }
     }
 
@@ -186,7 +174,6 @@
                         FrameUtils.flushFrame(nextFrame, writer);
                         outFrameAppender.reset(nextFrame, true);
                     }
-                    System.gc();
                     return;
                 }
                 // Limit on the output size
@@ -216,11 +203,9 @@
                     FrameUtils.flushFrame(outFrame, writer);
                     outFrameAppender.reset(outFrame, true);
                 }
-                System.gc();
                 return;
             }
             // More than one run, actual merging is needed
-            System.gc();
             inFrames = new ArrayList<ByteBuffer>();
             for (int i = 0; i < framesLimit - 1; ++i) {
                 inFrames.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/FrameSorter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/FrameSorter.java
index 3de9742..680b98e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/FrameSorter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/FrameSorter.java
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksCommonContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.INormalizedKeyComputer;
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
 
 public class FrameSorter {
-    private final IHyracksCommonContext ctx;
+    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
     private final int[] sortFields;
     private final INormalizedKeyComputer nkc;
     private final IBinaryComparator[] comparators;
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@
     private int[] tPointers;
     private int tupleCount;
 
-    public FrameSorter(IHyracksCommonContext ctx, int[] sortFields,
+    public FrameSorter(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int[] sortFields,
             INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstKeyNormalizerFactory, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
             RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         this.ctx = ctx;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor.java
index 30bebe9..3b3c28d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -29,11 +29,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
 
@@ -47,12 +47,12 @@
     private INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstKeyNormalizerFactory;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
 
-    public InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int[] sortFields,
+    public InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int[] sortFields,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         this(spec, sortFields, null, comparatorFactories, recordDescriptor);
     }
 
-    public InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int[] sortFields,
+    public InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int[] sortFields,
             INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstKeyNormalizerFactory, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
             RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, 1, 1);
@@ -67,16 +67,16 @@
         SortActivity sa = new SortActivity(new ActivityId(odId, SORT_ACTIVITY_ID));
         MergeActivity ma = new MergeActivity(new ActivityId(odId, MERGE_ACTIVITY_ID));
 
-        builder.addActivity(sa);
+        builder.addActivity(this, sa);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, sa, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(ma);
+        builder.addActivity(this, ma);
         builder.addTargetEdge(0, ma, 0);
 
         builder.addBlockingEdge(sa, ma);
     }
 
-    public static class SortTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
+    public static class SortTaskState extends AbstractStateObject {
         private FrameSorter frameSorter;
 
         public SortTaskState() {
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@
                 @Override
                 public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
                     state.frameSorter.sortFrames();
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
+                    ctx.setStateObject(state);
                 }
 
                 @Override
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@
                 public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
                     writer.open();
                     try {
-                        SortTaskState state = (SortTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(
+                        SortTaskState state = (SortTaskState) ctx.getStateObject(new TaskId(new ActivityId(
                                 getOperatorId(), SORT_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
                         state.frameSorter.flushFrames(writer);
                     } catch (Exception e) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor.java
index a8653d1..d9c16d8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractTaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable;
 
@@ -68,17 +68,17 @@
     private final int memSize;
     private final int outputLimit;
 
-    public OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int framesLimit, int[] sortFields,
+    public OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int framesLimit, int[] sortFields,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         this(spec, framesLimit, NO_LIMIT, sortFields, null, comparatorFactories, recordDescriptor);
     }
 
-    public OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int framesLimit, int outputLimit,
+    public OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int framesLimit, int outputLimit,
             int[] sortFields, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         this(spec, framesLimit, outputLimit, sortFields, null, comparatorFactories, recordDescriptor);
     }
 
-    public OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int memSize, int outputLimit,
+    public OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int memSize, int outputLimit,
             int[] sortFields, INormalizedKeyComputerFactory firstKeyNormalizerFactory,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, 1, 1);
@@ -98,16 +98,16 @@
         OptimizedSortActivity osa = new OptimizedSortActivity(new ActivityId(odId, SORT_ACTIVITY_ID));
         OptimizedMergeActivity oma = new OptimizedMergeActivity(new ActivityId(odId, MERGE_ACTIVITY_ID));
 
-        builder.addActivity(osa);
+        builder.addActivity(this, osa);
         builder.addSourceEdge(0, osa, 0);
 
-        builder.addActivity(oma);
+        builder.addActivity(this, oma);
         builder.addTargetEdge(0, oma, 0);
 
         builder.addBlockingEdge(osa, oma);
     }
 
-    public static class OptimizedSortTaskState extends AbstractTaskState {
+    public static class OptimizedSortTaskState extends AbstractStateObject {
         private List<IFrameReader> runs;
 
         public OptimizedSortTaskState() {
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@
                             new TaskId(getActivityId(), partition));
                     runGen.close();
                     state.runs = runGen.getRuns();
-                    ctx.setTaskState(state);
+                    ctx.setStateObject(state);
 
                 }
 
@@ -191,8 +191,8 @@
             IOperatorNodePushable op = new AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable() {
                 @Override
                 public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
-                    OptimizedSortTaskState state = (OptimizedSortTaskState) ctx.getTaskState(new TaskId(new ActivityId(
-                            getOperatorId(), SORT_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
+                    OptimizedSortTaskState state = (OptimizedSortTaskState) ctx.getStateObject(new TaskId(
+                            new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), SORT_ACTIVITY_ID), partition));
 
                     List<IFrameReader> runs = state.runs;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/RunMergingFrameReader.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/RunMergingFrameReader.java
index c014ed1..29c28a1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/RunMergingFrameReader.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/sort/RunMergingFrameReader.java
@@ -54,11 +54,11 @@
 
     @Override
     public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-        tupleAccessors = new FrameTupleAccessor[inFrames.size()];
+        tupleAccessors = new FrameTupleAccessor[runCursors.length];
         Comparator<ReferenceEntry> comparator = createEntryComparator(comparators);
-        topTuples = new ReferencedPriorityQueue(ctx.getFrameSize(), recordDesc, inFrames.size(), comparator);
-        tupleIndexes = new int[inFrames.size()];
-        for (int i = 0; i < inFrames.size(); i++) {
+        topTuples = new ReferencedPriorityQueue(ctx.getFrameSize(), recordDesc, runCursors.length, comparator);
+        tupleIndexes = new int[runCursors.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < runCursors.length; i++) {
             tupleIndexes[i] = 0;
             int runIndex = topTuples.peek().getRunid();
             runCursors[runIndex].open();
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-        for (int i = 0; i < inFrames.size(); ++i) {
+        for (int i = 0; i < runCursors.length; ++i) {
             closeRun(i, runCursors, tupleAccessors);
         }
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/union/UnionAllOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/union/UnionAllOperatorDescriptor.java
index f55eb3d..7ac9f58 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/union/UnionAllOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-dataflow-std/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/dataflow/std/union/UnionAllOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -24,13 +24,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractActivityNode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
 
 public class UnionAllOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractOperatorDescriptor {
-    public UnionAllOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int nInputs, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
+    public UnionAllOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int nInputs, RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor) {
         super(spec, nInputs, 1);
         recordDescriptors[0] = recordDescriptor;
     }
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@
     @Override
     public void contributeActivities(IActivityGraphBuilder builder) {
         UnionActivityNode uba = new UnionActivityNode(new ActivityId(getOperatorId(), 0));
-        builder.addActivity(uba);
+        builder.addActivity(this, uba);
         for (int i = 0; i < inputArity; ++i) {
             builder.addSourceEdge(i, uba, i);
         }
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@
         public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
                 IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions)
                 throws HyracksDataException {
-            RecordDescriptor inRecordDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getOperatorId(), 0);
+            RecordDescriptor inRecordDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(getActivityId(), 0);
             return new UnionOperator(ctx, inRecordDesc);
         }
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/InsertPipelineExample.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/InsertPipelineExample.java
index 5a6d8cd..b6e8c72 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/InsertPipelineExample.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/InsertPipelineExample.java
@@ -44,15 +44,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree.helper.IndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree.helper.StorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOp;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 // This example will insert tuples into the primary and secondary index using an insert pipeline
@@ -62,7 +59,7 @@
         @Option(name = "-host", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Host name", required = true)
         public String host;
 
-        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
+        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1098)")
         public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
@@ -91,8 +88,7 @@
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
         long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob(options.app, job);
-        hcc.start(jobId);
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob(options.app, job);
         hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
         long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
         System.err.println(start + " " + end + " " + (end - start));
@@ -144,11 +140,6 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[1];
         primaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
-        TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-
         // the B-Tree expects its keyfields to be at the front of its input
         // tuple
         int[] primaryFieldPermutation = { 2, 1, 3, 4 }; // map field 2 of input
@@ -160,9 +151,9 @@
 
         // create operator descriptor
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor primaryInsert = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primarySplitProvider,
-                primaryInteriorFrameFactory, primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
-                primaryFieldPermutation, IndexOp.INSERT, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                spec, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primarySplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits,
+                primaryComparatorFactories, primaryFieldPermutation, IndexOp.INSERT, dataflowHelperFactory, null,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         JobHelper.createPartitionConstraint(spec, primaryInsert, splitNCs);
 
         // prepare insertion into secondary index
@@ -177,12 +168,6 @@
         secondaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
         secondaryComparatorFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
-        TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory secondaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(secondaryTypeTraits);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-                secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
-
         // the B-Tree expects its keyfields to be at the front of its input
         // tuple
         int[] secondaryFieldPermutation = { 1, 2 };
@@ -190,9 +175,9 @@
                 options.secondaryBTreeName);
         // create operator descriptor
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor secondaryInsert = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondarySplitProvider,
-                secondaryInteriorFrameFactory, secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits,
-                secondaryComparatorFactories, secondaryFieldPermutation, IndexOp.INSERT, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                spec, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondarySplitProvider, secondaryTypeTraits,
+                secondaryComparatorFactories, secondaryFieldPermutation, IndexOp.INSERT, dataflowHelperFactory, null,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         JobHelper.createPartitionConstraint(spec, secondaryInsert, splitNCs);
 
         // end the insert pipeline at this sink operator
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
index 0b1cd6c..a6c7ea6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
@@ -43,14 +43,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree.helper.IndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree.helper.StorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 // This example will load a primary index from randomly generated data
@@ -60,7 +57,7 @@
         @Option(name = "-host", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Host name", required = true)
         public String host;
 
-        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
+        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1098)")
         public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
@@ -89,8 +86,7 @@
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
         long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob(options.app, job);
-        hcc.start(jobId);
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob(options.app, job);
         hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
         long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
         System.err.println(start + " " + end + " " + (end - start));
@@ -144,10 +140,7 @@
         typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         typeTraits[3] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
-        // create factories and providers for B-Tree
-        TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
+        // create providers for B-Tree
         IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider = IndexRegistryProvider.INSTANCE;
         IStorageManagerInterface storageManager = StorageManagerInterface.INSTANCE;
 
@@ -159,8 +152,8 @@
         IFileSplitProvider btreeSplitProvider = JobHelper.createFileSplitProvider(splitNCs, options.btreeName);
         IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory = new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory();
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor btreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, btreeSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory,
-                typeTraits, comparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, btreeSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories,
+                fieldPermutation, 0.7f, dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         JobHelper.createPartitionConstraint(spec, btreeBulkLoad, splitNCs);
 
         // distribute the records from the datagen via hashing to the bulk load
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexSearchExample.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexSearchExample.java
index aa73a62..d24ba33 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexSearchExample.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexSearchExample.java
@@ -42,13 +42,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree.helper.StorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 // This example will perform an ordered scan on the primary index
@@ -59,7 +56,7 @@
         @Option(name = "-host", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Host name", required = true)
         public String host;
 
-        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
+        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1098)")
         public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
@@ -82,8 +79,7 @@
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
         long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob(options.app, job);
-        hcc.start(jobId);
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob(options.app, job);
         hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
         long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
         System.err.println(start + " " + end + " " + (end - start));
@@ -106,10 +102,7 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[1];
         comparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        // create factories and providers for B-Tree
-        TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
+        // create roviders for B-Tree
         IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider = IndexRegistryProvider.INSTANCE;
         IStorageManagerInterface storageManager = StorageManagerInterface.INSTANCE;
 
@@ -149,8 +142,8 @@
         IFileSplitProvider btreeSplitProvider = JobHelper.createFileSplitProvider(splitNCs, options.btreeName);
         IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory = new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory();
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor btreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, recDesc, storageManager,
-                indexRegistryProvider, btreeSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory, typeTraits,
-                comparatorFactories, true, lowKeyFields, highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                indexRegistryProvider, btreeSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, lowKeyFields,
+                highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         JobHelper.createPartitionConstraint(spec, btreeSearchOp, splitNCs);
 
         // have each node print the results of its respective B-Tree
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
index ad9ad3a..5aa338a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
@@ -36,15 +36,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree.helper.IndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree.helper.StorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 // This example will load a secondary index with <key, primary-index key> pairs
@@ -55,7 +52,7 @@
         @Option(name = "-host", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Host name", required = true)
         public String host;
 
-        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
+        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1098)")
         public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
@@ -84,8 +81,7 @@
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
         long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob(options.app, job);
-        hcc.start(jobId);
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob(options.app, job);
         hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
         long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
         System.err.println(start + " " + end + " " + (end - start));
@@ -122,17 +118,12 @@
         comparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
         comparatorFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        // create factories and providers for primary B-Tree
-        TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-
         // use a disk-order scan to read primary index
         IFileSplitProvider primarySplitProvider = JobHelper.createFileSplitProvider(splitNCs, options.primaryBTreeName);
         IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory = new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory();
         TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor btreeScanOp = new TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primarySplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primarySplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         JobHelper.createPartitionConstraint(spec, btreeScanOp, splitNCs);
 
         // sort the tuples as preparation for bulk load into secondary index
@@ -148,20 +139,13 @@
         secondaryTypeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         secondaryTypeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
-        // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
-        TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory secondaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(secondaryTypeTraits);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-                secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
-
         // the B-Tree expects its keyfields to be at the front of its input
         // tuple
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 1, 0 };
         IFileSplitProvider btreeSplitProvider = JobHelper.createFileSplitProvider(splitNCs, options.secondaryBTreeName);
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor btreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, btreeSplitProvider, secondaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits, comparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, btreeSplitProvider, secondaryTypeTraits, comparatorFactories,
+                fieldPermutation, 0.7f, dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         JobHelper.createPartitionConstraint(spec, btreeBulkLoad, splitNCs);
 
         // connect the ops
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexSearchExample.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexSearchExample.java
index 2719397..277668b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexSearchExample.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexSearchExample.java
@@ -42,13 +42,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree.helper.StorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 // This example will perform range search on the secondary index
@@ -59,7 +56,7 @@
         @Option(name = "-host", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Host name", required = true)
         public String host;
 
-        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
+        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1098)")
         public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
@@ -85,8 +82,7 @@
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
         long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob(options.app, job);
-        hcc.start(jobId);
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob(options.app, job);
         hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
         long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
         System.err.println(start + " " + end + " " + (end - start));
@@ -119,12 +115,6 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[1];
         primaryComparatorFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
-        TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory secondaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(secondaryTypeTraits);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-                secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
-
         // schema of tuples coming out of primary index
         RecordDescriptor primaryRecDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
@@ -137,11 +127,6 @@
         primaryTypeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         primaryTypeTraits[3] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
-        // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
-        TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-
         // comparators for btree, note that we only need a comparator for the
         // non-unique key
         // i.e. we will have a range condition on the first field only (implying
@@ -183,9 +168,9 @@
                 options.secondaryBTreeName);
         IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory = new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory();
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor secondarySearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, secondaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondarySplitProvider, secondaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits, searchComparatorFactories, true, secondaryLowKeyFields,
-                secondaryHighKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondarySplitProvider, secondaryTypeTraits,
+                searchComparatorFactories, secondaryLowKeyFields, secondaryHighKeyFields, true, true,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         JobHelper.createPartitionConstraint(spec, secondarySearchOp, splitNCs);
 
         // secondary index will output tuples with [UTF8String, Integer]
@@ -199,9 +184,9 @@
 
         IFileSplitProvider primarySplitProvider = JobHelper.createFileSplitProvider(splitNCs, options.primaryBTreeName);
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primarySearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, primaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primarySplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, true, primaryLowKeyFields,
-                primaryHighKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primarySplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits,
+                primaryComparatorFactories, primaryLowKeyFields, primaryHighKeyFields, true, true,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         JobHelper.createPartitionConstraint(spec, primarySearchOp, splitNCs);
 
         // have each node print the results of its respective B-Tree
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/helper/DataGenOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/helper/DataGenOperatorDescriptor.java
index 36e315d..f342d23 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/helper/DataGenOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/helper/DataGenOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
     private final int uniqueField;
     private final long randomSeed;
 
-    public DataGenOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor outputRecord, int numRecords,
+    public DataGenOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor outputRecord, int numRecords,
             int uniqueField, int intMinVal, int intMaxVal, int maxStrLen, long randomSeed) {
         super(spec, 0, 1);
         this.numRecords = numRecords;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hadoop-compat-example/hadoopcompatapp/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hadoop-compat-example/hadoopcompatapp/pom.xml
index 7c90618..afe91d1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hadoop-compat-example/hadoopcompatapp/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hadoop-compat-example/hadoopcompatapp/pom.xml
@@ -76,11 +76,12 @@
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
       	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
-      	<artifactId>hyracks-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-      	<version>0.0.2</version>
+      	<artifactId>hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+      	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
         <configuration>
           <hyracksServerHome>${basedir}/../../../hyracks-server/target/hyracks-server-${project.version}-binary-assembly</hyracksServerHome>
           <hyracksCLIHome>${basedir}/../../../hyracks-cli/target/hyracks-cli-${project.version}-binary-assembly</hyracksCLIHome>
+          <jvmOptions>${jvm.extraargs}</jvmOptions>
         </configuration>
         <executions>
           <execution>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexScanOperatorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexScanOperatorTest.java
index 6ef1740..8482083 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexScanOperatorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexScanOperatorTest.java
@@ -49,14 +49,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
@@ -80,10 +78,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
     private int primaryKeyFieldCount = 1;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[primaryKeyFieldCount];
-    private TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-            primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
 
     private static String primaryBtreeName = "primary" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String primaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + primaryBtreeName;
@@ -107,9 +101,20 @@
         primaryTypeTraits[5] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         primaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
+        createPrimaryIndex();
         loadPrimaryIndexTest();
     }
 
+    public void createPrimaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadPrimaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -138,9 +143,8 @@
 
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), ordScanner, 0, sorter, 0);
@@ -175,9 +179,8 @@
         int[] highKeyFields = null; // + infinity
 
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, primaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, true, lowKeyFields,
-                highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, lowKeyFields,
+                highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
index 51dbb69..82fecbe 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
@@ -49,14 +49,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
@@ -80,10 +78,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
     private int primaryKeyFieldCount = 1;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[primaryKeyFieldCount];
-    private TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-            primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
 
     private static String primaryBtreeName = "primary" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String primaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + primaryBtreeName;
@@ -107,9 +101,20 @@
         primaryTypeTraits[5] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         primaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
+        createPrimaryIndex();
         loadPrimaryIndexTest();
     }
 
+    public void createPrimaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadPrimaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -138,9 +143,8 @@
 
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), ordScanner, 0, sorter, 0);
@@ -180,9 +184,8 @@
         int[] highKeyFields = { 1 };
 
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, primaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, true, lowKeyFields,
-                highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, lowKeyFields,
+                highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexStatsOperatorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexStatsOperatorTest.java
index a804bae..e63ce11 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexStatsOperatorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreePrimaryIndexStatsOperatorTest.java
@@ -45,15 +45,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
@@ -77,10 +75,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
     private int primaryKeyFieldCount = 1;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[primaryKeyFieldCount];
-    private TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-            primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
 
     private static String primaryBtreeName = "primary" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String primaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + primaryBtreeName;
@@ -88,10 +82,6 @@
     private IFileSplitProvider primaryBtreeSplitProvider = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(
             new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID, new FileReference(new File(primaryFileName))) });
 
-    private RecordDescriptor primaryRecDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
-            UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-            UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-            UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
     @Before
     public void setup() throws Exception {
@@ -104,9 +94,20 @@
         primaryTypeTraits[5] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         primaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
+        createPrimaryIndex();
         loadPrimaryIndexTest();
     }
 
+    public void createPrimaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadPrimaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -135,9 +136,8 @@
 
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), ordScanner, 0, sorter, 0);
@@ -153,8 +153,8 @@
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
         TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor primaryStatsOp = new TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
-                indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory, primaryLeafFrameFactory,
-                primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider,
+                primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryStatsOp, NC1_ID);
         IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
                 createTempFile().getAbsolutePath()) });
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreeSecondaryIndexInsertOperatorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreeSecondaryIndexInsertOperatorTest.java
index a16bbe4..3c87ae3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreeSecondaryIndexInsertOperatorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreeSecondaryIndexInsertOperatorTest.java
@@ -50,16 +50,14 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOp;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
@@ -83,10 +81,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
     private int primaryKeyFieldCount = 1;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[primaryKeyFieldCount];
-    private TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-            primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
 
     private static String primaryBtreeName = "primary" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String primaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + primaryBtreeName;
@@ -104,11 +98,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] secondaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[secondaryFieldCount];
     private int secondaryKeyFieldCount = 2;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] secondaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[secondaryKeyFieldCount];
-    private TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory secondaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-            secondaryTypeTraits);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-            secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
 
     private static String secondaryBtreeName = "secondary" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String secondaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + secondaryBtreeName;
@@ -136,11 +125,23 @@
         secondaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
         secondaryComparatorFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
+        createPrimaryIndex();
         loadPrimaryIndexTest();
+        createSecondaryIndex();
         loadSecondaryIndexTest();
         insertPipelineTest();
     }
 
+    public void createPrimaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadPrimaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -169,9 +170,8 @@
 
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), ordScanner, 0, sorter, 0);
@@ -182,6 +182,16 @@
         runTest(spec);
     }
 
+    public void createSecondaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor secondaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, secondaryBtreeSplitProvider, secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, secondaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(secondaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadSecondaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -206,9 +216,8 @@
 
         // scan primary index
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, primaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, true, lowKeyFields,
-                highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, lowKeyFields,
+                highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         // sort based on secondary keys
@@ -220,9 +229,8 @@
         // load secondary index
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 3, 0 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor secondaryBtreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryBtreeSplitProvider, secondaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryBtreeSplitProvider, secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, secondaryBtreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), keyProviderOp, 0, primaryBtreeSearchOp, 0);
@@ -259,16 +267,16 @@
         int[] primaryFieldPermutation = { 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeInsertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, ordersDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider,
-                primaryInteriorFrameFactory, primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
-                primaryFieldPermutation, IndexOp.INSERT, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
+                primaryFieldPermutation, IndexOp.INSERT, dataflowHelperFactory, null, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeInsertOp, NC1_ID);
 
         // first secondary index
         int[] fieldPermutationB = { 4, 0 };
         TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor secondaryInsertOp = new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, ordersDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryBtreeSplitProvider,
-                secondaryInteriorFrameFactory, secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits,
-                secondaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutationB, IndexOp.INSERT, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                secondaryTypeTraits,
+                secondaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutationB, IndexOp.INSERT, dataflowHelperFactory, null, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, secondaryInsertOp, NC1_ID);
 
         NullSinkOperatorDescriptor nullSink = new NullSinkOperatorDescriptor(spec);
@@ -315,9 +323,9 @@
         // search secondary index
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor secondaryBtreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 secondaryRecDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryBtreeSplitProvider,
-                secondaryInteriorFrameFactory, secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits,
-                secondaryComparatorFactories, true, secondaryLowKeyFields, secondaryHighKeyFields, true, true,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                secondaryTypeTraits,
+                secondaryComparatorFactories, secondaryLowKeyFields, secondaryHighKeyFields, true, true,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, secondaryBtreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         // second field from the tuples coming from secondary index
@@ -327,9 +335,8 @@
 
         // search primary index
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, primaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, true, primaryLowKeyFields,
-                primaryHighKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, primaryLowKeyFields,
+                primaryHighKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreeSecondaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreeSecondaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
index ef1c6f6..1304f12 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreeSecondaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/btree/BTreeSecondaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
@@ -49,14 +49,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
@@ -80,10 +78,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
     private int primaryKeyFieldCount = 1;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[primaryKeyFieldCount];
-    private TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-            primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
 
     private static String primaryBtreeName = "primary" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String primaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + primaryBtreeName;
@@ -101,11 +95,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] secondaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[secondaryFieldCount];
     private int secondaryKeyFieldCount = 2;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] secondaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[secondaryKeyFieldCount];
-    private TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory secondaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-            secondaryTypeTraits);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-            secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(secondaryTupleWriterFactory);
 
     private static String secondaryBtreeName = "secondary" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String secondaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + secondaryBtreeName;
@@ -133,10 +122,22 @@
         secondaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
         secondaryComparatorFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
+        createPrimaryIndex();
         loadPrimaryIndexTest();
+        createSecondaryIndex();
         loadSecondaryIndexTest();
     }
 
+    public void createPrimaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadPrimaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -165,9 +166,8 @@
 
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), ordScanner, 0, sorter, 0);
@@ -178,6 +178,16 @@
         runTest(spec);
     }
 
+    public void createSecondaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor secondaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, secondaryBtreeSplitProvider, secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, secondaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(secondaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadSecondaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -202,9 +212,8 @@
 
         // scan primary index
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, primaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, true, lowKeyFields,
-                highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, lowKeyFields,
+                highKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         // sort based on secondary keys
@@ -216,9 +225,8 @@
         // load secondary index
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 3, 0 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor secondaryBtreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryBtreeSplitProvider, secondaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryBtreeSplitProvider, secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, secondaryBtreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), keyProviderOp, 0, primaryBtreeSearchOp, 0);
@@ -260,9 +268,8 @@
         // search secondary index
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor secondaryBtreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 secondaryRecDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryBtreeSplitProvider,
-                secondaryInteriorFrameFactory, secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits,
-                secondaryComparatorFactories, true, secondaryLowKeyFields, secondaryHighKeyFields, true, true,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories, secondaryLowKeyFields, secondaryHighKeyFields, true, true,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, secondaryBtreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         int[] primaryLowKeyFields = { 1 }; // second field from the tuples
@@ -272,9 +279,8 @@
 
         // search primary index
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, primaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, true, primaryLowKeyFields,
-                primaryHighKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBtreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, primaryLowKeyFields,
+                primaryHighKeyFields, true, true, dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AbstractIntegrationTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AbstractIntegrationTest.java
index 4ed8361..023bdd9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AbstractIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AbstractIntegrationTest.java
@@ -108,11 +108,10 @@
     }
 
     protected void runTest(JobSpecification spec) throws Exception {
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob("test", spec, EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME));
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info(spec.toJSON().toString(2));
         }
-        hcc.start(jobId);
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob("test", spec, EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME));
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info(jobId.toString());
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AbstractMultiNCIntegrationTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AbstractMultiNCIntegrationTest.java
index dec42c1..e0b8c73 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AbstractMultiNCIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AbstractMultiNCIntegrationTest.java
@@ -105,11 +105,10 @@
     }
 
     protected void runTest(JobSpecification spec) throws Exception {
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob("test", spec, EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME));
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info(spec.toJSON().toString(2));
         }
-        hcc.start(jobId);
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob("test", spec, EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME));
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info(jobId.toString());
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AggregationTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AggregationTest.java
index 53a3f79..93e1e9b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AggregationTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/AggregationTest.java
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
@@ -49,11 +50,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.ITupleParserFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.HashSpillableTableFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.AvgFieldGroupAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.AvgFieldMergeAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.CountFieldAggregatorFactory;
@@ -61,6 +59,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.MinMaxStringFieldAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.external.ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 
 /**
  *
@@ -107,7 +108,7 @@
                     UTF8StringParserFactory.INSTANCE, }, '|');
 
     private AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor getPrinter(
-            JobSpecification spec, String prefix) throws IOException {
+            IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, String prefix) throws IOException {
 
         AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor printer = new PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor(
                 spec, new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/CountOfCountsTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/CountOfCountsTest.java
index ce72ec5..aea6126 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/CountOfCountsTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/CountOfCountsTest.java
@@ -46,9 +46,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.CountFieldAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor;
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/LocalityAwareConnectorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/LocalityAwareConnectorTest.java
index a7a0a73..0d5a627 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/LocalityAwareConnectorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/LocalityAwareConnectorTest.java
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
@@ -52,11 +53,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.ITupleParserFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.FloatSumFieldAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class LocalityAwareConnectorTest extends AbstractMultiNCIntegrationTest {
 
@@ -86,8 +87,7 @@
 
     /**
      * Test of aggregations using locality aware connector. The output two files should be the
-     * same, each of which is the aggregation of two copies of the lineitem.tbl. 
-     * 
+     * same, each of which is the aggregation of two copies of the lineitem.tbl.
      * Note that if the hashing connector is not working correctly, the two files may be different. This
      * also means that even the output files are the same, the hashing may have other problems.
      * 
@@ -98,66 +98,47 @@
 
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
-        FileScanOperatorDescriptor csvScanner = new FileScanOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec, splitProvider, tupleParserFactory, desc);
+        FileScanOperatorDescriptor csvScanner = new FileScanOperatorDescriptor(spec, splitProvider, tupleParserFactory,
+                desc);
 
-        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec,
-                csvScanner, "asterix-001", "asterix-002", "asterix-003", "asterix-004");
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, csvScanner, "asterix-001", "asterix-002",
+                "asterix-003", "asterix-004");
 
-        RecordDescriptor outputRec = new RecordDescriptor(
-                new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
-                        UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                        IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                        IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                        FloatSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
+        RecordDescriptor outputRec = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
+                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, FloatSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
         int[] keyFields = new int[] { 0 };
         int tableSize = 8;
 
-        HashGroupOperatorDescriptor grouper = new HashGroupOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec,
-                keyFields,
-                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(
-                        keyFields,
+        HashGroupOperatorDescriptor grouper = new HashGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec, keyFields,
+                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keyFields,
                         new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] { PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory
                                 .of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) }),
-                new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] { PointableBinaryComparatorFactory
-                        .of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) },
-                new MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory(
-                        new IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory[] {
-                                new IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory(1, true),
-                                new IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory(3, true),
-                                new FloatSumFieldAggregatorFactory(5, true) }),
-                outputRec, tableSize);
+                new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] { PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) },
+                new MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory(new IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory[] {
+                        new IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory(1, true), new IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory(3, true),
+                        new FloatSumFieldAggregatorFactory(5, true) }), outputRec, tableSize);
 
-        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, grouper,
-                "asterix-005", "asterix-006");
-        
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, grouper, "asterix-005", "asterix-006");
+
         BitSet nodemap = new BitSet(8);
-        
+
         nodemap.set(0);
         nodemap.set(2);
         nodemap.set(5);
         nodemap.set(7);
 
-        IConnectorDescriptor conn1 = new LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(spec, new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(
-                        keyFields,
+        IConnectorDescriptor conn1 = new LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(spec,
+                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keyFields,
                         new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] { PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory
                                 .of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) }), new HashtableLocalityMap(nodemap));
-                
-                new MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(
-                spec,
-                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(
-                        keyFields,
-                        new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] { PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory
-                                .of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) }));
+
         spec.connect(conn1, csvScanner, 0, grouper, 0);
 
-        AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor printer = getPrinter(spec,
-                "localityAwareSumInmemGroupTest");
+        AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor printer = getPrinter(spec, "localityAwareSumInmemGroupTest");
 
-        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, printer,
-                "asterix-005", "asterix-006");
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, printer, "asterix-005", "asterix-006");
 
         IConnectorDescriptor conn2 = new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec);
         spec.connect(conn2, grouper, 0, printer, 0);
@@ -165,11 +146,11 @@
         spec.addRoot(printer);
         runTest(spec);
     }
-    
+
     /**
      * Test for locality aware connector, using the global hashing node mapper. This should have
      * the exactly the same result as using {@link MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor}.
-     *  
+     * 
      * @throws Exception
      */
     @Test
@@ -177,59 +158,40 @@
 
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
-        FileScanOperatorDescriptor csvScanner = new FileScanOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec, splitProvider, tupleParserFactory, desc);
+        FileScanOperatorDescriptor csvScanner = new FileScanOperatorDescriptor(spec, splitProvider, tupleParserFactory,
+                desc);
 
-        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec,
-                csvScanner, "asterix-001", "asterix-002", "asterix-003", "asterix-004");
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, csvScanner, "asterix-001", "asterix-002",
+                "asterix-003", "asterix-004");
 
-        RecordDescriptor outputRec = new RecordDescriptor(
-                new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
-                        UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                        IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                        IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                        FloatSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
+        RecordDescriptor outputRec = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
+                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, FloatSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
         int[] keyFields = new int[] { 0 };
         int tableSize = 8;
 
-        HashGroupOperatorDescriptor grouper = new HashGroupOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec,
-                keyFields,
-                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(
-                        keyFields,
+        HashGroupOperatorDescriptor grouper = new HashGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec, keyFields,
+                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keyFields,
                         new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] { PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory
                                 .of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) }),
-                new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] { PointableBinaryComparatorFactory
-                        .of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) },
-                new MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory(
-                        new IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory[] {
-                                new IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory(1, true),
-                                new IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory(3, true),
-                                new FloatSumFieldAggregatorFactory(5, true) }),
-                outputRec, tableSize);
+                new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] { PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) },
+                new MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory(new IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory[] {
+                        new IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory(1, true), new IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory(3, true),
+                        new FloatSumFieldAggregatorFactory(5, true) }), outputRec, tableSize);
 
-        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, grouper,
-                "asterix-005", "asterix-006");
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, grouper, "asterix-005", "asterix-006");
 
-        IConnectorDescriptor conn1 = new LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(spec, new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(
-                        keyFields,
+        IConnectorDescriptor conn1 = new LocalityAwareMToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(spec,
+                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(keyFields,
                         new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] { PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory
                                 .of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) }), new GlobalHashingLocalityMap());
-                
-                new MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(
-                spec,
-                new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(
-                        keyFields,
-                        new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] { PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory
-                                .of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) }));
+
         spec.connect(conn1, csvScanner, 0, grouper, 0);
 
-        AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor printer = getPrinter(spec,
-                "localityAwareSumInmemGroupTest");
+        AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor printer = getPrinter(spec, "localityAwareSumInmemGroupTest");
 
-        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, printer,
-                "asterix-005", "asterix-006");
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, printer, "asterix-005", "asterix-006");
 
         IConnectorDescriptor conn2 = new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec);
         spec.connect(conn2, grouper, 0, printer, 0);
@@ -237,16 +199,14 @@
         spec.addRoot(printer);
         runTest(spec);
     }
-    
-    private AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor getPrinter(
-            JobSpecification spec, String prefix) throws IOException {
 
-        AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor printer = new PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor(
-                spec, new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] {
-                        new FileSplit("asterix-005", createTempFile()
-                                .getAbsolutePath()),
-                        new FileSplit("asterix-006", createTempFile()
-                                .getAbsolutePath()) }), "\t");
+    private AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor getPrinter(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, String prefix)
+            throws IOException {
+
+        AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor printer = new PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor(spec,
+                new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] {
+                        new FileSplit("asterix-005", createTempFile().getAbsolutePath()),
+                        new FileSplit("asterix-006", createTempFile().getAbsolutePath()) }), "\t");
 
         return printer;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/OptimizedSortMergeTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/OptimizedSortMergeTest.java
index c2d3ebf..1ee4400 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/OptimizedSortMergeTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/OptimizedSortMergeTest.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.PartitionConstraintHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
@@ -39,8 +40,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.FileScanOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.FileSplit;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.misc.LimitOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.misc.PrinterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.OptimizedExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class OptimizedSortMergeTest extends AbstractIntegrationTest {
@@ -74,7 +75,9 @@
                         PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY) }, ordersDesc);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, sorter, NC1_ID, NC2_ID);
 
-        PrinterOperatorDescriptor printer = new PrinterOperatorDescriptor(spec);
+        IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
+                createTempFile().getAbsolutePath()) });
+        IOperatorDescriptor printer = new PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor(spec, outSplits, ",");
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, printer, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), ordScanner, 0, sorter, 0);
@@ -125,7 +128,9 @@
         LimitOperatorDescriptor filter = new LimitOperatorDescriptor(spec, ordersDesc, outputLimit);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, filter, NC1_ID);
 
-        PrinterOperatorDescriptor printer = new PrinterOperatorDescriptor(spec);
+        IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
+                createTempFile().getAbsolutePath()) });
+        IOperatorDescriptor printer = new PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor(spec, outSplits, ",");
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, printer, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), ordScanner, 0, sorter, 0);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/TPCHCustomerOrderNestedLoopJoinTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/TPCHCustomerOrderNestedLoopJoinTest.java
index 6411390..1e60372 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/TPCHCustomerOrderNestedLoopJoinTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/integration/TPCHCustomerOrderNestedLoopJoinTest.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.PartitionConstraintHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator() {
+        public ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
             return new JoinComparator(bFactory.createBinaryComparator(), pos0, pos1);
         }
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/invertedindex/BinaryTokenizerOperatorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/invertedindex/BinaryTokenizerOperatorTest.java
index 76a60ae..836e72e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/invertedindex/BinaryTokenizerOperatorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/invertedindex/BinaryTokenizerOperatorTest.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.FileSplit;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.misc.PrinterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.dataflow.BinaryTokenizerOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.DelimitedUTF8StringBinaryTokenizerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizerFactory;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/invertedindex/WordInvertedIndexTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/invertedindex/WordInvertedIndexTest.java
index 298c146..d8fd48e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/invertedindex/WordInvertedIndexTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/invertedindex/WordInvertedIndexTest.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
 import java.util.Date;
 
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
@@ -52,17 +53,16 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearchModifierFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.dataflow.BinaryTokenizerOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.dataflow.InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.dataflow.InvertedIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.dataflow.InvertedIndexSearchOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.searchmodifiers.ConjunctiveSearchModifierFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.DelimitedUTF8StringBinaryTokenizerFactory;
@@ -86,10 +86,10 @@
 
     private final static SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("ddMMyy-hhmmssSS");
     private final static String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
-    private final String dateString = simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
-    private final String primaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + "primaryBtree" + dateString;
-    private final String btreeFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + "invIndexBtree" + dateString;
-    private final String invListsFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + "invIndexLists" + dateString;
+    private final static String dateString = simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
+    private final static String primaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + "primaryBtree" + dateString;
+    private final static String btreeFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + "invIndexBtree" + dateString;
+    private final static String invListsFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + "invIndexLists" + dateString;
 
     private IFileSplitProvider primaryFileSplitProvider = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(
             new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID, new FileReference(new File(primaryFileName))) });
@@ -103,10 +103,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
     private int primaryKeyFieldCount = 1;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[primaryKeyFieldCount];
-    private TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-            primaryTupleWriterFactory);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
     private RecordDescriptor primaryRecDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
             IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
@@ -143,11 +139,23 @@
         invListsTypeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
         invListsComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
+        createPrimaryIndex();
         loadPrimaryIndex();
         printPrimaryIndex();
+        createInvertedIndex();
         loadInvertedIndex();
     }
 
+    public void createPrimaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryFileSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
+                btreeDataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     @Test
     public void testConjunctiveSearcher() throws Exception {
         IInvertedIndexSearchModifierFactory conjunctiveSearchModifierFactory = new ConjunctiveSearchModifierFactory();
@@ -172,9 +180,8 @@
     private IOperatorDescriptor createPrimaryBulkLoadOp(JobSpecification spec) {
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 0, 1 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryFileSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                btreeDataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryFileSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                btreeDataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
         return primaryBtreeBulkLoad;
     }
@@ -199,9 +206,8 @@
         int[] lowKeyFields = null; // - infinity
         int[] highKeyFields = null; // + infinity
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primaryBtreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, primaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryFileSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, true, lowKeyFields,
-                highKeyFields, true, true, btreeDataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryFileSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, lowKeyFields,
+                highKeyFields, true, true, btreeDataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBtreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
         return primaryBtreeSearchOp;
     }
@@ -250,11 +256,24 @@
         InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor invIndexBulkLoadOp = new InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 fieldPermutation, storageManager, btreeFileSplitProvider, invListsFileSplitProvider,
                 indexRegistryProvider, tokenTypeTraits, tokenComparatorFactories, invListsTypeTraits,
-                invListsComparatorFactories, btreeDataflowHelperFactory);
+                invListsComparatorFactories, tokenizerFactory, btreeDataflowHelperFactory,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, invIndexBulkLoadOp, NC1_ID);
         return invIndexBulkLoadOp;
     }
 
+    public void createInvertedIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        InvertedIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor invIndexCreateOp = new InvertedIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec,
+                storageManager, btreeFileSplitProvider, invListsFileSplitProvider,
+                indexRegistryProvider, tokenTypeTraits, tokenComparatorFactories, invListsTypeTraits,
+                invListsComparatorFactories, tokenizerFactory, btreeDataflowHelperFactory,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, invIndexCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(invIndexCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadInvertedIndex() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
         IOperatorDescriptor keyProviderOp = createScanKeyProviderOp(spec);
@@ -295,7 +314,8 @@
         InvertedIndexSearchOperatorDescriptor invIndexSearchOp = new InvertedIndexSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, 0,
                 storageManager, btreeFileSplitProvider, invListsFileSplitProvider, indexRegistryProvider,
                 tokenTypeTraits, tokenComparatorFactories, invListsTypeTraits, invListsComparatorFactories,
-                btreeDataflowHelperFactory, tokenizerFactory, searchModifierFactory, invListsRecDesc);
+                btreeDataflowHelperFactory, tokenizerFactory, searchModifierFactory, invListsRecDesc, false,
+                NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, invIndexSearchOp, NC1_ID);
         return invIndexSearchOp;
     }
@@ -313,4 +333,14 @@
         spec.addRoot(printer);
         runTest(spec);
     }
+    
+    @AfterClass
+    public static void cleanup() throws Exception {
+    	File primary = new File(primaryFileName);
+    	File btree = new File(btreeFileName);
+    	File invLists = new File(invListsFileName);
+        primary.deleteOnExit();
+        btree.deleteOnExit();
+        invLists.deleteOnExit();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreePrimaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreePrimaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
index 0c0df42..6625148 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreePrimaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreePrimaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
@@ -50,16 +50,14 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.misc.ConstantTupleSourceOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.dataflow.RTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.dataflow.RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tuples.RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestIndexRegistryProvider;
@@ -74,7 +72,7 @@
 
     private IStorageManagerInterface storageManager = new TestStorageManagerInterface();
     private IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider = new TestIndexRegistryProvider();
-    private IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory = new RTreeDataflowHelperFactory();
+    private IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory;
 
     private final static SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("ddMMyy-hhmmssSS");
     private final static String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
@@ -85,23 +83,19 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[primaryKeyFieldCount];
 
-    private RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-            primaryTypeTraits);
-
     private RecordDescriptor primaryRecDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
             DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
             DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
             UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory;
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryLeafFrameFactory;
-
     private static String primaryRTreeName = "primary" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String primaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + primaryRTreeName;
 
     private IFileSplitProvider primaryRTreeSplitProvider = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(
             new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID, new FileReference(new File(primaryFileName))) });
 
+    private IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] primaryValueProviderFactories;
+    
     @Before
     public void setup() throws Exception {
         // field, type and key declarations for primary R-tree index
@@ -115,16 +109,24 @@
         primaryComparatorFactories[2] = primaryComparatorFactories[0];
         primaryComparatorFactories[3] = primaryComparatorFactories[0];
 
-        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] primaryValueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils
+        primaryValueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils
                 .createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(primaryComparatorFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
-        primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory,
-                primaryValueProviderFactories);
-        primaryLeafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory, primaryValueProviderFactories);
-
+        dataflowHelperFactory = new RTreeDataflowHelperFactory(primaryValueProviderFactories);
+        
+        createPrimaryIndex();
         loadPrimaryIndexTest();
     }
 
+    public void createPrimaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadPrimaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -144,9 +146,8 @@
 
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor primaryRTreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryRTreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), objScanner, 0, primaryRTreeBulkLoad, 0);
@@ -185,9 +186,8 @@
         int[] keyFields = { 0, 1, 2, 3 };
 
         RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primaryRTreeSearchOp = new RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec, primaryRecDesc,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, keyFields,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, keyFields,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryRTreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreePrimaryIndexStatsOperatorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreePrimaryIndexStatsOperatorTest.java
index a4912e8..ef2950e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreePrimaryIndexStatsOperatorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreePrimaryIndexStatsOperatorTest.java
@@ -51,7 +51,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.dataflow.RTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
@@ -70,7 +72,7 @@
 
     private IStorageManagerInterface storageManager = new TestStorageManagerInterface();
     private IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider = new TestIndexRegistryProvider();
-    private IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory = new RTreeDataflowHelperFactory();
+    private IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory;
 
     private final static SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("ddMMyy-hhmmssSS");
     private final static String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
@@ -98,6 +100,8 @@
     private IFileSplitProvider primaryRTreeSplitProvider = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(
             new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID, new FileReference(new File(primaryFileName))) });
 
+    private IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] primaryValueProviderFactories;
+    
     @Before
     public void setup() throws Exception {
         // field, type and key declarations for primary R-tree index
@@ -111,16 +115,28 @@
         primaryComparatorFactories[2] = primaryComparatorFactories[0];
         primaryComparatorFactories[3] = primaryComparatorFactories[0];
 
-        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] primaryValueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils
+        primaryValueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils
                 .createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(primaryComparatorFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
+        dataflowHelperFactory = new RTreeDataflowHelperFactory(primaryValueProviderFactories);
+        
         primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory,
                 primaryValueProviderFactories);
         primaryLeafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory, primaryValueProviderFactories);
 
+        createPrimaryIndex();
         loadPrimaryIndexTest();
     }
 
+    public void createPrimaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadPrimaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -140,9 +156,8 @@
 
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor primaryRTreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryLeafFrameFactory, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryRTreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), objScanner, 0, primaryRTreeBulkLoad, 0);
@@ -156,8 +171,8 @@
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
         TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor primaryStatsOp = new TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
-                indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, primaryInteriorFrameFactory, primaryLeafFrameFactory,
-                primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryRTreeSplitProvider, 
+                primaryTypeTraits, primaryComparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryStatsOp, NC1_ID);
 
         IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreeSecondaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreeSecondaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
index 025f675..030afcf 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreeSecondaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/hyracks-integration-tests/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/tests/rtree/RTreeSecondaryIndexSearchOperatorTest.java
@@ -52,21 +52,15 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow.BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.dataflow.RTreeDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.dataflow.RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.DoublePrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tuples.RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestIndexRegistryProvider;
@@ -81,7 +75,7 @@
 
     private IStorageManagerInterface storageManager = new TestStorageManagerInterface();
     private IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider = new TestIndexRegistryProvider();
-    private IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory = new RTreeDataflowHelperFactory();
+    private IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory;
     private IIndexDataflowHelperFactory btreeDataflowHelperFactory = new BTreeDataflowHelperFactory();
 
     private final static SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("ddMMyy-hhmmssSS");
@@ -92,12 +86,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] primaryBTreeTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryBTreeFieldCount];
     private int primaryBTreeKeyFieldCount = 1;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryBTreeComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[primaryBTreeKeyFieldCount];
-    private TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryBTreeTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-            primaryBTreeTypeTraits);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryBTreeInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
-            primaryBTreeTupleWriterFactory);
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryBTreeLeafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(
-            primaryBTreeTupleWriterFactory);
 
     private static String primaryBTreeName = "primaryBTree" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String primaryBTreeFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + primaryBTreeName;
@@ -117,13 +105,6 @@
     private ITypeTraits[] secondaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[secondaryFieldCount];
     private int secondaryKeyFieldCount = 4;
     private IBinaryComparatorFactory[] secondaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[secondaryKeyFieldCount];
-    private IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] secondaryValueProviderFactories = new IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[secondaryKeyFieldCount];
-
-    private RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory secondaryTupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(
-            secondaryTypeTraits);
-
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryInteriorFrameFactory;
-    private ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryLeafFrameFactory;
 
     private static String secondaryRTreeName = "secondary" + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
     private static String secondaryFileName = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + sep + secondaryRTreeName;
@@ -136,6 +117,8 @@
             DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
             UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
+    private IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] secondaryValueProviderFactories;
+    
     @Before
     public void setup() throws Exception {
         // field, type and key declarations for primary B-tree index
@@ -161,23 +144,28 @@
         secondaryComparatorFactories[1] = secondaryComparatorFactories[0];
         secondaryComparatorFactories[2] = secondaryComparatorFactories[0];
         secondaryComparatorFactories[3] = secondaryComparatorFactories[0];
-        secondaryValueProviderFactories[0] = DoublePrimitiveValueProviderFactory.INSTANCE;
-        secondaryValueProviderFactories[1] = secondaryValueProviderFactories[0];
-        secondaryValueProviderFactories[2] = secondaryValueProviderFactories[0];
-        secondaryValueProviderFactories[3] = secondaryValueProviderFactories[0];
 
-        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] secondaryValueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils
+        secondaryValueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils
                 .createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(secondaryComparatorFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
 
-        secondaryInteriorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(secondaryTupleWriterFactory,
-                secondaryValueProviderFactories);
-        secondaryLeafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(secondaryTupleWriterFactory,
-                secondaryValueProviderFactories);
-
+        dataflowHelperFactory = new RTreeDataflowHelperFactory(secondaryValueProviderFactories);
+        
+        createPrimaryIndex();
         loadPrimaryBTreeIndexTest();
+        createSecondaryIndex();
         loadSecondaryIndexTest();
     }
 
+    public void createPrimaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, primaryBTreeSplitProvider, primaryBTreeTypeTraits,
+                primaryBTreeComparatorFactories, btreeDataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadPrimaryBTreeIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -210,9 +198,8 @@
 
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor primaryBTreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBTreeSplitProvider, primaryBTreeInteriorFrameFactory,
-                primaryBTreeLeafFrameFactory, primaryBTreeTypeTraits, primaryBTreeComparatorFactories,
-                fieldPermutation, 0.7f, btreeDataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBTreeSplitProvider, primaryBTreeTypeTraits, primaryBTreeComparatorFactories,
+                fieldPermutation, 0.7f, btreeDataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBTreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), ordScanner, 0, sorter, 0);
@@ -223,6 +210,16 @@
         runTest(spec);
     }
 
+    public void createSecondaryIndex() throws Exception {
+        JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
+        TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor primaryCreateOp = new TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(spec, storageManager,
+                indexRegistryProvider, secondaryRTreeSplitProvider, secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
+        PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryCreateOp, NC1_ID);
+        spec.addRoot(primaryCreateOp);
+        runTest(spec);
+    }
+    
     public void loadSecondaryIndexTest() throws Exception {
         JobSpecification spec = new JobSpecification();
 
@@ -248,17 +245,15 @@
         // scan primary index
         BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor primaryBTreeSearchOp = new BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 primaryBTreeRecDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, primaryBTreeSplitProvider,
-                primaryBTreeInteriorFrameFactory, primaryBTreeLeafFrameFactory, primaryBTreeTypeTraits,
-                primaryBTreeComparatorFactories, true, lowKeyFields, highKeyFields, true, true,
-                btreeDataflowHelperFactory);
+                primaryBTreeTypeTraits, primaryBTreeComparatorFactories, lowKeyFields, highKeyFields, 
+                true, true, btreeDataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, primaryBTreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         // load secondary index
         int[] fieldPermutation = { 6, 7, 8, 9, 0 };
         TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor secondaryRTreeBulkLoad = new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(spec,
-                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryRTreeSplitProvider, secondaryInteriorFrameFactory,
-                secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
-                dataflowHelperFactory);
+                storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryRTreeSplitProvider, secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories, fieldPermutation, 0.7f,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, secondaryRTreeBulkLoad, NC1_ID);
 
         spec.connect(new OneToOneConnectorDescriptor(spec), keyProviderOp, 0, primaryBTreeSearchOp, 0);
@@ -299,8 +294,7 @@
 
         RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor secondaryRTreeSearchOp = new RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(spec,
                 secondaryRecDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, secondaryRTreeSplitProvider,
-                secondaryInteriorFrameFactory, secondaryLeafFrameFactory, secondaryTypeTraits,
-                secondaryComparatorFactories, keyFields, dataflowHelperFactory);
+                secondaryTypeTraits, secondaryComparatorFactories, keyFields, dataflowHelperFactory, false, NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.INSTANCE);
         PartitionConstraintHelper.addAbsoluteLocationConstraint(spec, secondaryRTreeSearchOp, NC1_ID);
 
         IFileSplitProvider outSplits = new ConstantFileSplitProvider(new FileSplit[] { new FileSplit(NC1_ID,
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textapp/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textapp/pom.xml
index a9c4d0d..50b492b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textapp/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textapp/pom.xml
@@ -76,11 +76,12 @@
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
       	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
-      	<artifactId>hyracks-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-      	<version>0.0.2</version>
+      	<artifactId>hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+      	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
         <configuration>
           <hyracksServerHome>${basedir}/../../../hyracks-server/target/hyracks-server-${project.version}-binary-assembly</hyracksServerHome>
           <hyracksCLIHome>${basedir}/../../../hyracks-cli/target/hyracks-cli-${project.version}-binary-assembly</hyracksCLIHome>
+          <jvmOptions>${jvm.extraargs}</jvmOptions>
         </configuration>
         <executions>
           <execution>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/text/client/ExternalGroupClient.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/text/client/ExternalGroupClient.java
index 66f7efc..943f232 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/text/client/ExternalGroupClient.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/text/client/ExternalGroupClient.java
@@ -54,12 +54,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.FrameFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.HashSpillableTableFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.CountFieldAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.IntSumFieldAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 
 /**
@@ -71,8 +71,8 @@
         @Option(name = "-host", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Host name", required = true)
         public String host;
 
-        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
-        public int port = 1099;
+        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1098)")
+        public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
         public String app;
@@ -122,8 +122,7 @@
 
             System.out.print(i + "\t" + (System.currentTimeMillis() - start));
             start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-            JobId jobId = hcc.createJob(options.app, job);
-            hcc.start(jobId);
+            JobId jobId = hcc.startJob(options.app, job);
             hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
             System.out.println("\t" + (System.currentTimeMillis() - start));
         }
@@ -201,8 +200,8 @@
 
         switch (alg) {
             case 0: // new external hash graph
-                grouper = new edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec, keys,
-                        framesLimit, new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] {
+                grouper = new edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.external.ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec,
+                        keys, framesLimit, new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] {
                         // PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY),
                         PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY) },
                         new IntegerNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(), new MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory(
@@ -238,8 +237,8 @@
                         PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY) }));
                 spec.connect(scanSortConn2, fileScanner, 0, sorter2, 0);
 
-                grouper = new edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec, keys,
-                        new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] {
+                grouper = new edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor(
+                        spec, keys, new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] {
                         // PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY),
                         PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY) },
                         new MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory(
@@ -274,8 +273,8 @@
                 spec.connect(scanConn2, fileScanner, 0, grouper, 0);
                 break;
             default:
-                grouper = new edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec, keys,
-                        framesLimit, new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] {
+                grouper = new edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.external.ExternalGroupOperatorDescriptor(spec,
+                        keys, framesLimit, new IBinaryComparatorFactory[] {
                         // PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY),
                         PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY) },
                         new IntegerNormalizedKeyComputerFactory(), new MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory(
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/text/client/WordCountMain.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/text/client/WordCountMain.java
index 1708259..31019ab 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/text/client/WordCountMain.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/text-example/textclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/text/client/WordCountMain.java
@@ -48,11 +48,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.FrameFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.PlainFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.CountFieldAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.preclustered.PreclusteredGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.sort.InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.text.WordTupleParserFactory;
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
         @Option(name = "-host", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Host name", required = true)
         public String host;
 
-        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
+        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1098)")
         public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
@@ -101,9 +101,8 @@
                 options.algo, options.htSize, options.sbSize, options.format);
 
         long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob(options.app, job, options.runtimeProfiling ? EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME)
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob(options.app, job, options.runtimeProfiling ? EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME)
                 : EnumSet.noneOf(JobFlag.class));
-        hcc.start(jobId);
         hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
         long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
         System.err.println(start + " " + end + " " + (end - start));
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/tpch-example/tpchclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/tpch/client/Main.java b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/tpch-example/tpchclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/tpch/client/Main.java
index 72533e7..01ccdef 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-examples/tpch-example/tpchclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/tpch/client/Main.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-examples/tpch-example/tpchclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/tpch/client/Main.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.PartitionConstraintHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
@@ -54,10 +55,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.FileSplit;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.FrameFileWriterOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.IFieldAggregateDescriptorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.CountFieldAggregatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.aggregators.MultiFieldsAggregatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.group.hash.HashGroupOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join.GraceHashJoinOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join.HybridHashJoinOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.join.InMemoryHashJoinOperatorDescriptor;
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@
         @Option(name = "-host", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Host name", required = true)
         public String host;
 
-        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)", required = false)
+        @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1098)", required = false)
         public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
@@ -126,9 +127,8 @@
                 options.graceFactor, options.memSize, options.tableSize, options.hasGroupBy);
 
         long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        JobId jobId = hcc.createJob(options.app, job,
+        JobId jobId = hcc.startJob(options.app, job,
                 options.profile ? EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME) : EnumSet.noneOf(JobFlag.class));
-        hcc.start(jobId);
         hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
         long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
         System.err.println(start + " " + end + " " + (end - start));
@@ -315,7 +315,7 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator() {
+        public ITuplePairComparator createTuplePairComparator(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) {
             return new JoinComparator(bFactory.createBinaryComparator(), pos0, pos1);
         }
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/pom.xml
index c348dcf..29260ca 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/pom.xml
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
             <configuration>
               <programs>
                 <program>
-                  <mainClass>edu.uci.ics.hyracks.hadoop.compat.CompatibilityLayer</mainClass>
+                  <mainClass>edu.uci.ics.hyracks.hadoop.compat.driver.CompatibilityLayer</mainClass>
                   <name>hadoop-compat</name>
                 </program>
               </programs>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/client/HyracksClient.java b/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/client/HyracksClient.java
index eadf679..dfd229a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/client/HyracksClient.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/client/HyracksClient.java
@@ -66,11 +66,10 @@
         JobId jobId;
         if (doProfiling) {
             System.out.println("PROFILING");
-            jobId = connection.createJob(applicationName, spec, EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME));
+            jobId = connection.startJob(applicationName, spec, EnumSet.of(JobFlag.PROFILE_RUNTIME));
         } else {
-            jobId = connection.createJob(applicationName, spec);
+            jobId = connection.startJob(applicationName, spec);
         }
-        connection.start(jobId);
         HyracksRunningJob runningJob = new HyracksRunningJob(jobId, spec, this);
         return runningJob;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/client/HyracksRunningJob.java b/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/client/HyracksRunningJob.java
index 7c650ec..776fd54 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/client/HyracksRunningJob.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/client/HyracksRunningJob.java
@@ -8,13 +8,13 @@
 import org.apache.hadoop.mapred.TaskAttemptID;
 import org.apache.hadoop.mapred.TaskCompletionEvent;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 
 public class HyracksRunningJob implements RunningJob {
 
     JobId jobId;
-    JobSpecification spec;
+    IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec;
     HyracksClient hyracksClient;
 
     public JobId getJobId() {
@@ -25,15 +25,15 @@
         this.jobId = jobId;
     }
 
-    public JobSpecification getSpec() {
+    public IOperatorDescriptorRegistry getSpec() {
         return spec;
     }
 
-    public void setSpec(JobSpecification spec) {
+    public void setSpec(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
         this.spec = spec;
     }
 
-    public HyracksRunningJob(JobId jobId, JobSpecification jobSpec, HyracksClient hyracksClient) {
+    public HyracksRunningJob(JobId jobId, IOperatorDescriptorRegistry jobSpec, HyracksClient hyracksClient) {
         this.spec = jobSpec;
         this.jobId = jobId;
         this.hyracksClient = hyracksClient;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/util/HadoopAdapter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/util/HadoopAdapter.java
index 28833d7..1d6369a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/util/HadoopAdapter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-hadoop-compat/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/hadoop/compat/util/HadoopAdapter.java
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITuplePartitionComputerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IConnectorDescriptorRegistry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.HadoopMapperOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.hadoop.HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor;
@@ -171,7 +173,7 @@
 	}
 
 	public HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor getReducer(JobConf conf,
-			JobSpecification spec, boolean useAsCombiner) {
+			IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, boolean useAsCombiner) {
 		HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor reduceOp = new HadoopReducerOperatorDescriptor(
 				spec, conf, null, new ClasspathBasedHadoopClassFactory(),
 				useAsCombiner);
@@ -334,7 +336,7 @@
 	}
 
 	public static InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor getInMemorySorter(
-			JobConf conf, JobSpecification spec) {
+			JobConf conf, IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
 		InMemorySortOperatorDescriptor inMemorySortOp = null;
 		RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = getHadoopRecordDescriptor(conf
 				.getMapOutputKeyClass().getName(), conf
@@ -352,7 +354,7 @@
 	}
 
 	public static ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor getExternalSorter(
-			JobConf conf, JobSpecification spec) {
+			JobConf conf, IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
 		ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor externalSortOp = null;
 		RecordDescriptor recordDescriptor = getHadoopRecordDescriptor(conf
 				.getMapOutputKeyClass().getName(), conf
@@ -371,7 +373,7 @@
 	}
 
 	public static MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor getMtoNHashPartitioningConnector(
-			JobConf conf, JobSpecification spec) {
+			JobConf conf, IConnectorDescriptorRegistry spec) {
 
 		Class mapOutputKeyClass = conf.getMapOutputKeyClass();
 		Class mapOutputValueClass = conf.getMapOutputValueClass();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-ipc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/ipc/impl/IPCHandle.java b/hyracks/hyracks-ipc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/ipc/impl/IPCHandle.java
index 749afe2..06b614d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-ipc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/ipc/impl/IPCHandle.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-ipc/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/ipc/impl/IPCHandle.java
@@ -63,8 +63,8 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public synchronized long send(long requestId, Object req, Exception exception) throws IPCException {
-        if (state != HandleState.CONNECTED) {
+    public long send(long requestId, Object req, Exception exception) throws IPCException {
+        if (!isConnected()) {
             throw new IPCException("Handle is not in Connected state");
         }
         Message msg = new Message(this);
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@
         setState(HandleState.CLOSED);
     }
 
-    synchronized void processIncomingMessages() {
+    void processIncomingMessages() {
         inBuffer.flip();
         while (Message.hasMessage(inBuffer)) {
             Message message = new Message(this);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a69512
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+  <artifactId>hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+  <packaging>maven-plugin</packaging>
+  <name>Hyracks VirtualCluster Maven Plugin</name>
+
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hyracks-maven-plugins</artifactId>
+    <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+
+  <build>
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>2.0.2</version>
+        <configuration>
+          <source>1.6</source>
+          <target>1.6</target>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+</project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/AbstractHyracksCLIMojo.java b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/AbstractHyracksCLIMojo.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7f3faef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/AbstractHyracksCLIMojo.java
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.maven.plugin;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.PrintWriter;
+
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoFailureException;
+
+public abstract class AbstractHyracksCLIMojo extends AbstractHyracksMojo {
+    private static final String HYRACKS_CLI_SCRIPT = "bin" + File.separator + "hyrackscli";
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     * @required
+     */
+    protected File hyracksCLIHome;
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     * @required
+     */
+    private String ccHost;
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     */
+    private int ccPort;
+
+    @Override
+    public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
+        StringBuilder buffer = new StringBuilder();
+        buffer.append(createConnectCommand());
+        buffer.append('\n');
+        buffer.append(getCommands());
+        final Process proc = launch(new File(hyracksCLIHome, makeScriptName(HYRACKS_CLI_SCRIPT)), null, null);
+        try {
+            PrintWriter out = new PrintWriter(proc.getOutputStream());
+            out.println(buffer.toString());
+            out.close();
+            proc.waitFor();
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            throw new MojoExecutionException(e.getMessage());
+        }
+    }
+
+    private String createConnectCommand() {
+        return "connect to \"" + ccHost + (ccPort == 0 ? "" : (":" + ccPort)) + "\";";
+    }
+
+    protected abstract String getCommands();
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/AbstractHyracksMojo.java b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/AbstractHyracksMojo.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f35c78a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/AbstractHyracksMojo.java
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.maven.plugin;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.io.InputStreamReader;
+import java.io.Reader;
+
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.AbstractMojo;
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
+
+public abstract class AbstractHyracksMojo extends AbstractMojo {
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     */
+    protected String jvmOptions;
+
+    protected Process launch(File command, String options, File workingDir) throws MojoExecutionException {
+        if (!command.isFile()) {
+            throw new MojoExecutionException(command.getAbsolutePath() + " is not an executable program");
+        }
+
+        getLog().info("Executing Hyracks command: " + command + " with args [" + options + "]");
+        String osName = System.getProperty("os.name");
+        try {
+            if (osName.startsWith("Windows")) {
+                return launchWindowsBatch(command, options);
+            } else {
+                return launchUnixScript(command, options, workingDir);
+            }
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new MojoExecutionException("Error executing command: " + command.getAbsolutePath(), e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected Process launchWindowsBatch(File command, String options) throws IOException {
+        String[] commandWithOptions = new String[] { "cmd.exe", "/C", command.getAbsolutePath() + " " + options };
+
+        Process proc = Runtime.getRuntime().exec(commandWithOptions);
+        dump(proc.getInputStream());
+        dump(proc.getErrorStream());
+        return proc;
+    }
+
+    protected Process launchUnixScript(File command, String options, File workingDir) throws IOException {
+        String[] optionsArray = new String[0];
+        if (options != null && !options.trim().isEmpty()) {
+            optionsArray = options.trim().split("\\s+");
+        }
+        String[] commandWithOptions = new String[optionsArray.length + 1];
+        commandWithOptions[0] = command.getAbsolutePath();
+        for (int i = 0; i < optionsArray.length; ++i) {
+            commandWithOptions[i + 1] = optionsArray[i];
+        }
+        ProcessBuilder pb = new ProcessBuilder(commandWithOptions);
+        if (jvmOptions != null) {
+            pb.environment().put("JAVA_OPTS", jvmOptions);
+        }
+        pb.directory(workingDir == null ? new File(".") : workingDir);
+        Process proc = pb.start();
+        dump(proc.getInputStream());
+        dump(proc.getErrorStream());
+        return proc;
+    }
+
+    protected void dump(final InputStream input) {
+        final int streamBufferSize = 1000;
+        final Reader in = new InputStreamReader(input);
+        new Thread(new Runnable() {
+            public void run() {
+                try {
+                    char[] chars = new char[streamBufferSize];
+                    int c;
+                    while ((c = in.read(chars)) != -1) {
+                        if (c > 0) {
+                            System.out.print(String.valueOf(chars, 0, c));
+                        }
+                    }
+                } catch (IOException e) {
+                }
+            }
+        }).start();
+    }
+
+    protected String makeScriptName(String scriptName) {
+        String osName = System.getProperty("os.name");
+        String commandExt = osName.startsWith("Windows") ? ".bat" : "";
+        return scriptName + commandExt;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/AbstractHyracksServerMojo.java
similarity index 67%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/AbstractHyracksServerMojo.java
index 98c083e..448ca22 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/AbstractHyracksServerMojo.java
@@ -12,10 +12,19 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.maven.plugin;
 
-public interface IReceiverEventListener {
-    public void notifySenderAvailability(int sender);
+import java.io.File;
 
-    public void notifySenderCount(int senderCount);
+public abstract class AbstractHyracksServerMojo extends AbstractHyracksMojo {
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     * @required
+     */
+    protected File hyracksServerHome;
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     */
+    protected File workingDir;
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksAppDeploymentMojo.java b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksAppDeploymentMojo.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..76bbb5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksAppDeploymentMojo.java
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.maven.plugin;
+
+import java.io.File;
+
+/**
+ * @goal deploy-app
+ */
+public class HyracksAppDeploymentMojo extends AbstractHyracksCLIMojo {
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     * @required
+     */
+    private String appName;
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     * @required
+     */
+    private File harFile;
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getCommands() {
+        return "create application " + appName + " \"" + harFile.getAbsolutePath() + "\";";
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksCCStartMojo.java b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksCCStartMojo.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cf78a72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksCCStartMojo.java
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.maven.plugin;
+
+import java.io.File;
+
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoFailureException;
+
+/**
+ * @goal start-cc
+ */
+public class HyracksCCStartMojo extends AbstractHyracksServerMojo {
+    private static final String HYRACKS_CC_SCRIPT = "bin" + File.separator + "hyrackscc";
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter property = "port"
+     */
+    private int port;
+
+    @Override
+    public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
+        StringBuilder cmdLineBuffer = new StringBuilder();
+        if (port != 0) {
+            cmdLineBuffer.append("-port ").append(port);
+        }
+        cmdLineBuffer.append(" -client-net-ip-address 127.0.0.1");
+        cmdLineBuffer.append(" -cluster-net-ip-address 127.0.0.1");
+        String args = cmdLineBuffer.toString();
+        final Process proc = launch(new File(hyracksServerHome, makeScriptName(HYRACKS_CC_SCRIPT)), args, workingDir);
+        HyracksServiceRegistry.INSTANCE.addServiceProcess(proc);
+        try {
+            Thread.sleep(2000);
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            e.printStackTrace();
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksNCStartMojo.java b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksNCStartMojo.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..47de024
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksNCStartMojo.java
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.maven.plugin;
+
+import java.io.File;
+
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoFailureException;
+
+/**
+ * @goal start-nc
+ */
+public class HyracksNCStartMojo extends AbstractHyracksServerMojo {
+    private static final String HYRACKS_NC_SCRIPT = "bin" + File.separator + "hyracksnc";
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     * @required
+     */
+    private String nodeId;
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     * @required
+     */
+    private String ccHost;
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     */
+    private int ccPort;
+
+    /**
+     * @parameter
+     * @required
+     */
+    private String dataIpAddress;
+
+    @Override
+    public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
+        StringBuilder cmdLineBuffer = new StringBuilder();
+        cmdLineBuffer.append(" -cc-host ").append(ccHost);
+        cmdLineBuffer.append(" -data-ip-address ").append(dataIpAddress);
+        cmdLineBuffer.append(" -node-id ").append(nodeId);
+        cmdLineBuffer.append(" -cluster-net-ip-address 127.0.0.1");
+        if (ccPort != 0) {
+            cmdLineBuffer.append(" -cc-port ").append(ccPort);
+        }
+        String args = cmdLineBuffer.toString();
+        final Process proc = launch(new File(hyracksServerHome, makeScriptName(HYRACKS_NC_SCRIPT)), args, workingDir);
+        HyracksServiceRegistry.INSTANCE.addServiceProcess(proc);
+        try {
+            Thread.sleep(2000);
+        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+            e.printStackTrace();
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksServiceRegistry.java b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksServiceRegistry.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6ea5a64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksServiceRegistry.java
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.maven.plugin;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+public class HyracksServiceRegistry {
+    public static HyracksServiceRegistry INSTANCE = new HyracksServiceRegistry();
+
+    private final List<Process> serviceProcesses;
+
+    private HyracksServiceRegistry() {
+        serviceProcesses = new ArrayList<Process>();
+        Runtime.getRuntime().addShutdownHook(new Thread() {
+            @Override
+            public void run() {
+                destroyAll();
+            }
+        });
+    }
+
+    public synchronized void addServiceProcess(Process process) {
+        serviceProcesses.add(process);
+    }
+
+    public synchronized void destroyAll() {
+        for (Process p : serviceProcesses) {
+            try {
+                p.destroy();
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+            }
+        }
+        serviceProcesses.clear();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksStopServicesMojo.java b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksStopServicesMojo.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eaf40fc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/maven/plugin/HyracksStopServicesMojo.java
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.maven.plugin;
+
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoFailureException;
+
+/**
+ * @goal stop-services
+ */
+public class HyracksStopServicesMojo extends AbstractHyracksMojo {
+    @Override
+    public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException, MojoFailureException {
+        getLog().info("Stopping Hyracks Services");
+        HyracksServiceRegistry.INSTANCE.destroyAll();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..679896d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-maven-plugins/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+  <artifactId>hyracks-maven-plugins</artifactId>
+  <packaging>pom</packaging>
+
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hyracks</artifactId>
+    <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+
+  <dependencies>
+  	<dependency>
+  		<groupId>org.apache.maven</groupId>
+  		<artifactId>maven-plugin-api</artifactId>
+  		<version>2.2.1</version>
+  		<type>jar</type>
+  		<scope>compile</scope>
+  	</dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+
+  <modules>
+    <module>hyracks-virtualcluster-maven-plugin</module>
+  </modules>
+</project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/buffers/IBufferAcceptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/buffers/IBufferAcceptor.java
index 2f27bf0..26e335e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/buffers/IBufferAcceptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/buffers/IBufferAcceptor.java
@@ -16,6 +16,16 @@
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
+/**
+ * Accepts buffers.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
 public interface IBufferAcceptor {
+    /**
+     * Accept a buffer.
+     * 
+     * @param buffer
+     */
     public void accept(ByteBuffer buffer);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/buffers/ICloseableBufferAcceptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/buffers/ICloseableBufferAcceptor.java
index c395ac9..5e9bf02 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/buffers/ICloseableBufferAcceptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/buffers/ICloseableBufferAcceptor.java
@@ -14,8 +14,23 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers;
 
+/**
+ * A buffer acceptor that can be closed to indicate end of transmission or an error code
+ * specified to indicate an error in transmission.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
 public interface ICloseableBufferAcceptor extends IBufferAcceptor {
+    /**
+     * Close the buffer acceptor.
+     */
     public void close();
 
+    /**
+     * Indicate that an error occurred.
+     * 
+     * @param ecode
+     *            - the error code.
+     */
     public void error(int ecode);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/ChannelControlBlock.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/ChannelControlBlock.java
index 4b55d4b..3dec7e0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/ChannelControlBlock.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/ChannelControlBlock.java
@@ -28,6 +28,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers.ICloseableBufferAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.exceptions.NetException;
 
+/**
+ * Handle to a channel that represents a logical full-duplex communication end-point.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
 public class ChannelControlBlock {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ChannelControlBlock.class.getName());
 
@@ -45,6 +50,8 @@
 
     private final AtomicBoolean remoteClose;
 
+    private final AtomicBoolean remoteCloseAck;
+
     ChannelControlBlock(ChannelSet cSet, int channelId) {
         this.cSet = cSet;
         this.channelId = channelId;
@@ -53,16 +60,27 @@
         localClose = new AtomicBoolean();
         localCloseAck = new AtomicBoolean();
         remoteClose = new AtomicBoolean();
+        remoteCloseAck = new AtomicBoolean();
     }
 
     int getChannelId() {
         return channelId;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Get the read inderface of this channel.
+     * 
+     * @return the read interface.
+     */
     public IChannelReadInterface getReadInterface() {
         return ri;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Get the write interface of this channel.
+     * 
+     * @return the write interface.
+     */
     public IChannelWriteInterface getWriteInterface() {
         return wi;
     }
@@ -110,21 +128,21 @@
                 if (size <= 0) {
                     return size;
                 }
-                if (ri.currentReadBuffer == null) {
-                    ri.currentReadBuffer = ri.riEmptyStack.poll();
-                    assert ri.currentReadBuffer != null;
+                if (currentReadBuffer == null) {
+                    currentReadBuffer = riEmptyStack.poll();
+                    assert currentReadBuffer != null;
                 }
-                int rSize = Math.min(size, ri.currentReadBuffer.remaining());
+                int rSize = Math.min(size, currentReadBuffer.remaining());
                 if (rSize > 0) {
-                    ri.currentReadBuffer.limit(ri.currentReadBuffer.position() + rSize);
+                    currentReadBuffer.limit(currentReadBuffer.position() + rSize);
                     int len;
                     try {
-                        len = sc.read(ri.currentReadBuffer);
+                        len = sc.read(currentReadBuffer);
                         if (len < 0) {
                             throw new NetException("Socket Closed");
                         }
                     } finally {
-                        ri.currentReadBuffer.limit(ri.currentReadBuffer.capacity());
+                        currentReadBuffer.limit(currentReadBuffer.capacity());
                     }
                     size -= len;
                     if (len < rSize) {
@@ -133,7 +151,7 @@
                 } else {
                     return size;
                 }
-                if (ri.currentReadBuffer.remaining() <= 0) {
+                if (currentReadBuffer.remaining() <= 0) {
                     flush();
                 }
             }
@@ -142,7 +160,7 @@
         void flush() {
             if (currentReadBuffer != null) {
                 currentReadBuffer.flip();
-                fba.accept(ri.currentReadBuffer);
+                fba.accept(currentReadBuffer);
                 currentReadBuffer = null;
             }
         }
@@ -241,7 +259,7 @@
                 ecodeSent = true;
                 localClose.set(true);
                 adjustChannelWritability();
-            } else if (wi.eos && !wi.eosSent) {
+            } else if (eos && !eosSent) {
                 writerState.command.setChannelId(channelId);
                 writerState.command.setCommandType(MuxDemuxCommand.CommandType.CLOSE_CHANNEL);
                 writerState.command.setData(0);
@@ -321,11 +339,15 @@
         remoteClose.set(true);
     }
 
+    void reportRemoteEOSAck() {
+        remoteCloseAck.set(true);
+    }
+
     boolean getRemoteEOS() {
         return remoteClose.get();
     }
 
-    synchronized void reportLocalEOSAck() {
+    void reportLocalEOSAck() {
         localCloseAck.set(true);
     }
 
@@ -336,12 +358,13 @@
     }
 
     boolean completelyClosed() {
-        return localCloseAck.get() && remoteClose.get();
+        return localCloseAck.get() && remoteCloseAck.get();
     }
 
     @Override
     public String toString() {
         return "Channel:" + channelId + "[localClose: " + localClose + " localCloseAck: " + localCloseAck
-                + " remoteClose: " + remoteClose + " readCredits: " + ri.credits + " writeCredits: " + wi.credits + "]";
+                + " remoteClose: " + remoteClose + " remoteCloseAck:" + remoteCloseAck + " readCredits: " + ri.credits
+                + " writeCredits: " + wi.credits + "]";
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/ChannelSet.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/ChannelSet.java
index ffdb5c6..dabc8a4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/ChannelSet.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/ChannelSet.java
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@
 public class ChannelSet {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ChannelSet.class.getName());
 
-    private static final int MAX_OPEN_CHANNELS = 1024;
-
     private static final int INITIAL_SIZE = 16;
 
     private final MultiplexedConnection mConn;
@@ -61,7 +59,7 @@
     ChannelControlBlock allocateChannel() throws NetException {
         synchronized (mConn) {
             int idx = allocationBitmap.nextClearBit(0);
-            if (idx < 0 || idx == ccbArray.length) {
+            if (idx < 0 || idx >= ccbArray.length) {
                 cleanupClosedChannels();
                 idx = allocationBitmap.nextClearBit(0);
                 if (idx < 0 || idx == ccbArray.length) {
@@ -183,21 +181,35 @@
 
     void markEOSAck(int channelId) {
         synchronized (mConn) {
-            assert !pendingEOSAckBitmap.get(channelId);
-            pendingEOSAckBitmap.set(channelId);
-            pendingWriteEventsCounter.increment();
+            if (!pendingEOSAckBitmap.get(channelId)) {
+                pendingEOSAckBitmap.set(channelId);
+                pendingWriteEventsCounter.increment();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    void notifyIOError() {
+        synchronized (mConn) {
+            for (int i = 0; i < ccbArray.length; ++i) {
+                ChannelControlBlock ccb = ccbArray[i];
+                if (ccb != null && !ccb.getRemoteEOS()) {
+                    ccb.reportRemoteError(-1);
+                    markEOSAck(i);
+                    unmarkPendingCredits(i);
+                }
+            }
         }
     }
 
     private ChannelControlBlock createChannel(int idx) throws NetException {
+        if (idx > MuxDemuxCommand.MAX_CHANNEL_ID) {
+            throw new NetException("Channel Id > " + MuxDemuxCommand.MAX_CHANNEL_ID + " being opened");
+        }
         if (idx >= ccbArray.length) {
             expand(idx);
         }
-        if (idx > MAX_OPEN_CHANNELS) {
-            throw new NetException("More than " + MAX_OPEN_CHANNELS + " opened concurrently");
-        }
         if (ccbArray[idx] != null) {
-            assert ccbArray[idx].completelyClosed();
+            assert ccbArray[idx].completelyClosed() : ccbArray[idx].toString();
             if (ccbArray[idx].completelyClosed()) {
                 if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
                     LOGGER.fine("Cleaning free channel: " + ccbArray[idx]);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelOpenListener.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelOpenListener.java
index 0fc9b2a..feb605f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelOpenListener.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelOpenListener.java
@@ -14,6 +14,17 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.protocols.muxdemux;
 
+/**
+ * Callback interface to report opening of channels.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
 public interface IChannelOpenListener {
+    /**
+     * Indicates that a remote endpoint has opened a channel to this receiver.
+     * 
+     * @param channel
+     *            - The newly opened channel.
+     */
     public void channelOpened(ChannelControlBlock channel);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelReadInterface.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelReadInterface.java
index 468a617..178ad78 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelReadInterface.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelReadInterface.java
@@ -17,8 +17,26 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers.IBufferAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers.ICloseableBufferAcceptor;
 
+/**
+ * Represents the read interface of a {@link ChannelControlBlock}.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
 public interface IChannelReadInterface {
+    /**
+     * Set the callback that will be invoked by the network layer when a buffer has been
+     * filled with data received from the remote side.
+     * 
+     * @param fullBufferAcceptor
+     *            - the full buffer acceptor.
+     */
     public void setFullBufferAcceptor(ICloseableBufferAcceptor fullBufferAcceptor);
 
+    /**
+     * Get the acceptor that collects empty buffers when the client has finished consuming
+     * a previously full buffer.
+     * 
+     * @return the empty buffer acceptor.
+     */
     public IBufferAcceptor getEmptyBufferAcceptor();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelWriteInterface.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelWriteInterface.java
index 1e53d71..8e71246 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelWriteInterface.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/IChannelWriteInterface.java
@@ -17,8 +17,26 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers.IBufferAcceptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.buffers.ICloseableBufferAcceptor;
 
+/**
+ * Represents the write interface of a {@link ChannelControlBlock}.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
 public interface IChannelWriteInterface {
+    /**
+     * Set the callback interface that must be invoked when a full buffer has been emptied by
+     * writing the data to the remote end.
+     * 
+     * @param emptyBufferAcceptor
+     *            - the empty buffer acceptor.
+     */
     public void setEmptyBufferAcceptor(IBufferAcceptor emptyBufferAcceptor);
 
+    /**
+     * Get the full buffer acceptor that accepts buffers filled with data that need to be written
+     * to the remote end.
+     * 
+     * @return the full buffer acceptor.
+     */
     public ICloseableBufferAcceptor getFullBufferAcceptor();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MultiplexedConnection.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MultiplexedConnection.java
index c905f57..27bd793 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MultiplexedConnection.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MultiplexedConnection.java
@@ -26,6 +26,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.protocols.tcp.ITCPConnectionEventListener;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.protocols.tcp.TCPConnection;
 
+/**
+ * A {@link MultiplexedConnection} can be used by clients to create multiple "channels"
+ * that can have independent full-duplex conversations.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
 public class MultiplexedConnection implements ITCPConnectionEventListener {
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(MultiplexedConnection.class.getName());
 
@@ -49,7 +55,9 @@
 
     private boolean connectionFailure;
 
-    public MultiplexedConnection(MuxDemux muxDemux) {
+    private Exception error;
+
+    MultiplexedConnection(MuxDemux muxDemux) {
         this.muxDemux = muxDemux;
         pendingWriteEventsCounter = new IEventCounter() {
             private int counter;
@@ -119,7 +127,26 @@
         }
     }
 
-    public ChannelControlBlock openChannel() throws NetException, InterruptedException {
+    @Override
+    public synchronized void notifyIOError(Exception e) {
+        connectionFailure = true;
+        error = e;
+        cSet.notifyIOError();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Open a channel to the other side.
+     * 
+     * @return
+     * @throws NetException
+     *             - A network failure occurred.
+     */
+    public ChannelControlBlock openChannel() throws NetException {
+        synchronized (this) {
+            if (connectionFailure) {
+                throw new NetException(error);
+            }
+        }
         ChannelControlBlock channel = cSet.allocateChannel();
         int channelId = channel.getChannelId();
         cSet.initiateChannelSyn(channelId);
@@ -127,7 +154,7 @@
     }
 
     class WriterState {
-        private final ByteBuffer writeBuffer;
+        private final ByteBuffer cmdWriteBuffer;
 
         final MuxDemuxCommand command;
 
@@ -138,29 +165,29 @@
         private ChannelControlBlock ccb;
 
         public WriterState() {
-            writeBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocateDirect(MuxDemuxCommand.COMMAND_SIZE);
-            writeBuffer.flip();
+            cmdWriteBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocateDirect(MuxDemuxCommand.COMMAND_SIZE);
+            cmdWriteBuffer.flip();
             command = new MuxDemuxCommand();
             ccb = null;
         }
 
         boolean writePending() {
-            return writeBuffer.remaining() > 0 || (pendingBuffer != null && pendingWriteSize > 0);
+            return cmdWriteBuffer.remaining() > 0 || (pendingBuffer != null && pendingWriteSize > 0);
         }
 
         void reset(ByteBuffer pendingBuffer, int pendingWriteSize, ChannelControlBlock ccb) {
-            writeBuffer.clear();
-            command.write(writeBuffer);
-            writeBuffer.flip();
+            cmdWriteBuffer.clear();
+            command.write(cmdWriteBuffer);
+            cmdWriteBuffer.flip();
             this.pendingBuffer = pendingBuffer;
             this.pendingWriteSize = pendingWriteSize;
             this.ccb = ccb;
         }
 
         boolean performPendingWrite(SocketChannel sc) throws IOException {
-            int len = writeBuffer.remaining();
+            int len = cmdWriteBuffer.remaining();
             if (len > 0) {
-                int written = sc.write(writeBuffer);
+                int written = sc.write(cmdWriteBuffer);
                 muxDemux.getPerformanceCounters().addSignalingBytesWritten(written);
                 if (written < len) {
                     return false;
@@ -250,6 +277,8 @@
                 BitSet pendingEOSAckBitmap = cSet.getPendingEOSAckBitmap();
                 for (int j = pendingEOSAckBitmap.nextSetBit(0); j >= 0; j = pendingEOSAckBitmap.nextSetBit(j)) {
                     pendingEOSAckBitmap.clear(j);
+                    ChannelControlBlock ccb = cSet.getCCB(j);
+                    ccb.reportRemoteEOSAck();
                     writerState.command.setChannelId(j);
                     writerState.command.setCommandType(MuxDemuxCommand.CommandType.CLOSE_CHANNEL_ACK);
                     writerState.command.setData(0);
@@ -261,9 +290,9 @@
                 }
                 BitSet pendingChannelWriteBitmap = cSet.getPendingChannelWriteBitmap();
                 lastChannelWritten = pendingChannelWriteBitmap.nextSetBit(lastChannelWritten + 1);
-                if (lastChannelWritten < 0) {
+                if (lastChannelWritten == -1) {
                     lastChannelWritten = pendingChannelWriteBitmap.nextSetBit(0);
-                    if (lastChannelWritten < 0) {
+                    if (lastChannelWritten == -1) {
                         return;
                     }
                 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MuxDemux.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MuxDemux.java
index 8548bb8..c719bc4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MuxDemux.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MuxDemux.java
@@ -24,20 +24,43 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.protocols.tcp.TCPConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.protocols.tcp.TCPEndpoint;
 
+/**
+ * Multiplexed Connection Manager.
+ * Every participant that wants to use the multiplexed connections must create and instance
+ * of this class.
+ * 
+ * @author vinayakb
+ */
 public class MuxDemux {
     private final InetSocketAddress localAddress;
 
     private final IChannelOpenListener channelOpenListener;
 
+    private final int maxConnectionAttempts;
+
     private final Map<InetSocketAddress, MultiplexedConnection> connectionMap;
 
     private final TCPEndpoint tcpEndpoint;
 
     private final MuxDemuxPerformanceCounters perfCounters;
 
-    public MuxDemux(InetSocketAddress localAddress, IChannelOpenListener listener, int nThreads) {
+    /**
+     * Constructor.
+     * 
+     * @param localAddress
+     *            - TCP/IP socket address to listen on
+     * @param listener
+     *            - Callback interface to report channel events
+     * @param nThreads
+     *            - Number of threads to use for data transfer
+     * @param maxConnectionAttempts
+     *            - Maximum number of connection attempts
+     */
+    public MuxDemux(InetSocketAddress localAddress, IChannelOpenListener listener, int nThreads,
+            int maxConnectionAttempts) {
         this.localAddress = localAddress;
         this.channelOpenListener = listener;
+        this.maxConnectionAttempts = maxConnectionAttempts;
         connectionMap = new HashMap<InetSocketAddress, MultiplexedConnection>();
         this.tcpEndpoint = new TCPEndpoint(new ITCPConnectionListener() {
             @Override
@@ -67,7 +90,7 @@
                     mConn = connectionMap.get(remoteAddress);
                     assert mConn != null;
                     int nConnectionAttempts = mConn.getConnectionAttempts();
-                    if (nConnectionAttempts > 5) {
+                    if (nConnectionAttempts > MuxDemux.this.maxConnectionAttempts) {
                         connectionMap.remove(remoteAddress);
                         mConn.setConnectionFailure();
                     } else {
@@ -80,10 +103,27 @@
         perfCounters = new MuxDemuxPerformanceCounters();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Starts listening for remote connections and is capable of initiating connections.
+     * 
+     * @throws IOException
+     */
     public void start() throws IOException {
         tcpEndpoint.start(localAddress);
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Create a {@link MultiplexedConnection} that can create channels to the specified remote address.
+     * The remote address must have a {@link MuxDemux} listening for connections.
+     * 
+     * @param remoteAddress
+     *            - Address of the remote {@link MuxDemux}
+     * @return a {@link MultiplexedConnection} connected to the remote address.
+     * @throws InterruptedException
+     *             - This call was interrupted while waiting for connection setup.
+     *             In such an event, it is safe to retry the {@link #connect(InetSocketAddress)} call.
+     * @throws NetException
+     */
     public MultiplexedConnection connect(InetSocketAddress remoteAddress) throws InterruptedException, NetException {
         MultiplexedConnection mConn = null;
         synchronized (this) {
@@ -102,10 +142,20 @@
         return channelOpenListener;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Get the local address that this {@link MuxDemux} is listening for connections.
+     * 
+     * @return local TCP/IP socket address.
+     */
     public InetSocketAddress getLocalAddress() {
         return tcpEndpoint.getLocalAddress();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Gets performance counters useful for collecting efficiency metrics.
+     * 
+     * @return
+     */
     public MuxDemuxPerformanceCounters getPerformanceCounters() {
         return perfCounters;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MuxDemuxCommand.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MuxDemuxCommand.java
index 2e2636b..4610170 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MuxDemuxCommand.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/muxdemux/MuxDemuxCommand.java
@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.net.exceptions.NetException;
 
 class MuxDemuxCommand {
-    static final int MAX_CHANNEL_ID = 0x3ff;
+    static final int MAX_CHANNEL_ID = Integer.MAX_VALUE - 1;
 
-    static final int COMMAND_SIZE = 4;
+    static final int COMMAND_SIZE = 8;
 
-    static final int MAX_DATA_VALUE = 0x7ffff;
+    static final int MAX_DATA_VALUE = 0x1fffffff;
 
     enum CommandType {
         OPEN_CHANNEL,
@@ -57,15 +57,15 @@
     }
 
     public void write(ByteBuffer buffer) {
-        int cmd = (channelId << 22) | (type.ordinal() << 19) | (data & 0x7ffff);
-        buffer.putInt(cmd);
+        long cmd = (((long) channelId) << 32) | (((long) type.ordinal()) << 29) | (data & 0x1fffffff);
+        buffer.putLong(cmd);
     }
 
     public void read(ByteBuffer buffer) {
-        int cmd = buffer.getInt();
-        channelId = (cmd >> 22) & 0x3ff;
-        type = CommandType.values()[(cmd >> 19) & 0x7];
-        data = cmd & 0x7ffff;
+        long cmd = buffer.getLong();
+        channelId = (int) ((cmd >> 32) & 0x7fffffff);
+        type = CommandType.values()[(int) ((cmd >> 29) & 0x7)];
+        data = (int) (cmd & 0x1fffffff);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/tcp/ITCPConnectionEventListener.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/tcp/ITCPConnectionEventListener.java
index 607bf31..79c21ee 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/tcp/ITCPConnectionEventListener.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/tcp/ITCPConnectionEventListener.java
@@ -21,4 +21,6 @@
 public interface ITCPConnectionEventListener {
     public void notifyIOReady(TCPConnection connection, boolean readable, boolean writable) throws IOException,
             NetException;
+
+    public void notifyIOError(Exception e);
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/tcp/TCPEndpoint.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/tcp/TCPEndpoint.java
index 1a73bdc..d13a17e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/tcp/TCPEndpoint.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/protocols/tcp/TCPEndpoint.java
@@ -88,10 +88,11 @@
 
         private final List<SocketChannel> workingIncomingConnections;
 
-        private Selector selector;
+        private final Selector selector;
 
         public IOThread() throws IOException {
             super("TCPEndpoint IO Thread");
+            setDaemon(true);
             setPriority(MAX_PRIORITY);
             this.pendingConnections = new ArrayList<InetSocketAddress>();
             this.workingPendingConnections = new ArrayList<InetSocketAddress>();
@@ -116,7 +117,9 @@
                                 connect = channel.connect(address);
                             } catch (IOException e) {
                                 failure = true;
-                                connectionListener.connectionFailure(address);
+                                synchronized (connectionListener) {
+                                    connectionListener.connectionFailure(address);
+                                }
                             }
                             if (!failure) {
                                 if (!connect) {
@@ -153,7 +156,13 @@
 
                             if (readable || writable) {
                                 TCPConnection connection = (TCPConnection) key.attachment();
-                                connection.getEventListener().notifyIOReady(connection, readable, writable);
+                                try {
+                                    connection.getEventListener().notifyIOReady(connection, readable, writable);
+                                } catch (Exception e) {
+                                    connection.getEventListener().notifyIOError(e);
+                                    connection.close();
+                                    continue;
+                                }
                             }
                             if (key.isAcceptable()) {
                                 assert sc == serverSocketChannel;
@@ -167,7 +176,9 @@
                                 } catch (Exception e) {
                                     e.printStackTrace();
                                     key.cancel();
-                                    connectionListener.connectionFailure((InetSocketAddress) key.attachment());
+                                    synchronized (connectionListener) {
+                                        connectionListener.connectionFailure((InetSocketAddress) key.attachment());
+                                    }
                                 }
                                 if (finishConnect) {
                                     createConnection(key, channel);
@@ -185,7 +196,9 @@
             TCPConnection connection = new TCPConnection(TCPEndpoint.this, channel, key, selector);
             key.attach(connection);
             key.interestOps(0);
-            connectionListener.connectionEstablished(connection);
+            synchronized (connectionListener) {
+                connectionListener.connectionEstablished(connection);
+            }
         }
 
         synchronized void initiateConnection(InetSocketAddress remoteAddress) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/tests/NetTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/tests/NetTest.java
index 31bc2df..5002b81 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/tests/NetTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-net/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/net/tests/NetTest.java
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@
                 }.start();
             }
         };
-        return new MuxDemux(new InetSocketAddress("127.0.0.1", 0), md1OpenListener, 1);
+        return new MuxDemux(new InetSocketAddress("127.0.0.1", 0), md1OpenListener, 1, 5);
     }
 
     private class ChannelIO {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/pom.xml
index 4cdd094..dc38218 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/pom.xml
@@ -53,13 +53,6 @@
   		<scope>compile</scope>
   	</dependency>  	
   	<dependency>
-  		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
-  		<artifactId>hyracks-control-nc</artifactId>
-  		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
-  		<type>jar</type>
-  		<scope>compile</scope>
-  	</dependency>  	
-  	<dependency>
   		<groupId>junit</groupId>
   		<artifactId>junit</artifactId>
   		<version>4.8.1</version>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/api/IBTreeFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/api/IBTreeFrame.java
index a24c4d7..7a61d09 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/api/IBTreeFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/api/IBTreeFrame.java
@@ -1,3 +1,18 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
@@ -7,7 +22,7 @@
 
 public interface IBTreeFrame extends ITreeIndexFrame {
 	public int findUpdateTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException;
-	public int findInsertTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException;
+	public int findInsertTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException;	
 	public int findDeleteTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException;
 	public void insertSorted(ITupleReference tuple);
     public boolean getSmFlag();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/api/IBTreeLeafFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/api/IBTreeLeafFrame.java
index a079527..74bf2b0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/api/IBTreeLeafFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/api/IBTreeLeafFrame.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.FindTupleMode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
@@ -27,10 +28,9 @@
 
     public int getNextLeaf();
 
-    public void setPrevLeaf(int prevPage);
-
-    public int getPrevLeaf();    
-
     public int findTupleIndex(ITupleReference searchKey, ITreeIndexTupleReference pageTuple, MultiComparator cmp,
             FindTupleMode ftm, FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy ftp) throws HyracksDataException;
+    
+    public int findUpsertTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException;
+    public ITupleReference getUpsertBeforeTuple(ITupleReference tuple, int targetTupleIndex) throws TreeIndexException;
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/compressors/FieldPrefixCompressor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/compressors/FieldPrefixCompressor.java
index 4486205..f78b6e4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/compressors/FieldPrefixCompressor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/compressors/FieldPrefixCompressor.java
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@
                                 // buf.getInt(prevRec.getFieldOff()) + " " +
                                 // buf.getInt(prevRec.getFieldOff()+4));
                                 prefixFreeSpace += tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(prevTuple, 0, fieldCountToCompress,
-                                        byteBuffer, prefixFreeSpace);
+                                        byteBuffer.array(), prefixFreeSpace);
                                 // System.out.println("WRITING PREFIX RECORD " +
                                 // prefixSlotNum + " AT " + tmp + " " +
                                 // freeSpace);
@@ -265,7 +265,7 @@
                                     newTupleSlots[tupleCount - 1 - currTupleIndex] = slotManager.encodeSlotFields(
                                             prefixTupleIndex, tupleFreeSpace);
                                     tupleFreeSpace += tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(tupleToWrite, fieldCountToCompress,
-                                            fieldCount - fieldCountToCompress, byteBuffer, tupleFreeSpace);
+                                            fieldCount - fieldCountToCompress, byteBuffer.array(), tupleFreeSpace);
                                 }
 
                                 prefixTupleIndex++;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelper.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelper.java
index 3e235b3..699915d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelper.java
@@ -17,32 +17,26 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public class BTreeDataflowHelper extends TreeIndexDataflowHelper {
-    public BTreeDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition,
-            boolean createIfNotExists) {
-        super(opDesc, ctx, partition, createIfNotExists);
+    public BTreeDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition) {
+        super(opDesc, ctx, partition);
     }
-    
+
     @Override
     public ITreeIndex createIndexInstance() throws HyracksDataException {
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexComparatorFactories());
-        IBufferCache bufferCache = opDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx);
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaDataFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, indexFileId, 0,
-                metaDataFrameFactory);
-        return new BTree(bufferCache, treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexTypeTraits().length, cmp, freePageManager,
-                treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexInteriorFactory(), treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexLeafFactory());
+        try {
+            return BTreeUtils.createBTree(opDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx), opDesc
+                    .getOpCallbackProvider().getOperationCallback(), treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexTypeTraits(), treeOpDesc
+                    .getTreeIndexComparatorFactories(), BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
+        } catch (BTreeException e) {
+            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+        }
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelperFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelperFactory.java
index 308e305..57d7564 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelperFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeDataflowHelperFactory.java
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public IndexDataflowHelper createIndexDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-            int partition, boolean createIfNotExists) {
-        return new BTreeDataflowHelper(opDesc, ctx, partition, createIfNotExists);
+            int partition) {
+        return new BTreeDataflowHelper(opDesc, ctx, partition);
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
index 6314260..f403312 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
@@ -34,22 +34,21 @@
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    protected boolean isForward;
-    protected int[] lowKeyFields; // fields in input tuple to be used as low keys
-    protected int[] highKeyFields; // fields in input tuple to be used as high
-    // keys
+    // fields in input tuple to be used as low keys
+    protected int[] lowKeyFields;
+    // fields in input tuple to be used as high keys
+    protected int[] highKeyFields;
     protected boolean lowKeyInclusive;
     protected boolean highKeyInclusive;
 
-    public BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
+    public BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
             IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
-            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-            ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, boolean isForward, int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields,
-            boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory) {
-        super(spec, 1, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory);
-        this.isForward = isForward;
+            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields,
+            boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory,
+            boolean retainInput, IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
+        super(spec, 1, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
+                comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory, null, retainInput, opCallbackProvider);
         this.lowKeyFields = lowKeyFields;
         this.highKeyFields = highKeyFields;
         this.lowKeyInclusive = lowKeyInclusive;
@@ -57,9 +56,9 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider,
-            int partition, int nPartitions) {
-        return new BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, recordDescProvider, isForward, lowKeyFields,
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
+        return new BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, recordDescProvider, lowKeyFields,
                 highKeyFields, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive);
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
index 8a8c5ce..b284847 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -14,65 +14,30 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow;
 
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeLeafFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTreeRangeSearchCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.RangePredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.PermutingFrameTupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
-public class BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable {
-	protected TreeIndexDataflowHelper treeIndexHelper;
-	protected FrameTupleAccessor accessor;
-
-	protected ByteBuffer writeBuffer;
-	protected FrameTupleAppender appender;
-	protected ArrayTupleBuilder tb;
-	protected DataOutput dos;
-
-	protected BTree btree;
-	protected boolean isForward;
-	protected PermutingFrameTupleReference lowKey;
-	protected PermutingFrameTupleReference highKey;
-	protected boolean lowKeyInclusive;
-	protected boolean highKeyInclusive;
-	protected RangePredicate rangePred;
-	protected MultiComparator lowKeySearchCmp;
-	protected MultiComparator highKeySearchCmp;
-	protected ITreeIndexCursor cursor;
-	protected ITreeIndexFrame cursorFrame;
-	protected ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
-
-	protected RecordDescriptor recDesc;
+public class BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable extends TreeIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable {
+    protected PermutingFrameTupleReference lowKey;
+    protected PermutingFrameTupleReference highKey;
+    protected boolean lowKeyInclusive;
+    protected boolean highKeyInclusive;
+    protected MultiComparator lowKeySearchCmp;
+    protected MultiComparator highKeySearchCmp;
 
     public BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable(AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-            int partition, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, boolean isForward, int[] lowKeyFields,
-            int[] highKeyFields, boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive) {
-        treeIndexHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory().createIndexDataflowHelper(
-                opDesc, ctx, partition, false);
-        this.isForward = isForward;
+            int partition, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields,
+            boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive) {
+        super(opDesc, ctx, partition, recordDescProvider);
         this.lowKeyInclusive = lowKeyInclusive;
         this.highKeyInclusive = highKeyInclusive;
-        this.recDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getOperatorId(), 0);
         if (lowKeyFields != null && lowKeyFields.length > 0) {
             lowKey = new PermutingFrameTupleReference();
             lowKey.setFieldPermutation(lowKeyFields);
@@ -84,104 +49,19 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-        AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc = (AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor) treeIndexHelper
-                .getOperatorDescriptor();
-        accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize(), recDesc);
-
-        cursorFrame = opDesc.getTreeIndexLeafFactory().createFrame();
-        setCursor();        
-        writer.open();
-
-        try {
-            treeIndexHelper.init();
-            btree = (BTree) treeIndexHelper.getIndex();
-
-            // Construct range predicate.
-            lowKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(btree.getMultiComparator(), lowKey);
-            highKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(btree.getMultiComparator(), highKey);
-            rangePred = new RangePredicate(isForward, null, null, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive, lowKeySearchCmp,
-                    highKeySearchCmp);
-
-            writeBuffer = treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().allocateFrame();
-            tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(btree.getFieldCount());
-            dos = tb.getDataOutput();
-            appender = new FrameTupleAppender(treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize());
-            appender.reset(writeBuffer, true);
-            indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            treeIndexHelper.deinit();
-            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+    protected void resetSearchPredicate(int tupleIndex) {
+        if (lowKey != null) {
+            lowKey.reset(accessor, tupleIndex);
         }
-    }
-
-    protected void setCursor() {
-        cursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor((IBTreeLeafFrame) cursorFrame, false);
-    }
-    
-    protected void writeSearchResults() throws Exception {
-        while (cursor.hasNext()) {
-            tb.reset();
-            cursor.next();
-
-            ITupleReference tuple = cursor.getTuple();
-            for (int i = 0; i < tuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
-                dos.write(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), tuple.getFieldLength(i));
-                tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            }
-
-            if (!appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize())) {
-                FrameUtils.flushFrame(writeBuffer, writer);
-                appender.reset(writeBuffer, true);
-                if (!appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize())) {
-                    throw new IllegalStateException();
-                }
-            }
+        if (highKey != null) {
+            highKey.reset(accessor, tupleIndex);
         }
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
-        accessor.reset(buffer);
-        int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
-        try {
-            for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
-                if (lowKey != null) {
-                    lowKey.reset(accessor, i);
-                }
-                if (highKey != null) {
-                    highKey.reset(accessor, i);
-                }
-                rangePred.setLowKey(lowKey, lowKeyInclusive);
-                rangePred.setHighKey(highKey, highKeyInclusive);
-                cursor.reset();
-                indexAccessor.search(cursor, rangePred);
-                writeSearchResults();
-            }
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-        try {
-            if (appender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
-                FrameUtils.flushFrame(writeBuffer, writer);
-            }
-            writer.close();
-            try {
-                cursor.close();
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-            }
-        } finally {
-            treeIndexHelper.deinit();
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
-        writer.fail();
+    protected ISearchPredicate createSearchPredicate() {
+        lowKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(treeIndex.getComparatorFactories(), lowKey);
+        highKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(treeIndex.getComparatorFactories(), highKey);
+        return new RangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive, lowKeySearchCmp, highKeySearchCmp);
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
index 8cde863..1fc5cb8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -1,3 +1,18 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
@@ -6,9 +21,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITupleUpdaterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
@@ -18,26 +33,25 @@
 public class BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorDescriptor extends BTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor {
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-    
+
     private final ITupleUpdaterFactory tupleUpdaterFactory;
-    
-    public BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
+
+    public BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
             IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
-            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-            ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, boolean isForward, int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields,
+            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields,
             boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory,
-            ITupleUpdaterFactory tupleUpdaterFactory) {
-        super(spec, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, isForward, lowKeyFields, highKeyFields, lowKeyInclusive,
-                highKeyInclusive, dataflowHelperFactory);
+            boolean retainInput, IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider, ITupleUpdaterFactory tupleUpdaterFactory) {
+        super(spec, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, comparatorFactories,
+                lowKeyFields, highKeyFields, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive, dataflowHelperFactory,
+                retainInput, opCallbackProvider);
         this.tupleUpdaterFactory = tupleUpdaterFactory;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider,
-            int partition, int nPartitions) {
-        return new BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, recordDescProvider, isForward, lowKeyFields,
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
+        return new BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, recordDescProvider, lowKeyFields,
                 highKeyFields, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive, tupleUpdaterFactory.createTupleUpdater());
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
index 06a42bd..1141639 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/dataflow/BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -1,3 +1,18 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.dataflow;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
@@ -6,33 +21,38 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeLeafFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTreeRangeSearchCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITupleUpdater;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 
 public class BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorNodePushable extends BTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable {
     private final ITupleUpdater tupleUpdater;
-    
-	public BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorNodePushable(
-			AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc,
-			IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition,
-			IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, boolean isForward,
-			int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields, boolean lowKeyInclusive,
-			boolean highKeyInclusive, ITupleUpdater tupleUpdater) {
-		super(opDesc, ctx, partition, recordDescProvider, isForward, lowKeyFields,
-				highKeyFields, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive);
-		this.tupleUpdater = tupleUpdater;
-	}
 
-	@Override
-	protected void setCursor() {
-        cursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor((IBTreeLeafFrame) cursorFrame, true);
+    public BTreeUpdateSearchOperatorNodePushable(AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            int partition, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int[] lowKeyFields, int[] highKeyFields,
+            boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive, ITupleUpdater tupleUpdater) {
+        super(opDesc, ctx, partition, recordDescProvider, lowKeyFields, highKeyFields, lowKeyInclusive,
+                highKeyInclusive);
+        this.tupleUpdater = tupleUpdater;
     }
-	
-	@Override
-	protected void writeSearchResults() throws Exception {
+
+    @Override
+    protected ITreeIndexCursor createCursor() {
+        return new BTreeRangeSearchCursor((IBTreeLeafFrame) cursorFrame, true);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void writeSearchResults(int tupleIndex) throws Exception {
         while (cursor.hasNext()) {
             tb.reset();
             cursor.next();
+            if (retainInput) {
+            	frameTuple.reset(accessor, tupleIndex);
+                for (int i = 0; i < frameTuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
+                	dos.write(frameTuple.getFieldData(i), frameTuple.getFieldStart(i), frameTuple.getFieldLength(i));
+                    tb.addFieldEndOffset();
+                }
+            }
             ITupleReference tuple = cursor.getTuple();
             tupleUpdater.updateTuple(tuple);
             for (int i = 0; i < tuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeFieldPrefixNSMLeafFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeFieldPrefixNSMLeafFrame.java
index 0aba70b..fb2e833 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeFieldPrefixNSMLeafFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeFieldPrefixNSMLeafFrame.java
@@ -58,8 +58,7 @@
     protected static final int uncompressedTupleCountOff = smFlagOff + 1; // 22
     protected static final int prefixTupleCountOff = uncompressedTupleCountOff + 4; // 26
 
-    protected static final int prevLeafOff = prefixTupleCountOff + 4; // 30
-    protected static final int nextLeafOff = prevLeafOff + 4; // 34
+    protected static final int nextLeafOff = prefixTupleCountOff + 4; // 30
 
     protected ICachedPage page = null;
     protected ByteBuffer buf = null;
@@ -252,7 +251,7 @@
 
         int freeSpace = buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff);
         int bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(tuple, numPrefixFields,
-                tuple.getFieldCount() - numPrefixFields, buf, freeSpace);
+                tuple.getFieldCount() - numPrefixFields, buf.array(), freeSpace);
 
         buf.putInt(tupleCountOff, buf.getInt(tupleCountOff) + 1);
         buf.putInt(freeSpaceOff, buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff) + bytesWritten);
@@ -315,11 +314,11 @@
         
         if (inPlace) {
             // Overwrite the old tuple suffix in place.
-            bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(newTuple, numPrefixFields, fieldCount - numPrefixFields, buf, suffixTupleStartOff);
+            bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(newTuple, numPrefixFields, fieldCount - numPrefixFields, buf.array(), suffixTupleStartOff);
         } else {
             // Insert the new tuple suffix at the end of the free space, and change the slot value (effectively "deleting" the old tuple).
             int newSuffixTupleStartOff = buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff);
-            bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(newTuple, numPrefixFields, fieldCount - numPrefixFields, buf, newSuffixTupleStartOff);
+            bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(newTuple, numPrefixFields, fieldCount - numPrefixFields, buf.array(), newSuffixTupleStartOff);
             // Update slot value using the same prefix slot num.
             slotManager.setSlot(tupleSlotOff, slotManager.encodeSlotFields(prefixSlotNum, newSuffixTupleStartOff));
             // Update contiguous free space pointer.
@@ -343,7 +342,6 @@
         buf.putInt(prefixTupleCountOff, 0);
         buf.put(levelOff, level);
         buf.put(smFlagOff, (byte) 0);
-        buf.putInt(prevLeafOff, -1);
         buf.putInt(nextLeafOff, -1);
     }
 
@@ -368,6 +366,35 @@
     }
     
     @Override
+    public int findUpsertTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException {
+        int slot = slotManager.findSlot(tuple, frameTuple, framePrefixTuple, cmp, FindTupleMode.INCLUSIVE,
+                FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy.HIGHER_KEY);
+        int tupleIndex = slotManager.decodeSecondSlotField(slot);
+        // Error indicator is set if there is an exact match.
+        if (tupleIndex == slotManager.getErrorIndicator()) {
+            throw new BTreeDuplicateKeyException("Trying to insert duplicate key into leaf node.");
+        }
+        return slot;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public ITupleReference getUpsertBeforeTuple(ITupleReference tuple, int targetTupleIndex) throws TreeIndexException {
+        int tupleIndex = slotManager.decodeSecondSlotField(targetTupleIndex);
+        // Examine the tuple index to determine whether it is valid or not.
+        if (tupleIndex != slotManager.getGreatestKeyIndicator()) {
+            // We need to check the key to determine whether it's an insert or an update.
+            frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, tupleIndex);
+            if (cmp.compare(tuple, frameTuple) == 0) {
+                // The keys match, it's an update.
+                return frameTuple;
+            }
+        }
+        // Either the tuple index is a special indicator, or the keys don't match.
+        // In those cases, we are definitely dealing with an insert.
+        return null;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
     public int findUpdateTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException {
         int slot = slotManager.findSlot(tuple, frameTuple, framePrefixTuple, cmp, FindTupleMode.EXACT,
                 FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy.HIGHER_KEY);
@@ -402,7 +429,6 @@
         strBuilder.append("smFlagOff:                 " + smFlagOff + "\n");
         strBuilder.append("uncompressedTupleCountOff: " + uncompressedTupleCountOff + "\n");
         strBuilder.append("prefixTupleCountOff:       " + prefixTupleCountOff + "\n");
-        strBuilder.append("prevLeafOff:               " + prevLeafOff + "\n");
         strBuilder.append("nextLeafOff:               " + nextLeafOff + "\n");
         return strBuilder.toString();
     }
@@ -493,7 +519,7 @@
         }
 
         int bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(tuple, fieldsToTruncate, tuple.getFieldCount()
-                - fieldsToTruncate, buf, freeSpace);
+                - fieldsToTruncate, buf.array(), freeSpace);
 
         // insert slot
         int prefixSlotNum = FieldPrefixSlotManager.TUPLE_UNCOMPRESSED;
@@ -634,7 +660,7 @@
 
         int splitKeySize = tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frameTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
         splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
-        tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(frameTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount(), splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
+        tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(frameTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount(), splitKey.getBuffer().array(), 0);
         splitKey.getTuple().resetByTupleOffset(splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
     }
 
@@ -658,20 +684,10 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void setPrevLeaf(int page) {
-        buf.putInt(prevLeafOff, page);
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public int getNextLeaf() {
         return buf.getInt(nextLeafOff);
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public int getPrevLeaf() {
-        return buf.getInt(prevLeafOff);
-    }
-
     public int getUncompressedTupleCount() {
         return buf.getInt(uncompressedTupleCountOff);
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeNSMInteriorFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeNSMInteriorFrame.java
index 6173440..d2cb2c6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeNSMInteriorFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeNSMInteriorFrame.java
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@
     public void insert(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex) {
         int slotOff = slotManager.insertSlot(tupleIndex, buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff));
         int freeSpace = buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff);
-        int bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(tuple, 0, tuple.getFieldCount(), buf, freeSpace);
+        int bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(tuple, 0, tuple.getFieldCount(), buf.array(), freeSpace);
         System.arraycopy(tuple.getFieldData(tuple.getFieldCount() - 1), getLeftChildPageOff(tuple), buf.array(),
                 freeSpace + bytesWritten, childPtrSize);
         int tupleSize = bytesWritten + childPtrSize;
@@ -280,29 +280,15 @@
         ITupleReference tuple = null;
         FindTupleMode fsm = null;
         // The target comparator may be on a prefix of the BTree key fields.
-        MultiComparator targetCmp = null;
-        if (pred.isForward()) {            
-            tuple = pred.getLowKey();
-            if (tuple == null) {
-                return getLeftmostChildPageId();
-            }
-            if (pred.isLowKeyInclusive()) {
-                fsm = FindTupleMode.INCLUSIVE;
-            } else {
-                fsm = FindTupleMode.EXCLUSIVE;
-            }
-            targetCmp = pred.getLowKeyComparator();
+        MultiComparator targetCmp = pred.getLowKeyComparator();;
+        tuple = pred.getLowKey();
+        if (tuple == null) {
+            return getLeftmostChildPageId();
+        }
+        if (pred.isLowKeyInclusive()) {
+            fsm = FindTupleMode.INCLUSIVE;
         } else {
-            tuple = pred.getHighKey();
-            if (tuple == null) {
-                return getRightmostChildPageId();
-            }
-            if (pred.isHighKeyInclusive()) {
-                fsm = FindTupleMode.EXCLUSIVE;
-            } else {
-                fsm = FindTupleMode.INCLUSIVE;
-            }
-            targetCmp = pred.getHighKeyComparator();
+            fsm = FindTupleMode.EXCLUSIVE;
         }
         // Search for a matching key.
         int tupleIndex = slotManager.findTupleIndex(tuple, frameTuple, targetCmp, fsm,
@@ -320,37 +306,20 @@
         int origTupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotOff);
         cmpFrameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, origTupleOff);
         int cmpTupleOff = origTupleOff;
-        if (pred.isForward()) {
-            // The answer set begins with the lowest key matching the prefix.
-            // We must follow the child pointer of the lowest (leftmost) key
-            // matching the given prefix.
-            int maxSlotOff = buf.capacity();
-            slotOff += slotManager.getSlotSize();
-            while (slotOff < maxSlotOff) {
-                cmpTupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotOff);
-                frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, cmpTupleOff);
-                if (targetCmp.compare(cmpFrameTuple, frameTuple) != 0) {
-                    break;
-                }
-                slotOff += slotManager.getSlotSize();
-            }
-            slotOff -= slotManager.getSlotSize();
-        } else {
-            // The answer set begins with the highest key matching the prefix.
-            // We must follow the child pointer of the highest (rightmost) key
-            // matching the given prefix.
-            int minSlotOff = slotManager.getSlotEndOff() - slotManager.getSlotSize();
-            slotOff -= slotManager.getSlotSize();
-            while (slotOff > minSlotOff) {
-                cmpTupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotOff);
-                frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, cmpTupleOff);
-                if (targetCmp.compare(cmpFrameTuple, frameTuple) != 0) {
-                    break;
-                }
-                slotOff -= slotManager.getSlotSize();
+        // The answer set begins with the lowest key matching the prefix.
+        // We must follow the child pointer of the lowest (leftmost) key
+        // matching the given prefix.
+        int maxSlotOff = buf.capacity();
+        slotOff += slotManager.getSlotSize();
+        while (slotOff < maxSlotOff) {
+            cmpTupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotOff);
+            frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, cmpTupleOff);
+            if (targetCmp.compare(cmpFrameTuple, frameTuple) != 0) {
+                break;
             }
             slotOff += slotManager.getSlotSize();
         }
+        slotOff -= slotManager.getSlotSize();
         frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, slotManager.getTupleOff(slotOff));
         int childPageOff = getLeftChildPageOff(frameTuple);
         return buf.getInt(childPageOff);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeNSMLeafFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeNSMLeafFrame.java
index 4856595..4b7f44b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeNSMLeafFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/frames/BTreeNSMLeafFrame.java
@@ -32,8 +32,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
 public class BTreeNSMLeafFrame extends TreeIndexNSMFrame implements IBTreeLeafFrame {
-    protected static final int prevLeafOff = smFlagOff + 1;
-    protected static final int nextLeafOff = prevLeafOff + 4;
+    protected static final int nextLeafOff = smFlagOff + 1;
     private MultiComparator cmp;
     
     public BTreeNSMLeafFrame(ITreeIndexTupleWriter tupleWriter) {
@@ -43,7 +42,6 @@
     @Override
     public void initBuffer(byte level) {
         super.initBuffer(level);
-        buf.putInt(prevLeafOff, -1);
         buf.putInt(nextLeafOff, -1);
     }
 
@@ -53,21 +51,11 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void setPrevLeaf(int page) {
-        buf.putInt(prevLeafOff, page);
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public int getNextLeaf() {
         return buf.getInt(nextLeafOff);
     }
 
     @Override
-    public int getPrevLeaf() {
-        return buf.getInt(prevLeafOff);
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public int findInsertTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException {
         int tupleIndex = slotManager.findTupleIndex(tuple, frameTuple, cmp, FindTupleMode.EXCLUSIVE_ERROR_IF_EXISTS,
                 FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy.HIGHER_KEY);
@@ -83,18 +71,42 @@
         int tupleIndex = slotManager.findTupleIndex(tuple, frameTuple, cmp, FindTupleMode.EXACT,
                 FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy.HIGHER_KEY);
         // Error indicator is set if there is no exact match.
-        if (tupleIndex == slotManager.getErrorIndicator()) {
+        if (tupleIndex == slotManager.getErrorIndicator() || tupleIndex == slotManager.getGreatestKeyIndicator()) {
             throw new BTreeNonExistentKeyException("Trying to update a tuple with a nonexistent key in leaf node.");
         }        
         return tupleIndex;
     }
     
     @Override
+    public int findUpsertTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException {
+        int tupleIndex = slotManager.findTupleIndex(tuple, frameTuple, cmp, FindTupleMode.INCLUSIVE,
+                FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy.HIGHER_KEY);
+        // Just return the found tupleIndex. The caller will make the final decision whether to insert or update.
+        return tupleIndex;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public ITupleReference getUpsertBeforeTuple(ITupleReference tuple, int targetTupleIndex) throws TreeIndexException {
+        // Examine the tuple index to determine whether it is valid or not.
+        if (targetTupleIndex != slotManager.getGreatestKeyIndicator()) {
+            // We need to check the key to determine whether it's an insert or an update.
+            frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, targetTupleIndex);
+            if (cmp.compare(tuple, frameTuple) == 0) {
+                // The keys match, it's an update.
+                return frameTuple;
+            }
+        }
+        // Either the tuple index is a special indicator, or the keys don't match.
+        // In those cases, we are definitely dealing with an insert.
+        return null;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
     public int findDeleteTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple) throws TreeIndexException {
         int tupleIndex = slotManager.findTupleIndex(tuple, frameTuple, cmp, FindTupleMode.EXACT,
                 FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy.HIGHER_KEY);
         // Error indicator is set if there is no exact match.
-        if (tupleIndex == slotManager.getErrorIndicator()) {
+        if (tupleIndex == slotManager.getErrorIndicator() || tupleIndex == slotManager.getGreatestKeyIndicator()) {
             throw new BTreeNonExistentKeyException("Trying to delete a tuple with a nonexistent key in leaf node.");
         }        
         return tupleIndex;
@@ -103,7 +115,7 @@
     @Override
     public void insert(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex) {
         int freeSpace = buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff);
-        slotManager.insertSlot(tupleIndex, freeSpace);        
+        slotManager.insertSlot(tupleIndex, freeSpace);
         int bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTuple(tuple, buf.array(), freeSpace);
         buf.putInt(tupleCountOff, buf.getInt(tupleCountOff) + 1);
         buf.putInt(freeSpaceOff, buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff) + bytesWritten);
@@ -117,7 +129,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public void split(ITreeIndexFrame rightFrame, ITupleReference tuple, ISplitKey splitKey) throws TreeIndexException {
-        ByteBuffer right = rightFrame.getBuffer();
+    	ByteBuffer right = rightFrame.getBuffer();
         int tupleCount = getTupleCount();        
         
         // Find split point, and determine into which frame the new tuple should be inserted into.
@@ -162,7 +174,7 @@
         frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, tupleOff);
         int splitKeySize = tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frameTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
         splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
-        tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(frameTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount(), splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
+        tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(frameTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount(), splitKey.getBuffer().array(), 0);
         splitKey.getTuple().resetByTupleOffset(splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java
index 4113e9f..89e8870 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTree.java
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReadWriteLock;
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantReadWriteLock;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
@@ -26,10 +27,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeInteriorFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeLeafFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeNonExistentKeyException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeNotUpdateableException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallback;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
@@ -39,7 +43,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.PageAllocationException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.FrameOpSpaceStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.TreeDiskOrderScanCursor;
@@ -60,24 +63,24 @@
         
     private final IFreePageManager freePageManager;
     private final IBufferCache bufferCache;    
+    private final IOperationCallback opCallback;
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
     private final int fieldCount;
-    private final MultiComparator cmp;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories;
     private final ReadWriteLock treeLatch;
-    private final RangePredicate diskOrderScanPredicate;
     private int fileId;
 
-    public BTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int fieldCount, MultiComparator cmp, IFreePageManager freePageManager,
+    public BTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, IOperationCallback opCallback, int fieldCount, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, IFreePageManager freePageManager,
             ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory) {
         this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
+        this.opCallback = opCallback;
         this.fieldCount = fieldCount;
-        this.cmp = cmp;
+        this.cmpFactories = cmpFactories;
         this.interiorFrameFactory = interiorFrameFactory;
         this.leafFrameFactory = leafFrameFactory;        
         this.freePageManager = freePageManager;
         this.treeLatch = new ReentrantReadWriteLock(true);
-        this.diskOrderScanPredicate = new RangePredicate(true, null, null, true, true, cmp, cmp);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -87,6 +90,7 @@
             ITreeIndexFrame leafFrame = leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
             ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame = freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame();
             this.fileId = fileId;
+            freePageManager.open(fileId);
             freePageManager.init(metaFrame, rootPage);
             initRoot(leafFrame, true);
         } finally {
@@ -95,32 +99,23 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void open(int fileId) {
+    public void open(int fileId) {    	
     	this.fileId = fileId;
+    	freePageManager.open(fileId);
     }
 
     @Override
     public void close() {
         fileId = -1;
+        freePageManager.close();
     }
 
-    private void addFreePages(BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
-        for (int i = 0; i < ctx.freePages.size(); i++) {
-            // Root page is special, never add it to free pages.
-            if (ctx.freePages.get(i) != rootPage) {
-                freePageManager.addFreePage(ctx.metaFrame, ctx.freePages.get(i));
-            }
-        }
-        ctx.freePages.clear();
-    }
-    
     private void diskOrderScan(ITreeIndexCursor icursor, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
         TreeDiskOrderScanCursor cursor = (TreeDiskOrderScanCursor) icursor;
         ctx.reset();
-
+        RangePredicate diskOrderScanPred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, ctx.cmp, ctx.cmp);
         int currentPageId = rootPage;
         int maxPageId = freePageManager.getMaxPage(ctx.metaFrame);
-
         ICachedPage page = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, currentPageId), false);
         page.acquireReadLatch();
         try {
@@ -129,7 +124,7 @@
             cursor.setCurrentPageId(currentPageId);
             cursor.setMaxPageId(maxPageId);
             ctx.cursorInitialState.setPage(page);
-            cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, diskOrderScanPredicate);
+            cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, diskOrderScanPred);
         } catch (Exception e) {
             page.releaseReadLatch();
             bufferCache.unpin(page);
@@ -138,22 +133,22 @@
     }
 
     private void search(ITreeIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred, BTreeOpContext ctx)
-            throws TreeIndexException, HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException {
+            throws TreeIndexException, HyracksDataException {
         ctx.reset();
         ctx.pred = (RangePredicate) searchPred;
         ctx.cursor = cursor;
         // simple index scan
         if (ctx.pred.getLowKeyComparator() == null) {
-            ctx.pred.setLowKeyComparator(cmp);
+            ctx.pred.setLowKeyComparator(ctx.cmp);
         }
         if (ctx.pred.getHighKeyComparator() == null) {
-            ctx.pred.setHighKeyComparator(cmp);
+            ctx.pred.setHighKeyComparator(ctx.cmp);
         }
         // we use this loop to deal with possibly multiple operation restarts
         // due to ongoing structure modifications during the descent
         boolean repeatOp = true;
         while (repeatOp && ctx.opRestarts < MAX_RESTARTS) {
-            performOp(rootPage, null, ctx);
+            performOp(rootPage, null, true, ctx);
             // if we reach this stage then we need to restart from the (possibly
             // new) root
             if (!ctx.pageLsns.isEmpty() && ctx.pageLsns.getLast() == RESTART_OP) {
@@ -199,45 +194,32 @@
         }
     }
     
-    private void createNewRoot(BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+    private void createNewRoot(BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
         // Make sure the root is always in the same page.
         ICachedPage leftNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, ctx.splitKey.getLeftPage()),
                 false);
         leftNode.acquireWriteLatch();
         try {
-            ICachedPage rightNode = bufferCache.pin(
-                    BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, ctx.splitKey.getRightPage()), false);
-            rightNode.acquireWriteLatch();
+            int newLeftId = freePageManager.getFreePage(ctx.metaFrame);
+            ICachedPage newLeftNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, newLeftId), true);
+            newLeftNode.acquireWriteLatch();
             try {
-                int newLeftId = freePageManager.getFreePage(ctx.metaFrame);
-                ICachedPage newLeftNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, newLeftId), true);
-                newLeftNode.acquireWriteLatch();
-                try {
-                    // Copy left child to new left child.
-                    System.arraycopy(leftNode.getBuffer().array(), 0, newLeftNode.getBuffer().array(), 0, newLeftNode
-                            .getBuffer().capacity());
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(newLeftNode);
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.setSmFlag(false);
-                    // Change sibling pointer if children are leaves.
-                    ctx.leafFrame.setPage(rightNode);
-                    if (ctx.leafFrame.isLeaf()) {
-                        ctx.leafFrame.setPrevLeaf(newLeftId);
-                    }
-                    // Initialize new root (leftNode becomes new root).
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(leftNode);
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.initBuffer((byte) (ctx.leafFrame.getLevel() + 1));
-                    // Will be cleared later in unsetSmPages.
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.setSmFlag(true);
-                    ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(newLeftId);
-                    int targetTupleIndex = ctx.interiorFrame.findInsertTupleIndex(ctx.splitKey.getTuple());
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.insert(ctx.splitKey.getTuple(), targetTupleIndex);
-                } finally {
-                    newLeftNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                    bufferCache.unpin(newLeftNode);
-                }
+                // Copy left child to new left child.
+                System.arraycopy(leftNode.getBuffer().array(), 0, newLeftNode.getBuffer().array(), 0, newLeftNode
+                        .getBuffer().capacity());
+                ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(newLeftNode);
+                ctx.interiorFrame.setSmFlag(false);
+                // Initialize new root (leftNode becomes new root).
+                ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(leftNode);
+                ctx.interiorFrame.initBuffer((byte) (ctx.interiorFrame.getLevel() + 1));
+                // Will be cleared later in unsetSmPages.
+                ctx.interiorFrame.setSmFlag(true);
+                ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(newLeftId);
+                int targetTupleIndex = ctx.interiorFrame.findInsertTupleIndex(ctx.splitKey.getTuple());
+                ctx.interiorFrame.insert(ctx.splitKey.getTuple(), targetTupleIndex);
             } finally {
-                rightNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                bufferCache.unpin(rightNode);
+                newLeftNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                bufferCache.unpin(newLeftNode);
             }
         } finally {
             leftNode.releaseWriteLatch();
@@ -245,19 +227,19 @@
         }
     }
     
-    private void insertUpdateOrDelete(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+    private void insertUpdateOrDelete(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
         ctx.reset();
-        ctx.pred.setLowKeyComparator(cmp);
-        ctx.pred.setHighKeyComparator(cmp);
+        ctx.pred.setLowKeyComparator(ctx.cmp);
+        ctx.pred.setHighKeyComparator(ctx.cmp);
         ctx.pred.setLowKey(tuple, true);
         ctx.pred.setHighKey(tuple, true);
         ctx.splitKey.reset();
-        ctx.splitKey.getTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+        ctx.splitKey.getTuple().setFieldCount(ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
         // We use this loop to deal with possibly multiple operation restarts
         // due to ongoing structure modifications during the descent.
         boolean repeatOp = true;
         while (repeatOp && ctx.opRestarts < MAX_RESTARTS) {
-            performOp(rootPage, null, ctx);
+            performOp(rootPage, null, true, ctx);
             // Do we need to restart from the (possibly new) root?
             if (!ctx.pageLsns.isEmpty() && ctx.pageLsns.getLast() == RESTART_OP) {
                 ctx.pageLsns.removeLast(); // pop the restart op indicator
@@ -265,44 +247,38 @@
             }
             // Split key propagated?
             if (ctx.splitKey.getBuffer() != null) {
-                if (ctx.op == IndexOp.DELETE) {
-                    // Reset level of root to zero.
-                    initRoot(ctx.leafFrame, false);
-                } else {
-                    // Insert or update op. Create a new root.
-                    createNewRoot(ctx);
-                }
+                // Insert or update op. Create a new root.
+                createNewRoot(ctx);
             }
             unsetSmPages(ctx);
-            if (ctx.op == IndexOp.DELETE) {
-                addFreePages(ctx);
-            }
             repeatOp = false;
         }
     }
     
-    private void insert(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+    private void insert(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
+        insertUpdateOrDelete(tuple, ctx);
+    }
+    
+    private void upsert(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
         insertUpdateOrDelete(tuple, ctx);
     }
 
-    private void update(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+    private void update(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
         // This call only allows updating of non-key fields.
         // Updating a tuple's key necessitates deleting the old entry, and inserting the new entry.
         // The user of the BTree is responsible for dealing with non-key updates (i.e., doing a delete + insert). 
-        if (fieldCount == cmp.getKeyFieldCount()) {
+        if (fieldCount == ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount()) {
             throw new BTreeNotUpdateableException("Cannot perform updates when the entire tuple forms the key.");
         }
         insertUpdateOrDelete(tuple, ctx);
     }
     
-    private void delete(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+    private void delete(ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
         insertUpdateOrDelete(tuple, ctx);
     }
     
-    private boolean insertLeaf(ICachedPage node, int pageId, ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws Exception {
-        ctx.leafFrame.setPage(node);
+    private boolean insertLeaf(ITupleReference tuple, int targetTupleIndex, int pageId, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws Exception {
         boolean restartOp = false;
-        int targetTupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findInsertTupleIndex(tuple);
         FrameOpSpaceStatus spaceStatus = ctx.leafFrame.hasSpaceInsert(tuple);
         switch (spaceStatus) {
             case SUFFICIENT_CONTIGUOUS_SPACE: {
@@ -335,81 +311,57 @@
                 }
                 break;
             }
-        }
-        node.releaseWriteLatch();
-        bufferCache.unpin(node);
+        }        
         return restartOp;
     }
     
     private boolean performLeafSplit(int pageId, ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws Exception {    	
-    	// Lock is released in unsetSmPages(), after sm has fully completed.
+        // We must never hold a latch on a page while waiting to obtain the tree
+        // latch, because it this could lead to a latch-deadlock.
+        // If we can't get the tree latch, we return, release our page latches,
+        // and restart the operation from one level above.
+        // Lock is released in unsetSmPages(), after sm has fully completed.
         if (!treeLatch.writeLock().tryLock()) {
-        	return true;
+            return true;
         }
-    	int rightSiblingPageId = ctx.leafFrame.getNextLeaf();
-        ICachedPage rightSibling = null;
-        if (rightSiblingPageId > 0) {
-            rightSibling = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, rightSiblingPageId),
-                    false);
-        }
+        int rightPageId = freePageManager.getFreePage(ctx.metaFrame);
+        ICachedPage rightNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, rightPageId),
+                true);
+        rightNode.acquireWriteLatch();
         try {
-            int rightPageId = freePageManager.getFreePage(ctx.metaFrame);
-            ICachedPage rightNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, rightPageId),
-                    true);
-            rightNode.acquireWriteLatch();
-            try {
-                IBTreeLeafFrame rightFrame = ctx.createLeafFrame();
-                rightFrame.setPage(rightNode);
-                rightFrame.initBuffer((byte) 0);
-                rightFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
-                ctx.leafFrame.split(rightFrame, tuple, ctx.splitKey);
+            IBTreeLeafFrame rightFrame = ctx.createLeafFrame();
+            rightFrame.setPage(rightNode);
+            rightFrame.initBuffer((byte) 0);
+            rightFrame.setMultiComparator(ctx.cmp);
+            ctx.leafFrame.split(rightFrame, tuple, ctx.splitKey);
 
-                ctx.smPages.add(pageId);
-                ctx.smPages.add(rightPageId);
-                ctx.leafFrame.setSmFlag(true);
-                rightFrame.setSmFlag(true);
+            ctx.smPages.add(pageId);
+            ctx.smPages.add(rightPageId);
+            ctx.leafFrame.setSmFlag(true);
+            rightFrame.setSmFlag(true);
 
-                rightFrame.setNextLeaf(ctx.leafFrame.getNextLeaf());
-                rightFrame.setPrevLeaf(pageId);
-                ctx.leafFrame.setNextLeaf(rightPageId);
+            rightFrame.setNextLeaf(ctx.leafFrame.getNextLeaf());
+            ctx.leafFrame.setNextLeaf(rightPageId);
 
-                // TODO: we just use increasing numbers as pageLsn,
-                // we
-                // should tie this together with the LogManager and
-                // TransactionManager
-                rightFrame.setPageLsn(rightFrame.getPageLsn() + 1);
-                ctx.leafFrame.setPageLsn(ctx.leafFrame.getPageLsn() + 1);
+            // TODO: we just use increasing numbers as pageLsn,
+            // we
+            // should tie this together with the LogManager and
+            // TransactionManager
+            rightFrame.setPageLsn(rightFrame.getPageLsn() + 1);
+            ctx.leafFrame.setPageLsn(ctx.leafFrame.getPageLsn() + 1);
 
-                ctx.splitKey.setPages(pageId, rightPageId);
-                
-                if (rightSibling != null) {
-                	rightSibling.acquireWriteLatch();
-                    try {
-                        // Reuse rightFrame for modification.
-                        rightFrame.setPage(rightSibling);
-                        rightFrame.setPrevLeaf(rightPageId);
-                    } finally {
-                        rightSibling.releaseWriteLatch();
-                    }
-                }
-            } finally {
-                rightNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                bufferCache.unpin(rightNode);
-            }
+            ctx.splitKey.setPages(pageId, rightPageId);
         } catch (Exception e) {
             treeLatch.writeLock().unlock();
             throw e;
         } finally {
-            if (rightSibling != null) {
-                bufferCache.unpin(rightSibling);
-            }
+            rightNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+            bufferCache.unpin(rightNode);
         }
         return false;
     }
     
-    private boolean updateLeaf(ICachedPage node, int pageId, ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws Exception {
-        ctx.leafFrame.setPage(node);
-        int oldTupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findUpdateTupleIndex(tuple);
+    private boolean updateLeaf(ITupleReference tuple, int oldTupleIndex, int pageId, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws Exception {
         FrameOpSpaceStatus spaceStatus = ctx.leafFrame.hasSpaceUpdate(tuple, oldTupleIndex);
         boolean restartOp = false;
         switch (spaceStatus) {
@@ -448,11 +400,23 @@
                 break;
             }
         }
-        node.releaseWriteLatch();
-        bufferCache.unpin(node);
         return restartOp;
     }
 
+    private boolean upsertLeaf(ITupleReference tuple, int targetTupleIndex, int pageId, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws Exception {
+        boolean restartOp = false;
+        ITupleReference beforeTuple = ctx.leafFrame.getUpsertBeforeTuple(tuple, targetTupleIndex);
+        if (beforeTuple == null) {
+            opCallback.pre(null);
+            restartOp = insertLeaf(tuple, targetTupleIndex, pageId, ctx);
+        } else {
+            opCallback.pre(beforeTuple);
+            restartOp = updateLeaf(tuple, targetTupleIndex, pageId, ctx);
+        }
+        opCallback.post(tuple);
+        return restartOp;
+    }
+    
     private void insertInterior(ICachedPage node, int pageId, ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx)
             throws Exception {
         ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
@@ -467,7 +431,7 @@
                     IBTreeFrame rightFrame = ctx.createInteriorFrame();
                     rightFrame.setPage(rightNode);
                     rightFrame.initBuffer((byte) ctx.interiorFrame.getLevel());
-                    rightFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
+                    rightFrame.setMultiComparator(ctx.cmp);
                     // instead of creating a new split key, use the existing
                     // splitKey
                     ctx.interiorFrame.split(rightFrame, ctx.splitKey.getTuple(), ctx.splitKey);
@@ -508,147 +472,24 @@
     }
 
     private boolean deleteLeaf(ICachedPage node, int pageId, ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws Exception {
-        ctx.leafFrame.setPage(node);
+        // Simply delete the tuple, and don't do any rebalancing.
+        // This means that there could be underflow, even an empty page that is
+        // pointed to by an interior node.
+        if (ctx.leafFrame.getTupleCount() == 0) {
+            throw new BTreeNonExistentKeyException("Trying to delete a tuple with a nonexistent key in leaf node.");
+        }
         int tupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findDeleteTupleIndex(tuple);
-        
-        // Will this leaf become empty?
-        if (ctx.leafFrame.getTupleCount() > 1) {
-            // Leaf will not become empty.
-            ctx.leafFrame.delete(tuple, tupleIndex);
-            node.releaseWriteLatch();
-            bufferCache.unpin(node);
-            return false;
-        }
-        
-        // Leaf will become empty. 
-        IBTreeLeafFrame siblingFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        siblingFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
-        ICachedPage leftNode = null;
-        ICachedPage rightNode = null;
-        int nextLeaf = ctx.leafFrame.getNextLeaf();
-        int prevLeaf = ctx.leafFrame.getPrevLeaf();
-        // Try to get the tree latch, if it's already taken, then restart this operation
-        // to avoid latch deadlock.
-        if (!treeLatch.writeLock().tryLock()) {
-        	return true;
-        }
-        try {
-        	if (prevLeaf > 0) {
-        		leftNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, prevLeaf), false);
-        	}
-        	try {
-        		if (nextLeaf > 0) {
-        			rightNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, nextLeaf), false);
-        		}
-        		try {
-        			try {
-        				ctx.leafFrame.delete(tuple, tupleIndex);
-        				// To propagate the deletion we only need to make the
-        				// splitKey != null.
-        				// Reuse data to identify which key to delete in the parent.
-        				ctx.splitKey.initData(1);
-        			} catch (Exception e) {
-        				// Don't propagate deletion.
-        				ctx.splitKey.reset();
-        				throw e;
-        			}
-
-        			// TODO: Tie together with logging.
-        			ctx.leafFrame.setPageLsn(ctx.leafFrame.getPageLsn() + 1);
-        			ctx.leafFrame.setLevel(freePageManager.getFreePageLevelIndicator());
-
-        			ctx.smPages.add(pageId);
-        			ctx.leafFrame.setSmFlag(true);
-
-        			node.releaseWriteLatch();
-        			bufferCache.unpin(node);
-
-        			if (leftNode != null) {
-        				leftNode.acquireWriteLatch();
-        				try {
-        					siblingFrame.setPage(leftNode);
-        					siblingFrame.setNextLeaf(nextLeaf);
-        					// TODO: Tie together with logging.
-        					siblingFrame.setPageLsn(siblingFrame.getPageLsn() + 1);
-        				} finally {
-        					leftNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-        				}
-        			}
-
-        			if (rightNode != null) {
-        				rightNode.acquireWriteLatch();
-        				try {
-        					siblingFrame.setPage(rightNode);
-        					siblingFrame.setPrevLeaf(prevLeaf);
-        					// TODO: Tie together with logging.
-        					siblingFrame.setPageLsn(siblingFrame.getPageLsn() + 1);
-        				} finally {
-        					rightNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-        				}
-        			}
-        			// Register pageId as a free.
-        			ctx.freePages.add(pageId);
-        		} finally {
-        			if (rightNode != null) {
-                		bufferCache.unpin(rightNode);
-                	}
-        		}
-        	} finally {
-        		if (leftNode != null) {
-        			bufferCache.unpin(leftNode);
-        		}
-        	}
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-        	treeLatch.writeLock().unlock();
-        	throw e;
-        }
+        ctx.leafFrame.delete(tuple, tupleIndex);
         return false;
     }
 
-    private void deleteInterior(ICachedPage node, int pageId, ITupleReference tuple, BTreeOpContext ctx)
-            throws Exception {
-        ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
-
-        int tupleIndex = ctx.interiorFrame.findDeleteTupleIndex(tuple);
-        
-        // this means there is only a child pointer but no key, this case
-        // propagates the split
-        if (ctx.interiorFrame.getTupleCount() == 0) {
-            ctx.interiorFrame.setPageLsn(ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn() + 1); // TODO:
-            // tie
-            // together
-            // with
-            // logging
-            ctx.leafFrame.setLevel(freePageManager.getFreePageLevelIndicator());
-            ctx.smPages.add(pageId);
-            ctx.interiorFrame.setSmFlag(true);
-            ctx.interiorFrame.setRightmostChildPageId(-1); // this node is
-            // completely empty
-            // register this pageId as a free page
-            ctx.freePages.add(pageId);
-
-        } else {
-            ctx.interiorFrame.delete(tuple, tupleIndex);
-            // TODO: Tie together with logging.
-            ctx.interiorFrame.setPageLsn(ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn() + 1);
-            // Don't propagate deletion.
-            ctx.splitKey.reset();
-        }
-    }
-
-    private final void acquireLatch(ICachedPage node, BTreeOpContext ctx, boolean isLeaf) {
+    private final boolean acquireLatch(ICachedPage node, BTreeOpContext ctx, boolean isLeaf) {
         if (!isLeaf || (ctx.op == IndexOp.SEARCH && !ctx.cursor.exclusiveLatchNodes())) {
             node.acquireReadLatch();
+            return true;
         } else {
             node.acquireWriteLatch();
-        }
-    }
-
-    private final void releaseLatch(ICachedPage node, BTreeOpContext ctx, boolean isLeaf) {
-        if (!isLeaf || (ctx.op == IndexOp.SEARCH && !ctx.cursor.exclusiveLatchNodes())) {
-            node.releaseReadLatch();
-        } else {
-            node.releaseWriteLatch();
+            return false;
         }
     }
 
@@ -666,14 +507,14 @@
         return isConsistent;
     }
 
-    private void performOp(int pageId, ICachedPage parent, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+    private void performOp(int pageId, ICachedPage parent, boolean parentIsReadLatched, BTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
         ICachedPage node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
         ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
         
         // this check performs an unprotected read in the page
         // the following could happen: TODO fill out
         boolean unsafeIsLeaf = ctx.interiorFrame.isLeaf();
-        acquireLatch(node, ctx, unsafeIsLeaf);
+        boolean isReadLatched = acquireLatch(node, ctx, unsafeIsLeaf);
         boolean smFlag = ctx.interiorFrame.getSmFlag();
         // re-check leafness after latching
         boolean isLeaf = ctx.interiorFrame.isLeaf();
@@ -682,10 +523,13 @@
         // structure modification
         ctx.pageLsns.add(ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn());
         try {
-            // latch coupling, note: parent should never be write latched,
-            // otherwise something is wrong.
+            // Latch coupling: unlatch parent.
             if (parent != null) {
-                parent.releaseReadLatch();
+                if (parentIsReadLatched) {
+                	parent.releaseReadLatch();
+                } else {
+                	parent.releaseWriteLatch();
+                }
                 bufferCache.unpin(parent);
             }
             if (!isLeaf || smFlag) {
@@ -696,15 +540,18 @@
                     boolean repeatOp = true;
                     while (repeatOp && ctx.opRestarts < MAX_RESTARTS) {
                         int childPageId = ctx.interiorFrame.getChildPageId(ctx.pred);
-                        performOp(childPageId, node, ctx);
+                        performOp(childPageId, node, isReadLatched, ctx);
 
                         if (!ctx.pageLsns.isEmpty() && ctx.pageLsns.getLast() == RESTART_OP) {
                             // Pop the restart op indicator.
-                            ctx.pageLsns.removeLast();
+                            ctx.pageLsns.removeLast();                            
                             if (isConsistent(pageId, ctx)) {
-                                // Don't unpin and unlatch node again in recursive call.
-                                node = null; 
-                                // Descend the tree again.
+                                // Pin and latch page again, since it was unpinned and unlatched in call to performOp (passed as parent).
+                                node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
+                                node.acquireReadLatch();
+                                ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
+                                isReadLatched = true;
+                                // Descend the tree again.                                
                                 continue;
                             } else {
                                 // Pop pageLsn of this page (version seen by this op during descent).
@@ -717,28 +564,32 @@
                         
                         switch (ctx.op) {
                             case INSERT:
-                            case UPDATE:
-                            case DELETE: {
+                            case UPSERT:
+                            case UPDATE: {
                                 // Is there a propagated split key?
                                 if (ctx.splitKey.getBuffer() != null) {
-                                    node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
-                                    node.acquireWriteLatch();
+                                    ICachedPage interiorNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
+                                    interiorNode.acquireWriteLatch();
                                     try {
-                                        if (ctx.op == IndexOp.DELETE) {
-                                            deleteInterior(node, pageId, ctx.pred.getLowKey(), ctx);                                          
-                                        } else {
-                                            // Insert or update op. Both can cause split keys to propagate upwards.                                            
-                                            insertInterior(node, pageId, ctx.splitKey.getTuple(), ctx);
-                                        }
+                                        // Insert or update op. Both can cause split keys to propagate upwards.                                            
+                                        insertInterior(interiorNode, pageId, ctx.splitKey.getTuple(), ctx);
                                     } finally {
-                                        node.releaseWriteLatch();
-                                        bufferCache.unpin(node);
+                                    	interiorNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                                        bufferCache.unpin(interiorNode);
                                     }
                                 } else {
                                     unsetSmPages(ctx);
                                 }
                                 break;
                             }
+                            
+                            case DELETE: {
+                                if (ctx.splitKey.getBuffer() != null) {
+                                    throw new BTreeException("Split key was propagated during delete. Delete allows empty leaf pages.");
+                                }
+                                break;
+                            }
+                                
                             default: {
                                 // Do nothing for Search and DiskOrderScan.
                                 break;
@@ -749,7 +600,11 @@
                     } // end while
                 } else { // smFlag
                     ctx.opRestarts++;
-                    releaseLatch(node, ctx, unsafeIsLeaf);
+                    if (isReadLatched) {
+                    	node.releaseReadLatch();
+                    } else {
+                    	node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                    }
                     bufferCache.unpin(node);
 
                     // TODO: this should be an instant duration lock, how to do
@@ -770,13 +625,21 @@
             } else { // isLeaf and !smFlag
                 // We may have to restart an op to avoid latch deadlock.
             	boolean restartOp = false;
+            	ctx.leafFrame.setPage(node);
             	switch (ctx.op) {
-                    case INSERT: {
-                        restartOp = insertLeaf(node, pageId, ctx.pred.getLowKey(), ctx);
+                    case INSERT: {                        
+                        int targetTupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findInsertTupleIndex(ctx.pred.getLowKey());
+                        restartOp = insertLeaf(ctx.pred.getLowKey(), targetTupleIndex, pageId, ctx);
+                        break;
+                    }
+                    case UPSERT: {
+                        int targetTupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findUpsertTupleIndex(ctx.pred.getLowKey());
+                        restartOp = upsertLeaf(ctx.pred.getLowKey(), targetTupleIndex, pageId, ctx);
                         break;
                     }
                     case UPDATE: {
-                    	restartOp = updateLeaf(node, pageId, ctx.pred.getLowKey(), ctx);
+                        int oldTupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findUpdateTupleIndex(ctx.pred.getLowKey());
+                    	restartOp = updateLeaf(ctx.pred.getLowKey(), oldTupleIndex, pageId, ctx);
                         break;
                     }
                     case DELETE: {
@@ -789,6 +652,10 @@
                         break;
                     }
                 }
+            	if (ctx.op != IndexOp.SEARCH) {
+            	    node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                    bufferCache.unpin(node);
+            	}
             	if (restartOp) {
             		ctx.pageLsns.removeLast();
                     ctx.pageLsns.add(RESTART_OP);
@@ -796,28 +663,35 @@
             }
         } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
         	if (!ctx.exceptionHandled) {
-                releaseLatch(node, ctx, unsafeIsLeaf);
-                bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                ctx.exceptionHandled = true;
-            }
-            throw e;
-        } catch (PageAllocationException e) {
-        	if (!ctx.exceptionHandled) {
-                releaseLatch(node, ctx, unsafeIsLeaf);
-                bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                ctx.exceptionHandled = true;
+        		if (node != null) {
+        			if (isReadLatched) {
+        				node.releaseReadLatch();
+        			} else {
+        				node.releaseWriteLatch();
+        			}
+        			bufferCache.unpin(node);
+        			ctx.exceptionHandled = true;
+        		}
             }
             throw e;
         } catch (Exception e) {
         	e.printStackTrace();
-            releaseLatch(node, ctx, unsafeIsLeaf);
-            bufferCache.unpin(node);
+        	if (node != null) {
+        		if (isReadLatched) {
+    				node.releaseReadLatch();
+    			} else {
+    				node.releaseWriteLatch();
+    			}
+        		bufferCache.unpin(node);
+        	}
             BTreeException wrappedException = new BTreeException(e);
+            ctx.exceptionHandled = true;
             throw wrappedException;
         }
     }
 
-    public final class BulkLoadContext implements IIndexBulkLoadContext {
+    public class BulkLoadContext implements IIndexBulkLoadContext {
+        public final MultiComparator cmp;
         public final int slotSize;
         public final int leafMaxBytes;
         public final int interiorMaxBytes;
@@ -827,12 +701,12 @@
         private final IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame;
         private final IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame;
         private final ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame;
-
-        private final ITreeIndexTupleWriter tupleWriter;
-
+        private final ITreeIndexTupleWriter tupleWriter;        
+        
         public BulkLoadContext(float fillFactor, IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame, IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame,
-                ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException {
-
+                ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws HyracksDataException {
+            this.cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
+            
         	leafFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
         	interiorFrame.setMultiComparator(cmp);
         	
@@ -862,7 +736,7 @@
             nodeFrontiers.add(leafFrontier);
         }
 
-        private void addLevel() throws HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException {
+        private void addLevel() throws HyracksDataException {
             NodeFrontier frontier = new NodeFrontier(tupleWriter.createTupleReference());
             frontier.pageId = freePageManager.getFreePage(metaFrame);
             frontier.page = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, frontier.pageId), true);
@@ -874,7 +748,7 @@
         }
     }
 
-    private void propagateBulk(BulkLoadContext ctx, int level) throws HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException {
+    private void propagateBulk(BulkLoadContext ctx, int level) throws HyracksDataException {
 
         if (ctx.splitKey.getBuffer() == null)
             return;
@@ -886,7 +760,7 @@
         ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(frontier.page);
 
         ITupleReference tuple = ctx.splitKey.getTuple();
-        int spaceNeeded = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(tuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount()) + ctx.slotSize + 4;
+        int spaceNeeded = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(tuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount()) + ctx.slotSize + 4;
         int spaceUsed = ctx.interiorFrame.getBuffer().capacity() - ctx.interiorFrame.getTotalFreeSpace();
         if (spaceUsed + spaceNeeded > ctx.interiorMaxBytes) {
 
@@ -894,10 +768,10 @@
             tuple = copyKey.getTuple();
 
             frontier.lastTuple.resetByTupleIndex(ctx.interiorFrame, ctx.interiorFrame.getTupleCount() - 1);
-            int splitKeySize = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frontier.lastTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+            int splitKeySize = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frontier.lastTuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
             ctx.splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
             ctx.tupleWriter
-                    .writeTupleFields(frontier.lastTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount(), ctx.splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
+                    .writeTupleFields(frontier.lastTuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount(), ctx.splitKey.getBuffer().array(), 0);
             ctx.splitKey.getTuple().resetByTupleOffset(ctx.splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
             ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(frontier.pageId);
 
@@ -920,20 +794,20 @@
 
     // assumes btree has been created and opened
     @Override
-    public IIndexBulkLoadContext beginBulkLoad(float fillFactor) throws TreeIndexException, HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException {
+    public IIndexBulkLoadContext beginBulkLoad(float fillFactor) throws TreeIndexException, HyracksDataException {
         IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame)leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
     	if (!isEmptyTree(leafFrame)) {
     		throw new BTreeException("Trying to Bulk-load a non-empty BTree.");
     	}
     	
         BulkLoadContext ctx = new BulkLoadContext(fillFactor, leafFrame,
-                (IBTreeInteriorFrame)interiorFrameFactory.createFrame(), freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame(), cmp);
-        ctx.splitKey.getTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+                (IBTreeInteriorFrame)interiorFrameFactory.createFrame(), freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame(), cmpFactories);
+        ctx.splitKey.getTuple().setFieldCount(ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
         return ctx;
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void bulkLoadAddTuple(ITupleReference tuple, IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException {
+    public void bulkLoadAddTuple(ITupleReference tuple, IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException {
         BulkLoadContext ctx = (BulkLoadContext) ictx;
         NodeFrontier leafFrontier = ctx.nodeFrontiers.get(0);
         IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = ctx.leafFrame;
@@ -949,13 +823,12 @@
 
         if (spaceUsed + spaceNeeded > ctx.leafMaxBytes) {
             leafFrontier.lastTuple.resetByTupleIndex(leafFrame, leafFrame.getTupleCount() - 1);
-            int splitKeySize = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(leafFrontier.lastTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+            int splitKeySize = ctx.tupleWriter.bytesRequired(leafFrontier.lastTuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
             ctx.splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
-            ctx.tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(leafFrontier.lastTuple, 0, cmp.getKeyFieldCount(),
-                    ctx.splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
+            ctx.tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(leafFrontier.lastTuple, 0, ctx.cmp.getKeyFieldCount(),
+                    ctx.splitKey.getBuffer().array(), 0);
             ctx.splitKey.getTuple().resetByTupleOffset(ctx.splitKey.getBuffer(), 0);
             ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(leafFrontier.pageId);
-            int prevPageId = leafFrontier.pageId;
             leafFrontier.pageId = freePageManager.getFreePage(ctx.metaFrame);
 
             leafFrame.setNextLeaf(leafFrontier.pageId);
@@ -970,7 +843,6 @@
             leafFrontier.page.acquireWriteLatch();
             leafFrame.setPage(leafFrontier.page);
             leafFrame.initBuffer((byte) 0);
-            leafFrame.setPrevLeaf(prevPageId);
         }
 
         leafFrame.setPage(leafFrontier.page);
@@ -1010,7 +882,7 @@
 
     private BTreeOpContext createOpContext() {
         return new BTreeOpContext(leafFrameFactory, interiorFrameFactory, freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory()
-                .createFrame(), cmp);
+                .createFrame(), cmpFactories);
     }
     
     public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getInteriorFrameFactory() {
@@ -1021,8 +893,8 @@
         return leafFrameFactory;
     }
 
-    public MultiComparator getMultiComparator() {
-        return cmp;
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
+        return cmpFactories;
     }
 
     public IFreePageManager getFreePageManager() {
@@ -1043,6 +915,16 @@
         return IndexType.BTREE;
     }
     
+    @Override
+    public int getFileId() {
+    	return fileId;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public IBufferCache getBufferCache() {
+        return bufferCache;
+    }
+    
     public byte getTreeHeight(IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame) throws HyracksDataException {
         ICachedPage rootNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, rootPage), false);
         rootNode.acquireReadLatch();
@@ -1074,15 +956,16 @@
     @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes") 
     public String printTree(IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame, IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes)
             throws Exception {
+        MultiComparator cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
         byte treeHeight = getTreeHeight(leafFrame);
         StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
-        printTree(rootPage, null, false, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight, keySerdes, strBuilder);
+        printTree(rootPage, null, false, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight, keySerdes, strBuilder, cmp);
         return strBuilder.toString();
     }
 
     @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes") 
     public void printTree(int pageId, ICachedPage parent, boolean unpin, IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame,
-            IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, byte treeHeight, ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes, StringBuilder strBuilder) throws Exception {
+            IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, byte treeHeight, ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes, StringBuilder strBuilder, MultiComparator cmp) throws Exception {
         ICachedPage node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
         node.acquireReadLatch();
         try {
@@ -1110,7 +993,7 @@
             if (!interiorFrame.isLeaf()) {
                 ArrayList<Integer> children = ((BTreeNSMInteriorFrame) (interiorFrame)).getChildren(cmp);
                 for (int i = 0; i < children.size(); i++) {
-                    printTree(children.get(i), node, i == children.size() - 1, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight, keySerdes, strBuilder);
+                    printTree(children.get(i), node, i == children.size() - 1, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight, keySerdes, strBuilder, cmp);
                 }
             } else {
                 node.releaseReadLatch();
@@ -1128,7 +1011,9 @@
         return new BTreeAccessor(this);
     }
     
-    private class BTreeAccessor implements ITreeIndexAccessor {
+	// TODO: Class should be private. But currently we need to expose the
+	// setOpContext() API to the LSM Tree for it to work correctly.
+    public class BTreeAccessor implements ITreeIndexAccessor {
         private BTree btree;
         private BTreeOpContext ctx;
         
@@ -1138,34 +1023,59 @@
         }
         
         @Override
-        public void insert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+        public void insert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
             ctx.reset(IndexOp.INSERT);
             btree.insert(tuple, ctx);
         }
 
         @Override
-        public void update(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+        public void update(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
             ctx.reset(IndexOp.UPDATE);
             btree.update(tuple, ctx);
         }
 
         @Override
-        public void delete(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+        public void delete(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
             ctx.reset(IndexOp.DELETE);
             btree.delete(tuple, ctx);
         }
-
+        
         @Override
-        public void search(ITreeIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException,
-                TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+        public void upsert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
+            ctx.reset(IndexOp.UPSERT);
+            btree.upsert(tuple, ctx);
+        }
+        
+        @Override
+		public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+			IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) btree.getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
+	        return new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(leafFrame, false);
+		}
+        
+        @Override
+        public void search(IIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException,
+                TreeIndexException {
             ctx.reset(IndexOp.SEARCH);
-            btree.search(cursor, searchPred, ctx);
+            btree.search((ITreeIndexCursor) cursor, searchPred, ctx);
         }
 
         @Override
+		public ITreeIndexCursor createDiskOrderScanCursor() {
+			IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) btree.getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
+	        return new TreeDiskOrderScanCursor(leafFrame);
+		}
+        
+        @Override
         public void diskOrderScan(ITreeIndexCursor cursor) throws HyracksDataException {
             ctx.reset(IndexOp.DISKORDERSCAN);
             btree.diskOrderScan(cursor, ctx);
         }
+		
+		// TODO: Ideally, this method should not exist. But we need it for
+		// the changing the leafFrame and leafFrameFactory of the op context for
+		// the LSM-BTree to work correctly.
+		public BTreeOpContext getOpContext() {
+			return ctx;
+		}
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeOpContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeOpContext.java
index 07c645c..23a14eb 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeOpContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeOpContext.java
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeInteriorFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeLeafFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexOpContext;
@@ -27,9 +28,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
 public class BTreeOpContext implements IIndexOpContext {
-    private final int INIT_ARRAYLIST_SIZE = 6; 
-    protected ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
-    protected ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
+    private final int INIT_ARRAYLIST_SIZE = 6;
+    public MultiComparator cmp;
+    public ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
+    public ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
     public IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame;
     public IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame;
     public ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame;
@@ -45,7 +47,8 @@
     public boolean exceptionHandled;
     
     public BTreeOpContext(ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-            ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, MultiComparator cmp) {
+            ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) {
+        this.cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
         this.leafFrameFactory = leafFrameFactory;
         this.leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         if (leafFrame != null) {
@@ -78,7 +81,7 @@
                 cursorInitialState = new BTreeCursorInitialState(null);
             }
         } else {
-            // Insert, update or delete operation.
+            // Insert, delete, update or upsert operation.
             if (smPages == null) {
                 smPages = new IntArrayList(INIT_ARRAYLIST_SIZE, INIT_ARRAYLIST_SIZE);
             }
@@ -86,7 +89,7 @@
                 freePages = new IntArrayList(INIT_ARRAYLIST_SIZE, INIT_ARRAYLIST_SIZE);
             }
             if (pred == null) {
-                pred = new RangePredicate(true, null, null, true, true, null, null);
+                pred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
             }
             if (splitKey == null) {
                 splitKey = new BTreeSplitKey(leafFrame.getTupleWriter().createTupleReference());
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeRangeSearchCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeRangeSearchCursor.java
index 8122314..8bf4db3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeRangeSearchCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/BTreeRangeSearchCursor.java
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void close() throws Exception {
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
         if (page != null) {
             if (exclusiveLatchNodes) {
                 page.releaseWriteLatch();
@@ -86,66 +86,48 @@
     }
 
     private void fetchNextLeafPage(int nextLeafPage) throws HyracksDataException {
-        ICachedPage nextLeaf = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, nextLeafPage), false);
-        if (exclusiveLatchNodes) {
-            nextLeaf.acquireWriteLatch();
-            page.releaseWriteLatch();
-        } else {
-            nextLeaf.acquireReadLatch();
-            page.releaseReadLatch();
-        }
-        bufferCache.unpin(page);
-        page = nextLeaf;
-        frame.setPage(page);
+        do {
+            ICachedPage nextLeaf = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, nextLeafPage), false);
+            if (exclusiveLatchNodes) {
+                nextLeaf.acquireWriteLatch();
+                page.releaseWriteLatch();
+            } else {
+                nextLeaf.acquireReadLatch();
+                page.releaseReadLatch();
+            }
+            bufferCache.unpin(page);
+            page = nextLeaf;
+            frame.setPage(page);
+            nextLeafPage = frame.getNextLeaf();
+        } while (frame.getTupleCount() == 0 && nextLeafPage > 0);
     }
 
     @Override
-    public boolean hasNext() throws Exception {
-        if (pred.isForward()) {
-            if (tupleIndex >= frame.getTupleCount()) {
-                int nextLeafPage = frame.getNextLeaf();
-                if (nextLeafPage >= 0) {
-                    fetchNextLeafPage(nextLeafPage);
-                    tupleIndex = 0;
-
-                    stopTupleIndex = getHighKeyIndex();
-                    if (stopTupleIndex < 0)
-                        return false;
-                } else {
+    public boolean hasNext() throws HyracksDataException {
+        if (tupleIndex >= frame.getTupleCount()) {
+            int nextLeafPage = frame.getNextLeaf();
+            if (nextLeafPage >= 0) {
+                fetchNextLeafPage(nextLeafPage);
+                tupleIndex = 0;
+                stopTupleIndex = getHighKeyIndex();
+                if (stopTupleIndex < 0) {
                     return false;
                 }
-            }
-
-            frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(frame, tupleIndex);
-            if (highKey == null || tupleIndex <= stopTupleIndex) {
-                return true;
-            } else
+            } else {
                 return false;
+            }
+        }
+
+        frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(frame, tupleIndex);
+        if (highKey == null || tupleIndex <= stopTupleIndex) {
+            return true;
         } else {
-            if (tupleIndex < 0) {
-                int nextLeafPage = frame.getPrevLeaf();
-                if (nextLeafPage >= 0) {
-                    fetchNextLeafPage(nextLeafPage);
-                    tupleIndex = frame.getTupleCount() - 1;
-
-                    stopTupleIndex = getLowKeyIndex();
-                    if (stopTupleIndex >= frame.getTupleCount())
-                        return false;
-                } else {
-                    return false;
-                }
-            }
-
-            frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(frame, tupleIndex);
-            if (lowKey == null || tupleIndex >= stopTupleIndex) {
-                return true;
-            } else
-                return false;
+            return false;
         }
     }
-
+    
     @Override
-    public void next() throws Exception {
+    public void next() throws HyracksDataException {
         tupleIndex += tupleIndexInc;
     }
 
@@ -216,16 +198,10 @@
         } else {
             highKeyFtp = FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy.LOWER_KEY;
         }
-
-        if (pred.isForward()) {
-            tupleIndex = getLowKeyIndex();
-            stopTupleIndex = getHighKeyIndex();
-            tupleIndexInc = 1;
-        } else {
-            tupleIndex = getHighKeyIndex();
-            stopTupleIndex = getLowKeyIndex();
-            tupleIndexInc = -1;
-        }
+        
+        tupleIndex = getLowKeyIndex();
+        stopTupleIndex = getHighKeyIndex();
+        tupleIndexInc = 1;
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/RangePredicate.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/RangePredicate.java
index 699f6a6..607d47b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/RangePredicate.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/impls/RangePredicate.java
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    protected boolean isForward = true;
     protected ITupleReference lowKey = null;
     protected ITupleReference highKey = null;
     protected boolean lowKeyInclusive = true;
@@ -34,9 +33,8 @@
     public RangePredicate() {
     }
 
-    public RangePredicate(boolean isForward, ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, boolean lowKeyInclusive,
+    public RangePredicate(ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, boolean lowKeyInclusive,
             boolean highKeyInclusive, MultiComparator lowKeyCmp, MultiComparator highKeyCmp) {
-        this.isForward = isForward;
         this.lowKey = lowKey;
         this.highKey = highKey;
         this.lowKeyInclusive = lowKeyInclusive;
@@ -61,10 +59,6 @@
         this.highKeyCmp = highKeyCmp;
     }
 
-    public boolean isForward() {
-        return isForward;
-    }
-
     public ITupleReference getLowKey() {
         return lowKey;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeUtils.java
index f6310af..57e3a96 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-btree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeUtils.java
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeException;
@@ -10,6 +11,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallback;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleWriterFactory;
@@ -20,29 +22,26 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public class BTreeUtils {
-    public static BTree createBTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int btreeFileId, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparator[] cmps, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws BTreeException {
-    	MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+    public static BTree createBTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, IOperationCallback opCallback, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws BTreeException {
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = getLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory, leafType);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, typeTraits.length, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, opCallback, typeTraits.length, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         return btree;
     }
     
-    public static MultiComparator getSearchMultiComparator(MultiComparator btreeCmp, ITupleReference searchKey) {
-        if (searchKey == null) {
-        	return btreeCmp;
+    // Creates a new MultiComparator by constructing new IBinaryComparators.
+    public static MultiComparator getSearchMultiComparator(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, ITupleReference searchKey) {
+        if (searchKey == null || cmpFactories.length == searchKey.getFieldCount()) {
+            return MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
         }
-    	if (btreeCmp.getKeyFieldCount() == searchKey.getFieldCount()) {
-            return btreeCmp;
-        }
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[searchKey.getFieldCount()];
+        IBinaryComparator[] newCmps = new IBinaryComparator[searchKey.getFieldCount()];
         for (int i = 0; i < searchKey.getFieldCount(); i++) {
-            cmps[i] = btreeCmp.getComparators()[i];
+            newCmps[i] = cmpFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
         }
-        return new MultiComparator(cmps);
+        return new MultiComparator(newCmps);
     }
     
     public static ITreeIndexFrameFactory getLeafFrameFactory(ITreeIndexTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws BTreeException {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/pom.xml
index 4eb0b6a..f65df2f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/pom.xml
@@ -51,6 +51,6 @@
   		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   		<type>jar</type>
   		<scope>compile</scope>
-  	</dependency>  
+  	</dependency>
   </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IFreePageManager.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IFreePageManager.java
index a7901c8..98b9a7e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IFreePageManager.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IFreePageManager.java
@@ -3,8 +3,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 
 public interface IFreePageManager {
+	public void open(int fileId);
+	
+	public void close();
+	
 	public int getFreePage(ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame)
-			throws HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException;
+			throws HyracksDataException;
 
 	public void addFreePage(ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, int freePage)
 			throws HyracksDataException;
@@ -26,4 +30,6 @@
 	public boolean isMetaPage(ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame);
 
 	public boolean isFreePage(ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame);
+	
+	public int getFirstMetadataPage();		
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexAccessor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexAccessor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..202769f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexAccessor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,101 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+
+/**
+ * Client handle for performing operations (insert/delete/update/search) on an
+ * IIndex. An IIndexAccessor is not thread safe, but different IIndexAccessors
+ * can concurrently operate on the same IIndex (i.e., the IIndex must allow
+ * concurrent operations).
+ */
+public interface IIndexAccessor {
+    /**
+     * Inserts the given tuple.
+     * 
+     * @param tuple
+     *            Tuple to be inserted.
+     * @throws HyracksDataException
+     *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
+     * @throws IndexException
+     *             If an index-specific constraint is violated, e.g., the key
+     *             already exists.
+     */
+    public void insert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException;
+
+    /**
+     * Updates the tuple in the index matching the given tuple with the new
+     * contents in the given tuple.
+     * 
+     * @param tuple
+     *            Tuple whose match in the index is to be update with the given
+     *            tuples contents.
+     * @throws HyracksDataException
+     *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
+     * @throws IndexException
+     *             If there is no matching tuple in the index.
+     */
+    public void update(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException;
+
+    /**
+     * Deletes the tuple in the index matching the given tuple.
+     * 
+     * @param tuple
+     *            Tuple to be deleted.
+     * @throws HyracksDataException
+     *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
+     * @throws IndexException
+     *             If there is no matching tuple in the index.
+     */
+    public void delete(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException;
+
+    /**
+     * This operation is only supported by indexes with the notion of a unique key.
+     * If tuple's key already exists, then this operation performs an update.
+     * Otherwise, it performs an insert.
+     * 
+     * @param tuple
+     *            Tuple to be deleted.
+     * @throws HyracksDataException
+     *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
+     * @throws IndexException
+     *             If there is no matching tuple in the index.
+     * 
+     */
+    public void upsert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException;
+    
+    /**
+     * Creates a cursor appropriate for passing into search().
+     * 
+     */
+    public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor();
+
+    /**
+     * Open the given cursor for an index search using the given predicate as
+     * search condition.
+     * 
+     * @param icursor
+     *            Cursor over the index entries satisfying searchPred.
+     * @param searchPred
+     *            Search condition.
+     * @throws HyracksDataException
+     *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
+     * @throws IndexException
+     */
+    public void search(IIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException;
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexResultCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexCursor.java
similarity index 61%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexResultCursor.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexCursor.java
index fb73a65..d29fd73 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexResultCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IIndexCursor.java
@@ -13,16 +13,22 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 
-public interface IInvertedIndexResultCursor {
-    public boolean hasNext();
+public interface IIndexCursor {
+    public void open(ICursorInitialState initialState,
+            ISearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException;      
 
-    public void next();
+    public boolean hasNext() throws HyracksDataException;
+
+    public void next() throws HyracksDataException;
+
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException;
+
+    public void reset();
 
     public ITupleReference getTuple();
-
-    public void reset(IInvertedIndexSearcher invIndexSearcher);
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IOperationCallback.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IOperationCallback.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e66b43
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IOperationCallback.java
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+
+public interface IOperationCallback {
+    public void pre(ITupleReference tuple);
+
+    public void post(ITupleReference tuple);
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IOperationCallbackProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IOperationCallbackProvider.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..974ef1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IOperationCallbackProvider.java
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
+
+import java.io.Serializable;
+
+public interface IOperationCallbackProvider extends Serializable {
+    public IOperationCallback getOperationCallback();
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndex.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndex.java
index 46d22d1..52626cf 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndex.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndex.java
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 
 /**
@@ -26,88 +25,38 @@
  * Users must perform operations on an ITreeIndex via an ITreeIndexAccessor.
  */
 public interface ITreeIndex extends IIndex {
+    /**
+     * @return The index's leaf frame factory.
+     */
+    public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getLeafFrameFactory();
 
-	/**
-	 * Creates an index accessor for performing operations on this index.
-	 * (insert/delete/update/search/diskorderscan). An ITreeIndexAccessor is not
-	 * thread safe, but different ITreeIndexAccessors can concurrently operate
-	 * on the same ITreeIndex
-	 * 
-	 * @returns ITreeIndexAccessor A tree index accessor for this tree.
-	 */
-	public ITreeIndexAccessor createAccessor();
+    /**
+     * @return The index's interior frame factory.
+     */
+    public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getInteriorFrameFactory();
 
-	/**
-	 * Prepares the index for bulk loading, returning a bulk load context. The
-	 * index must be empty for bulk loading to be possible.
-	 * 
-	 * @param fillFactor
-	 *            Desired fill factor in [0, 1.0].
-	 * @throws HyracksDataException
-	 *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
-	 * @throws TreeIndexException
-	 *             If the tree is not empty.
-	 * @throws PageAllocationException
-	 * @returns A new context for bulk loading, required for appending tuples.
-	 */
-	public IIndexBulkLoadContext beginBulkLoad(float fillFactor)
-			throws TreeIndexException, HyracksDataException,
-			PageAllocationException;
+    /**
+     * @return The index's free page manager.
+     */
+    public IFreePageManager getFreePageManager();
 
-	/**
-	 * Append a tuple to the index in the context of a bulk load.
-	 * 
-	 * @param tuple
-	 *            Tuple to be inserted.
-	 * @param ictx
-	 *            Existing bulk load context.
-	 * @throws HyracksDataException
-	 *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
-	 * @throws PageAllocationException
-	 */
-	public void bulkLoadAddTuple(ITupleReference tuple,
-			IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException,
-			PageAllocationException;
+    /**
+     * @return The number of fields tuples of this index have.
+     */
+    public int getFieldCount();
 
-	/**
-	 * Finalize the bulk loading operation in the given context.
-	 * 
-	 * @param ictx
-	 *            Existing bulk load context to be finalized.
-	 * @throws HyracksDataException
-	 *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
-	 * @throws PageAllocationException
-	 */
-	public void endBulkLoad(IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx)
-			throws HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException;
+    /**
+     * @return The current root page id of this index.
+     */
+    public int getRootPageId();
 
-	/**
-	 * @return The index's leaf frame factory.
-	 */
-	public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getLeafFrameFactory();
+    /**
+     * @return The file id of this index.
+     */
+    public int getFileId();
 
-	/**
-	 * @return The index's interior frame factory.
-	 */
-	public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getInteriorFrameFactory();
-
-	/**
-	 * @return The index's free page manager.
-	 */
-	public IFreePageManager getFreePageManager();
-
-	/**
-	 * @return The number of fields tuples of this index have.
-	 */
-	public int getFieldCount();
-
-	/**
-	 * @return The current root page id of this index.
-	 */
-	public int getRootPageId();
-
-	/**
-	 * @return An enum of the concrete type of this index.
-	 */
-	public IndexType getIndexType();
+    /**
+     * @return Comparator factories.
+     */
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories();
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexAccessor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexAccessor.java
index 1e679b2..da8fc3b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexAccessor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexAccessor.java
@@ -16,7 +16,6 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 
 /**
  * Client handle for performing operations
@@ -25,68 +24,13 @@
  * concurrently operate on the same ITreeIndex (i.e., the ITreeIndex must allow
  * concurrent operations).
  */
-public interface ITreeIndexAccessor {
+public interface ITreeIndexAccessor extends IIndexAccessor {
 	/**
-	 * Inserts the given tuple.
+	 * Creates a cursor appropriate for passing into diskOrderScan().
 	 * 
-	 * @param tuple
-	 *            Tuple to be inserted.
-	 * @throws HyracksDataException
-	 *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
-	 * @throws TreeIndexException
-	 *             If an index-specific constraint is violated, e.g., the key
-	 *             already exists.
-	 * @throws PageAllocationException
 	 */
-	public void insert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException,
-			TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException;
-
-	/**
-	 * Updates the tuple in the index matching the given tuple with the new
-	 * contents in the given tuple.
-	 * 
-	 * @param tuple
-	 *            Tuple whose match in the index is to be update with the given
-	 *            tuples contents.
-	 * @throws HyracksDataException
-	 *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
-	 * @throws TreeIndexException
-	 *             If there is no matching tuple in the index.
-	 * @throws PageAllocationException
-	 */
-	public void update(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException,
-			TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException;
-
-	/**
-	 * Deletes the tuple in the index matching the given tuple.
-	 * 
-	 * @param tuple
-	 *            Tuple to be deleted.
-	 * @throws HyracksDataException
-	 *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
-	 * @throws TreeIndexException
-	 *             If there is no matching tuple in the index.
-	 * @throws PageAllocationException
-	 */
-	public void delete(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException,
-			TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException;
-
-	/**
-	 * Open the given cursor for an index search using the given predicate as
-	 * search condition.
-	 * 
-	 * @param icursor
-	 *            Cursor over the index entries satisfying searchPred.
-	 * @param searchPred
-	 *            Search condition.
-	 * @throws HyracksDataException
-	 *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
-	 * @throws TreeIndexException
-	 * @throws PageAllocationException
-	 */
-	public void search(ITreeIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred)
-			throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException;
-
+	public ITreeIndexCursor createDiskOrderScanCursor();
+	
 	/**
 	 * Open the given cursor for a disk-order scan, positioning the cursor to
 	 * the first leaf tuple.
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexCursor.java
index d3ce3867..229613c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexCursor.java
@@ -15,31 +15,17 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.ICachedPage;
 
-public interface ITreeIndexCursor {
-	public void reset();
-
-	public boolean hasNext() throws Exception;
-
-	public void next() throws Exception;
-
-	public void open(ICursorInitialState initialState,
-			ISearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException;
+public interface ITreeIndexCursor extends IIndexCursor {
 
 	public ICachedPage getPage();
 
-	public void close() throws Exception;
-
 	public void setBufferCache(IBufferCache bufferCache);
 
 	public void setFileId(int fileId);
 
-	public ITupleReference getTuple();
-	
 	// For allowing updates.
 	public boolean exclusiveLatchNodes();
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame.java
index 17519ae..9e95970 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame.java
@@ -41,4 +41,10 @@
 	public boolean hasSpace();
 
 	public void addFreePage(int freePage);
+	
+	// Special flag for LSM-Components to mark whether they are valid or not. 
+	public boolean isValid();
+	
+	// Set special validity flag.
+	public void setValid(boolean isValid);
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexTupleWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexTupleWriter.java
index f0bb7aa..30e8f39 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexTupleWriter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITreeIndexTupleWriter.java
@@ -26,8 +26,7 @@
 
     public int bytesRequired(ITupleReference tuple);
 
-    // TODO: change to byte[] as well.
-    public int writeTupleFields(ITupleReference tuple, int startField, int numFields, ByteBuffer targetBuf,
+    public int writeTupleFields(ITupleReference tuple, int startField, int numFields, byte[] targetBuf,
             int targetOff);
 
     public int bytesRequired(ITupleReference tuple, int startField, int numFields);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IEvaluator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITupleFilter.java
similarity index 73%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IEvaluator.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITupleFilter.java
index 566651d..41f0f4d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/runtime/base/IEvaluator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITupleFilter.java
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.runtime.base;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.api.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
+
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.IFrameTupleReference;
 
-public interface IEvaluator {
-    public void evaluate(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws AlgebricksException;
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+public interface ITupleFilter {
+	public boolean accept(IFrameTupleReference tuple) throws Exception;
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITupleFilterFactory.java
similarity index 71%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITupleFilterFactory.java
index 871fe43..602902d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-algebricks/hyracks-algebricks-core/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/algebricks/core/algebra/data/IPrinterFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/ITupleFilterFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,13 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.data;
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
 
 import java.io.Serializable;
 
-public interface IPrinterFactory extends Serializable {
-    public IPrinter createPrinter();
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+
+public interface ITupleFilterFactory extends Serializable {
+    public ITupleFilter createTupleFilter(IHyracksTaskContext ctx) throws Exception;
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/PageAllocationException.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IndexException.java
similarity index 75%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/PageAllocationException.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IndexException.java
index e6eec66..0aeaf82 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/PageAllocationException.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/IndexException.java
@@ -15,15 +15,14 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
 
-public class PageAllocationException extends Exception {
+public class IndexException extends Exception {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-	private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-	public PageAllocationException(Throwable cause) {
-        super(cause);
+    public IndexException(Exception e) {        
+        super(e);
     }
-    
-    public PageAllocationException(String message) {
+
+    public IndexException(String message) {
         super(message);
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/TreeIndexException.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/TreeIndexException.java
index 4cf596f..c3f3f1a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/TreeIndexException.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/TreeIndexException.java
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
 
-public class TreeIndexException extends Exception {
+public class TreeIndexException extends IndexException {
 
 	private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 	private boolean handled = false;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
index ff4d078..9f0fbc9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -18,10 +18,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITupleFilterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 public abstract class AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor extends
@@ -34,33 +35,36 @@
 
 	protected final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories;
 
-	protected final ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
-	protected final ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
-
 	protected final IStorageManagerInterface storageManager;
 	protected final IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider;
 
 	protected final ITypeTraits[] typeTraits;
 	protected final IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory;
+	protected final ITupleFilterFactory tupleFilterFactory;
+	
+	protected final boolean retainInput;
+    protected final IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider;
 
-	public AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
+	public AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec,
 			int inputArity, int outputArity, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
 			IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
 			IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
 			IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider,
-			ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-			ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+			ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
 			IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
-			IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory) {
+			IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory,
+			ITupleFilterFactory tupleFilterFactory,
+			boolean retainInput, IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
 		super(spec, inputArity, outputArity);
 		this.fileSplitProvider = fileSplitProvider;
 		this.storageManager = storageManager;
 		this.indexRegistryProvider = indexRegistryProvider;
-		this.interiorFrameFactory = interiorFrameFactory;
-		this.leafFrameFactory = leafFrameFactory;
 		this.typeTraits = typeTraits;
 		this.comparatorFactories = comparatorFactories;
 		this.dataflowHelperFactory = dataflowHelperFactory;
+		this.retainInput = retainInput;
+		this.tupleFilterFactory = tupleFilterFactory;
+        this.opCallbackProvider = opCallbackProvider;
 		if (outputArity > 0) {
 			recordDescriptors[0] = recDesc;
 		}
@@ -82,16 +86,6 @@
 	}
 
 	@Override
-	public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getTreeIndexInteriorFactory() {
-		return interiorFrameFactory;
-	}
-
-	@Override
-	public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getTreeIndexLeafFactory() {
-		return leafFrameFactory;
-	}
-
-	@Override
 	public IStorageManagerInterface getStorageManager() {
 		return storageManager;
 	}
@@ -110,4 +104,19 @@
 	public IIndexDataflowHelperFactory getIndexDataflowHelperFactory() {
 		return dataflowHelperFactory;
 	}
+	
+	@Override
+	public boolean getRetainInput() {
+		return retainInput;
+	}
+	
+	@Override
+	public IOperationCallbackProvider getOpCallbackProvider() {
+	    return opCallbackProvider;
+	}
+	
+	@Override
+	public ITupleFilterFactory getTupleFilterFactory() {
+		return tupleFilterFactory;
+	}
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndex.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndex.java
index 38b275b..64cbd58 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndex.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndex.java
@@ -16,14 +16,22 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexType;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 /**
- * Interface describing the operations common to all indexes.
+ * Interface describing the operations common to all index structures. Indexes
+ * implementing this interface can easily reuse existing index operators for
+ * dataflow. Users must perform operations on an IIndex via an IIndexAccessor.
  */
 public interface IIndex {
     /**
-     * Initializes the persistent state of an index, e.g., the root page,
-     * and metadata pages.
+     * Initializes the persistent state of an index, e.g., the root page, and
+     * metadata pages.
      * 
      * @param indexFileId
      *            The file id to use for this index.
@@ -38,10 +46,67 @@
      * @param indexFileId
      *            The file id backing this index.
      */
-    public void open(int indexFileId);
-    
+    public void open(int indexFileId) throws HyracksDataException;
+
     /**
      * Closes the index.
      */
-    public void close();
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException;
+
+    /**
+     * Creates an index accessor for performing operations on this index.
+     * (insert/delete/update/search/diskorderscan). An IIndexAccessor is not
+     * thread safe, but different IIndexAccessors can concurrently operate
+     * on the same IIndex
+     * 
+     * @returns IIndexAccessor An accessor for this tree.
+     */
+    public IIndexAccessor createAccessor();
+
+    /**
+     * Prepares the index for bulk loading, returning a bulk load context. The
+     * index may require to be empty for bulk loading.
+     * 
+     * @param fillFactor
+     *            Desired fill factor in [0, 1.0].
+     * @throws HyracksDataException
+     *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
+     * @throws IndexException
+     *             For example, if the index was already loaded and only
+     *             supports a single load.
+     * @returns A new context for bulk loading, required for appending tuples.
+     */
+    public IIndexBulkLoadContext beginBulkLoad(float fillFactor) throws IndexException, HyracksDataException;
+
+    /**
+     * Append a tuple to the index in the context of a bulk load.
+     * 
+     * @param tuple
+     *            Tuple to be inserted.
+     * @param ictx
+     *            Existing bulk load context.
+     * @throws HyracksDataException
+     *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
+     */
+    public void bulkLoadAddTuple(ITupleReference tuple, IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException;
+
+    /**
+     * Finalize the bulk loading operation in the given context.
+     * 
+     * @param ictx
+     *            Existing bulk load context to be finalized.
+     * @throws HyracksDataException
+     *             If the BufferCache throws while un/pinning or un/latching.
+     */
+    public void endBulkLoad(IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException;
+
+    /**
+     * @return BufferCache underlying this index.
+     */
+    public IBufferCache getBufferCache();
+
+    /**
+     * @return An enum of the concrete type of this index.
+     */
+    public IndexType getIndexType();
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndexDataflowHelperFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndexDataflowHelperFactory.java
index a42cf5f..ddca470 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndexDataflowHelperFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndexDataflowHelperFactory.java
@@ -21,5 +21,5 @@
 
 public interface IIndexDataflowHelperFactory extends Serializable {
     public IndexDataflowHelper createIndexDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc,
-            final IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition, boolean createIfNotExists);
-}
+            final IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition);
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndexOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
index edf2bba..e37d374 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IActivity;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 public interface IIndexOperatorDescriptor extends IActivity {
@@ -30,4 +31,8 @@
     public RecordDescriptor getRecordDescriptor();
     
     public IIndexDataflowHelperFactory getIndexDataflowHelperFactory();
+    
+    public boolean getRetainInput();
+    
+    public IOperationCallbackProvider getOpCallbackProvider();
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
index e415cbb..7fba22b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -17,15 +17,12 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITupleFilterFactory;
 
 public interface ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor extends IIndexOperatorDescriptor {
 	public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getTreeIndexComparatorFactories();
 	
-	public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getTreeIndexInteriorFactory();
-
-	public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getTreeIndexLeafFactory();
-
 	public ITypeTraits[] getTreeIndexTypeTraits();
 	
+	public ITupleFilterFactory getTupleFilterFactory();
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexDataflowHelper.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexDataflowHelper.java
index 99ebab7..fa95ce4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexDataflowHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexDataflowHelper.java
@@ -19,39 +19,39 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapProvider;
 
 public abstract class IndexDataflowHelper {
     protected IIndex index;
     protected int indexFileId = -1;
-    protected int partition;
-    
+
+    protected final int partition;
     protected final IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc;
     protected final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
-    protected final boolean createIfNotExists;
-    
-    public IndexDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-            int partition, boolean createIfNotExists) {
+
+    public IndexDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, final IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition) {
         this.opDesc = opDesc;
-        this.ctx = ctx;        
+        this.ctx = ctx;
         this.partition = partition;
-        this.createIfNotExists = createIfNotExists;
     }
 
-    public void init() throws HyracksDataException {
+    public void init(boolean forceCreate) throws HyracksDataException {
         IBufferCache bufferCache = opDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx);
-        IFileMapProvider fileMapProvider = opDesc.getStorageManager().getFileMapProvider(ctx);        
-
-        FileReference f = getFilereference();
+        IFileMapProvider fileMapProvider = opDesc.getStorageManager().getFileMapProvider(ctx);
+        IndexRegistry<IIndex> indexRegistry = opDesc.getIndexRegistryProvider().getRegistry(ctx);
+        FileReference fileRef = getFilereference();
         int fileId = -1;
+        boolean fileIsMapped = false;
         synchronized (fileMapProvider) {
-            boolean fileIsMapped = fileMapProvider.isMapped(f);
+            fileIsMapped = fileMapProvider.isMapped(fileRef);
             if (!fileIsMapped) {
-                bufferCache.createFile(f);
+                bufferCache.createFile(fileRef);
             }
-            fileId = fileMapProvider.lookupFileId(f);
+            fileId = fileMapProvider.lookupFileId(fileRef);
             try {
+                // Also creates the file if it doesn't exist yet.
                 bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
             } catch (HyracksDataException e) {
                 // Revert state of buffer cache since file failed to open.
@@ -61,24 +61,24 @@
                 throw e;
             }
         }
-
-        // Only set indexFileId member when openFile() succeeds,
-        // otherwise deinit() will try to close the file that failed to open
+        // Only set indexFileId member after openFile() succeeds.
         indexFileId = fileId;
-        IndexRegistry<IIndex> indexRegistry = opDesc.getIndexRegistryProvider().getRegistry(ctx);
         // Create new index instance and register it.
         synchronized (indexRegistry) {
             // Check if the index has already been registered.
+            boolean register = false;
             index = indexRegistry.get(indexFileId);
-            if (index != null) {
-                return;
+            if (index == null) {
+                index = createIndexInstance();
+                register = true;
             }
-            index = createIndexInstance();
-            if (createIfNotExists) {
-                index.create(indexFileId);                
+            if (forceCreate) {
+                index.create(indexFileId);
             }
             index.open(indexFileId);
-            indexRegistry.register(indexFileId, index);
+            if (register) {
+                indexRegistry.register(indexFileId, index);
+            }
         }
     }
 
@@ -88,11 +88,12 @@
         IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider = opDesc.getFileSplitProvider();
         return fileSplitProvider.getFileSplits()[partition].getLocalFile();
     }
-    
+
     public void deinit() throws HyracksDataException {
         if (indexFileId != -1) {
             IBufferCache bufferCache = opDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx);
             bufferCache.closeFile(indexFileId);
+            indexFileId = -1;
         }
     }
 
@@ -111,4 +112,8 @@
     public int getIndexFileId() {
         return indexFileId;
     }
+
+    public IOperationCallbackProvider getOpCallbackProvider() {
+        return opDesc.getOpCallbackProvider();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexRegistry.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexRegistry.java
index 5f3b0b3..9aba0be 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexRegistry.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/IndexRegistry.java
@@ -19,24 +19,21 @@
 
 public class IndexRegistry<IndexType> {
 
-	private HashMap<Integer, IndexType> map = new HashMap<Integer, IndexType>();
+    private HashMap<Integer, IndexType> map = new HashMap<Integer, IndexType>();
 
-	public IndexType get(int fileId) {
-		return map.get(fileId);
-	}
+    public IndexType get(int indexId) {
+        return map.get(indexId);
+    }
 
-	public void register(int fileId, IndexType index) {
-		map.put(fileId, index);
-	}
+    public void register(int indexId, IndexType index) {
+        map.put(indexId, index);
+    }
 
-	public void unregister(int fileId) {
-		try {
-			map.remove(fileId);
-		} catch (Exception e) {
-		}
-	}
+    public void unregister(int indexId) {
+        map.remove(indexId);
+    }
 
-	public int size() {
-		return map.size();
-	}
+    public int size() {
+        return map.size();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor.java
index af30105..0020089 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 public class TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor {
@@ -32,13 +32,13 @@
     private final int[] fieldPermutation;
     private final float fillFactor;
 
-    public TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
+    public TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
             IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider, IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider,
-            ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory,
             ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, int[] fieldPermutation,
-            float fillFactor, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory) {
-        super(spec, 1, 0, null, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory);
+            float fillFactor, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory,
+            IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
+        super(spec, 1, 0, null, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
+                comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory, null, false, opCallbackProvider);
         this.fieldPermutation = fieldPermutation;
         this.fillFactor = fillFactor;
     }
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
     @Override
     public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
             IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
-        return new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, fieldPermutation, fillFactor,
-                recordDescProvider);
+        return new TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, fieldPermutation,
+                fillFactor, recordDescProvider);
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable.java
index bc2d67e..a2d78a4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.PageAllocationException;
 
 public class TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable {
     private float fillFactor;
@@ -40,7 +39,7 @@
     public TreeIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable(AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
             int partition, int[] fieldPermutation, float fillFactor, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider) {
         treeIndexHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory().createIndexDataflowHelper(
-                opDesc, ctx, partition, true);
+                opDesc, ctx, partition);
         this.fillFactor = fillFactor;
         this.recordDescProvider = recordDescProvider;
         tuple.setFieldPermutation(fieldPermutation);
@@ -50,10 +49,10 @@
     public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
         AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc = (AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor) treeIndexHelper
                 .getOperatorDescriptor();
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getOperatorId(), 0);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getActivityId(), 0);
         accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize(), recDesc);
         try {
-            treeIndexHelper.init();
+            treeIndexHelper.init(false);
             treeIndex = (ITreeIndex) treeIndexHelper.getIndex();
             treeIndex.open(treeIndexHelper.getIndexFileId());
             bulkLoadCtx = treeIndex.beginBulkLoad(fillFactor);
@@ -70,11 +69,7 @@
         int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
         for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
             tuple.reset(accessor, i);
-            try {
-                treeIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, bulkLoadCtx);
-            } catch (PageAllocationException e) {
-                throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-            }
+            treeIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, bulkLoadCtx);
         }
     }
 
@@ -82,7 +77,7 @@
     public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
         try {
             treeIndex.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
-        } catch (PageAllocationException e) {
+        } catch (Exception e) {
             throw new HyracksDataException(e);
         } finally {
             treeIndexHelper.deinit();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..075a6a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
+
+public class TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    public TreeIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
+            IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider, IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider,
+            ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
+            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory, IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
+        super(spec, 0, 0, null, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
+                comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory, null, false, opCallbackProvider);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
+        return new TreeIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..21348a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorNodePushable;
+
+public class TreeIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractOperatorNodePushable {
+    protected final TreeIndexDataflowHelper treeIndexHelper;
+
+    public TreeIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable(AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            int partition) {
+        treeIndexHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory().createIndexDataflowHelper(
+                opDesc, ctx, partition);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void deinitialize() throws HyracksDataException {
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getInputArity() {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IFrameWriter getInputFrameWriter(int index) {
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
+        try {
+        	treeIndexHelper.init(true);
+        } finally {
+        	treeIndexHelper.deinit();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setOutputFrameWriter(int index, IFrameWriter writer, RecordDescriptor recordDesc) {
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDataflowHelper.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDataflowHelper.java
index 17c1827..10d1077 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDataflowHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDataflowHelper.java
@@ -24,14 +24,14 @@
 
 public abstract class TreeIndexDataflowHelper extends IndexDataflowHelper {
     protected ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor treeOpDesc;
-    public TreeIndexDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition,
-            boolean createIfNotExists) {
-        super(opDesc, ctx, partition, createIfNotExists);
+
+    public TreeIndexDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition) {
+        super(opDesc, ctx, partition);
         this.treeOpDesc = (ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor) opDesc;
     }
 
     public abstract ITreeIndex createIndexInstance() throws HyracksDataException;
-    
+
     public ITreeIndexCursor createDiskOrderScanCursor(ITreeIndexFrame leafFrame) throws HyracksDataException {
         return new TreeDiskOrderScanCursor(leafFrame);
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor.java
index 8d56d37..324485e 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -20,33 +20,26 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
-public class TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor extends
-		AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor {
+public class TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor {
 
-	private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-	public TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
-			RecordDescriptor recDesc, IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
-			IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
-			IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider,
-			ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-			ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
-			IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory) {
-		super(spec, 0, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider,
-				fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory,
-				typeTraits, null, dataflowHelperFactory);
-	}
+    public TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
+            IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
+            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory, IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
+        super(spec, 0, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits, null,
+                dataflowHelperFactory, null, false, opCallbackProvider);
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-			IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider,
-			int partition, int nPartitions) {
-		return new TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx,
-				partition);
-	}
+    @Override
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
+        return new TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition);
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorNodePushable.java
index d9b4d87..d02a570 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -31,24 +31,22 @@
 
 public class TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryOutputSourceOperatorNodePushable {
     private final TreeIndexDataflowHelper treeIndexHelper;
-    private final ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc;
     private ITreeIndex treeIndex;
 
     public TreeIndexDiskOrderScanOperatorNodePushable(AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc,
             IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition) {
         treeIndexHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory().createIndexDataflowHelper(
-                opDesc, ctx, partition, false);
-        this.opDesc = opDesc;
+                opDesc, ctx, partition);
     }
 
     @Override
     public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
-        ITreeIndexFrame cursorFrame = opDesc.getTreeIndexLeafFactory().createFrame();
-        ITreeIndexCursor cursor = treeIndexHelper.createDiskOrderScanCursor(cursorFrame);
         try {
-            treeIndexHelper.init();
+            treeIndexHelper.init(false);
             treeIndex = (ITreeIndex) treeIndexHelper.getIndex();
-            ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = treeIndex.createAccessor();
+            ITreeIndexFrame cursorFrame = treeIndex.getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
+            ITreeIndexCursor cursor = treeIndexHelper.createDiskOrderScanCursor(cursorFrame);
+            ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (ITreeIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
             writer.open();
             try {
                 indexAccessor.diskOrderScan(cursor);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDropOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDropOperatorDescriptor.java
index 6ce18db..7c58031 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDropOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDropOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
 	private IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> treeIndexRegistryProvider;
 	private IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider;
 
-	public TreeIndexDropOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
+	public TreeIndexDropOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec,
 			IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
 			IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> treeIndexRegistryProvider,
 			IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDropOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDropOperatorNodePushable.java
index 5c96af8..5f3c0b5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDropOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexDropOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@
             IndexRegistry<IIndex> treeIndexRegistry = treeIndexRegistryProvider.getRegistry(ctx);
             IBufferCache bufferCache = storageManager.getBufferCache(ctx);
             IFileMapProvider fileMapProvider = storageManager.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
-            
+
             FileReference f = fileSplitProvider.getFileSplits()[partition].getLocalFile();
             int indexFileId = -1;
             synchronized (fileMapProvider) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor.java
index e08f5d6..a615386 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -21,43 +21,36 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITupleFilterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOp;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
-public class TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor extends
-		AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor {
+public class TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor {
 
-	private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-	private final int[] fieldPermutation;
+    private final int[] fieldPermutation;
 
-	private IndexOp op;
+    private IndexOp op;
 
-	public TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
-			RecordDescriptor recDesc, IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
-			IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
-			IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider,
-			ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-			ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
-			IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
-			int[] fieldPermutation, IndexOp op,
-			IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory) {
-		super(spec, 1, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider,
-				fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory,
-				typeTraits, comparatorFactories,
-				dataflowHelperFactory);
-		this.fieldPermutation = fieldPermutation;
-		this.op = op;
-	}
+    public TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
+            IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
+            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, int[] fieldPermutation, IndexOp op,
+            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory, ITupleFilterFactory tupleFilterFactory, IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
+        super(spec, 1, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
+                comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory, tupleFilterFactory, false, opCallbackProvider);
+        this.fieldPermutation = fieldPermutation;
+        this.op = op;
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-			IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider,
-			int partition, int nPartitions) {
-		return new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx,
-				partition, fieldPermutation, recordDescProvider, op);
-	}
+    @Override
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
+        return new TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, fieldPermutation,
+                recordDescProvider, op);
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorNodePushable.java
index bf78249..e05568f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -22,9 +22,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITupleFilter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITupleFilterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOp;
 
 public class TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable {
@@ -33,16 +36,16 @@
     private final IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider;
     private final IndexOp op;
     private final PermutingFrameTupleReference tuple = new PermutingFrameTupleReference();
+    private FrameTupleReference frameTuple;
     private ByteBuffer writeBuffer;
-    private ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
+    private IIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
+    private ITupleFilter tupleFilter;
 
     public TreeIndexInsertUpdateDeleteOperatorNodePushable(AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc,
             IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition, int[] fieldPermutation,
             IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, IndexOp op) {
-        // Only create the if insert operation is an insert.
-        boolean createIfNotExists = (op == IndexOp.INSERT);
         treeIndexHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory().createIndexDataflowHelper(
-                opDesc, ctx, partition, createIfNotExists);
+                opDesc, ctx, partition);
         this.recordDescProvider = recordDescProvider;
         this.op = op;
         tuple.setFieldPermutation(fieldPermutation);
@@ -52,14 +55,19 @@
     public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
         AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc = (AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor) treeIndexHelper
                 .getOperatorDescriptor();
-        RecordDescriptor inputRecDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getOperatorId(), 0);
+        RecordDescriptor inputRecDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getActivityId(), 0);
         accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize(), inputRecDesc);
         writeBuffer = treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().allocateFrame();
         writer.open();
         try {
-            treeIndexHelper.init();
+            treeIndexHelper.init(false);
             ITreeIndex treeIndex = (ITreeIndex) treeIndexHelper.getIndex();
             indexAccessor = treeIndex.createAccessor();
+            ITupleFilterFactory tupleFilterFactory = opDesc.getTupleFilterFactory();
+            if (tupleFilterFactory != null) {
+                tupleFilter = tupleFilterFactory.createTupleFilter(treeIndexHelper.ctx);
+                frameTuple = new FrameTupleReference();
+            }
         } catch (Exception e) {
             // cleanup in case of failure
             treeIndexHelper.deinit();
@@ -72,8 +80,14 @@
         accessor.reset(buffer);
         int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
         for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
-            tuple.reset(accessor, i);
             try {
+                if (tupleFilter != null) {
+                    frameTuple.reset(accessor, i);
+                    if (!tupleFilter.accept(frameTuple)) {
+                        continue;
+                    }
+                }
+                tuple.reset(accessor, i);
                 switch (op) {
                     case INSERT: {
                         indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
@@ -83,6 +97,10 @@
                         indexAccessor.update(tuple);
                         break;
                     }
+                    case UPSERT: {
+                        indexAccessor.upsert(tuple);
+                        break;
+                    }
                     case DELETE: {
                         indexAccessor.delete(tuple);
                         break;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5c19483
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow;
+
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
+
+public abstract class TreeIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable {
+    protected final TreeIndexDataflowHelper treeIndexHelper;
+    protected FrameTupleAccessor accessor;
+
+    protected ByteBuffer writeBuffer;
+    protected FrameTupleAppender appender;
+    protected ArrayTupleBuilder tb;
+    protected DataOutput dos;
+
+    protected ITreeIndex treeIndex;
+    protected ISearchPredicate searchPred;
+    protected IIndexCursor cursor;
+    protected ITreeIndexFrame cursorFrame;
+    protected IIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
+
+    protected final RecordDescriptor inputRecDesc;
+    protected final boolean retainInput;
+    protected FrameTupleReference frameTuple;
+
+    public TreeIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable(AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            int partition, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider) {
+        treeIndexHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory().createIndexDataflowHelper(
+                opDesc, ctx, partition);
+        this.retainInput = treeIndexHelper.getOperatorDescriptor().getRetainInput();
+        inputRecDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getActivityId(), 0);
+    }
+
+    protected abstract ISearchPredicate createSearchPredicate();
+
+    protected abstract void resetSearchPredicate(int tupleIndex);
+
+    protected IIndexCursor createCursor() {
+        return indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
+        accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize(), inputRecDesc);
+        writer.open();
+        try {        	
+            treeIndexHelper.init(false);
+            treeIndex = (ITreeIndex) treeIndexHelper.getIndex();
+            cursorFrame = treeIndex.getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
+            searchPred = createSearchPredicate();
+            writeBuffer = treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().allocateFrame();
+            tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(recordDesc.getFieldCount());
+            dos = tb.getDataOutput();
+            appender = new FrameTupleAppender(treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize());
+            appender.reset(writeBuffer, true);
+            indexAccessor = treeIndex.createAccessor();
+            cursor = createCursor();
+            if (retainInput) {
+            	frameTuple = new FrameTupleReference();
+            }
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            treeIndexHelper.deinit();
+            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    protected void writeSearchResults(int tupleIndex) throws Exception {
+        while (cursor.hasNext()) {
+            tb.reset();
+            cursor.next();
+            if (retainInput) {
+            	frameTuple.reset(accessor, tupleIndex);
+                for (int i = 0; i < frameTuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
+                	dos.write(frameTuple.getFieldData(i), frameTuple.getFieldStart(i), frameTuple.getFieldLength(i));
+                    tb.addFieldEndOffset();
+                }
+            }
+            ITupleReference tuple = cursor.getTuple();
+            for (int i = 0; i < tuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
+                dos.write(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+                tb.addFieldEndOffset();
+            }
+            if (!appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize())) {
+                FrameUtils.flushFrame(writeBuffer, writer);
+                appender.reset(writeBuffer, true);
+                if (!appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize())) {
+                    throw new IllegalStateException();
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
+        accessor.reset(buffer);
+        int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
+        try {
+            for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
+                resetSearchPredicate(i);
+                cursor.reset();
+                indexAccessor.search(cursor, searchPred);
+                writeSearchResults(i);
+            }
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+        try {
+            if (appender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
+                FrameUtils.flushFrame(writeBuffer, writer);
+            }
+            writer.close();
+            try {
+                cursor.close();
+            } catch (Exception e) {
+                throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+            }
+        } finally {
+            treeIndexHelper.deinit();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+        writer.fail();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor.java
index 4d718a8..6bf0983 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 public class TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor {
@@ -33,13 +33,12 @@
     private static final RecordDescriptor recDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
             new ISerializerDeserializer[] { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
-    public TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
+    public TreeIndexStatsOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
             IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider, IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider,
-            ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory,
             ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories,
-            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory) {
-        super(spec, 0, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory);
+            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory, IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
+        super(spec, 0, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
+                comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory, null, false, opCallbackProvider);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexStatsOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexStatsOperatorNodePushable.java
index ff007af..50486f2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexStatsOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/dataflow/TreeIndexStatsOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
     public TreeIndexStatsOperatorNodePushable(AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
             int partition) {
         treeIndexHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory().createIndexDataflowHelper(
-                opDesc, ctx, partition, false);
+                opDesc, ctx, partition);
         this.ctx = ctx;
     }
 
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@
     public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
         try {
             writer.open();
-            treeIndexHelper.init();
+            treeIndexHelper.init(false);
             ITreeIndex treeIndex = (ITreeIndex) treeIndexHelper.getIndex();
             IBufferCache bufferCache = treeIndexHelper.getOperatorDescriptor().getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx);
             statsGatherer = new TreeIndexStatsGatherer(bufferCache, treeIndex.getFreePageManager(),
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/DataGenThread.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/DataGenThread.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8d3d56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/DataGenThread.java
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.concurrent.BlockingQueue;
+import java.util.concurrent.LinkedBlockingQueue;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+
+/**
+ * Quick & dirty data generator for multi-thread testing. 
+ *
+ */
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class DataGenThread extends Thread {
+    public final BlockingQueue<TupleBatch> tupleBatchQueue;
+    private final int maxNumBatches;
+    private final int maxOutstandingBatches;        
+    private int numBatches = 0;
+    private final Random rnd;
+    
+    // maxOutstandingBatches pre-created tuple-batches for populating the queue.
+    private TupleBatch[] tupleBatches;
+    private int ringPos;
+    
+    public DataGenThread(int numConsumers, int maxNumBatches, int batchSize, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int payloadSize, int rndSeed, int maxOutstandingBatches, boolean sorted) {
+        this.maxNumBatches = maxNumBatches;
+        this.maxOutstandingBatches = maxOutstandingBatches;
+        rnd = new Random(rndSeed);
+        tupleBatches = new TupleBatch[maxOutstandingBatches];
+        IFieldValueGenerator[] fieldGens = DataGenUtils.getFieldGensFromSerdes(fieldSerdes, rnd, sorted);
+        for (int i = 0; i < maxOutstandingBatches; i++) {
+            tupleBatches[i] = new TupleBatch(batchSize, fieldGens, fieldSerdes, payloadSize);
+        }
+        tupleBatchQueue = new LinkedBlockingQueue<TupleBatch>(maxOutstandingBatches);
+        ringPos = 0;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public void run() {
+        while(numBatches < maxNumBatches) {
+            boolean added = false;
+            try {
+                if (tupleBatches[ringPos].inUse.compareAndSet(false, true)) {                    
+                    tupleBatches[ringPos].generate();
+                    tupleBatchQueue.put(tupleBatches[ringPos]);
+                    added = true;
+                }
+            } catch (IOException e) {
+                e.printStackTrace();
+            } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                e.printStackTrace();
+            }
+            if (added) {
+                numBatches++;
+                ringPos++;
+                if (ringPos >= maxOutstandingBatches) {
+                    ringPos = 0;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    public TupleBatch getBatch() throws InterruptedException {
+        return tupleBatchQueue.take();
+    }
+    
+    public void releaseBatch(TupleBatch batch) {
+        batch.inUse.set(false);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/DataGenUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/DataGenUtils.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fdbaa3e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/DataGenUtils.java
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.FloatSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes") 
+public class DataGenUtils {
+    public static IFieldValueGenerator getFieldGenFromSerde(ISerializerDeserializer serde, Random rnd, boolean sorted) {
+        if (serde instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+            if (sorted) {
+                return new SortedIntegerFieldValueGenerator();
+            } else {
+                return new IntegerFieldValueGenerator(rnd);
+            }
+        } else if (serde instanceof FloatSerializerDeserializer) {
+            if (sorted) {
+                return new SortedFloatFieldValueGenerator();
+            } else {
+                return new FloatFieldValueGenerator(rnd);
+            }
+        } else if (serde instanceof DoubleSerializerDeserializer) {
+            if (sorted) {
+                return new SortedDoubleFieldValueGenerator();
+            } else {
+                return new DoubleFieldValueGenerator(rnd);
+            }
+        } else if (serde instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
+            return new StringFieldValueGenerator(20, rnd);
+        }
+        System.out.println("NULL");
+        return null;
+    }
+    
+    public static IFieldValueGenerator[] getFieldGensFromSerdes(ISerializerDeserializer[] serdes, Random rnd, boolean sorted) {
+        IFieldValueGenerator[] fieldValueGens = new IFieldValueGenerator[serdes.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < serdes.length; i++) {
+            fieldValueGens[i] = getFieldGenFromSerde(serdes[i], rnd, sorted);
+        }
+        return fieldValueGens;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/DoubleFieldValueGenerator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/DoubleFieldValueGenerator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fcac93a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/DoubleFieldValueGenerator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+public class DoubleFieldValueGenerator implements IFieldValueGenerator<Double> {
+    protected final Random rnd;
+
+    public DoubleFieldValueGenerator(Random rnd) {
+        this.rnd = rnd;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Double next() {
+        return rnd.nextDouble();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/FloatFieldValueGenerator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/FloatFieldValueGenerator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f21c77
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/FloatFieldValueGenerator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+public class FloatFieldValueGenerator implements IFieldValueGenerator<Float> {
+    protected final Random rnd;
+
+    public FloatFieldValueGenerator(Random rnd) {
+        this.rnd = rnd;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Float next() {
+        return rnd.nextFloat();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/IFieldValueGenerator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/IFieldValueGenerator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ee0d30b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/IFieldValueGenerator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+public interface IFieldValueGenerator<T> {
+    public T next();
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/IntegerFieldValueGenerator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/IntegerFieldValueGenerator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..134b1f7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/IntegerFieldValueGenerator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+public class IntegerFieldValueGenerator implements IFieldValueGenerator<Integer> {
+    protected final Random rnd;
+
+    public IntegerFieldValueGenerator(Random rnd) {
+        this.rnd = rnd;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Integer next() {
+        return rnd.nextInt();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/SortedDoubleFieldValueGenerator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/SortedDoubleFieldValueGenerator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4193811
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/SortedDoubleFieldValueGenerator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+public class SortedDoubleFieldValueGenerator implements IFieldValueGenerator<Double> {
+    private double val = 0.0d;
+
+    public SortedDoubleFieldValueGenerator() {
+    }
+    
+    public SortedDoubleFieldValueGenerator(double startVal) {
+        val = startVal;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public Double next() {
+        return val++;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/SortedFloatFieldValueGenerator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/SortedFloatFieldValueGenerator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1f6b315
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/SortedFloatFieldValueGenerator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+public class SortedFloatFieldValueGenerator implements IFieldValueGenerator<Float> {
+    private float val = 0.0f;
+
+    public SortedFloatFieldValueGenerator() {
+    }
+    
+    public SortedFloatFieldValueGenerator(float startVal) {
+        val = startVal;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public Float next() {
+        return val++;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/SortedIntegerFieldValueGenerator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/SortedIntegerFieldValueGenerator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8f7fdcf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/SortedIntegerFieldValueGenerator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+public class SortedIntegerFieldValueGenerator implements IFieldValueGenerator<Integer> {
+    private int val = 0;
+
+    public SortedIntegerFieldValueGenerator() {
+    }
+    
+    public SortedIntegerFieldValueGenerator(int startVal) {
+        val = startVal;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public Integer next() {
+        return val++;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/StringFieldValueGenerator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/StringFieldValueGenerator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0218542
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/StringFieldValueGenerator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+public class StringFieldValueGenerator implements IFieldValueGenerator<String> {
+    private int maxLen;
+    private final Random rnd;
+    
+    public StringFieldValueGenerator(int maxLen, Random rnd) {
+        this.maxLen = maxLen;
+        this.rnd = rnd;
+    }
+
+    public void setMaxLength(int maxLen) {
+        this.maxLen = maxLen;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public String next() {
+        String s = Long.toHexString(Double.doubleToLongBits(rnd.nextDouble()));
+        StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
+        for (int i = 0; i < s.length() && i < maxLen; i++) {
+            strBuilder.append(s.charAt(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % s.length()));
+        }
+        return strBuilder.toString();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/TupleBatch.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/TupleBatch.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bfa523f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/TupleBatch.java
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class TupleBatch {
+    private final int size;
+    private final TupleGenerator[] tupleGens;
+    public final AtomicBoolean inUse = new AtomicBoolean(false);
+    
+    public TupleBatch(int size, IFieldValueGenerator[] fieldGens, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int payloadSize) {        
+        this.size = size;
+        tupleGens = new TupleGenerator[size];
+        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+            tupleGens[i] = new TupleGenerator(fieldGens, fieldSerdes, payloadSize);
+        }
+    }
+    
+    public void generate() throws IOException {
+        for(TupleGenerator tupleGen : tupleGens) {
+            tupleGen.next();
+        }
+    }
+    
+    public int size() {
+        return size;
+    }
+    
+    public ITupleReference get(int ix) {
+        return tupleGens[ix].get();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/TupleGenerator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/TupleGenerator.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2801205
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/datagen/TupleGenerator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen;
+
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+
+@SuppressWarnings({"rawtypes", "unchecked" })
+public class TupleGenerator {    
+    protected final ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes;
+    protected final IFieldValueGenerator[] fieldGens;
+    protected final ArrayTupleBuilder tb;
+    protected final ArrayTupleReference tuple;
+    protected final byte[] payload;
+    protected final DataOutput tbDos;
+    
+    public TupleGenerator(IFieldValueGenerator[] fieldGens, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int payloadSize) {
+        this.fieldSerdes = fieldSerdes;
+        this.fieldGens = fieldGens;
+        tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        if (payloadSize > 0) {
+            tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldSerdes.length + 1);
+            payload = new byte[payloadSize];
+        } else {
+            tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldSerdes.length);
+            payload = null;
+        }        
+        tbDos = tb.getDataOutput();
+    }
+
+    public ITupleReference next() throws IOException {
+        tb.reset();
+        for (int i = 0; i < fieldSerdes.length; i++) {
+            fieldSerdes[i].serialize(fieldGens[i].next(), tbDos);
+            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
+        }
+        if (payload != null) {
+            tbDos.write(payload);
+            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
+        }
+        tuple.reset(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray());
+        return tuple;
+    }
+    
+    public ITupleReference get() {
+        return tuple;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/frames/LIFOMetaDataFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/frames/LIFOMetaDataFrame.java
index c87b84a..31c674d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/frames/LIFOMetaDataFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/frames/LIFOMetaDataFrame.java
@@ -27,11 +27,15 @@
 
 public class LIFOMetaDataFrame implements ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame {
 
+    // Arbitrarily chosen magic integer.
+    protected static final int MAGIC_VALID_INT = 0x5bd1e995;
+    
 	protected static final int tupleCountOff = 0; //0
 	protected static final int freeSpaceOff = tupleCountOff + 4; //4
 	protected static final int maxPageOff = freeSpaceOff + 4; //8
 	protected static final int levelOff = maxPageOff + 12; //20
 	protected static final int nextPageOff = levelOff + 1; // 21
+	protected static final int validOff = nextPageOff + 4; // 25
 
 	protected ICachedPage page = null;
 	protected ByteBuffer buf = null;
@@ -65,7 +69,7 @@
 		return buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff) + 4 < buf.capacity();
 	}
 
-	// on bounds checking is done, there must be free space
+	// no bounds checking is done, there must be free space
 	public void addFreePage(int freePage) {
 		int freeSpace = buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff);
 		buf.putInt(freeSpace, freePage);
@@ -97,10 +101,11 @@
 	@Override
 	public void initBuffer(byte level) {
 		buf.putInt(tupleCountOff, 0);
-		buf.putInt(freeSpaceOff, nextPageOff + 4);
+		buf.putInt(freeSpaceOff, validOff + 4);
 		//buf.putInt(maxPageOff, -1);
 		buf.put(levelOff, level);
 		buf.putInt(nextPageOff, -1);
+		setValid(false);
 	}
 
 	@Override
@@ -112,4 +117,18 @@
 	public void setNextPage(int nextPage) {
 		buf.putInt(nextPageOff, nextPage);
 	}
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean isValid() {
+        return buf.getInt(validOff) == MAGIC_VALID_INT;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setValid(boolean isValid) {
+        if (isValid) {
+            buf.putInt(validOff, MAGIC_VALID_INT);
+        } else {
+            buf.putInt(validOff, 0);
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManager.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManager.java
index f7e2e3b..036aa09 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManager.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManager.java
@@ -13,14 +13,13 @@
 	private static final byte META_PAGE_LEVEL_INDICATOR = -1;
 	private static final byte FREE_PAGE_LEVEL_INDICATOR = -2;
 	private final IBufferCache bufferCache;
-	private final int fileId;
-	private final int headPage;
+	private final int headPage;	
+	private int fileId = -1;
 	private final ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaDataFrameFactory;
 
-	public LinkedListFreePageManager(IBufferCache bufferCache, int fileId,
+	public LinkedListFreePageManager(IBufferCache bufferCache,
 			int headPage, ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaDataFrameFactory) {
 		this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
-		this.fileId = fileId;
 		this.headPage = headPage;
 		this.metaDataFrameFactory = metaDataFrameFactory;
 	}
@@ -199,4 +198,19 @@
 	public boolean isMetaPage(ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame) {
 		return metaFrame.getLevel() == META_PAGE_LEVEL_INDICATOR;
 	}
+
+    @Override
+    public int getFirstMetadataPage() {
+        return headPage;
+    }
+
+	@Override
+	public void open(int fileId) {
+		this.fileId = fileId;
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public void close() {
+		fileId = -1;
+	}
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..157b563
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/freepage/LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
+
+public class LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory {
+
+	private final ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaDataFrameFactory;
+	private final IBufferCache bufferCache;
+	
+	public LinkedListFreePageManagerFactory(IBufferCache bufferCache, ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaDataFrameFactory) {
+		this.metaDataFrameFactory = metaDataFrameFactory;
+		this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
+	}
+	
+    public IFreePageManager createFreePageManager() {
+        return new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaDataFrameFactory);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/NoOpOperationCallback.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/NoOpOperationCallback.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..828dd81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/NoOpOperationCallback.java
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallback;
+
+/**
+ * Dummy operation callback that simply does nothing. Mainly, intended to be
+ * used in non-transaction access method testing.
+ */
+public class NoOpOperationCallback implements IOperationCallback {
+
+    public static IOperationCallback INSTANCE = new NoOpOperationCallback();
+    
+    private NoOpOperationCallback() {
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public void pre(ITupleReference tuple) {
+        // Do nothing.
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void post(ITupleReference tuple) {
+        // Do nothing.
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..55dfb74e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/NoOpOperationCallbackProvider.java
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallback;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
+
+/**
+ * Dummy NoOp callback provider used primarily for testing. Always returns the 
+ * {@link NoOpOperationCallback} instance. 
+ *
+ * Implemented as an enum to preserve singleton model while being serializable
+ */
+public enum NoOpOperationCallbackProvider implements IOperationCallbackProvider {
+    INSTANCE;
+
+    @Override
+    public IOperationCallback getOperationCallback() {
+        return NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/TreeDiskOrderScanCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/TreeDiskOrderScanCursor.java
index 1a81c3f..ea4c105 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/TreeDiskOrderScanCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/impls/TreeDiskOrderScanCursor.java
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
 	}
 
 	@Override
-	public void close() throws Exception {
+	public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
 		page.releaseReadLatch();
 		bufferCache.unpin(page);
 		page = null;
@@ -61,30 +61,31 @@
 
 	private boolean positionToNextLeaf(boolean skipCurrent)
 			throws HyracksDataException {
-		while ((frame.getLevel() != 0 || skipCurrent) && (currentPageId <= maxPageId)) {
+		while ((frame.getLevel() != 0 || skipCurrent || frame.getTupleCount() == 0) && (currentPageId <= maxPageId)) {
 			currentPageId++;
 
+			page.releaseReadLatch();
+            bufferCache.unpin(page);
+			
 			ICachedPage nextPage = bufferCache.pin(
 					BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, currentPageId),
 					false);
 			nextPage.acquireReadLatch();
 
-			page.releaseReadLatch();
-			bufferCache.unpin(page);
-
 			page = nextPage;
 			frame.setPage(page);
 			tupleIndex = 0;
 			skipCurrent = false;
 		}
-		if (currentPageId <= maxPageId)
+		if (currentPageId <= maxPageId) {
 			return true;
-		else
+		} else {
 			return false;
+		}
 	}
 
 	@Override
-	public boolean hasNext() throws Exception {		
+	public boolean hasNext() throws HyracksDataException {		
 		if (currentPageId > maxPageId) {
 			return false;
 		}
@@ -102,7 +103,7 @@
 	}
 
 	@Override
-	public void next() throws Exception {
+	public void next() throws HyracksDataException {
 		tupleIndex++;
 	}
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/IndexOp.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/IndexOp.java
index 780acd8..77ad7ff 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/IndexOp.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/IndexOp.java
@@ -16,5 +16,5 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers;
 
 public enum IndexOp {
-	INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE, SEARCH, DISKORDERSCAN
+	INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE, UPSERT, SEARCH, DISKORDERSCAN, PHYSICALDELETE
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/IntArrayList.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/IntArrayList.java
index d888aa0..12bc997 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/IntArrayList.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/IntArrayList.java
@@ -16,74 +16,83 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers;
 
 public class IntArrayList {
-	private int[] data;
-	private int size;
-	private int first;
-	private final int growth;
+    private int[] data;
+    private int size;
+    private int first;
+    private final int growth;
 
-	public IntArrayList(int initialCapacity, int growth) {
-		data = new int[initialCapacity];
-		size = 0;
-		first = 0;
-		this.growth = growth;
-	}
+    public IntArrayList(int initialCapacity, int growth) {
+        data = new int[initialCapacity];
+        size = 0;
+        first = 0;
+        this.growth = growth;
+    }
 
-	public int size() {
-		return size;
-	}
+    public int size() {
+        return size;
+    }
 
-	public int first() {
-		return first;
-	}
+    public int first() {
+        return first;
+    }
 
-	public void add(int i) {
-		if (size == data.length) {
-			int[] newData = new int[data.length + growth];
-			System.arraycopy(data, 0, newData, 0, data.length);
-			data = newData;
-		}
+    public void add(int i) {
+        if (size == data.length) {
+            int[] newData = new int[data.length + growth];
+            System.arraycopy(data, 0, newData, 0, data.length);
+            data = newData;
+        }
 
-		data[size++] = i;
-	}
+        data[size++] = i;
+    }
 
-	public void removeLast() {
-		if (size > 0)
-			size--;
-	}
+    public void addFirst(int i) {
+        int[] newData = new int[data.length + 1];
+        System.arraycopy(data, 0, newData, 0, first);
+        System.arraycopy(data, first, newData, first + 1, size - first);
+        data = newData;
+        data[first] = i;
+        size++;
+    }
 
-	// WARNING: caller is responsible for checking size > 0
-	public int getLast() {
-		return data[size - 1];
-	}
+    public void removeLast() {
+        if (size > 0)
+            size--;
+    }
 
-	public int get(int i) {
-		return data[i];
-	}
+    // WARNING: caller is responsible for checking size > 0
+    public int getLast() {
+        return data[size - 1];
+    }
 
-	// WARNING: caller is responsible for checking i < size
-	public void set(int i, int value) {
-		data[i] = value;
+    public int get(int i) {
+        return data[i];
+    }
 
-	}
+    // WARNING: caller is responsible for checking i < size
+    public void set(int i, int value) {
+        data[i] = value;
 
-	public int getFirst() {
-		return data[first];
-	}
+    }
 
-	public void moveFirst() {
-		first++;
-	}
+    public int getFirst() {
+        return data[first];
+    }
 
-	public void clear() {
-		size = 0;
-		first = 0;
-	}
+    public void moveFirst() {
+        first++;
+    }
 
-	public boolean isLast() {
-		return size == first;
-	}
+    public void clear() {
+        size = 0;
+        first = 0;
+    }
 
-	public boolean isEmpty() {
-		return size == 0;
-	}
+    public boolean isLast() {
+        return size == first;
+    }
+
+    public boolean isEmpty() {
+        return size == 0;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/LongArrayList.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/LongArrayList.java
index 4dd1b5f..cb4c8fe 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/LongArrayList.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/LongArrayList.java
@@ -35,6 +35,16 @@
 	public int first() {
 		return first;
 	}
+	
+	public void addFirst(long i) {
+	    long[] newData = new long[data.length + 1];
+        System.arraycopy(data, 0, newData, 0, first);
+        System.arraycopy(data, first, newData, first + 1, size - first);
+        data = newData;
+        data[first] = i;
+        size++;
+    }
+
 
 	public void add(long i) {
 		if (size == data.length) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/MultiComparator.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/MultiComparator.java
index df24484..c653c9a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/MultiComparator.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ophelpers/MultiComparator.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 
 public class MultiComparator {
@@ -54,12 +55,36 @@
 		}
 		return 0;
 	}
+	
+	public int compare(ITupleReference tupleA,
+			ITupleReference tupleB, int startFieldIndex) {
+		for (int i = 0; i < cmps.length; i++) {
+			int ix = startFieldIndex + i;
+			int cmp = cmps[i].compare(tupleA.getFieldData(ix),
+					tupleA.getFieldStart(ix), tupleA.getFieldLength(ix),
+					tupleB.getFieldData(ix), tupleB.getFieldStart(ix),
+					tupleB.getFieldLength(ix));
+			if (cmp < 0)
+				return -1;
+			else if (cmp > 0)
+				return 1;
+		}
+		return 0;
+	}
 
 	public IBinaryComparator[] getComparators() {
 		return cmps;
 	}
 
-	public int getKeyFieldCount() {
+    public int getKeyFieldCount() {
 		return cmps.length;
 	}
+    
+    public static MultiComparator create(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) {
+        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[cmpFactories.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < cmpFactories.length; i++) {
+            cmps[i] = cmpFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
+        }
+        return new MultiComparator(cmps);
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/tuples/SimpleTupleWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/tuples/SimpleTupleWriter.java
index 831247e..f5ec5f3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/tuples/SimpleTupleWriter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/tuples/SimpleTupleWriter.java
@@ -29,12 +29,6 @@
 		buf[targetOff + 1] = (byte)(s >> 0);
 	}
 	
-	// Write short in big endian to target byte array at given offset.
-	private static void writeShortB(short s, byte[] buf, int targetOff) {
-		buf[targetOff] = (byte) (s >> 0);
-		buf[targetOff + 1] = (byte) (s >> 8);
-	}
-	
     @Override
     public int bytesRequired(ITupleReference tuple) {
         int bytes = getNullFlagsBytes(tuple) + getFieldSlotsBytes(tuple);
@@ -84,23 +78,23 @@
 	}
 
     @Override
-    public int writeTupleFields(ITupleReference tuple, int startField, int numFields, ByteBuffer targetBuf,
+    public int writeTupleFields(ITupleReference tuple, int startField, int numFields, byte[] targetBuf,
             int targetOff) {
         int runner = targetOff;
         int nullFlagsBytes = getNullFlagsBytes(tuple, startField, numFields);
         for (int i = 0; i < nullFlagsBytes; i++) {
-            targetBuf.put(runner++, (byte) 0);
+            targetBuf[runner++] = (byte) 0;
         }
         runner += getFieldSlotsBytes(tuple, startField, numFields);
 
         int fieldEndOff = 0;
         int fieldCounter = 0;
         for (int i = startField; i < startField + numFields; i++) {
-            System.arraycopy(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), targetBuf.array(), runner,
+            System.arraycopy(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), targetBuf, runner,
                     tuple.getFieldLength(i));
             fieldEndOff += tuple.getFieldLength(i);
-            runner += tuple.getFieldLength(i);
-            targetBuf.putShort(targetOff + nullFlagsBytes + fieldCounter * 2, (short) fieldEndOff);
+            runner += tuple.getFieldLength(i);            
+            writeShortL((short) fieldEndOff, targetBuf, targetOff + nullFlagsBytes + fieldCounter * 2);
             fieldCounter++;
         }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/tuples/TypeAwareTupleWriter.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/tuples/TypeAwareTupleWriter.java
index fe52608..9730346 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/tuples/TypeAwareTupleWriter.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/tuples/TypeAwareTupleWriter.java
@@ -79,8 +79,6 @@
 
         // write data fields
         for (int i = 0; i < tuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
-            int s = tuple.getFieldStart(i);
-            int l = tuple.getFieldLength(i);
             System.arraycopy(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), targetBuf, runner, tuple.getFieldLength(i));
             runner += tuple.getFieldLength(i);
         }
@@ -89,17 +87,17 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public int writeTupleFields(ITupleReference tuple, int startField, int numFields, ByteBuffer targetBuf,
+    public int writeTupleFields(ITupleReference tuple, int startField, int numFields, byte[] targetBuf,
             int targetOff) {
         int runner = targetOff;
         int nullFlagsBytes = getNullFlagsBytes(numFields);
         // write null indicator bits
         for (int i = 0; i < nullFlagsBytes; i++) {
-            targetBuf.put(runner++, (byte) 0);
+            targetBuf[runner++] = (byte) 0;
         }
 
         // write field slots for variable length fields
-        encDec.reset(targetBuf.array(), runner);
+        encDec.reset(targetBuf, runner);
         for (int i = startField; i < startField + numFields; i++) {
             if (!typeTraits[i].isFixedLength()) {
                 encDec.encode(tuple.getFieldLength(i));
@@ -108,7 +106,7 @@
         runner = encDec.getPos();
 
         for (int i = startField; i < startField + numFields; i++) {
-            System.arraycopy(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), targetBuf.array(), runner,
+            System.arraycopy(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), targetBuf, runner,
                     tuple.getFieldLength(i));
             runner += tuple.getFieldLength(i);
         }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/util/IndexUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/util/IndexUtils.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 389855f..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/util/IndexUtils.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,29 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-
-public class IndexUtils {
-	public static MultiComparator createMultiComparator(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) {
-    	IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[cmpFactories.length];
-    	for (int i = 0; i < cmpFactories.length; i++) {
-    		cmps[i] = cmpFactories[i].createBinaryComparator(); 
-    	}
-    	return new MultiComparator(cmps);
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/pom.xml
index 231860b..45add2a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/pom.xml
@@ -47,13 +47,6 @@
   	</dependency>  	
   	<dependency>
   		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
-  		<artifactId>hyracks-control-nc</artifactId>
-  		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
-  		<type>jar</type>
-  		<scope>compile</scope>
-  	</dependency>  	
-  	<dependency>
-  		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
   		<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-btree</artifactId>
   		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   		<type>jar</type>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
index 1dc753e..042042f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -19,10 +19,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizerFactory;
 
 public interface IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor extends ITreeIndexOperatorDescriptor {
     public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getInvListsComparatorFactories();
 
+    public IBinaryTokenizerFactory getTokenizerFactory();
+    
     public ITypeTraits[] getInvListsTypeTraits();
     
     public IFileSplitProvider getInvListsFileSplitProvider();
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexSearchModifier.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexSearchModifier.java
index 8f7a3e3..bd96f67 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexSearchModifier.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexSearchModifier.java
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 
 public interface IInvertedIndexSearchModifier {
-    int getOccurrenceThreshold(List<IInvertedListCursor> invListCursors);
+    public int getOccurrenceThreshold(List<IInvertedListCursor> invListCursors);
 
-    int getPrefixLists(List<IInvertedListCursor> invListCursors);
+    public int getPrefixLists(List<IInvertedListCursor> invListCursors);
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexSearcher.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexSearcher.java
index 36d64ea..d633c34 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexSearcher.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexSearcher.java
@@ -19,11 +19,15 @@
 import java.util.List;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndexSearchCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndexSearchPredicate;
 
 public interface IInvertedIndexSearcher {
-    public void search(IInvertedIndexResultCursor resultCursor, ITupleReference queryTuple, int queryFieldIndex,
-            IInvertedIndexSearchModifier searchModifier) throws Exception;
+    public void search(InvertedIndexSearchCursor resultCursor, InvertedIndexSearchPredicate searchPred)
+            throws HyracksDataException, IndexException;
 
     public IFrameTupleAccessor createResultFrameTupleAccessor();
 
@@ -32,4 +36,6 @@
     public List<ByteBuffer> getResultBuffers();
 
     public int getNumValidResultBuffers();
+    
+    public void reset();
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
index eab266d..117f96f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -18,18 +18,21 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITupleFilterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.util.InvertedIndexUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
@@ -41,7 +44,9 @@
     // General.
     protected final IStorageManagerInterface storageManager;
     protected final IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider;
-
+    protected final boolean retainInput;
+    protected final IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider;
+    
     // Btree.
     protected final ITreeIndexFrameFactory btreeInteriorFrameFactory;
     protected final ITreeIndexFrameFactory btreeLeafFrameFactory;
@@ -53,21 +58,24 @@
     // Inverted index.
     protected final ITypeTraits[] invListsTypeTraits;
     protected final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListComparatorFactories;
+    protected final IBinaryTokenizerFactory tokenizerFactory;
     protected final IFileSplitProvider invListsFileSplitProvider;
 
-    public AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int inputArity, int outputArity,
+    public AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int inputArity, int outputArity,
             RecordDescriptor recDesc, IStorageManagerInterface storageManager,
             IFileSplitProvider btreeFileSplitProvider, IFileSplitProvider invListsFileSplitProvider,
             IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider, ITypeTraits[] tokenTypeTraits,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] tokenComparatorFactories, ITypeTraits[] invListsTypeTraits,
-            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListComparatorFactories,
-            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory btreeDataflowHelperFactory) {
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListComparatorFactories, IBinaryTokenizerFactory tokenizerFactory,
+            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory btreeDataflowHelperFactory, boolean retainInput, IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
         super(spec, inputArity, outputArity);
 
         // General.
         this.storageManager = storageManager;
         this.indexRegistryProvider = indexRegistryProvider;
-
+        this.retainInput = retainInput;
+        this.opCallbackProvider = opCallbackProvider;
+        
         // Btree.
         this.btreeTypeTraits = InvertedIndexUtils.getBTreeTypeTraits(tokenTypeTraits);
         ITreeIndexTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(btreeTypeTraits);
@@ -80,6 +88,7 @@
         // Inverted index.
         this.invListsTypeTraits = invListsTypeTraits;
         this.invListComparatorFactories = invListComparatorFactories;
+        this.tokenizerFactory = tokenizerFactory;
         this.invListsFileSplitProvider = invListsFileSplitProvider;
 
         if (outputArity > 0) {
@@ -108,16 +117,6 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getTreeIndexInteriorFactory() {
-        return btreeInteriorFrameFactory;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getTreeIndexLeafFactory() {
-        return btreeLeafFrameFactory;
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public IStorageManagerInterface getStorageManager() {
         return storageManager;
     }
@@ -133,6 +132,11 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public IBinaryTokenizerFactory getTokenizerFactory() {
+        return tokenizerFactory;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
     public ITypeTraits[] getInvListsTypeTraits() {
         return invListsTypeTraits;
     }
@@ -146,4 +150,19 @@
     public IIndexDataflowHelperFactory getIndexDataflowHelperFactory() {
         return btreeDataflowHelperFactory;
     }
+    
+    @Override
+    public boolean getRetainInput() {
+    	return retainInput;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public IOperationCallbackProvider getOpCallbackProvider() {
+    	return opCallbackProvider;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+	public ITupleFilterFactory getTupleFilterFactory() {
+		return null;
+	}
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/BinaryTokenizerOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/BinaryTokenizerOperatorDescriptor.java
index ffb94e7..a146479 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/BinaryTokenizerOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/BinaryTokenizerOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractSingleActivityOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizerFactory;
 
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
     // WARNING: too many key fields can cause significant data blowup.
     private final int[] keyFields;
 
-    public BinaryTokenizerOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
+    public BinaryTokenizerOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
             IBinaryTokenizerFactory tokenizerFactory, int[] tokenFields, int[] keyFields) {
         super(spec, 1, 1);
         this.tokenizerFactory = tokenizerFactory;
@@ -46,9 +46,9 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider,
-            int partition, int nPartitions) throws HyracksDataException {
-        return new BinaryTokenizerOperatorNodePushable(ctx, recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(odId, 0),
-                recordDescriptors[0], tokenizerFactory.createTokenizer(), tokenFields, keyFields);
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) throws HyracksDataException {
+        return new BinaryTokenizerOperatorNodePushable(ctx, recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(
+                getActivityId(), 0), recordDescriptors[0], tokenizerFactory.createTokenizer(), tokenFields, keyFields);
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor.java
index e91aa08..7ffec4d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -20,11 +20,13 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
 public class InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor {
@@ -33,15 +35,17 @@
 
     private final int[] fieldPermutation;
 
-    public InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, int[] fieldPermutation,
+    public InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int[] fieldPermutation,
             IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IFileSplitProvider btreeFileSplitProvider,
             IFileSplitProvider invListsFileSplitProvider, IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
             ITypeTraits[] tokenTypeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] tokenComparatorFactories,
             ITypeTraits[] invListsTypeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListComparatorFactories,
-            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory btreeDataflowHelperFactory) {
+            IBinaryTokenizerFactory tokenizerFactory, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory btreeDataflowHelperFactory,
+            IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
         super(spec, 1, 0, null, storageManager, btreeFileSplitProvider, invListsFileSplitProvider,
                 indexRegistryProvider, tokenTypeTraits, tokenComparatorFactories, invListsTypeTraits,
-                invListComparatorFactories, btreeDataflowHelperFactory);
+                invListComparatorFactories, tokenizerFactory, btreeDataflowHelperFactory, false,
+                opCallbackProvider);
         this.fieldPermutation = fieldPermutation;
     }
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable.java
index 9dcabb4..c6fa56d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -23,21 +23,16 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.PageAllocationException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.PermutingFrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex.InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext;
 
 public class InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryInputSinkOperatorNodePushable {
     private final TreeIndexDataflowHelper btreeDataflowHelper;
     private final InvertedIndexDataflowHelper invIndexDataflowHelper;
-    private final IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder;
     private InvertedIndex invIndex;
-    private InvertedIndex.BulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx;
-
-    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    private InvertedIndex.InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx;
 
     private FrameTupleAccessor accessor;
     private PermutingFrameTupleReference tuple = new PermutingFrameTupleReference();
@@ -47,11 +42,9 @@
     public InvertedIndexBulkLoadOperatorNodePushable(AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc,
             IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition, int[] fieldPermutation, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider) {
         btreeDataflowHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory()
-                .createIndexDataflowHelper(opDesc, ctx, partition, true);
-        invIndexDataflowHelper = new InvertedIndexDataflowHelper(btreeDataflowHelper, opDesc, ctx, partition, true);
+                .createIndexDataflowHelper(opDesc, ctx, partition);
+        invIndexDataflowHelper = new InvertedIndexDataflowHelper(btreeDataflowHelper, opDesc, ctx, partition);
         this.recordDescProvider = recordDescProvider;
-        this.ctx = ctx;
-        this.invListBuilder = new FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder(opDesc.getInvListsTypeTraits());
         tuple.setFieldPermutation(fieldPermutation);
     }
 
@@ -59,12 +52,12 @@
     public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
         AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc = (AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor) btreeDataflowHelper
                 .getOperatorDescriptor();
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getOperatorId(), 0);
+        RecordDescriptor recDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getActivityId(), 0);
         accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(btreeDataflowHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize(), recDesc);
 
         // BTree.
         try {
-            btreeDataflowHelper.init();
+            btreeDataflowHelper.init(false);
         } catch (Exception e) {
             // Cleanup in case of failure.
             btreeDataflowHelper.deinit();
@@ -77,9 +70,9 @@
 
         // Inverted Index.
         try {
-            invIndexDataflowHelper.init();
+            invIndexDataflowHelper.init(false);
             invIndex = (InvertedIndex) invIndexDataflowHelper.getIndex();
-            bulkLoadCtx = invIndex.beginBulkLoad(invListBuilder, ctx.getFrameSize(), BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
+            bulkLoadCtx = (InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext) invIndex.beginBulkLoad(BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
         } catch (Exception e) {
             // Cleanup in case of failure.
             invIndexDataflowHelper.deinit();
@@ -97,11 +90,7 @@
         int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
         for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
             tuple.reset(accessor, i);
-            try {
-                invIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(bulkLoadCtx, tuple);
-            } catch (PageAllocationException e) {
-                throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-            }
+            invIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, bulkLoadCtx);
         }
     }
 
@@ -109,7 +98,7 @@
     public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
         try {
             invIndex.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
-        } catch (PageAllocationException e) {
+        } catch (Exception e) {
             throw new HyracksDataException(e);
         } finally {
             try {
@@ -122,5 +111,6 @@
 
     @Override
     public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
+        writer.fail();
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..01d1a97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.dataflow;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
+
+public class InvertedIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor extends AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor {
+
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    public InvertedIndexCreateOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec,
+            IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IFileSplitProvider btreeFileSplitProvider,
+            IFileSplitProvider invListsFileSplitProvider, IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
+            ITypeTraits[] tokenTypeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] tokenComparatorFactories,
+            ITypeTraits[] invListsTypeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListComparatorFactories,
+            IBinaryTokenizerFactory tokenizerFactory, IIndexDataflowHelperFactory btreeDataflowHelperFactory,
+            IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
+        super(spec, 0, 0, null, storageManager, btreeFileSplitProvider, invListsFileSplitProvider,
+                indexRegistryProvider, tokenTypeTraits, tokenComparatorFactories, invListsTypeTraits,
+                invListComparatorFactories, tokenizerFactory, btreeDataflowHelperFactory, false, opCallbackProvider);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
+        return new InvertedIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eb909d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.dataflow;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
+
+public class InvertedIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractOperatorNodePushable {
+    private final TreeIndexDataflowHelper btreeDataflowHelper;
+    private final InvertedIndexDataflowHelper invIndexDataflowHelper;
+
+    public InvertedIndexCreateOperatorNodePushable(AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc,
+            IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition) {
+        btreeDataflowHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory()
+                .createIndexDataflowHelper(opDesc, ctx, partition);
+        invIndexDataflowHelper = new InvertedIndexDataflowHelper(btreeDataflowHelper, opDesc, ctx, partition);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void deinitialize() throws HyracksDataException {
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getInputArity() {
+        return 0;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IFrameWriter getInputFrameWriter(int index) {
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void initialize() throws HyracksDataException {
+    	// BTree.
+    	try {
+    		btreeDataflowHelper.init(true);
+    	} finally {
+    		btreeDataflowHelper.deinit();
+    	}
+    	// Inverted Index.
+    	try {
+    		invIndexDataflowHelper.init(true);
+    	} finally {
+    		invIndexDataflowHelper.deinit();
+    	}
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setOutputFrameWriter(int index, IFrameWriter writer, RecordDescriptor recordDesc) {
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexDataflowHelper.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexDataflowHelper.java
index 71717e4..6d0ff38 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexDataflowHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexDataflowHelper.java
@@ -23,17 +23,17 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IndexDataflowHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex;
 
 public final class InvertedIndexDataflowHelper extends IndexDataflowHelper {
     private final TreeIndexDataflowHelper btreeDataflowHelper;
 
     public InvertedIndexDataflowHelper(TreeIndexDataflowHelper btreeDataflowHelper, IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc,
-            IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition, boolean createIfNotExists) {
-        super(opDesc, ctx, partition, createIfNotExists);
+            IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition) {
+        super(opDesc, ctx, partition);
         this.btreeDataflowHelper = btreeDataflowHelper;
     }
 
@@ -46,10 +46,12 @@
     @Override
     public IIndex createIndexInstance() throws HyracksDataException {
         IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor invIndexOpDesc = (IInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor) opDesc;
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(invIndexOpDesc.getInvListsComparatorFactories());
         // Assumes btreeDataflowHelper.init() has already been called.
         BTree btree = (BTree) btreeDataflowHelper.getIndex();
+        IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder = new FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder(
+                invIndexOpDesc.getInvListsTypeTraits());
         return new InvertedIndex(opDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx), btree,
-                invIndexOpDesc.getInvListsTypeTraits(), cmp);
+                invIndexOpDesc.getInvListsTypeTraits(), invIndexOpDesc.getInvListsComparatorFactories(),
+                invListBuilder);
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexSearchOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
index bf9899f..497dfb5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -22,14 +22,14 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexRegistryProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearchModifier;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearchModifierFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizerFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.IStorageManagerInterface;
 
@@ -37,30 +37,29 @@
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     private final int queryField;
-    private final IBinaryTokenizerFactory queryTokenizerFactory;
     private final IInvertedIndexSearchModifierFactory searchModifierFactory;
 
-    public InvertedIndexSearchOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec,
-            int queryField, IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IFileSplitProvider btreeFileSplitProvider,
+    public InvertedIndexSearchOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, int queryField,
+            IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IFileSplitProvider btreeFileSplitProvider,
             IFileSplitProvider invListsFileSplitProvider, IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
             ITypeTraits[] tokenTypeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] tokenComparatorFactories,
             ITypeTraits[] invListsTypeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListComparatorFactories,
             IIndexDataflowHelperFactory btreeDataflowHelperFactory, IBinaryTokenizerFactory queryTokenizerFactory,
-            IInvertedIndexSearchModifierFactory searchModifierFactory, RecordDescriptor recDesc) {
+            IInvertedIndexSearchModifierFactory searchModifierFactory, RecordDescriptor recDesc, boolean retainInput,
+            IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
         super(spec, 1, 1, recDesc, storageManager, btreeFileSplitProvider, invListsFileSplitProvider,
                 indexRegistryProvider, tokenTypeTraits, tokenComparatorFactories, invListsTypeTraits,
-                invListComparatorFactories, btreeDataflowHelperFactory);
+                invListComparatorFactories, queryTokenizerFactory, btreeDataflowHelperFactory, retainInput,
+                opCallbackProvider);
         this.queryField = queryField;
-        this.queryTokenizerFactory = queryTokenizerFactory;
         this.searchModifierFactory = searchModifierFactory;
     }
 
     @Override
     public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
             IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) throws HyracksDataException {
-        IBinaryTokenizer tokenizer = queryTokenizerFactory.createTokenizer();
         IInvertedIndexSearchModifier searchModifier = searchModifierFactory.createSearchModifier();
-        return new InvertedIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, queryField, searchModifier, tokenizer,
+        return new InvertedIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, queryField, searchModifier,
                 recordDescProvider);
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
index ceaff1e..f3080f4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/dataflow/InvertedIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -29,29 +29,26 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexResultCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearchModifier;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndexSearchPredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.OccurrenceThresholdPanicException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.SearchResultCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.TOccurrenceSearcher;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizer;
 
 public class InvertedIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable {
     private final TreeIndexDataflowHelper btreeDataflowHelper;
     private final InvertedIndexDataflowHelper invIndexDataflowHelper;
-    private final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
     private final int queryField;
     private FrameTupleAccessor accessor;
     private FrameTupleReference tuple;
     private IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider;
     private InvertedIndex invIndex;
 
-    private final IInvertedIndexSearchModifier searchModifier;
-    private final IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer;
-    private TOccurrenceSearcher searcher;
-    private IInvertedIndexResultCursor resultCursor;
+    private final InvertedIndexSearchPredicate searchPred;
+    private IIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
+    private IIndexCursor resultCursor;
 
     private ByteBuffer writeBuffer;
     private FrameTupleAppender appender;
@@ -59,29 +56,29 @@
     private DataOutput dos;
 
     private final AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc;
+    private final boolean retainInput;
 
     public InvertedIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable(AbstractInvertedIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc,
             IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition, int queryField, IInvertedIndexSearchModifier searchModifier,
-            IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider) {
+            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider) {
         this.opDesc = opDesc;
         btreeDataflowHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory()
-                .createIndexDataflowHelper(opDesc, ctx, partition, false);
-        invIndexDataflowHelper = new InvertedIndexDataflowHelper(btreeDataflowHelper, opDesc, ctx, partition, false);
-        this.ctx = ctx;
+                .createIndexDataflowHelper(opDesc, ctx, partition);
+        invIndexDataflowHelper = new InvertedIndexDataflowHelper(btreeDataflowHelper, opDesc, ctx, partition);
         this.queryField = queryField;
-        this.searchModifier = searchModifier;
-        this.queryTokenizer = queryTokenizer;
+        this.searchPred = new InvertedIndexSearchPredicate(opDesc.getTokenizerFactory().createTokenizer(), searchModifier);
         this.recordDescProvider = recordDescProvider;
+        this.retainInput = invIndexDataflowHelper.getOperatorDescriptor().getRetainInput();
     }
 
     @Override
     public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getOperatorId(), 0);
-        accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(btreeDataflowHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize(), recDesc);
+        RecordDescriptor inputRecDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getActivityId(), 0);
+        accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(btreeDataflowHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize(), inputRecDesc);
         tuple = new FrameTupleReference();
         // BTree.
         try {
-            btreeDataflowHelper.init();
+            btreeDataflowHelper.init(false);
         } catch (Exception e) {
             // Cleanup in case of failure/
             btreeDataflowHelper.deinit();
@@ -93,7 +90,7 @@
         }
         // Inverted Index.
         try {
-            invIndexDataflowHelper.init();
+            invIndexDataflowHelper.init(false);
             invIndex = (InvertedIndex) invIndexDataflowHelper.getIndex();
         } catch (Exception e) {
             // Cleanup in case of failure.
@@ -106,15 +103,14 @@
         }
 
         writeBuffer = btreeDataflowHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().allocateFrame();
-        tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(opDesc.getInvListsTypeTraits().length);
+        tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(recordDesc.getFieldCount());
         dos = tb.getDataOutput();
         appender = new FrameTupleAppender(btreeDataflowHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize());
         appender.reset(writeBuffer, true);
 
-        searcher = new TOccurrenceSearcher(ctx, invIndex, queryTokenizer);
-        resultCursor = new SearchResultCursor(searcher.createResultFrameTupleAccessor(),
-                searcher.createResultTupleReference());
-
+        indexAccessor = invIndex.createAccessor();
+        //InvertedIndex.InvertedIndexAccessor accessor =  
+        resultCursor = indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
         writer.open();
     }
 
@@ -122,6 +118,12 @@
         while (resultCursor.hasNext()) {
             resultCursor.next();
             tb.reset();
+            if (retainInput) {
+                for (int i = 0; i < tuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
+                	dos.write(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+                    tb.addFieldEndOffset();
+                }
+            }
             ITupleReference invListElement = resultCursor.getTuple();
             int invListFields = opDesc.getInvListsTypeTraits().length;
             for (int i = 0; i < invListFields; i++) {
@@ -146,10 +148,11 @@
         try {
             for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
                 tuple.reset(accessor, i);
-                searcher.reset();
+                searchPred.setQueryTuple(tuple);
+                searchPred.setQueryFieldIndex(queryField);
                 try {
-                    searcher.reset();
-                    searcher.search(resultCursor, tuple, queryField, searchModifier);
+                    resultCursor.reset();
+                    indexAccessor.search(resultCursor, searchPred);
                     writeSearchResults();
                 } catch (OccurrenceThresholdPanicException e) {
                     // Ignore panic cases for now.
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder.java
index 643c105..c4ab601 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder.java
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public boolean startNewList(ITupleReference tuple, int tokenField) {
-        if (pos + listElementSize > targetBuf.length)
+        if (pos + listElementSize >= targetBuf.length)
             return false;
         else {
             listSize = 0;
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public boolean appendElement(ITupleReference tuple, int numTokenFields, int numElementFields) {
-        if (pos + listElementSize > targetBuf.length)
+        if (pos + listElementSize >= targetBuf.length)
             return false;
 
         for (int i = 0; i < numElementFields; i++) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/FixedSizeElementInvertedListCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/FixedSizeElementInvertedListCursor.java
index 4158019..446f171 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/FixedSizeElementInvertedListCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/FixedSizeElementInvertedListCursor.java
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public void next() {
-        if (currentOff + elementSize >= bufferCache.getPageSize()) {
+        if (currentOff + 2 * elementSize >= bufferCache.getPageSize()) {
             currentPageIx++;
             currentOff = 0;
         } else {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndex.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndex.java
index 986e57b..99e76dc 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndex.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndex.java
@@ -17,26 +17,29 @@
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksCommonContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.RangePredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.PageAllocationException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexType;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearcher;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
@@ -45,30 +48,33 @@
 
 /**
  * An inverted index consists of two files: 1. a file storing (paginated)
- * inverted lists 2. a BTree-file mapping from tokens to inverted lists
- * 
+ * inverted lists 2. a BTree-file mapping from tokens to inverted lists.
  * Implemented features: bulk loading and searching (based on T-Occurrence) Not
  * implemented features: updates (insert/update/delete) Limitations: a query
- * cannot exceed the size of a Hyracks frame
+ * cannot exceed the size of a Hyracks frame.
  */
 public class InvertedIndex implements IIndex {
+    private final IHyracksCommonContext ctx = new DefaultHyracksCommonContext();
 
     private BTree btree;
     private int rootPageId = 0;
     private IBufferCache bufferCache;
     private int fileId;
     private final ITypeTraits[] invListTypeTraits;
-    private final MultiComparator invListCmp;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListCmpFactories;
+    private final IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder;
     private final int numTokenFields;
     private final int numInvListKeys;
 
-    public InvertedIndex(IBufferCache bufferCache, BTree btree, ITypeTraits[] invListTypeTraits, MultiComparator invListCmp) {
+    public InvertedIndex(IBufferCache bufferCache, BTree btree, ITypeTraits[] invListTypeTraits,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListCmpFactories, IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder) {
         this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
         this.btree = btree;
-        this.invListCmp = invListCmp;
         this.invListTypeTraits = invListTypeTraits;
-        this.numTokenFields = btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount();
-        this.numInvListKeys = invListCmp.getKeyFieldCount();
+        this.invListCmpFactories = invListCmpFactories;
+        this.invListBuilder = invListBuilder;
+        this.numTokenFields = btree.getComparatorFactories().length;
+        this.numInvListKeys = invListCmpFactories.length;
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -79,208 +85,160 @@
     @Override
     public void create(int indexFileId) throws HyracksDataException {
     }
-    
+
+    @Override
     public void close() {
         this.fileId = -1;
     }
 
-    public BulkLoadContext beginBulkLoad(IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder, int hyracksFrameSize,
-            float btreeFillFactor) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
-        BulkLoadContext ctx = new BulkLoadContext(invListBuilder, hyracksFrameSize, btreeFillFactor);
+    public boolean openCursor(ITreeIndexCursor btreeCursor, RangePredicate btreePred, ITreeIndexAccessor btreeAccessor,
+            IInvertedListCursor invListCursor) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
+        btreeAccessor.search(btreeCursor, btreePred);
+        boolean ret = false;
+        try {
+            if (btreeCursor.hasNext()) {
+                btreeCursor.next();
+                ITupleReference frameTuple = btreeCursor.getTuple();
+                // Hardcoded mapping of btree fields
+                int startPageId = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(frameTuple.getFieldData(1),
+                        frameTuple.getFieldStart(1));
+                int endPageId = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(frameTuple.getFieldData(2),
+                        frameTuple.getFieldStart(2));
+                int startOff = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(frameTuple.getFieldData(3),
+                        frameTuple.getFieldStart(3));
+                int numElements = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(frameTuple.getFieldData(4),
+                        frameTuple.getFieldStart(4));
+                invListCursor.reset(startPageId, endPageId, startOff, numElements);
+                ret = true;
+            } else {
+                invListCursor.reset(0, 0, 0, 0);
+            }
+        } finally {
+            btreeCursor.close();
+            btreeCursor.reset();
+        }
+        return ret;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IIndexBulkLoadContext beginBulkLoad(float fillFactor) throws TreeIndexException, HyracksDataException {
+        InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext ctx = new InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext(fillFactor);
         ctx.init(rootPageId, fileId);
         return ctx;
     }
 
-    // ASSUMPTIONS:
-    // the first btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount() fields in tuple
-    // are btree keys (e.g., a string token)
-    // the next invListCmp.getKeyFieldCount() fields in tuple are keys of the
-    // inverted list (e.g., primary key)
-    // key fields of inverted list are fixed size
-    public void bulkLoadAddTuple(BulkLoadContext ctx, ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException {
-
-        // first inverted list, copy token to baaos and start new list
-        if (ctx.currentInvListTokenBaaos.size() == 0) {
-            ctx.currentInvListStartPageId = ctx.currentPageId;
-            ctx.currentInvListStartOffset = ctx.invListBuilder.getPos();
-
-            // remember current token
-            ctx.currentInvListTokenBaaos.reset();
-            for (int i = 0; i < numTokenFields; i++) {
-                ctx.currentInvListTokenBaaos.write(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
-                        tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+    /**
+     * Assumptions:
+     * The first btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount() fields in tuple
+     * are btree keys (e.g., a string token).
+     * The next invListCmp.getKeyFieldCount() fields in tuple are keys of the
+     * inverted list (e.g., primary key).
+     * Key fields of inverted list are fixed size.
+     */
+    @Override
+    public void bulkLoadAddTuple(ITupleReference tuple, IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException {
+        InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext ctx = (InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext) ictx;
+        boolean firstElement = ctx.lastTupleBuilder.getSize() == 0;
+        boolean startNewList = firstElement;
+        if (!firstElement) {
+            // If the current and the last token don't match, we start a new list.
+            ctx.lastTuple.reset(ctx.lastTupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), ctx.lastTupleBuilder.getByteArray());
+            startNewList = ctx.tokenCmp.compare(tuple, ctx.lastTuple) != 0;
+        }
+        if (startNewList) {
+            if (!firstElement) {
+                // Create entry in btree for last inverted list.
+                createAndInsertBTreeTuple(ctx);
             }
-
-            if (!ctx.invListBuilder.startNewList(tuple, numTokenFields)) {
+            if (!invListBuilder.startNewList(tuple, numTokenFields)) {
                 ctx.pinNextPage();
-                ctx.invListBuilder.setTargetBuffer(ctx.currentPage.getBuffer().array(), 0);
-                if (!ctx.invListBuilder.startNewList(tuple, numTokenFields)) {
+                invListBuilder.setTargetBuffer(ctx.currentPage.getBuffer().array(), 0);
+                if (!invListBuilder.startNewList(tuple, numTokenFields)) {
                     throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to create first inverted list.");
                 }
             }
-        }
-
-        // create new inverted list?
-        ctx.currentInvListToken.reset(ctx.currentInvListTokenBaaos.getByteArray(), 0);
-        if (ctx.tokenCmp.compare(tuple, ctx.currentInvListToken) != 0) {
-
-            // create entry in btree for last inverted list
-            createAndInsertBTreeTuple(ctx);
-
-            // remember new token
-            ctx.currentInvListTokenBaaos.reset();
-            for (int i = 0; i < numTokenFields; i++) {
-                ctx.currentInvListTokenBaaos.write(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
-                        tuple.getFieldLength(i));
-            }
-
-            // start new list
-            if (!ctx.invListBuilder.startNewList(tuple, numTokenFields)) {
-                ctx.pinNextPage();
-                ctx.invListBuilder.setTargetBuffer(ctx.currentPage.getBuffer().array(), 0);
-                if (!ctx.invListBuilder.startNewList(tuple, numTokenFields)) {
-                    throw new IllegalStateException("Failed to start new inverted list after switching to a new page.");
-                }
-            }
-
             ctx.currentInvListStartPageId = ctx.currentPageId;
-            ctx.currentInvListStartOffset = ctx.invListBuilder.getPos();
+            ctx.currentInvListStartOffset = invListBuilder.getPos();
+        } else {
+            if (ctx.invListCmp.compare(tuple, ctx.lastTuple, numTokenFields) == 0) {
+                // Duplicate inverted-list element.
+                return;
+            }
         }
 
-        // append to current inverted list
-        if (!ctx.invListBuilder.appendElement(tuple, numTokenFields, numInvListKeys)) {
+        // Append to current inverted list.
+        if (!invListBuilder.appendElement(tuple, numTokenFields, numInvListKeys)) {
             ctx.pinNextPage();
-            ctx.invListBuilder.setTargetBuffer(ctx.currentPage.getBuffer().array(), 0);
-            if (!ctx.invListBuilder.appendElement(tuple, numTokenFields, numInvListKeys)) {
+            invListBuilder.setTargetBuffer(ctx.currentPage.getBuffer().array(), 0);
+            if (!invListBuilder.appendElement(tuple, numTokenFields, numInvListKeys)) {
                 throw new IllegalStateException(
                         "Failed to append element to inverted list after switching to a new page.");
             }
         }
-    }
 
-    public boolean openCursor(ITreeIndexCursor btreeCursor, RangePredicate btreePred, ITreeIndexAccessor btreeAccessor,
-            IInvertedListCursor invListCursor) throws Exception {
-    	btreeAccessor.search(btreeCursor, btreePred);
-
-        boolean ret = false;
-        if (btreeCursor.hasNext()) {
-
-            btreeCursor.next();
-            ITupleReference frameTuple = btreeCursor.getTuple();
-
-            // hardcoded mapping of btree fields
-            int startPageId = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(frameTuple.getFieldData(1),
-                    frameTuple.getFieldStart(1));
-            int endPageId = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(frameTuple.getFieldData(2),
-                    frameTuple.getFieldStart(2));
-            int startOff = IntegerSerializerDeserializer
-                    .getInt(frameTuple.getFieldData(3), frameTuple.getFieldStart(3));
-            int numElements = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(frameTuple.getFieldData(4),
-                    frameTuple.getFieldStart(4));
-
-            invListCursor.reset(startPageId, endPageId, startOff, numElements);
-            ret = true;
-        } else {
-            invListCursor.reset(0, 0, 0, 0);
+        // Remember last tuple by creating a copy.
+        // TODO: This portion can be optimized by only copying the token when it changes, and using the last appended inverted-list element as a reference.
+        ctx.lastTupleBuilder.reset();
+        for (int i = 0; i < tuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
+            ctx.lastTupleBuilder.addField(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), tuple.getFieldLength(i));
         }
-
-        btreeCursor.close();
-        btreeCursor.reset();
-
-        return ret;
     }
 
-    public void createAndInsertBTreeTuple(BulkLoadContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException {
-        // build tuple
+    private void createAndInsertBTreeTuple(InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
+        // Build tuple.        
         ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.reset();
-        ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.addField(ctx.currentInvListTokenBaaos.getByteArray(), 0,
-                ctx.currentInvListTokenBaaos.size());
+        ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.addField(ctx.lastTuple.getFieldData(0), ctx.lastTuple.getFieldStart(0),
+                ctx.lastTuple.getFieldLength(0));
         ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.addField(IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, ctx.currentInvListStartPageId);
         ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.addField(IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, ctx.currentPageId);
         ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.addField(IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, ctx.currentInvListStartOffset);
-        ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.addField(IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, ctx.invListBuilder.getListSize());
-
-        // append to buffer
-        ctx.btreeTupleAppender.reset(ctx.btreeTupleBuffer, true);
-        ctx.btreeTupleAppender.append(ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.getByteArray(),
-                0, ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.getSize());
-
-        // reset tuple reference
-        ctx.btreeFrameTupleReference.reset(ctx.btreeFrameTupleAccessor, 0);
-
-        btree.bulkLoadAddTuple(ctx.btreeFrameTupleReference, ctx.btreeBulkLoadCtx);
+        ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.addField(IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, invListBuilder.getListSize());
+        // Reset tuple reference and add it.
+        ctx.btreeTupleReference.reset(ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), ctx.btreeTupleBuilder.getByteArray());
+        btree.bulkLoadAddTuple(ctx.btreeTupleReference, ctx.btreeBulkLoadCtx);
     }
 
-    public void endBulkLoad(BulkLoadContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, PageAllocationException {
-        // create entry in btree for last inverted list
+    @Override
+    public void endBulkLoad(IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException {
+        // Create entry in btree for last inverted list.
+        InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext ctx = (InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext) ictx;
         createAndInsertBTreeTuple(ctx);
         btree.endBulkLoad(ctx.btreeBulkLoadCtx);
         ctx.deinit();
     }
 
-    public IBufferCache getBufferCache() {
-        return bufferCache;
-    }
-
-    public int getInvListsFileId() {
-        return fileId;
-    }
-
-    public MultiComparator getInvListElementCmp() {
-        return invListCmp;
-    }
-    
-    public ITypeTraits[] getTypeTraits() {
-        return invListTypeTraits;
-    }
-
-    public BTree getBTree() {
-        return btree;
-    }
-
-    public final class BulkLoadContext {
-        private final ByteBuffer btreeTupleBuffer;
+    public final class InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext implements IIndexBulkLoadContext {
         private final ArrayTupleBuilder btreeTupleBuilder;
-        private final FrameTupleAppender btreeTupleAppender;
-        private final FrameTupleAccessor btreeFrameTupleAccessor;
-        private final FrameTupleReference btreeFrameTupleReference = new FrameTupleReference();
+        private final ArrayTupleReference btreeTupleReference;
         private final float btreeFillFactor;
         private IIndexBulkLoadContext btreeBulkLoadCtx;
 
         private int currentInvListStartPageId;
         private int currentInvListStartOffset;
-        private final ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream currentInvListTokenBaaos = new ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream();
-        private final FixedSizeTupleReference currentInvListToken = new FixedSizeTupleReference(invListTypeTraits);
+        private final ArrayTupleBuilder lastTupleBuilder;
+        private final ArrayTupleReference lastTuple;
 
         private int currentPageId;
         private ICachedPage currentPage;
-        private final IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder;
         private final MultiComparator tokenCmp;
+        private final MultiComparator invListCmp;
 
-        public BulkLoadContext(IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder, int hyracksFrameSize, float btreeFillFactor) {
-            this.invListBuilder = invListBuilder;
-            this.tokenCmp = btree.getMultiComparator();
-            this.btreeTupleBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(hyracksFrameSize);
+        public InvertedIndexBulkLoadContext(float btreeFillFactor) {
+            this.tokenCmp = MultiComparator.create(btree.getComparatorFactories());
+            this.invListCmp = MultiComparator.create(invListCmpFactories);
             this.btreeTupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(btree.getFieldCount());
-            this.btreeTupleAppender = new FrameTupleAppender(hyracksFrameSize);
-            // TODO: serde never used, only need correct number of fields
-            // tuple contains (token, start page, end page, start offset, num
-            // elements)
-            RecordDescriptor recDesc = new RecordDescriptor(new ISerializerDeserializer[] {
-                    IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                    IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                    IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
-            this.btreeFrameTupleAccessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(hyracksFrameSize, recDesc);
+            this.btreeTupleReference = new ArrayTupleReference();
             this.btreeFillFactor = btreeFillFactor;
+            this.lastTupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(numTokenFields + numInvListKeys);
+            this.lastTuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
         }
 
-        public void init(int startPageId, int fileId) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
-            btreeBulkLoadCtx = btree.beginBulkLoad(BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
+        public void init(int startPageId, int fileId) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
+            btreeBulkLoadCtx = btree.beginBulkLoad(btreeFillFactor);
             currentPageId = startPageId;
             currentPage = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, currentPageId), true);
             currentPage.acquireWriteLatch();
             invListBuilder.setTargetBuffer(currentPage.getBuffer().array(), 0);
-            btreeFrameTupleAccessor.reset(btreeTupleBuffer);
         }
 
         public void deinit() throws HyracksDataException {
@@ -298,4 +256,101 @@
             currentPage.acquireWriteLatch();
         }
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public IBufferCache getBufferCache() {
+        return bufferCache;
+    }
+
+    public int getInvListsFileId() {
+        return fileId;
+    }
+
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getInvListElementCmpFactories() {
+        return invListCmpFactories;
+    }
+
+    public ITypeTraits[] getTypeTraits() {
+        return invListTypeTraits;
+    }
+
+    public BTree getBTree() {
+        return btree;
+    }
+
+    public class InvertedIndexAccessor implements IIndexAccessor {
+        private final IInvertedIndexSearcher searcher;
+
+        public InvertedIndexAccessor(InvertedIndex index) {
+            this.searcher = new TOccurrenceSearcher(ctx, index);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void insert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
+            // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void update(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
+            // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void delete(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
+            // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void upsert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
+            // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+            return new InvertedIndexSearchCursor(searcher);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void search(IIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException,
+                IndexException {
+            searcher.search((InvertedIndexSearchCursor) cursor, (InvertedIndexSearchPredicate) searchPred);
+        }
+
+        public IInvertedIndexSearcher getSearcher() {
+            return searcher;
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IIndexAccessor createAccessor() {
+        return new InvertedIndexAccessor(this);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IndexType getIndexType() {
+        return IndexType.INVERTED;
+    }
+
+    // This is just a dummy hyracks context for allocating frames for temporary
+    // results during inverted index searches.
+    // TODO: In the future we should use the real HyracksTaskContext to track
+    // frame usage.
+    private class DefaultHyracksCommonContext implements IHyracksCommonContext {
+        private final int FRAME_SIZE = 32768;
+
+        @Override
+        public int getFrameSize() {
+            return FRAME_SIZE;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public IIOManager getIOManager() {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ByteBuffer allocateFrame() {
+            return ByteBuffer.allocate(FRAME_SIZE);
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexException.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexException.java
index 494ac0c..9762a74 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexException.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexException.java
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls;
 
-public class InvertedIndexException extends Exception {
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexException;
+
+public class InvertedIndexException extends IndexException {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
     public InvertedIndexException(String msg) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexSearchCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexSearchCursor.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1eeb576
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexSearchCursor.java
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls;
+
+import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ICursorInitialState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearcher;
+
+public class InvertedIndexSearchCursor implements IIndexCursor {
+
+    private List<ByteBuffer> resultBuffers;
+    private int numResultBuffers;
+    private int currentBufferIndex = 0;
+    private int tupleIndex = 0;
+    private final IInvertedIndexSearcher invIndexSearcher;
+    private final IFrameTupleAccessor fta;
+    private final FixedSizeTupleReference resultTuple;
+    
+    public InvertedIndexSearchCursor(IInvertedIndexSearcher invIndexSearcher) {
+        this.invIndexSearcher = invIndexSearcher;
+        this.fta = invIndexSearcher.createResultFrameTupleAccessor();
+        this.resultTuple = (FixedSizeTupleReference) invIndexSearcher.createResultTupleReference();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void open(ICursorInitialState initialState, ISearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException {
+        currentBufferIndex = 0;
+        tupleIndex = 0;
+        resultBuffers = invIndexSearcher.getResultBuffers();
+        numResultBuffers = invIndexSearcher.getNumValidResultBuffers();
+        if (numResultBuffers > 0) {
+            fta.reset(resultBuffers.get(0));
+        }
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public boolean hasNext() {
+        if (currentBufferIndex < numResultBuffers && tupleIndex < fta.getTupleCount()) {
+            return true;
+        } else {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void next() {
+        resultTuple.reset(fta.getBuffer().array(), fta.getTupleStartOffset(tupleIndex));
+        tupleIndex++;
+        if (tupleIndex >= fta.getTupleCount()) {
+            if (currentBufferIndex + 1 < numResultBuffers) {
+                currentBufferIndex++;
+                fta.reset(resultBuffers.get(currentBufferIndex));
+                tupleIndex = 0;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ITupleReference getTuple() {
+        return resultTuple;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void reset() {
+        currentBufferIndex = 0;
+        tupleIndex = 0;
+        invIndexSearcher.reset();
+        resultBuffers = invIndexSearcher.getResultBuffers();
+        numResultBuffers = invIndexSearcher.getNumValidResultBuffers();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
+        currentBufferIndex = 0;
+        tupleIndex = 0;
+        resultBuffers = null;
+        numResultBuffers = 0;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexSearchPredicate.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexSearchPredicate.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e9a2c3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/InvertedIndexSearchPredicate.java
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearchModifier;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizer;
+
+public class InvertedIndexSearchPredicate implements ISearchPredicate {
+    private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
+
+    private ITupleReference queryTuple;
+    private int queryFieldIndex;
+    private final IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer;
+    private final IInvertedIndexSearchModifier searchModifier;    
+    
+    public InvertedIndexSearchPredicate(IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer, IInvertedIndexSearchModifier searchModifier) {
+        this.queryTokenizer = queryTokenizer;
+        this.searchModifier = searchModifier;
+    }
+    
+    public void setQueryTuple(ITupleReference queryTuple) {
+        this.queryTuple = queryTuple;
+    }
+    
+    public ITupleReference getQueryTuple() {
+        return queryTuple;
+    }
+    
+    public void setQueryFieldIndex(int queryFieldIndex) {
+        this.queryFieldIndex = queryFieldIndex;
+    }
+    
+    public int getQueryFieldIndex() {
+        return queryFieldIndex;
+    }
+    
+    public IInvertedIndexSearchModifier getSearchModifier() {
+        return searchModifier;
+    }
+    
+    public IBinaryTokenizer getQueryTokenizer() {
+        return queryTokenizer;
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public MultiComparator getLowKeyComparator() {
+        // TODO: This doesn't make sense for an inverted index. Change ISearchPredicate interface.
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public MultiComparator getHighKeyComparator() {
+        // TODO: This doesn't make sense for an inverted index. Change ISearchPredicate interface.
+        return null;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/SearchResultCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/SearchResultCursor.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 5a7230c..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/SearchResultCursor.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,76 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls;
-
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-import java.util.List;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexResultCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearcher;
-
-public class SearchResultCursor implements IInvertedIndexResultCursor {
-
-    private List<ByteBuffer> resultBuffers;
-    private IFrameTupleAccessor fta;
-    private FixedSizeTupleReference resultTuple;
-    private int numResultBuffers;
-    private int currentBufferIndex = 0;
-    private int tupleIndex = 0;
-
-    public SearchResultCursor(IFrameTupleAccessor fta, ITupleReference resultTuple) {
-        this.fta = fta;
-        this.resultTuple = (FixedSizeTupleReference) resultTuple;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public boolean hasNext() {
-        if (currentBufferIndex < numResultBuffers && tupleIndex < fta.getTupleCount())
-            return true;
-        else
-            return false;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void next() {
-        resultTuple.reset(fta.getBuffer().array(), fta.getTupleStartOffset(tupleIndex));
-        tupleIndex++;
-        if (tupleIndex >= fta.getTupleCount()) {
-            if (currentBufferIndex + 1 < numResultBuffers) {
-                currentBufferIndex++;
-                fta.reset(resultBuffers.get(currentBufferIndex));
-                tupleIndex = 0;
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public ITupleReference getTuple() {
-        return resultTuple;
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void reset(IInvertedIndexSearcher invIndexSearcher) {
-        currentBufferIndex = 0;
-        tupleIndex = 0;
-        resultBuffers = invIndexSearcher.getResultBuffers();
-        numResultBuffers = invIndexSearcher.getNumValidResultBuffers();
-        if (numResultBuffers > 0) {
-            fta.reset(resultBuffers.get(0));
-        }
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcher.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcher.java
index b24d416..1f886a2 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcher.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcher.java
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksCommonContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -41,17 +41,19 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexResultCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearchModifier;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearcher;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IToken;
 
+// TODO: The search procedure is rather confusing regarding cursor positions, hasNext() calls etc.
+// Needs an overhaul some time.
 public class TOccurrenceSearcher implements IInvertedIndexSearcher {
 
-    protected final IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    protected final IHyracksCommonContext ctx;
     protected final FixedSizeFrameTupleAppender resultFrameTupleApp;
     protected final FixedSizeFrameTupleAccessor resultFrameTupleAcc;
     protected final FixedSizeTupleReference resultTuple;
@@ -67,7 +69,7 @@
     protected final ITreeIndexFrame interiorFrame;
     protected final ITreeIndexCursor btreeCursor;
     protected final FrameTupleReference searchKey = new FrameTupleReference();
-    protected final RangePredicate btreePred = new RangePredicate(true, null, null, true, true, null, null);
+    protected final RangePredicate btreePred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
     protected final ITreeIndexAccessor btreeAccessor;
 
     protected RecordDescriptor queryTokenRecDesc = new RecordDescriptor(
@@ -78,7 +80,7 @@
     protected ByteBuffer queryTokenFrame;
 
     protected final InvertedIndex invIndex;
-    protected final IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer;
+    protected final MultiComparator invListCmp;
     protected final ITypeTraits[] invListFieldsWithCount;
     protected int occurrenceThreshold;
 
@@ -86,10 +88,10 @@
     protected List<IInvertedListCursor> invListCursorCache = new ArrayList<IInvertedListCursor>(cursorCacheSize);
     protected List<IInvertedListCursor> invListCursors = new ArrayList<IInvertedListCursor>(cursorCacheSize);
 
-    public TOccurrenceSearcher(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, InvertedIndex invIndex, IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer) {
+    public TOccurrenceSearcher(IHyracksCommonContext ctx, InvertedIndex invIndex) {
         this.ctx = ctx;
         this.invIndex = invIndex;
-        this.queryTokenizer = queryTokenizer;
+        this.invListCmp = MultiComparator.create(invIndex.getInvListElementCmpFactories());
 
         leafFrame = invIndex.getBTree().getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
         interiorFrame = invIndex.getBTree().getInteriorFrameFactory().createFrame();
@@ -112,7 +114,7 @@
         newResultBuffers.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
         prevResultBuffers.add(ctx.allocateFrame());
 
-        MultiComparator searchCmp = invIndex.getBTree().getMultiComparator();
+        MultiComparator searchCmp = MultiComparator.create(invIndex.getBTree().getComparatorFactories());
         btreePred.setLowKeyComparator(searchCmp);
         btreePred.setHighKeyComparator(searchCmp);
         btreePred.setLowKey(searchKey, true);
@@ -141,12 +143,15 @@
         currentNumResults = 0;
     }
 
-    public void search(IInvertedIndexResultCursor resultCursor, ITupleReference queryTuple, int queryField,
-            IInvertedIndexSearchModifier searchModifier) throws Exception {
-
-        queryTokenAppender.reset(queryTokenFrame, true);
-        queryTokenizer.reset(queryTuple.getFieldData(queryField), queryTuple.getFieldStart(queryField),
-                queryTuple.getFieldLength(queryField));
+    public void search(InvertedIndexSearchCursor resultCursor, InvertedIndexSearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
+        ITupleReference queryTuple = searchPred.getQueryTuple();
+        int queryFieldIndex = searchPred.getQueryFieldIndex();
+        IInvertedIndexSearchModifier searchModifier = searchPred.getSearchModifier();
+        IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer = searchPred.getQueryTokenizer();
+        
+        queryTokenAppender.reset(queryTokenFrame, true);                
+        queryTokenizer.reset(queryTuple.getFieldData(queryFieldIndex), queryTuple.getFieldStart(queryFieldIndex),
+                queryTuple.getFieldLength(queryFieldIndex));
 
         while (queryTokenizer.hasNext()) {
             queryTokenizer.next();
@@ -194,10 +199,10 @@
         maxResultBufIdx = mergePrefixLists(numPrefixLists, numQueryTokens);
         maxResultBufIdx = mergeSuffixLists(numPrefixLists, numQueryTokens, maxResultBufIdx);
 
-        resultCursor.reset(this);
+        resultCursor.open(null, searchPred);
     }
 
-    protected int mergePrefixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens) throws IOException {
+    protected int mergePrefixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens) throws HyracksDataException {
         int maxPrevBufIdx = 0;
         for (int i = 0; i < numPrefixTokens; i++) {
             swap = prevResultBuffers;
@@ -212,7 +217,7 @@
         return maxPrevBufIdx;
     }
 
-    protected int mergeSuffixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens, int maxPrevBufIdx) throws IOException {
+    protected int mergeSuffixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens, int maxPrevBufIdx) throws HyracksDataException {
         for (int i = numPrefixTokens; i < numQueryTokens; i++) {
             swap = prevResultBuffers;
             prevResultBuffers = newResultBuffers;
@@ -234,7 +239,7 @@
     }
 
     protected int mergeSuffixListProbe(IInvertedListCursor invListCursor, List<ByteBuffer> prevResultBuffers,
-            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers, int invListIx, int numQueryTokens) throws IOException {
+            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers, int invListIx, int numQueryTokens) {
 
         int newBufIdx = 0;
         ByteBuffer newCurrentBuffer = newResultBuffers.get(0);
@@ -246,8 +251,6 @@
 
         currentNumResults = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
@@ -281,7 +284,7 @@
     }
 
     protected int mergeSuffixListScan(IInvertedListCursor invListCursor, List<ByteBuffer> prevResultBuffers,
-            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers, int invListIx, int numQueryTokens) throws IOException {
+            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers, int invListIx, int numQueryTokens) {
         int newBufIdx = 0;
         ByteBuffer newCurrentBuffer = newResultBuffers.get(0);
 
@@ -292,8 +295,6 @@
         boolean advancePrevResult = false;
         int resultTidx = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
@@ -345,7 +346,9 @@
 
             if (advanceCursor) {
                 invListTidx++;
-                invListCursor.next();
+                if (invListCursor.hasNext()) {
+                	invListCursor.next();
+                }
             }
         }
 
@@ -375,7 +378,7 @@
     }
 
     protected int mergePrefixList(IInvertedListCursor invListCursor, List<ByteBuffer> prevResultBuffers,
-            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers) throws IOException {
+            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers) {
         int newBufIdx = 0;
         ByteBuffer newCurrentBuffer = newResultBuffers.get(0);
 
@@ -386,8 +389,6 @@
         boolean advancePrevResult = false;
         int resultTidx = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
@@ -438,7 +439,9 @@
 
             if (advanceCursor) {
                 invListTidx++;
-                invListCursor.next();
+                if (invListCursor.hasNext()) {
+                	invListCursor.next();
+                }
             }
         }
 
@@ -447,7 +450,9 @@
             ITupleReference invListTuple = invListCursor.getTuple();
             newBufIdx = appendTupleToNewResults(invListTuple, 1, newBufIdx);
             invListTidx++;
-            invListCursor.next();
+            if (invListCursor.hasNext()) {
+                invListCursor.next();
+            }
         }
 
         // append remaining elements from previous result set
@@ -473,7 +478,7 @@
         return newBufIdx;
     }
 
-    protected int appendTupleToNewResults(ITupleReference tuple, int newCount, int newBufIdx) throws IOException {
+    protected int appendTupleToNewResults(ITupleReference tuple, int newCount, int newBufIdx) {
         ByteBuffer newCurrentBuffer = newResultBuffers.get(newBufIdx);
 
         if (!resultFrameTupleApp.hasSpace()) {
@@ -523,7 +528,7 @@
     public int getOccurrenceThreshold() {
         return occurrenceThreshold;
     }
-
+    
     public void printNewResults(int maxResultBufIdx) {
         StringBuffer strBuffer = new StringBuffer();
         for (int i = 0; i <= maxResultBufIdx; i++) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly.java
index 0f5439b..957ecc0 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly.java
@@ -15,24 +15,25 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizer;
 
 public class TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly extends TOccurrenceSearcher {
 
-    public TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, InvertedIndex invIndex,
-            IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer) {
-        super(ctx, invIndex, queryTokenizer);
+	protected final MultiComparator invListCmp;
+	
+    public TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixProbeOnly(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, InvertedIndex invIndex) {
+        super(ctx, invIndex);
+        this.invListCmp = MultiComparator.create(invIndex.getInvListElementCmpFactories());
     }
 
-    protected int mergeSuffixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens, int maxPrevBufIdx) throws IOException {
+    protected int mergeSuffixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens, int maxPrevBufIdx) throws HyracksDataException {
         for (int i = numPrefixTokens; i < numQueryTokens; i++) {
             swap = prevResultBuffers;
             prevResultBuffers = newResultBuffers;
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@
     }
 
     protected int mergeSuffixListProbe(IInvertedListCursor invListCursor, List<ByteBuffer> prevResultBuffers,
-            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers, int invListIx, int numQueryTokens) throws IOException {
+            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers, int invListIx, int numQueryTokens) {
 
         int newBufIdx = 0;
         ByteBuffer newCurrentBuffer = newResultBuffers.get(0);
@@ -58,8 +59,6 @@
 
         int resultTidx = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly.java
index b997dc9..bd9bd60 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/impls/TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly.java
@@ -15,25 +15,26 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.List;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizer;
 
 public class TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly extends TOccurrenceSearcher {
 
-    public TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, InvertedIndex invIndex,
-            IBinaryTokenizer queryTokenizer) {
-        super(ctx, invIndex, queryTokenizer);
+	protected final MultiComparator invListCmp;
+	
+    public TOccurrenceSearcherSuffixScanOnly(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, InvertedIndex invIndex) {
+        super(ctx, invIndex);
+        this.invListCmp = MultiComparator.create(invIndex.getInvListElementCmpFactories());
     }
 
-    protected int mergeSuffixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens, int maxPrevBufIdx) throws IOException {
+    protected int mergeSuffixLists(int numPrefixTokens, int numQueryTokens, int maxPrevBufIdx) throws HyracksDataException {
         for (int i = numPrefixTokens; i < numQueryTokens; i++) {
             swap = prevResultBuffers;
             prevResultBuffers = newResultBuffers;
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@
     }
 
     protected int mergeSuffixListScan(IInvertedListCursor invListCursor, List<ByteBuffer> prevResultBuffers,
-            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers, int invListIx, int numQueryTokens) throws IOException {
+            int maxPrevBufIdx, List<ByteBuffer> newResultBuffers, int invListIx, int numQueryTokens) {
 
         int newBufIdx = 0;
         ByteBuffer newCurrentBuffer = newResultBuffers.get(0);
@@ -61,8 +62,6 @@
         boolean advancePrevResult = false;
         int resultTidx = 0;
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = invIndex.getInvListElementCmp();
-
         resultFrameTupleAcc.reset(prevCurrentBuffer);
         resultFrameTupleApp.reset(newCurrentBuffer, true);
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/searchmodifiers/JaccardSearchModifier.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/searchmodifiers/JaccardSearchModifier.java
index f42841c..0a4961d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/searchmodifiers/JaccardSearchModifier.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/searchmodifiers/JaccardSearchModifier.java
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public int getOccurrenceThreshold(List<IInvertedListCursor> invListCursors) {
-        return (int) Math.floor((float) invListCursors.size() * jaccThresh);
+        return Math.max((int) Math.floor((float) invListCursors.size() * jaccThresh), 1);
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/tokenizers/AbstractUTF8StringBinaryTokenizer.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/tokenizers/AbstractUTF8StringBinaryTokenizer.java
index be6bfb0..c2992f5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/tokenizers/AbstractUTF8StringBinaryTokenizer.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/tokenizers/AbstractUTF8StringBinaryTokenizer.java
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
         if (sourceHasTypeTag) {
             index++; // skip type tag
         }
-        utf8Length = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLen(data, index);
+        utf8Length = UTF8StringPointable.getUTFLength(data, index);
         index += 2; // skip utf8 length indicator
         this.data = data;
         this.length = length + start;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/pom.xml
index cd72ed7..abdb9d5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/pom.xml
@@ -46,13 +46,6 @@
   		<scope>compile</scope>
   	</dependency>  	
   	<dependency>
-  		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
-  		<artifactId>hyracks-control-nc</artifactId>
-  		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
-  		<type>jar</type>
-  		<scope>compile</scope>
-  	</dependency>  		
-  	<dependency>
   		<groupId>junit</groupId>
   		<artifactId>junit</artifactId>
   		<version>4.8.1</version>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/api/IRTreeFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/api/IRTreeFrame.java
index dd57986..cad7981 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/api/IRTreeFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/api/IRTreeFrame.java
@@ -15,25 +15,21 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISplitKey;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
 public interface IRTreeFrame extends ITreeIndexFrame {
 
-	public void computeMBR(ISplitKey splitKey);
+    public void delete(int tupleIndex, MultiComparator cmp);
 
-	public void delete(int tupleIndex, MultiComparator cmp);
+    public long getPageNsn();
 
-	public long getPageNsn();
+    public void setPageNsn(long pageNsn);
 
-	public void setPageNsn(long pageNsn);
+    public int getRightPage();
 
-	public int getRightPage();
+    public void setRightPage(int rightPage);
 
-	public void setRightPage(int rightPage);
-
-	public void adjustMBR(ITreeIndexTupleReference[] tuples);
+    public void adjustMBR();
 
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/api/IRTreeInteriorFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/api/IRTreeInteriorFrame.java
index 2b3065d..5f333f3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/api/IRTreeInteriorFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/api/IRTreeInteriorFrame.java
@@ -16,28 +16,29 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.PathList;
 
 public interface IRTreeInteriorFrame extends IRTreeFrame {
 
-	public boolean findBestChild(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp);
+    public boolean findBestChild(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp);
 
-	public int getBestChildPageId();
+    public int getBestChildPageId();
 
-	public int getChildPageIdIfIntersect(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex,
-			MultiComparator cmp);
+    public int getChildPageId(int tupleIndex);
 
-	public int findTupleByPointer(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp);
+    public int getChildPageIdIfIntersect(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex, MultiComparator cmp);
 
-	public int findTupleByPointer(ITupleReference tuple, PathList traverseList,
-			int parentId, MultiComparator cmp);
+    public int findTupleByPointer(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp);
 
-	public void adjustKey(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex,
-			MultiComparator cmp);
+    public int findTupleByPointer(ITupleReference tuple, PathList traverseList, int parentIndex, MultiComparator cmp);
 
-	public boolean recomputeMBR(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex,
-			MultiComparator cmp);
+    public void adjustKey(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex, MultiComparator cmp) throws TreeIndexException;
 
-	public void enlarge(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp);
+    public boolean recomputeMBR(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex, MultiComparator cmp);
+
+    public void enlarge(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp);
+
+    boolean checkEnlargement(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp);
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelper.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelper.java
index 51abb79..0470da9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelper.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelper.java
@@ -17,33 +17,26 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
 
 public class RTreeDataflowHelper extends TreeIndexDataflowHelper {
 
+    private final IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories;
+
     public RTreeDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int partition,
-            boolean createIfNotExists) {
-        super(opDesc, ctx, partition, createIfNotExists);
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories) {
+        super(opDesc, ctx, partition);
+        this.valueProviderFactories = valueProviderFactories;
     }
 
     @Override
     public ITreeIndex createIndexInstance() throws HyracksDataException {
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexComparatorFactories());
-        IBufferCache bufferCache = treeOpDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx);
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaDataFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, indexFileId, 0,
-                metaDataFrameFactory);
-        return new RTree(bufferCache, treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexTypeTraits().length, cmp, freePageManager,
-                treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexInteriorFactory(), treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexLeafFactory());
+        return RTreeUtils.createRTree(treeOpDesc.getStorageManager().getBufferCache(ctx),
+                treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexTypeTraits(), valueProviderFactories,
+                treeOpDesc.getTreeIndexComparatorFactories());
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelperFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelperFactory.java
index 8cd4e95..6b9fd4c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelperFactory.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeDataflowHelperFactory.java
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.dataflow;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IndexDataflowHelper;
@@ -24,9 +25,15 @@
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
+    private final IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories;
+
+    public RTreeDataflowHelperFactory(IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories) {
+        this.valueProviderFactories = valueProviderFactories;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public IndexDataflowHelper createIndexDataflowHelper(IIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-            int partition, boolean createIfNotExists) {
-        return new RTreeDataflowHelper(opDesc, ctx, partition, createIfNotExists);
+            int partition) {
+        return new RTreeDataflowHelper(opDesc, ctx, partition, valueProviderFactories);
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
index 8cb4e55..9818dce 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -21,9 +21,9 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.IOperatorDescriptorRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.file.IFileSplitProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndexDataflowHelperFactory;
@@ -34,22 +34,22 @@
 
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
-    private int[] keyFields; // fields in input tuple to be used as keys
+    protected int[] keyFields; // fields in input tuple to be used as keys
 
-    public RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(JobSpecification spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
+    public RTreeSearchOperatorDescriptor(IOperatorDescriptorRegistry spec, RecordDescriptor recDesc,
             IStorageManagerInterface storageManager, IIndexRegistryProvider<IIndex> indexRegistryProvider,
-            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
-            ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IFileSplitProvider fileSplitProvider, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
             IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories, int[] keyFields,
-            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory) {
-        super(spec, 1, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory, typeTraits, comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory);
+            IIndexDataflowHelperFactory dataflowHelperFactory, boolean retainInput, IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider) {
+        super(spec, 1, 1, recDesc, storageManager, indexRegistryProvider, fileSplitProvider, typeTraits,
+                comparatorFactories, dataflowHelperFactory, null, false, opCallbackProvider);
         this.keyFields = keyFields;
     }
 
     @Override
     public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(final IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
             IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
-        return new RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, partition, recordDescProvider, keyFields);
+        return new RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable(this, ctx, opCallbackProvider, partition, recordDescProvider,
+                keyFields);
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
index 9f62b8f..3781037 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/dataflow/RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable.java
@@ -15,58 +15,25 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.dataflow;
 
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IRecordDescriptorProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.util.FrameUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.base.AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallbackProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.PermutingFrameTupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexDataflowHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.TreeIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeInteriorFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeLeafFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTreeSearchCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.SearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
 
-public class RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable extends AbstractUnaryInputUnaryOutputOperatorNodePushable {
-    private TreeIndexDataflowHelper treeIndexHelper;
-    private FrameTupleAccessor accessor;
-
-    private ByteBuffer writeBuffer;
-    private FrameTupleAppender appender;
-    private ArrayTupleBuilder tb;
-    private DataOutput dos;
-
-    private RTree rtree;
-    private PermutingFrameTupleReference searchKey;
-    private SearchPredicate searchPred;
-    private MultiComparator cmp;
-    private ITreeIndexCursor cursor;
-    private ITreeIndexFrame interiorFrame;
-    private ITreeIndexFrame leafFrame;
-    private ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
-
-    private RecordDescriptor recDesc;
+public class RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable extends TreeIndexSearchOperatorNodePushable {
+    protected PermutingFrameTupleReference searchKey;
+    protected MultiComparator cmp;
 
     public RTreeSearchOperatorNodePushable(AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc, IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
-            int partition, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int[] keyFields) {
-        treeIndexHelper = (TreeIndexDataflowHelper) opDesc.getIndexDataflowHelperFactory().createIndexDataflowHelper(
-                opDesc, ctx, partition, false);
-        this.recDesc = recordDescProvider.getInputRecordDescriptor(opDesc.getOperatorId(), 0);
+            IOperationCallbackProvider opCallbackProvider, int partition, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider,
+            int[] keyFields) {
+        super(opDesc, ctx, partition, recordDescProvider);
         if (keyFields != null && keyFields.length > 0) {
             searchKey = new PermutingFrameTupleReference();
             searchKey.setFieldPermutation(keyFields);
@@ -74,101 +41,15 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void open() throws HyracksDataException {
-        AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor opDesc = (AbstractTreeIndexOperatorDescriptor) treeIndexHelper
-                .getOperatorDescriptor();
-        accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize(), recDesc);
-        interiorFrame = opDesc.getTreeIndexInteriorFactory().createFrame();
-        leafFrame = opDesc.getTreeIndexLeafFactory().createFrame();
-        cursor = new RTreeSearchCursor((IRTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrame, (IRTreeLeafFrame) leafFrame);
-        try {
-            treeIndexHelper.init();
-            writer.open();
-            try {
-                rtree = (RTree) treeIndexHelper.getIndex();
-                int keySearchFields = rtree.getCmp().getComparators().length;
-                IBinaryComparator[] keySearchComparators = new IBinaryComparator[keySearchFields];
-                for (int i = 0; i < keySearchFields; i++) {
-                    keySearchComparators[i] = rtree.getCmp().getComparators()[i];
-                }
-                cmp = new MultiComparator(keySearchComparators);
-                searchPred = new SearchPredicate(searchKey, cmp);
-                writeBuffer = treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().allocateFrame();
-                tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(rtree.getFieldCount());
-                dos = tb.getDataOutput();
-                appender = new FrameTupleAppender(treeIndexHelper.getHyracksTaskContext().getFrameSize());
-                appender.reset(writeBuffer, true);
-                indexAccessor = rtree.createAccessor();
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                writer.fail();
-                throw e;
-            }
-
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            treeIndexHelper.deinit();
-            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-        }
-    }
-
-    private void writeSearchResults() throws Exception {
-        while (cursor.hasNext()) {
-            tb.reset();
-            cursor.next();
-
-            ITupleReference frameTuple = cursor.getTuple();
-            for (int i = 0; i < frameTuple.getFieldCount(); i++) {
-                dos.write(frameTuple.getFieldData(i), frameTuple.getFieldStart(i), frameTuple.getFieldLength(i));
-                tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            }
-
-            if (!appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize())) {
-                FrameUtils.flushFrame(writeBuffer, writer);
-                appender.reset(writeBuffer, true);
-                if (!appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize())) {
-                    throw new IllegalStateException();
-                }
-            }
-        }
+    protected ISearchPredicate createSearchPredicate() {
+        cmp = RTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(treeIndex.getComparatorFactories(), searchKey);
+        return new SearchPredicate(searchKey, cmp);
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void nextFrame(ByteBuffer buffer) throws HyracksDataException {
-        accessor.reset(buffer);
-
-        int tupleCount = accessor.getTupleCount();
-        try {
-            for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
-                searchKey.reset(accessor, i);
-
-                searchPred.setSearchKey(searchKey);
-                cursor.reset();
-                indexAccessor.search(cursor, searchPred);
-                writeSearchResults();
-            }
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+    protected void resetSearchPredicate(int tupleIndex) {
+        if (searchKey != null) {
+            searchKey.reset(accessor, tupleIndex);
         }
     }
-
-    @Override
-    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
-        try {
-            if (appender.getTupleCount() > 0) {
-                FrameUtils.flushFrame(writeBuffer, writer);
-            }
-            writer.close();
-            try {
-                cursor.close();
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-            }
-        } finally {
-            treeIndexHelper.deinit();
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public void fail() throws HyracksDataException {
-        writer.fail();
-    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMFrame.java
index 546a4d4..84e66ef 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMFrame.java
@@ -15,200 +15,319 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames;
 
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISplitKey;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleWriter;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.TreeIndexNSMFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.EntriesOrder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTreeSplitKey;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.Rectangle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.TupleEntryArrayList;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.UnorderedSlotManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tuples.RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter;
 
-public abstract class RTreeNSMFrame extends TreeIndexNSMFrame implements
-		IRTreeFrame {
-	protected static final int pageNsnOff = smFlagOff + 1;
-	protected static final int rightPageOff = pageNsnOff + 8;
+public abstract class RTreeNSMFrame extends TreeIndexNSMFrame implements IRTreeFrame {
+    protected static final int pageNsnOff = smFlagOff + 1;
+    protected static final int rightPageOff = pageNsnOff + 8;
 
-	protected ITreeIndexTupleReference[] tuples;
-	protected ITreeIndexTupleReference cmpFrameTuple;
-	protected TupleEntryArrayList tupleEntries1; // used for split and checking
-													// enlargement
-	protected TupleEntryArrayList tupleEntries2; // used for split
+    protected ITreeIndexTupleReference[] tuples;
+    protected ITreeIndexTupleReference cmpFrameTuple;
+    protected TupleEntryArrayList tupleEntries1; // used for split and checking
+                                                 // enlargement
+    protected TupleEntryArrayList tupleEntries2; // used for split
 
-	protected Rectangle[] rec;
+    protected Rectangle[] rec;
 
-	protected static final double splitFactor = 0.4;
-	protected static final int nearMinimumOverlapFactor = 32;
-	private static final double doubleEpsilon = computeDoubleEpsilon();
-	private static final int numTuplesEntries = 100;
-	protected final IPrimitiveValueProvider[] keyValueProviders;
-	
-	public RTreeNSMFrame(ITreeIndexTupleWriter tupleWriter, IPrimitiveValueProvider[] keyValueProviders) {
-		super(tupleWriter, new UnorderedSlotManager());		
-		this.tuples = new ITreeIndexTupleReference[keyValueProviders.length];
-		for (int i = 0; i < keyValueProviders.length; i++) {
-			this.tuples[i] = tupleWriter.createTupleReference();
-		}
-		cmpFrameTuple = tupleWriter.createTupleReference();
+    protected static final double splitFactor = 0.4;
+    protected static final int nearMinimumOverlapFactor = 32;
+    private static final double doubleEpsilon = computeDoubleEpsilon();
+    private static final int numTuplesEntries = 100;
+    protected final IPrimitiveValueProvider[] keyValueProviders;
 
-		tupleEntries1 = new TupleEntryArrayList(numTuplesEntries,
-				numTuplesEntries);
-		tupleEntries2 = new TupleEntryArrayList(numTuplesEntries,
-				numTuplesEntries);
-		rec = new Rectangle[4];
-		for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
-			rec[i] = new Rectangle(keyValueProviders.length / 2);
-		}
-		this.keyValueProviders = keyValueProviders;
-	}
+    public RTreeNSMFrame(ITreeIndexTupleWriter tupleWriter, IPrimitiveValueProvider[] keyValueProviders) {
+        super(tupleWriter, new UnorderedSlotManager());
+        this.tuples = new ITreeIndexTupleReference[keyValueProviders.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < keyValueProviders.length; i++) {
+            this.tuples[i] = tupleWriter.createTupleReference();
+        }
+        cmpFrameTuple = tupleWriter.createTupleReference();
 
-	private static double computeDoubleEpsilon() {
-		double doubleEpsilon = 1.0;
+        tupleEntries1 = new TupleEntryArrayList(numTuplesEntries, numTuplesEntries);
+        tupleEntries2 = new TupleEntryArrayList(numTuplesEntries, numTuplesEntries);
+        rec = new Rectangle[4];
+        for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
+            rec[i] = new Rectangle(keyValueProviders.length / 2);
+        }
+        this.keyValueProviders = keyValueProviders;
+    }
 
-		do {
-			doubleEpsilon /= 2.0;
-		} while (1.0 + (doubleEpsilon / 2.0) != 1.0);
-		return doubleEpsilon;
-	}
+    private static double computeDoubleEpsilon() {
+        double doubleEpsilon = 1.0;
 
-	public static double doubleEpsilon() {
-		return doubleEpsilon;
-	}
+        do {
+            doubleEpsilon /= 2.0;
+        } while (1.0 + (doubleEpsilon / 2.0) != 1.0);
+        return doubleEpsilon;
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public void initBuffer(byte level) {
-		super.initBuffer(level);
-		buf.putLong(pageNsnOff, 0);
-		buf.putInt(rightPageOff, -1);
-	}
+    public static double doubleEpsilon() {
+        return doubleEpsilon;
+    }
 
-	public void setTupleCount(int tupleCount) {
-		buf.putInt(tupleCountOff, tupleCount);
-	}
+    @Override
+    public void initBuffer(byte level) {
+        super.initBuffer(level);
+        buf.putLong(pageNsnOff, 0);
+        buf.putInt(rightPageOff, -1);
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public void setPageNsn(long pageNsn) {
-		buf.putLong(pageNsnOff, pageNsn);
-	}
+    public void setTupleCount(int tupleCount) {
+        buf.putInt(tupleCountOff, tupleCount);
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public long getPageNsn() {
-		return buf.getLong(pageNsnOff);
-	}
+    @Override
+    public void setPageNsn(long pageNsn) {
+        buf.putLong(pageNsnOff, pageNsn);
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	protected void resetSpaceParams() {
-		buf.putInt(freeSpaceOff, rightPageOff + 4);
-		buf.putInt(totalFreeSpaceOff, buf.capacity() - (rightPageOff + 4));
-	}
+    @Override
+    public long getPageNsn() {
+        return buf.getLong(pageNsnOff);
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public int getRightPage() {
-		return buf.getInt(rightPageOff);
-	}
+    @Override
+    protected void resetSpaceParams() {
+        buf.putInt(freeSpaceOff, rightPageOff + 4);
+        buf.putInt(totalFreeSpaceOff, buf.capacity() - (rightPageOff + 4));
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public void setRightPage(int rightPage) {
-		buf.putInt(rightPageOff, rightPage);
-	}
+    @Override
+    public int getRightPage() {
+        return buf.getInt(rightPageOff);
+    }
 
-	protected ITreeIndexTupleReference[] getTuples() {
-		return tuples;
-	}
+    @Override
+    public void setRightPage(int rightPage) {
+        buf.putInt(rightPageOff, rightPage);
+    }
 
-	// for debugging
-	public ArrayList<Integer> getChildren(MultiComparator cmp) {
-		ArrayList<Integer> ret = new ArrayList<Integer>();
-		frameTuple.setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
-		int tupleCount = buf.getInt(tupleCountOff);
-		for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
-			int tupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotManager.getSlotOff(i));
-			frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, tupleOff);
+    protected ITreeIndexTupleReference[] getTuples() {
+        return tuples;
+    }
 
-			int intVal = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(
-					buf.array(),
-					frameTuple.getFieldStart(frameTuple.getFieldCount() - 1)
-							+ frameTuple.getFieldLength(frameTuple
-									.getFieldCount() - 1));
-			ret.add(intVal);
-		}
-		return ret;
-	}
+    @Override
+    public void split(ITreeIndexFrame rightFrame, ITupleReference tuple, ISplitKey splitKey) throws TreeIndexException {
+        RTreeSplitKey rTreeSplitKey = ((RTreeSplitKey) splitKey);
+        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter rTreeTupleWriterLeftFrame = ((RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter) tupleWriter);
+        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter rTreeTupleWriterRightFrame = ((RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter) rightFrame.getTupleWriter());
 
-	public void generateDist(ITupleReference tuple,
-			TupleEntryArrayList entries, Rectangle rec, int start, int end) {
-		int j = 0;
-		while (entries.get(j).getTupleIndex() == -1) {
-			j++;
-		}
-		frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, entries.get(j).getTupleIndex());
-		rec.set(frameTuple, keyValueProviders);
-		for (int i = start; i < end; ++i) {
-			if (i != j) {
-				if (entries.get(i).getTupleIndex() != -1) {
-					frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, entries.get(i)
-							.getTupleIndex());
-					rec.enlarge(frameTuple, keyValueProviders);
-				} else {
-					rec.enlarge(tuple, keyValueProviders);
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
+        // calculations are based on the R*-tree paper
+        int m = (int) Math.floor((getTupleCount() + 1) * splitFactor);
+        int splitDistribution = getTupleCount() - (2 * m) + 2;
 
-	@Override
-	public ITreeIndexTupleReference createTupleReference() {
-		return tupleWriter.createTupleReference();
-	}
+        // to calculate the minimum margin in order to pick the split axis
+        double minMargin = Double.MAX_VALUE;
+        int splitAxis = 0, sortOrder = 0;
 
-	public void adjustMBRImpl(ITreeIndexTupleReference[] tuples) {
-		int maxFieldPos = keyValueProviders.length / 2;
-		for (int i = 1; i < getTupleCount(); i++) {
-			frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, i);
-			for (int j = 0; j < maxFieldPos; j++) {
-				int k = maxFieldPos + j;
-				double valA = keyValueProviders[j].getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(j), frameTuple.getFieldStart(j));
-				double valB = keyValueProviders[j].getValue(tuples[j].getFieldData(j), tuples[j].getFieldStart(j));
-				if (valA < valB) {
-					tuples[j].resetByTupleIndex(this, i);
-				}
-				valA = keyValueProviders[k].getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(k), frameTuple.getFieldStart(k));
-				valB = keyValueProviders[k].getValue(tuples[k].getFieldData(k), tuples[k].getFieldStart(k));
-				if (valA > valB) {
-					tuples[k].resetByTupleIndex(this, i);
-				}
-			}
-		}
-	}
+        int maxFieldPos = keyValueProviders.length / 2;
+        for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
+            int j = maxFieldPos + i;
+            for (int k = 0; k < getTupleCount(); ++k) {
 
-	@Override
-	public void computeMBR(ISplitKey splitKey) {
-		RTreeSplitKey rTreeSplitKey = ((RTreeSplitKey) splitKey);
-		RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter rTreeTupleWriterLeftFrame = ((RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter) tupleWriter);
+                frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, k);
+                double LowerKey = keyValueProviders[i]
+                        .getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(i), frameTuple.getFieldStart(i));
+                double UpperKey = keyValueProviders[j]
+                        .getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(j), frameTuple.getFieldStart(j));
 
-		int tupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotManager.getSlotEndOff());
-		frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, tupleOff);
-		int splitKeySize = tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frameTuple, 0,
-				keyValueProviders.length);
+                tupleEntries1.add(k, LowerKey);
+                tupleEntries2.add(k, UpperKey);
+            }
+            double LowerKey = keyValueProviders[i].getValue(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i));
+            double UpperKey = keyValueProviders[j].getValue(tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j));
 
-		splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
-		this.adjustMBR(tuples);
-		rTreeTupleWriterLeftFrame.writeTupleFields(tuples, 0,
-				rTreeSplitKey.getLeftPageBuffer(), 0);
-		rTreeSplitKey.getLeftTuple().resetByTupleOffset(
-				rTreeSplitKey.getLeftPageBuffer(), 0);
-	}
+            tupleEntries1.add(-1, LowerKey);
+            tupleEntries2.add(-1, UpperKey);
 
-	@Override
-	public int getPageHeaderSize() {
-		return rightPageOff;
-	}
+            tupleEntries1.sort(EntriesOrder.ASCENDING, getTupleCount() + 1);
+            tupleEntries2.sort(EntriesOrder.ASCENDING, getTupleCount() + 1);
+
+            double lowerMargin = 0.0, upperMargin = 0.0;
+            // generate distribution
+            for (int k = 1; k <= splitDistribution; ++k) {
+                int d = m - 1 + k;
+
+                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[0], 0, d);
+                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries2, rec[1], 0, d);
+                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[2], d, getTupleCount() + 1);
+                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries2, rec[3], d, getTupleCount() + 1);
+
+                // calculate the margin of the distributions
+                lowerMargin += rec[0].margin() + rec[2].margin();
+                upperMargin += rec[1].margin() + rec[3].margin();
+            }
+            double margin = Math.min(lowerMargin, upperMargin);
+
+            // store minimum margin as split axis
+            if (margin < minMargin) {
+                minMargin = margin;
+                splitAxis = i;
+                sortOrder = (lowerMargin < upperMargin) ? 0 : 2;
+            }
+
+            tupleEntries1.clear();
+            tupleEntries2.clear();
+        }
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < getTupleCount(); ++i) {
+            frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, i);
+            double key = keyValueProviders[splitAxis + sortOrder].getValue(
+                    frameTuple.getFieldData(splitAxis + sortOrder), frameTuple.getFieldStart(splitAxis + sortOrder));
+            tupleEntries1.add(i, key);
+        }
+        double key = keyValueProviders[splitAxis + sortOrder].getValue(tuple.getFieldData(splitAxis + sortOrder),
+                tuple.getFieldStart(splitAxis + sortOrder));
+        tupleEntries1.add(-1, key);
+        tupleEntries1.sort(EntriesOrder.ASCENDING, getTupleCount() + 1);
+
+        double minArea = Double.MAX_VALUE;
+        double minOverlap = Double.MAX_VALUE;
+        int splitPoint = 0;
+        for (int i = 1; i <= splitDistribution; ++i) {
+            int d = m - 1 + i;
+
+            generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[0], 0, d);
+            generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[2], d, getTupleCount() + 1);
+
+            double overlap = rec[0].overlappedArea(rec[2]);
+            if (overlap < minOverlap) {
+                splitPoint = d;
+                minOverlap = overlap;
+                minArea = rec[0].area() + rec[2].area();
+            } else if (overlap == minOverlap) {
+                double area = rec[0].area() + rec[2].area();
+                if (area < minArea) {
+                    splitPoint = d;
+                    minArea = area;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        int startIndex, endIndex;
+        if (splitPoint < (getTupleCount() + 1) / 2) {
+            startIndex = 0;
+            endIndex = splitPoint;
+        } else {
+            startIndex = splitPoint;
+            endIndex = (getTupleCount() + 1);
+        }
+        boolean tupleInserted = false;
+        int totalBytes = 0, numOfDeletedTuples = 0;
+        for (int i = startIndex; i < endIndex; i++) {
+            if (tupleEntries1.get(i).getTupleIndex() != -1) {
+                frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, tupleEntries1.get(i).getTupleIndex());
+                rightFrame.insert(frameTuple, -1);
+                ((UnorderedSlotManager) slotManager).modifySlot(
+                        slotManager.getSlotOff(tupleEntries1.get(i).getTupleIndex()), -1);
+                totalBytes += getTupleSize(frameTuple);
+                numOfDeletedTuples++;
+            } else {
+                rightFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
+                tupleInserted = true;
+            }
+        }
+
+        ((UnorderedSlotManager) slotManager).deleteEmptySlots();
+
+        // maintain space information
+        buf.putInt(totalFreeSpaceOff, buf.getInt(totalFreeSpaceOff) + totalBytes
+                + (slotManager.getSlotSize() * numOfDeletedTuples));
+
+        // compact both pages
+        rightFrame.compact();
+        compact();
+
+        if (!tupleInserted) {
+            insert(tuple, -1);
+        }
+
+        int tupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotManager.getSlotEndOff());
+        frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, tupleOff);
+        int splitKeySize = tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frameTuple, 0, keyValueProviders.length);
+
+        splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
+        this.adjustMBR();
+        rTreeTupleWriterLeftFrame.writeTupleFields(getTuples(), 0, rTreeSplitKey.getLeftPageBuffer(), 0);
+        rTreeSplitKey.getLeftTuple().resetByTupleOffset(rTreeSplitKey.getLeftPageBuffer(), 0);
+
+        ((IRTreeFrame) rightFrame).adjustMBR();
+        rTreeTupleWriterRightFrame.writeTupleFields(((RTreeNSMFrame) rightFrame).getTuples(), 0,
+                rTreeSplitKey.getRightPageBuffer(), 0);
+        rTreeSplitKey.getRightTuple().resetByTupleOffset(rTreeSplitKey.getRightPageBuffer(), 0);
+
+        tupleEntries1.clear();
+        tupleEntries2.clear();
+    }
+
+    abstract public int getTupleSize(ITupleReference tuple);
+
+    public void generateDist(ITupleReference tuple, TupleEntryArrayList entries, Rectangle rec, int start, int end) {
+        int j = 0;
+        while (entries.get(j).getTupleIndex() == -1) {
+            j++;
+        }
+        frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, entries.get(j).getTupleIndex());
+        rec.set(frameTuple, keyValueProviders);
+        for (int i = start; i < end; ++i) {
+            if (i != j) {
+                if (entries.get(i).getTupleIndex() != -1) {
+                    frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, entries.get(i).getTupleIndex());
+                    rec.enlarge(frameTuple, keyValueProviders);
+                } else {
+                    rec.enlarge(tuple, keyValueProviders);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    public void adjustMBRImpl(ITreeIndexTupleReference[] tuples) {
+        int maxFieldPos = keyValueProviders.length / 2;
+        for (int i = 1; i < getTupleCount(); i++) {
+            frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, i);
+            for (int j = 0; j < maxFieldPos; j++) {
+                int k = maxFieldPos + j;
+                double valA = keyValueProviders[j].getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(j), frameTuple.getFieldStart(j));
+                double valB = keyValueProviders[j].getValue(tuples[j].getFieldData(j), tuples[j].getFieldStart(j));
+                if (valA < valB) {
+                    tuples[j].resetByTupleIndex(this, i);
+                }
+                valA = keyValueProviders[k].getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(k), frameTuple.getFieldStart(k));
+                valB = keyValueProviders[k].getValue(tuples[k].getFieldData(k), tuples[k].getFieldStart(k));
+                if (valA > valB) {
+                    tuples[k].resetByTupleIndex(this, i);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void adjustMBR() {
+        for (int i = 0; i < tuples.length; i++) {
+            tuples[i].setFieldCount(getFieldCount());
+            tuples[i].resetByTupleIndex(this, 0);
+        }
+
+        adjustMBRImpl(tuples);
+    }
+
+    public abstract int getFieldCount();
+
+    @Override
+    public int getPageHeaderSize() {
+        return rightPageOff;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMInteriorFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMInteriorFrame.java
index f3e6be2..63387ef 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMInteriorFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMInteriorFrame.java
@@ -24,31 +24,27 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISplitKey;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.FrameOpSpaceStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.SlotOffTupleOff;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeInteriorFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.EntriesOrder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.PathList;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTreeSplitKey;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.UnorderedSlotManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tuples.RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter;
 
 public class RTreeNSMInteriorFrame extends RTreeNSMFrame implements IRTreeInteriorFrame {
 
     private static final int childPtrSize = 4;
-    private static IBinaryComparator childPtrCmp = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY)
+    private IBinaryComparator childPtrCmp = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY)
             .createBinaryComparator();
+    private final int keyFieldCount;
 
     public RTreeNSMInteriorFrame(ITreeIndexTupleWriter tupleWriter, IPrimitiveValueProvider[] keyValueProviders) {
         super(tupleWriter, keyValueProviders);
-        frameTuple.setFieldCount(keyValueProviders.length);
+        keyFieldCount = keyValueProviders.length;
+        frameTuple.setFieldCount(keyFieldCount);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -151,6 +147,13 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public ITreeIndexTupleReference createTupleReference() {
+        ITreeIndexTupleReference tuple = tupleWriter.createTupleReference();
+        tuple.setFieldCount(keyFieldCount);
+        return tuple;
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public int getBestChildPageId() {
         return buf.getInt(getChildPointerOff(frameTuple));
     }
@@ -169,6 +172,12 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public int getChildPageId(int tupleIndex) {
+        frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, tupleIndex);
+        return buf.getInt(getChildPointerOff(frameTuple));
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public int getChildPageIdIfIntersect(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex, MultiComparator cmp) {
         frameTuple.setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
         frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, tupleIndex);
@@ -245,10 +254,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public FrameOpSpaceStatus hasSpaceInsert(ITupleReference tuple) {
-        int bytesRequired = tupleWriter.bytesRequired(tuple) + childPtrSize; // for
-                                                                             // the
-                                                                             // child
-                                                                             // pointer
+        int bytesRequired = tupleWriter.bytesRequired(tuple) + childPtrSize;
         if (bytesRequired + slotManager.getSlotSize() <= buf.capacity() - buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff)
                 - (buf.getInt(tupleCountOff) * slotManager.getSlotSize()))
             return FrameOpSpaceStatus.SUFFICIENT_CONTIGUOUS_SPACE;
@@ -259,14 +265,18 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void adjustKey(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex, MultiComparator cmp) {
+    public void adjustKey(ITupleReference tuple, int tupleIndex, MultiComparator cmp) throws TreeIndexException {
         frameTuple.setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
         if (tupleIndex == -1) {
             tupleIndex = findTupleByPointer(tuple, cmp);
         }
         if (tupleIndex != -1) {
             tupleWriter.writeTuple(tuple, buf.array(), getTupleOffset(tupleIndex));
+        } else {
+            throw new TreeIndexException("Error: Faild to find a tuple in a page");
+
         }
+
     }
 
     private int pointerCmp(ITupleReference tupleA, ITupleReference tupleB, MultiComparator cmp) {
@@ -275,157 +285,8 @@
                         tupleB.getFieldData(cmp.getKeyFieldCount() - 1), getChildPointerOff(tupleB), childPtrSize);
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public void split(ITreeIndexFrame rightFrame, ITupleReference tuple, ISplitKey splitKey) throws TreeIndexException {
-        RTreeSplitKey rTreeSplitKey = ((RTreeSplitKey) splitKey);
-        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter rTreeTupleWriterLeftFrame = ((RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter) tupleWriter);
-        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter rTreeTupleWriterRightFrame = ((RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter) rightFrame.getTupleWriter());
-
-        // calculations are based on the R*-tree paper
-        int m = (int) Math.floor((getTupleCount() + 1) * splitFactor);
-        int splitDistribution = getTupleCount() - (2 * m) + 2;
-
-        // to calculate the minimum margin in order to pick the split axis
-        double minMargin = Double.MAX_VALUE;
-        int splitAxis = 0, sortOrder = 0;
-
-        int maxFieldPos = keyValueProviders.length / 2;
-        for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
-            int j = maxFieldPos + i;
-            for (int k = 0; k < getTupleCount(); ++k) {
-
-                frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, k);
-                double LowerKey = keyValueProviders[i]
-                        .getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(i), frameTuple.getFieldStart(i));
-                double UpperKey = keyValueProviders[j]
-                        .getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(j), frameTuple.getFieldStart(j));
-
-                tupleEntries1.add(k, LowerKey);
-                tupleEntries2.add(k, UpperKey);
-            }
-            double LowerKey = keyValueProviders[i].getValue(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i));
-            double UpperKey = keyValueProviders[j].getValue(tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j));
-
-            tupleEntries1.add(-1, LowerKey);
-            tupleEntries2.add(-1, UpperKey);
-
-            tupleEntries1.sort(EntriesOrder.ASCENDING, getTupleCount() + 1);
-            tupleEntries2.sort(EntriesOrder.ASCENDING, getTupleCount() + 1);
-
-            double lowerMargin = 0.0, upperMargin = 0.0;
-            // generate distribution
-            for (int k = 1; k <= splitDistribution; ++k) {
-                int d = m - 1 + k;
-
-                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[0], 0, d);
-                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries2, rec[1], 0, d);
-                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[2], d, getTupleCount() + 1);
-                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries2, rec[3], d, getTupleCount() + 1);
-
-                // calculate the margin of the distributions
-                lowerMargin += rec[0].margin() + rec[2].margin();
-                upperMargin += rec[1].margin() + rec[3].margin();
-            }
-            double margin = Math.min(lowerMargin, upperMargin);
-
-            // store minimum margin as split axis
-            if (margin < minMargin) {
-                minMargin = margin;
-                splitAxis = i;
-                sortOrder = (lowerMargin < upperMargin) ? 0 : 2;
-            }
-
-            tupleEntries1.clear();
-            tupleEntries2.clear();
-        }
-
-        for (int i = 0; i < getTupleCount(); ++i) {
-            frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, i);
-            double key = keyValueProviders[splitAxis + sortOrder].getValue(
-                    frameTuple.getFieldData(splitAxis + sortOrder), frameTuple.getFieldStart(splitAxis + sortOrder));
-            tupleEntries1.add(i, key);
-        }
-        double key = keyValueProviders[splitAxis + sortOrder].getValue(tuple.getFieldData(splitAxis + sortOrder),
-                tuple.getFieldStart(splitAxis + sortOrder));
-        tupleEntries1.add(-1, key);
-        tupleEntries1.sort(EntriesOrder.ASCENDING, getTupleCount() + 1);
-
-        double minArea = Double.MAX_VALUE;
-        double minOverlap = Double.MAX_VALUE;
-        int splitPoint = 0;
-        for (int i = 1; i <= splitDistribution; ++i) {
-            int d = m - 1 + i;
-
-            generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[0], 0, d);
-            generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[2], d, getTupleCount() + 1);
-
-            double overlap = rec[0].overlappedArea(rec[2]);
-            if (overlap < minOverlap) {
-                splitPoint = d;
-                minOverlap = overlap;
-                minArea = rec[0].area() + rec[2].area();
-            } else if (overlap == minOverlap) {
-                double area = rec[0].area() + rec[2].area();
-                if (area < minArea) {
-                    splitPoint = d;
-                    minArea = area;
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        int startIndex, endIndex;
-        if (splitPoint < (getTupleCount() + 1) / 2) {
-            startIndex = 0;
-            endIndex = splitPoint;
-        } else {
-            startIndex = splitPoint;
-            endIndex = (getTupleCount() + 1);
-        }
-        boolean tupleInserted = false;
-        int totalBytes = 0, numOfDeletedTuples = 0;
-        for (int i = startIndex; i < endIndex; i++) {
-            if (tupleEntries1.get(i).getTupleIndex() != -1) {
-                frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, tupleEntries1.get(i).getTupleIndex());
-                rightFrame.insert(frameTuple, -1);
-                ((UnorderedSlotManager) slotManager).modifySlot(
-                        slotManager.getSlotOff(tupleEntries1.get(i).getTupleIndex()), -1);
-                totalBytes += tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frameTuple) + childPtrSize;
-                numOfDeletedTuples++;
-            } else {
-                rightFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
-                tupleInserted = true;
-            }
-        }
-
-        ((UnorderedSlotManager) slotManager).deleteEmptySlots();
-
-        // maintain space information
-        buf.putInt(totalFreeSpaceOff, buf.getInt(totalFreeSpaceOff) + totalBytes
-                + (slotManager.getSlotSize() * numOfDeletedTuples));
-
-        // compact both pages
-        rightFrame.compact();
-        compact();
-
-        if (!tupleInserted) {
-            insert(tuple, -1);
-        }
-
-        int tupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotManager.getSlotEndOff());
-        frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, tupleOff);
-        int splitKeySize = tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frameTuple, 0, keyValueProviders.length);
-
-        splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
-        this.adjustMBR(tuples);
-        rTreeTupleWriterLeftFrame.writeTupleFields(tuples, 0, rTreeSplitKey.getLeftPageBuffer(), 0);
-        rTreeSplitKey.getLeftTuple().resetByTupleOffset(rTreeSplitKey.getLeftPageBuffer(), 0);
-
-        ((IRTreeFrame) rightFrame).adjustMBR(((RTreeNSMFrame) rightFrame).getTuples());
-        rTreeTupleWriterRightFrame.writeTupleFields(((RTreeNSMFrame) rightFrame).getTuples(), 0,
-                rTreeSplitKey.getRightPageBuffer(), 0);
-        rTreeSplitKey.getRightTuple().resetByTupleOffset(rTreeSplitKey.getRightPageBuffer(), 0);
-
-        tupleEntries1.clear();
-        tupleEntries2.clear();
+    public int getTupleSize(ITupleReference tuple) {
+        return tupleWriter.bytesRequired(tuple) + childPtrSize;
     }
 
     private int getChildPointerOff(ITupleReference tuple) {
@@ -437,7 +298,7 @@
         frameTuple.setFieldCount(tuple.getFieldCount());
         slotManager.insertSlot(-1, buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff));
         int freeSpace = buf.getInt(freeSpaceOff);
-        int bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(tuple, 0, tuple.getFieldCount(), buf, freeSpace);
+        int bytesWritten = tupleWriter.writeTupleFields(tuple, 0, tuple.getFieldCount(), buf.array(), freeSpace);
         System.arraycopy(tuple.getFieldData(tuple.getFieldCount() - 1), getChildPointerOff(tuple), buf.array(),
                 freeSpace + bytesWritten, childPtrSize);
         int tupleSize = bytesWritten + childPtrSize;
@@ -585,6 +446,27 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public boolean checkEnlargement(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp) {
+        int maxFieldPos = cmp.getKeyFieldCount() / 2;
+        for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
+            int j = maxFieldPos + i;
+            int c = cmp.getComparators()[i].compare(frameTuple.getFieldData(i), frameTuple.getFieldStart(i),
+                    frameTuple.getFieldLength(i), tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
+                    tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+            if (c > 0) {
+                return true;
+            }
+            c = cmp.getComparators()[j].compare(frameTuple.getFieldData(j), frameTuple.getFieldStart(j),
+                    frameTuple.getFieldLength(j), tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j),
+                    tuple.getFieldLength(j));
+            if (c < 0) {
+                return true;
+            }
+        }
+        return false;
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public void enlarge(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp) {
         int maxFieldPos = cmp.getKeyFieldCount() / 2;
         for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
@@ -606,13 +488,25 @@
         }
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public void adjustMBR(ITreeIndexTupleReference[] tuples) {
-        for (int i = 0; i < tuples.length; i++) {
-            tuples[i].setFieldCount(keyValueProviders.length);
-            tuples[i].resetByTupleIndex(this, 0);
+    // For debugging.
+    public ArrayList<Integer> getChildren(MultiComparator cmp) {
+        ArrayList<Integer> ret = new ArrayList<Integer>();
+        frameTuple.setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+        int tupleCount = buf.getInt(tupleCountOff);
+        for (int i = 0; i < tupleCount; i++) {
+            int tupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotManager.getSlotOff(i));
+            frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, tupleOff);
+            int intVal = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.getInt(
+                    buf.array(),
+                    frameTuple.getFieldStart(frameTuple.getFieldCount() - 1)
+                            + frameTuple.getFieldLength(frameTuple.getFieldCount() - 1));
+            ret.add(intVal);
         }
+        return ret;
+    }
 
-        adjustMBRImpl(tuples);
+    @Override
+    public int getFieldCount() {
+        return keyValueProviders.length;
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMLeafFrame.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMLeafFrame.java
index b2ae5fc..f1d71ff 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMLeafFrame.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/frames/RTreeNSMLeafFrame.java
@@ -17,18 +17,10 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISplitKey;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexTupleWriter;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeLeafFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.EntriesOrder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTreeSplitKey;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.UnorderedSlotManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tuples.RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter;
 
 public class RTreeNSMLeafFrame extends RTreeNSMFrame implements IRTreeLeafFrame {
 
@@ -37,6 +29,11 @@
     }
 
     @Override
+    public ITreeIndexTupleReference createTupleReference() {
+        return tupleWriter.createTupleReference();
+    }
+
+    @Override
     public int findTupleIndex(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp) {
         return slotManager.findTupleIndex(tuple, frameTuple, cmp, null, null);
     }
@@ -63,159 +60,8 @@
         return true;
     }
 
-    @Override
-    public void split(ITreeIndexFrame rightFrame, ITupleReference tuple, ISplitKey splitKey) throws TreeIndexException {
-
-        RTreeSplitKey rTreeSplitKey = ((RTreeSplitKey) splitKey);
-        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter rTreeTupleWriterLeftFrame = ((RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter) tupleWriter);
-        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter rTreeTupleWriterRightFrame = ((RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriter) rightFrame.getTupleWriter());
-
-        // calculations are based on the R*-tree paper
-        int m = (int) Math.floor((getTupleCount() + 1) * splitFactor);
-        int splitDistribution = getTupleCount() - (2 * m) + 2;
-
-        // to calculate the minimum margin in order to pick the split axis
-        double minMargin = Double.MAX_VALUE;
-        int splitAxis = 0, sortOrder = 0;
-
-        int maxFieldPos = keyValueProviders.length / 2;
-        for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
-            int j = maxFieldPos + i;
-            for (int k = 0; k < getTupleCount(); ++k) {
-
-                frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, k);
-
-                double LowerKey = keyValueProviders[i].getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(i),
-                        frameTuple.getFieldStart(i));
-                double UpperKey = keyValueProviders[j].getValue(frameTuple.getFieldData(j),
-                        frameTuple.getFieldStart(j));
-
-                tupleEntries1.add(k, LowerKey);
-                tupleEntries2.add(k, UpperKey);
-            }
-            double LowerKey = keyValueProviders[i].getValue(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i));
-            double UpperKey = keyValueProviders[j].getValue(tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j));
-
-            tupleEntries1.add(-1, LowerKey);
-            tupleEntries2.add(-1, UpperKey);
-
-            tupleEntries1.sort(EntriesOrder.ASCENDING, getTupleCount() + 1);
-            tupleEntries2.sort(EntriesOrder.ASCENDING, getTupleCount() + 1);
-
-            double lowerMargin = 0.0, upperMargin = 0.0;
-            // generate distribution
-            for (int k = 1; k <= splitDistribution; ++k) {
-                int d = m - 1 + k;
-
-                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[0], 0, d);
-                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries2, rec[1], 0, d);
-                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[2], d, getTupleCount() + 1);
-                generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries2, rec[3], d, getTupleCount() + 1);
-
-                // calculate the margin of the distributions
-                lowerMargin += rec[0].margin() + rec[2].margin();
-                upperMargin += rec[1].margin() + rec[3].margin();
-            }
-            double margin = Math.min(lowerMargin, upperMargin);
-
-            // store minimum margin as split axis
-            if (margin < minMargin) {
-                minMargin = margin;
-                splitAxis = i;
-                sortOrder = (lowerMargin < upperMargin) ? 0 : 2;
-            }
-
-            tupleEntries1.clear();
-            tupleEntries2.clear();
-        }
-
-        for (int i = 0; i < getTupleCount(); ++i) {
-            frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, i);
-            double key = keyValueProviders[splitAxis + sortOrder].getValue(
-                    frameTuple.getFieldData(splitAxis + sortOrder), frameTuple.getFieldStart(splitAxis + sortOrder));
-            tupleEntries1.add(i, key);
-        }
-        double key = keyValueProviders[splitAxis + sortOrder].getValue(tuple.getFieldData(splitAxis + sortOrder),
-                tuple.getFieldStart(splitAxis + sortOrder));
-        tupleEntries1.add(-1, key);
-        tupleEntries1.sort(EntriesOrder.ASCENDING, getTupleCount() + 1);
-
-        double minArea = Double.MAX_VALUE;
-        double minOverlap = Double.MAX_VALUE;
-        int splitPoint = 0;
-        for (int i = 1; i <= splitDistribution; ++i) {
-            int d = m - 1 + i;
-
-            generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[0], 0, d);
-            generateDist(tuple, tupleEntries1, rec[2], d, getTupleCount() + 1);
-
-            double overlap = rec[0].overlappedArea(rec[2]);
-            if (overlap < minOverlap) {
-                splitPoint = d;
-                minOverlap = overlap;
-                minArea = rec[0].area() + rec[2].area();
-            } else if (overlap == minOverlap) {
-                double area = rec[0].area() + rec[2].area();
-                if (area < minArea) {
-                    splitPoint = d;
-                    minArea = area;
-                }
-            }
-        }
-        int startIndex, endIndex;
-        if (splitPoint < (getTupleCount() + 1) / 2) {
-            startIndex = 0;
-            endIndex = splitPoint;
-        } else {
-            startIndex = splitPoint;
-            endIndex = (getTupleCount() + 1);
-        }
-        boolean tupleInserted = false;
-        int totalBytes = 0, numOfDeletedTuples = 0;
-        for (int i = startIndex; i < endIndex; i++) {
-            if (tupleEntries1.get(i).getTupleIndex() != -1) {
-                frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(this, tupleEntries1.get(i).getTupleIndex());
-                rightFrame.insert(frameTuple, -1);
-                ((UnorderedSlotManager) slotManager).modifySlot(
-                        slotManager.getSlotOff(tupleEntries1.get(i).getTupleIndex()), -1);
-                totalBytes += tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frameTuple);
-                numOfDeletedTuples++;
-            } else {
-                rightFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
-                tupleInserted = true;
-            }
-        }
-
-        ((UnorderedSlotManager) slotManager).deleteEmptySlots();
-
-        // maintain space information
-        buf.putInt(totalFreeSpaceOff, buf.getInt(totalFreeSpaceOff) + totalBytes
-                + (slotManager.getSlotSize() * numOfDeletedTuples));
-
-        // compact both pages
-        rightFrame.compact();
-        compact();
-
-        if (!tupleInserted) {
-            insert(tuple, -1);
-        }
-
-        int tupleOff = slotManager.getTupleOff(slotManager.getSlotEndOff());
-        frameTuple.resetByTupleOffset(buf, tupleOff);
-        int splitKeySize = tupleWriter.bytesRequired(frameTuple, 0, keyValueProviders.length);
-
-        splitKey.initData(splitKeySize);
-        this.adjustMBR(tuples);
-        rTreeTupleWriterLeftFrame.writeTupleFields(tuples, 0, rTreeSplitKey.getLeftPageBuffer(), 0);
-        rTreeSplitKey.getLeftTuple().resetByTupleOffset(rTreeSplitKey.getLeftPageBuffer(), 0);
-
-        ((IRTreeFrame) rightFrame).adjustMBR(((RTreeNSMFrame) rightFrame).getTuples());
-        rTreeTupleWriterRightFrame.writeTupleFields(((RTreeNSMFrame) rightFrame).getTuples(), 0,
-                rTreeSplitKey.getRightPageBuffer(), 0);
-        rTreeSplitKey.getRightTuple().resetByTupleOffset(rTreeSplitKey.getRightPageBuffer(), 0);
-
-        tupleEntries1.clear();
-        tupleEntries2.clear();
+    public int getTupleSize(ITupleReference tuple) {
+        return tupleWriter.bytesRequired(tuple);
     }
 
     @Override
@@ -247,10 +93,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void adjustMBR(ITreeIndexTupleReference[] tuples) {
-        for (int i = 0; i < tuples.length; i++) {
-            tuples[i].resetByTupleIndex(this, 0);
-        }
-        adjustMBRImpl(tuples);
+    public int getFieldCount() {
+        return frameTuple.getFieldCount();
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/PathList.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/PathList.java
index 4f86111..911029d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/PathList.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/PathList.java
@@ -19,93 +19,99 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.LongArrayList;
 
 public class PathList {
-	private IntArrayList pageIds;
-	private LongArrayList pageLsns;
-	private IntArrayList pageIndexes;
+    private IntArrayList pageIds;
+    private LongArrayList pageLsns;
+    private IntArrayList pageIndexes;
 
-	public PathList(int initialCapacity, int growth) {
-		pageIds = new IntArrayList(initialCapacity, growth);
-		pageLsns = new LongArrayList(initialCapacity, growth);
-		pageIndexes = new IntArrayList(initialCapacity, growth);
-	}
+    public PathList(int initialCapacity, int growth) {
+        pageIds = new IntArrayList(initialCapacity, growth);
+        pageLsns = new LongArrayList(initialCapacity, growth);
+        pageIndexes = new IntArrayList(initialCapacity, growth);
+    }
 
-	public int size() {
-		return pageIds.size();
-	}
+    public int size() {
+        return pageIds.size();
+    }
 
-	public int first() {
-		return pageIds.first();
-	}
+    public int first() {
+        return pageIds.first();
+    }
 
-	public void add(int pageId, long pageLsn, int pageIndex) {
-		pageIds.add(pageId);
-		pageLsns.add(pageLsn);
-		pageIndexes.add(pageIndex);
-	}
+    public void add(int pageId, long pageLsn, int pageIndex) {
+        pageIds.add(pageId);
+        pageLsns.add(pageLsn);
+        pageIndexes.add(pageIndex);
+    }
 
-	public int getFirstPageId() {
-		return pageIds.getFirst();
-	}
+    public void addFirst(int pageId, long pageLsn, int pageIndex) {
+        pageIds.addFirst(pageId);
+        pageLsns.addFirst(pageLsn);
+        pageIndexes.addFirst(pageIndex);
+    }
 
-	public long getFirstPageLsn() {
-		return pageLsns.getFirst();
-	}
+    public int getFirstPageId() {
+        return pageIds.getFirst();
+    }
 
-	public int getFirstPageIndex() {
-		return pageIndexes.getFirst();
-	}
+    public long getFirstPageLsn() {
+        return pageLsns.getFirst();
+    }
 
-	public int getLastPageId() {
-		return pageIds.getLast();
-	}
+    public int getFirstPageIndex() {
+        return pageIndexes.getFirst();
+    }
 
-	public long getLastPageLsn() {
-		return pageLsns.getLast();
-	}
+    public int getLastPageId() {
+        return pageIds.getLast();
+    }
 
-	public int getLastPageIndex() {
-		return pageIndexes.getLast();
-	}
+    public long getLastPageLsn() {
+        return pageLsns.getLast();
+    }
 
-	public int getPageId(int i) {
-		return pageIds.get(i);
-	}
+    public int getLastPageIndex() {
+        return pageIndexes.getLast();
+    }
 
-	public long getPageLsn(int i) {
-		return pageLsns.get(i);
-	}
+    public int getPageId(int i) {
+        return pageIds.get(i);
+    }
 
-	public int getPageIndex(int i) {
-		return pageIndexes.get(i);
-	}
+    public long getPageLsn(int i) {
+        return pageLsns.get(i);
+    }
 
-	public void setPageLsn(int i, long pageLsn) {
-		pageLsns.set(i, pageLsn);
-	}
+    public int getPageIndex(int i) {
+        return pageIndexes.get(i);
+    }
 
-	public void moveFirst() {
-		pageIds.moveFirst();
-		pageLsns.moveFirst();
-		pageIndexes.moveFirst();
-	}
+    public void setPageLsn(int i, long pageLsn) {
+        pageLsns.set(i, pageLsn);
+    }
 
-	public void moveLast() {
-		pageIds.removeLast();
-		pageLsns.removeLast();
-		pageIndexes.removeLast();
-	}
+    public void moveFirst() {
+        pageIds.moveFirst();
+        pageLsns.moveFirst();
+        pageIndexes.moveFirst();
+    }
 
-	public boolean isLast() {
-		return pageIds.isLast();
-	}
+    public void moveLast() {
+        pageIds.removeLast();
+        pageLsns.removeLast();
+        pageIndexes.removeLast();
+    }
 
-	public void clear() {
-		pageIds.clear();
-		pageLsns.clear();
-		pageIndexes.clear();
-	}
+    public boolean isLast() {
+        return pageIds.isLast();
+    }
 
-	public boolean isEmpty() {
-		return pageIds.isEmpty();
-	}
+    public void clear() {
+        pageIds.clear();
+        pageLsns.clear();
+        pageIndexes.clear();
+    }
+
+    public boolean isEmpty() {
+        return pageIds.isEmpty();
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java
index 5f78dcc..cc3cf5b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTree.java
@@ -20,11 +20,13 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReadWriteLock;
 import java.util.concurrent.locks.ReentrantReadWriteLock;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexOpContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
@@ -33,8 +35,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.PageAllocationException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.FrameOpSpaceStatus;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.TreeDiskOrderScanCursor;
@@ -44,161 +46,119 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeInteriorFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeLeafFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMInteriorFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.ICachedPage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.BufferedFileHandle;
 
 public class RTree implements ITreeIndex {
 
-    private boolean created = false;
-    private boolean loaded = false;
-    private final int rootPage = 1; // the root page never changes
+    private final int rootPage = 1;
 
-    private final AtomicLong globalNsn; // Global node sequence number
-    private int numOfPages = 1;
+    // Global node sequence number used for the concurrency control protocol
+    private final AtomicLong globalNsn;
     private final ReadWriteLock treeLatch;
 
     private final IFreePageManager freePageManager;
     private final IBufferCache bufferCache;
     private int fileId;
 
-    private final SearchPredicate diskOrderScanPredicate;
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory;
     private final ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory;
     private final int fieldCount;
-    private final MultiComparator cmp;
+    private final IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories;
 
-    public int rootSplits = 0;
-    public int[] splitsByLevel = new int[500];
-    public AtomicLong readLatchesAcquired = new AtomicLong();
-    public AtomicLong readLatchesReleased = new AtomicLong();
-    public AtomicLong writeLatchesAcquired = new AtomicLong();
-    public AtomicLong writeLatchesReleased = new AtomicLong();
-    public AtomicLong pins = new AtomicLong();
-    public AtomicLong unpins = new AtomicLong();
-    public byte currentLevel = 0;
-
-    // TODO: is MultiComparator needed at all?
-    public RTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int fieldCount, MultiComparator cmp, IFreePageManager freePageManager,
-            ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory, ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory) {
+    public RTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, int fieldCount, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories,
+            IFreePageManager freePageManager, ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory,
+            ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory) {
         this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
         this.fieldCount = fieldCount;
-        this.cmp = cmp;
+        this.cmpFactories = cmpFactories;
         this.freePageManager = freePageManager;
         this.interiorFrameFactory = interiorFrameFactory;
         this.leafFrameFactory = leafFrameFactory;
         globalNsn = new AtomicLong();
         this.treeLatch = new ReentrantReadWriteLock(true);
-        this.diskOrderScanPredicate = new SearchPredicate(null, cmp);
     }
 
-    public void incrementGlobalNsn() {
-        globalNsn.incrementAndGet();
+    private long incrementGlobalNsn() {
+        return globalNsn.incrementAndGet();
     }
 
-    public long getGlobalNsn() {
-        return globalNsn.get();
-    }
-
-    public void incrementReadLatchesAcquired() {
-        readLatchesAcquired.incrementAndGet();
-    }
-
-    public void incrementReadLatchesReleased() {
-        readLatchesReleased.incrementAndGet();
-    }
-
-    public void incrementWriteLatchesAcquired() {
-        writeLatchesAcquired.incrementAndGet();
-    }
-
-    public void incrementWriteLatchesReleased() {
-        writeLatchesReleased.incrementAndGet();
-    }
-
-    public void incrementPins() {
-        pins.incrementAndGet();
-    }
-
-    public void incrementUnpins() {
-        unpins.incrementAndGet();
-    }
-
-    public String printStats() {
-        StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
-        strBuilder.append("\n");
-        strBuilder.append("ROOTSPLITS: " + rootSplits + "\n");
-        strBuilder.append("SPLITS BY LEVEL\n");
-        for (int i = 0; i < currentLevel; i++) {
-            strBuilder.append(String.format("%3d ", i) + String.format("%8d ", splitsByLevel[i]) + "\n");
+    public byte getTreeHeight(IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame) throws HyracksDataException {
+        ICachedPage rootNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, rootPage), false);
+        rootNode.acquireReadLatch();
+        try {
+            leafFrame.setPage(rootNode);
+            return leafFrame.getLevel();
+        } finally {
+            rootNode.releaseReadLatch();
+            bufferCache.unpin(rootNode);
         }
-        strBuilder.append(String.format("READ LATCHES:  %10d %10d\n", readLatchesAcquired.get(),
-                readLatchesReleased.get()));
-        strBuilder.append(String.format("WRITE LATCHES: %10d %10d\n", writeLatchesAcquired.get(),
-                writeLatchesReleased.get()));
-        strBuilder.append(String.format("PINS:          %10d %10d\n", pins.get(), unpins.get()));
+    }
 
-        strBuilder.append(String.format("Num of Pages:          %10d\n", numOfPages));
-
+    @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+    public String printTree(IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame, IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame,
+            ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes) throws Exception {
+        MultiComparator cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
+        byte treeHeight = getTreeHeight(leafFrame);
+        StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
+        printTree(rootPage, null, false, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight, keySerdes, strBuilder, cmp);
         return strBuilder.toString();
     }
 
-    public void printTree(IRTreeFrame leafFrame, IRTreeFrame interiorFrame, ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes)
-            throws Exception {
-        printTree(rootPage, null, false, leafFrame, interiorFrame, keySerdes);
-    }
-
-    public void printTree(int pageId, ICachedPage parent, boolean unpin, IRTreeFrame leafFrame,
-            IRTreeFrame interiorFrame, ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes) throws Exception {
-
+    @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+    public void printTree(int pageId, ICachedPage parent, boolean unpin, IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame,
+            IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, byte treeHeight, ISerializerDeserializer[] keySerdes,
+            StringBuilder strBuilder, MultiComparator cmp) throws Exception {
         ICachedPage node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
-        incrementPins();
         node.acquireReadLatch();
-        incrementReadLatchesAcquired();
-
         try {
             if (parent != null && unpin == true) {
                 parent.releaseReadLatch();
-                incrementReadLatchesReleased();
                 bufferCache.unpin(parent);
-                incrementUnpins();
             }
-
             interiorFrame.setPage(node);
             int level = interiorFrame.getLevel();
-
-            System.out.format("%1d ", level);
-            System.out.format("%3d ", pageId);
-            for (int i = 0; i < currentLevel - level; i++)
-                System.out.format("    ");
+            strBuilder.append(String.format("%1d ", level));
+            strBuilder.append(String.format("%3d ", pageId) + ": ");
+            for (int i = 0; i < treeHeight - level; i++) {
+                strBuilder.append("    ");
+            }
 
             String keyString;
+            long LSN, NSN;
+            int rightPage;
             if (interiorFrame.isLeaf()) {
                 leafFrame.setPage(node);
                 keyString = TreeIndexUtils.printFrameTuples(leafFrame, keySerdes);
+                LSN = leafFrame.getPageLsn();
+                NSN = leafFrame.getPageNsn();
+                rightPage = leafFrame.getRightPage();
+
             } else {
                 keyString = TreeIndexUtils.printFrameTuples(interiorFrame, keySerdes);
+                LSN = interiorFrame.getPageLsn();
+                NSN = interiorFrame.getPageNsn();
+                rightPage = interiorFrame.getRightPage();
             }
 
-            System.out.format(keyString);
+            strBuilder.append(keyString + "\n" + "pageId: " + pageId + " LSN: " + LSN + " NSN: " + NSN + " rightPage: "
+                    + rightPage + "\n");
             if (!interiorFrame.isLeaf()) {
-                ArrayList<Integer> children = ((RTreeNSMFrame) (interiorFrame)).getChildren(cmp);
+                ArrayList<Integer> children = ((RTreeNSMInteriorFrame) (interiorFrame)).getChildren(cmp);
                 for (int i = 0; i < children.size(); i++) {
-                    printTree(children.get(i), node, i == children.size() - 1, leafFrame, interiorFrame, keySerdes);
+                    printTree(children.get(i), node, i == children.size() - 1, leafFrame, interiorFrame, treeHeight,
+                            keySerdes, strBuilder, cmp);
                 }
             } else {
                 node.releaseReadLatch();
-                incrementReadLatchesReleased();
                 bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                incrementUnpins();
             }
         } catch (Exception e) {
             node.releaseReadLatch();
-            incrementReadLatchesReleased();
             bufferCache.unpin(node);
-            incrementUnpins();
-            throw e;
+            e.printStackTrace();
         }
     }
 
@@ -206,94 +166,108 @@
     public void create(int fileId) throws HyracksDataException {
         treeLatch.writeLock().lock();
         try {
-            if (created) {
-                return;
-            }
-
             ITreeIndexFrame leafFrame = leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
             ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame = freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame();
+            freePageManager.open(fileId);
             freePageManager.init(metaFrame, rootPage);
 
             // initialize root page
             ICachedPage rootNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, rootPage), true);
-            incrementPins();
 
             rootNode.acquireWriteLatch();
-            incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
             try {
                 leafFrame.setPage(rootNode);
                 leafFrame.initBuffer((byte) 0);
             } finally {
                 rootNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
                 bufferCache.unpin(rootNode);
-                incrementUnpins();
             }
-            currentLevel = 0;
-
-            created = true;
         } finally {
             treeLatch.writeLock().unlock();
         }
     }
 
+    @Override
     public void open(int fileId) {
         this.fileId = fileId;
+        freePageManager.open(fileId);
     }
 
+    @Override
     public void close() {
         fileId = -1;
+        freePageManager.close();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getFileId() {
+        return fileId;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IBufferCache getBufferCache() {
+        return bufferCache;
     }
 
     private RTreeOpContext createOpContext() {
         return new RTreeOpContext((IRTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame(),
                 (IRTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame(), freePageManager.getMetaDataFrameFactory()
-                        .createFrame(), 8);
+                        .createFrame(), cmpFactories, 8);
     }
 
-    private void insert(ITupleReference tuple, IIndexOpContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+    private void insert(ITupleReference tuple, IIndexOpContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
         RTreeOpContext ctx = (RTreeOpContext) ictx;
         ctx.reset();
         ctx.setTuple(tuple);
         ctx.splitKey.reset();
-        ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
-        ctx.splitKey.getRightTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+        ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple().setFieldCount(cmpFactories.length);
+        ctx.splitKey.getRightTuple().setFieldCount(cmpFactories.length);
 
-        int maxFieldPos = cmp.getKeyFieldCount() / 2;
+        int maxFieldPos = cmpFactories.length / 2;
         for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
             int j = maxFieldPos + i;
-            int c = cmp.getComparators()[i].compare(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
+            int c = ctx.cmp.getComparators()[i].compare(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
                     tuple.getFieldLength(i), tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j), tuple.getFieldLength(j));
             if (c > 0) {
                 throw new IllegalArgumentException("The low key point has larger coordinates than the high key point.");
             }
         }
+        try {
+            ICachedPage leafNode = findLeaf(ctx);
 
-        ICachedPage leafNode = findLeaf(ctx);
+            int pageId = ctx.pathList.getLastPageId();
+            ctx.pathList.moveLast();
+            insertTuple(leafNode, pageId, ctx.getTuple(), ctx, true);
 
-        int pageId = ctx.pathList.getLastPageId();
-        ctx.pathList.moveLast();
-        insertTuple(leafNode, pageId, ctx.getTuple(), ctx, true);
+            while (true) {
+                if (ctx.splitKey.getLeftPageBuffer() != null) {
+                    updateParentForInsert(ctx);
+                } else {
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+        } finally {
+            for (int i = ctx.NSNUpdates.size() - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+                ICachedPage node = ctx.NSNUpdates.get(i);
+                ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
+                ctx.interiorFrame.setPageNsn(incrementGlobalNsn());
+            }
 
-        while (true) {
-            if (ctx.splitKey.getLeftPageBuffer() != null) {
-                updateParentForInsert(ctx);
-            } else {
-                break;
+            for (int i = ctx.LSNUpdates.size() - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
+                ICachedPage node = ctx.LSNUpdates.get(i);
+                ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
+                ctx.interiorFrame.setPageLsn(incrementGlobalNsn());
+                node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                bufferCache.unpin(node);
             }
         }
-
-        leafNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-        incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-        bufferCache.unpin(leafNode);
-        incrementUnpins();
     }
 
-    public ICachedPage findLeaf(RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
+    private ICachedPage findLeaf(RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
         int pageId = rootPage;
         boolean writeLatched = false;
         boolean readLatched = false;
-        boolean succeed = false;
+        boolean succeeded = false;
         ICachedPage node = null;
         boolean isLeaf = false;
         long pageLsn = 0, parentLsn = 0;
@@ -303,49 +277,38 @@
             while (true) {
                 if (!writeLatched) {
                     node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
-                    incrementPins();
                     ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
                     isLeaf = ctx.interiorFrame.isLeaf();
                     if (isLeaf) {
                         node.acquireWriteLatch();
                         writeLatched = true;
-                        incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
 
                         if (!ctx.interiorFrame.isLeaf()) {
                             node.releaseWriteLatch();
                             writeLatched = false;
-                            incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
                             bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                            incrementUnpins();
                             continue;
                         }
                     } else {
                         // Be optimistic and grab read latch first. We will swap
-                        // it
-                        // to write latch if we need to enlarge the best child
-                        // tuple.
+                        // it to write latch if we need to enlarge the best
+                        // child tuple.
                         node.acquireReadLatch();
                         readLatched = true;
-                        incrementReadLatchesAcquired();
                     }
                 }
 
                 if (pageId != rootPage && parentLsn < ctx.interiorFrame.getPageNsn()) {
                     // Concurrent split detected, go back to parent and
-                    // re-choose
-                    // the best child
+                    // re-choose the best child
                     if (writeLatched) {
                         node.releaseWriteLatch();
                         writeLatched = false;
-                        incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
                         bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                        incrementUnpins();
                     } else {
                         node.releaseReadLatch();
                         readLatched = false;
-                        incrementReadLatchesReleased();
                         bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                        incrementUnpins();
                     }
 
                     pageId = ctx.pathList.getLastPageId();
@@ -361,72 +324,73 @@
 
                 if (!isLeaf) {
                     // findBestChild must be called *before* getBestChildPageId
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.findBestChild(ctx.getTuple(), cmp);
+                    boolean enlarementIsNeeded = ctx.interiorFrame.findBestChild(ctx.getTuple(), ctx.cmp);
                     int childPageId = ctx.interiorFrame.getBestChildPageId();
 
-                    if (!writeLatched) {
-                        node.releaseReadLatch();
-                        readLatched = false;
-                        incrementReadLatchesReleased();
-                        // TODO: do we need to un-pin and pin again?
+                    if (enlarementIsNeeded) {
+                        if (!writeLatched) {
+                            node.releaseReadLatch();
+                            readLatched = false;
+                            bufferCache.unpin(node);
+
+                            node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
+                            node.acquireWriteLatch();
+                            writeLatched = true;
+                            ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
+
+                            if (ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn() != pageLsn) {
+                                // The page was changed while we unlocked it;
+                                // thus, retry (re-choose best child)
+
+                                ctx.pathList.moveLast();
+                                continue;
+                            }
+                        }
+                        // We don't need to reset the frameTuple because it is
+                        // already pointing to the best child
+                        ctx.interiorFrame.enlarge(ctx.getTuple(), ctx.cmp);
+
+                        node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                        writeLatched = false;
                         bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                        incrementUnpins();
-
-                        node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
-                        incrementPins();
-                        node.acquireWriteLatch();
-                        writeLatched = true;
-                        incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
-                        ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
-
-                        if (ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn() != pageLsn) {
-                            // The page was changed while we unlocked it; thus,
-                            // retry (re-choose best child)
-
-                            ctx.pathList.moveLast();
-                            continue;
+                    } else {
+                        if (readLatched) {
+                            node.releaseReadLatch();
+                            readLatched = false;
+                            bufferCache.unpin(node);
+                        } else if (writeLatched) {
+                            node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                            writeLatched = false;
+                            bufferCache.unpin(node);
                         }
                     }
 
-                    // We don't need to reset the frameTuple because it is
-                    // already pointing to the best child
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.enlarge(ctx.getTuple(), cmp);
-
-                    node.releaseWriteLatch();
-                    writeLatched = false;
-                    incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-                    bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                    incrementUnpins();
-
                     pageId = childPageId;
                     parentLsn = pageLsn;
                 } else {
                     ctx.leafFrame.setPage(node);
-                    succeed = true;
+                    succeeded = true;
                     return node;
                 }
             }
         } finally {
-            if (!succeed) {
+            if (!succeeded) {
                 if (readLatched) {
                     node.releaseReadLatch();
                     readLatched = false;
-                    incrementReadLatchesReleased();
                     bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                    incrementUnpins();
                 } else if (writeLatched) {
                     node.releaseWriteLatch();
                     writeLatched = false;
-                    incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
                     bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                    incrementUnpins();
                 }
             }
         }
     }
 
     private void insertTuple(ICachedPage node, int pageId, ITupleReference tuple, RTreeOpContext ctx, boolean isLeaf)
-            throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+            throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
+        boolean succeeded = false;
         FrameOpSpaceStatus spaceStatus;
         if (!isLeaf) {
             spaceStatus = ctx.interiorFrame.hasSpaceInsert(tuple);
@@ -436,139 +400,162 @@
 
         switch (spaceStatus) {
             case SUFFICIENT_CONTIGUOUS_SPACE: {
-                if (!isLeaf) {
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
-                    incrementGlobalNsn();
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.setPageLsn(getGlobalNsn());
-                } else {
-                    ctx.leafFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
-                    incrementGlobalNsn();
-                    ctx.leafFrame.setPageLsn(getGlobalNsn());
+                try {
+                    if (!isLeaf) {
+                        ctx.interiorFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
+                    } else {
+                        ctx.leafFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
+                    }
+                    succeeded = true;
+                } finally {
+                    if (succeeded) {
+                        ctx.LSNUpdates.add(node);
+                        ctx.splitKey.reset();
+                    } else if (isLeaf) {
+                        // In case of a crash, we un-latch the interior node
+                        // inside updateParentForInsert.
+                        node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                        bufferCache.unpin(node);
+                    }
                 }
-                ctx.splitKey.reset();
                 break;
             }
 
             case SUFFICIENT_SPACE: {
-                if (!isLeaf) {
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.compact();
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
-                    incrementGlobalNsn();
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.setPageLsn(getGlobalNsn());
-                } else {
-                    ctx.leafFrame.compact();
-                    ctx.leafFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
-                    incrementGlobalNsn();
-                    ctx.leafFrame.setPageLsn(getGlobalNsn());
+                try {
+                    if (!isLeaf) {
+                        ctx.interiorFrame.compact();
+                        ctx.interiorFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
+                    } else {
+                        ctx.leafFrame.compact();
+                        ctx.leafFrame.insert(tuple, -1);
+                    }
+                    succeeded = true;
+                } finally {
+                    if (succeeded) {
+                        ctx.LSNUpdates.add(node);
+                        ctx.splitKey.reset();
+                    } else if (isLeaf) {
+                        // In case of a crash, we un-latch the interior node
+                        // inside updateParentForInsert.
+                        node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                        bufferCache.unpin(node);
+                    }
                 }
-                ctx.splitKey.reset();
                 break;
             }
 
             case INSUFFICIENT_SPACE: {
                 int rightPageId = freePageManager.getFreePage(ctx.metaFrame);
                 ICachedPage rightNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, rightPageId), true);
-                incrementPins();
                 rightNode.acquireWriteLatch();
-                incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
 
                 try {
                     IRTreeFrame rightFrame;
-                    numOfPages++; // debug
                     if (!isLeaf) {
-                        splitsByLevel[ctx.interiorFrame.getLevel()]++; // debug
                         rightFrame = (IRTreeFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
                         rightFrame.setPage(rightNode);
                         rightFrame.initBuffer((byte) ctx.interiorFrame.getLevel());
+                        rightFrame.setRightPage(ctx.interiorFrame.getRightPage());
                         ctx.interiorFrame.split(rightFrame, tuple, ctx.splitKey);
                         ctx.interiorFrame.setRightPage(rightPageId);
-                        rightFrame.setPageNsn(ctx.interiorFrame.getPageNsn());
-                        incrementGlobalNsn();
-                        long newNsn = getGlobalNsn();
-                        rightFrame.setPageLsn(newNsn);
-                        ctx.interiorFrame.setPageNsn(newNsn);
-                        ctx.interiorFrame.setPageLsn(newNsn);
                     } else {
-                        splitsByLevel[0]++; // debug
                         rightFrame = (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
                         rightFrame.setPage(rightNode);
                         rightFrame.initBuffer((byte) 0);
+                        rightFrame.setRightPage(ctx.interiorFrame.getRightPage());
                         ctx.leafFrame.split(rightFrame, tuple, ctx.splitKey);
                         ctx.leafFrame.setRightPage(rightPageId);
-                        rightFrame.setPageNsn(ctx.leafFrame.getPageNsn());
-                        incrementGlobalNsn();
-                        long newNsn = getGlobalNsn();
-                        rightFrame.setPageLsn(newNsn);
-                        ctx.leafFrame.setPageNsn(newNsn);
-                        ctx.leafFrame.setPageLsn(newNsn);
                     }
-                    ctx.splitKey.setPages(pageId, rightPageId);
-                    if (pageId == rootPage) {
-                        rootSplits++; // debug
-                        splitsByLevel[currentLevel]++;
-                        currentLevel++;
-
-                        int newLeftId = freePageManager.getFreePage(ctx.metaFrame);
-                        ICachedPage newLeftNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, newLeftId),
-                                true);
-                        incrementPins();
-                        newLeftNode.acquireWriteLatch();
-                        incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
-                        try {
-                            // copy left child to new left child
-                            System.arraycopy(node.getBuffer().array(), 0, newLeftNode.getBuffer().array(), 0,
-                                    newLeftNode.getBuffer().capacity());
-
-                            // initialize new root (leftNode becomes new root)
-                            ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
-                            ctx.interiorFrame.initBuffer((byte) (ctx.interiorFrame.getLevel() + 1));
-
-                            ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(newLeftId);
-
-                            ctx.interiorFrame.insert(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), -1);
-                            ctx.interiorFrame.insert(ctx.splitKey.getRightTuple(), -1);
-
-                            incrementGlobalNsn();
-                            long newNsn = getGlobalNsn();
-                            ctx.interiorFrame.setPageLsn(newNsn);
-                            ctx.interiorFrame.setPageNsn(newNsn);
-                        } finally {
-                            newLeftNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                            incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-                            bufferCache.unpin(newLeftNode);
-                            incrementUnpins();
-                        }
-
-                        ctx.splitKey.reset();
-                    }
+                    succeeded = true;
                 } finally {
-                    rightNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                    incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-                    bufferCache.unpin(rightNode);
-                    incrementUnpins();
+                    if (succeeded) {
+                        ctx.NSNUpdates.add(rightNode);
+                        ctx.LSNUpdates.add(rightNode);
+                        ctx.NSNUpdates.add(node);
+                        ctx.LSNUpdates.add(node);
+                    } else if (isLeaf) {
+                        // In case of a crash, we un-latch the interior node
+                        // inside updateParentForInsert.
+                        node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                        bufferCache.unpin(node);
+                        rightNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                        bufferCache.unpin(rightNode);
+                    } else {
+                        rightNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                        bufferCache.unpin(rightNode);
+                    }
+
+                }
+                ctx.splitKey.setPages(pageId, rightPageId);
+                if (pageId == rootPage) {
+                    int newLeftId = freePageManager.getFreePage(ctx.metaFrame);
+                    ICachedPage newLeftNode = bufferCache
+                            .pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, newLeftId), true);
+                    newLeftNode.acquireWriteLatch();
+                    succeeded = false;
+                    try {
+                        // copy left child to new left child
+                        System.arraycopy(node.getBuffer().array(), 0, newLeftNode.getBuffer().array(), 0, newLeftNode
+                                .getBuffer().capacity());
+
+                        // initialize new root (leftNode becomes new root)
+                        ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
+                        ctx.interiorFrame.initBuffer((byte) (ctx.interiorFrame.getLevel() + 1));
+
+                        ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(newLeftId);
+                        ctx.interiorFrame.insert(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), -1);
+                        ctx.interiorFrame.insert(ctx.splitKey.getRightTuple(), -1);
+
+                        succeeded = true;
+                    } finally {
+                        if (succeeded) {
+                            ctx.NSNUpdates.remove(ctx.NSNUpdates.size() - 1);
+                            ctx.LSNUpdates.remove(ctx.LSNUpdates.size() - 1);
+
+                            ctx.NSNUpdates.add(newLeftNode);
+                            ctx.LSNUpdates.add(newLeftNode);
+
+                            ctx.NSNUpdates.add(node);
+                            ctx.LSNUpdates.add(node);
+                            ctx.splitKey.reset();
+                        } else if (isLeaf) {
+                            // In case of a crash, we un-latch the interior node
+                            // inside updateParentForInsert.
+                            node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                            bufferCache.unpin(node);
+                            rightNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                            bufferCache.unpin(rightNode);
+                            newLeftNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                            bufferCache.unpin(newLeftNode);
+                        } else {
+                            rightNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                            bufferCache.unpin(rightNode);
+                            newLeftNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                            bufferCache.unpin(newLeftNode);
+                        }
+                    }
                 }
                 break;
             }
         }
     }
 
-    public void updateParentForInsert(RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+    private void updateParentForInsert(RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
+        boolean succeeded = false;
         boolean writeLatched = false;
         int parentId = ctx.pathList.getLastPageId();
         ICachedPage parentNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, parentId), false);
-        incrementPins();
         parentNode.acquireWriteLatch();
         writeLatched = true;
-        incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
         ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(parentNode);
         boolean foundParent = true;
 
         try {
-
             if (ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn() != ctx.pathList.getLastPageLsn()) {
                 foundParent = false;
                 while (true) {
-                    if (ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), cmp) != -1) {
+                    if (ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), ctx.cmp) != -1) {
                         // found the parent
                         foundParent = true;
                         break;
@@ -576,9 +563,7 @@
                     int rightPage = ctx.interiorFrame.getRightPage();
                     parentNode.releaseWriteLatch();
                     writeLatched = false;
-                    incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
                     bufferCache.unpin(parentNode);
-                    incrementUnpins();
 
                     if (rightPage == -1) {
                         break;
@@ -586,46 +571,45 @@
 
                     parentId = rightPage;
                     parentNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, parentId), false);
-                    incrementPins();
                     parentNode.acquireWriteLatch();
                     writeLatched = true;
-                    incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
                     ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(parentNode);
                 }
             }
+
             if (foundParent) {
-                ctx.interiorFrame.adjustKey(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), -1, cmp);
+                try {
+                    ctx.interiorFrame.adjustKey(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), -1, ctx.cmp);
+                } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+                    if (writeLatched) {
+                        parentNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                        writeLatched = false;
+                        bufferCache.unpin(parentNode);
+                    }
+                    throw e;
+                }
                 insertTuple(parentNode, parentId, ctx.splitKey.getRightTuple(), ctx, ctx.interiorFrame.isLeaf());
                 ctx.pathList.moveLast();
-
-                parentNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                writeLatched = false;
-                incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-                bufferCache.unpin(parentNode);
-                incrementUnpins();
+                succeeded = true;
                 return;
-            }
 
+            }
         } finally {
-            if (writeLatched) {
-                parentNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                writeLatched = false;
-                incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-                bufferCache.unpin(parentNode);
-                incrementUnpins();
+            if (!succeeded) {
+                if (writeLatched) {
+                    parentNode.releaseWriteLatch();
+                    writeLatched = false;
+                    bufferCache.unpin(parentNode);
+                }
             }
         }
-        // very rare situation when the there is a root split, do an
-        // exhaustive
-        // breadth-first traversal looking for the parent tuple
 
-        ctx.pathList.clear();
         ctx.traverseList.clear();
         findPath(ctx);
         updateParentForInsert(ctx);
     }
 
-    public void findPath(RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
+    private void findPath(RTreeOpContext ctx) throws TreeIndexException, HyracksDataException {
         boolean readLatched = false;
         int pageId = rootPage;
         int parentIndex = -1;
@@ -640,10 +624,8 @@
                 parentIndex = ctx.traverseList.getFirstPageIndex();
 
                 node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
-                incrementPins();
                 node.acquireReadLatch();
                 readLatched = true;
-                incrementReadLatchesAcquired();
                 ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
                 pageLsn = ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn();
                 pageIndex = ctx.traverseList.first();
@@ -651,310 +633,199 @@
 
                 ctx.traverseList.moveFirst();
 
+                if (ctx.interiorFrame.isLeaf()) {
+                    throw new TreeIndexException("Error: Failed to re-find parent of a page in the tree.");
+                }
+
+                if (pageId != rootPage) {
+                    parentLsn = ctx.traverseList.getPageLsn(ctx.traverseList.getPageIndex(pageIndex));
+                }
                 if (pageId != rootPage && parentLsn < ctx.interiorFrame.getPageNsn()) {
                     int rightPage = ctx.interiorFrame.getRightPage();
                     if (rightPage != -1) {
-                        ctx.traverseList.add(rightPage, -1, parentIndex);
+                        ctx.traverseList.addFirst(rightPage, -1, parentIndex);
                     }
                 }
-                parentLsn = pageLsn;
 
-                if (ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), ctx.traverseList, pageIndex, cmp) != -1) {
+                if (ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), ctx.traverseList, pageIndex,
+                        ctx.cmp) != -1) {
+                    ctx.pathList.clear();
                     fillPath(ctx, pageIndex);
                     return;
                 }
                 node.releaseReadLatch();
                 readLatched = false;
-                incrementReadLatchesReleased();
                 bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                incrementUnpins();
             }
         } finally {
             if (readLatched) {
                 node.releaseReadLatch();
                 readLatched = false;
-                incrementReadLatchesReleased();
                 bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                incrementUnpins();
             }
         }
     }
 
-    public void fillPath(RTreeOpContext ctx, int pageIndex) {
+    private void fillPath(RTreeOpContext ctx, int pageIndex) {
         if (pageIndex != -1) {
             fillPath(ctx, ctx.traverseList.getPageIndex(pageIndex));
             ctx.pathList.add(ctx.traverseList.getPageId(pageIndex), ctx.traverseList.getPageLsn(pageIndex), -1);
         }
     }
 
-    public void delete(ITupleReference tuple, RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
+    private void delete(ITupleReference tuple, RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
         ctx.reset();
         ctx.setTuple(tuple);
         ctx.splitKey.reset();
-        ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple().setFieldCount(cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+        ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple().setFieldCount(cmpFactories.length);
 
+        // We delete the first matching tuple (including the payload data.
+        // We don't update the MBRs of the parents after deleting the record.
         int tupleIndex = findTupleToDelete(ctx);
 
         if (tupleIndex != -1) {
-            int pageId = ctx.pathList.getLastPageId();
-            ctx.pathList.moveLast();
-            deleteTuple(pageId, tupleIndex, ctx);
-
-            while (true) {
-                if (ctx.splitKey.getLeftPageBuffer() != null) {
-                    updateParentForDelete(ctx);
-                } else {
-                    break;
-                }
+            try {
+                deleteTuple(tupleIndex, ctx);
+            } finally {
+                ctx.leafFrame.getPage().releaseWriteLatch();
+                bufferCache.unpin(ctx.leafFrame.getPage());
             }
-
-            ctx.leafFrame.getPage().releaseWriteLatch();
-            incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-            bufferCache.unpin(ctx.leafFrame.getPage());
-            incrementUnpins();
         }
     }
 
-    public void updateParentForDelete(RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
-        boolean writeLatched = false;
-        int parentId = ctx.pathList.getLastPageId();
-        ICachedPage parentNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, parentId), false);
-        incrementPins();
-        parentNode.acquireWriteLatch();
-        writeLatched = true;
-        incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
-        ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(parentNode);
-        boolean foundParent = true;
-        int tupleIndex = -1;
-
-        try {
-            if (ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn() != ctx.pathList.getLastPageLsn()) {
-                foundParent = false;
-                while (true) {
-                    tupleIndex = ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), cmp);
-                    if (tupleIndex != -1) {
-                        // found the parent
-                        foundParent = true;
-                        break;
-                    }
-                    int rightPage = ctx.interiorFrame.getRightPage();
-                    parentNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                    writeLatched = false;
-                    incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-                    bufferCache.unpin(parentNode);
-                    incrementUnpins();
-
-                    if (rightPage == -1) {
-                        break;
-                    }
-
-                    parentId = rightPage;
-                    parentNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, parentId), false);
-                    incrementPins();
-                    parentNode.acquireWriteLatch();
-                    writeLatched = true;
-                    incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(parentNode);
-                }
-            }
-            if (foundParent) {
-                if (tupleIndex == -1) {
-                    tupleIndex = ctx.interiorFrame.findTupleByPointer(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), cmp);
-                }
-                boolean recomputeMBR = ctx.interiorFrame.recomputeMBR(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), tupleIndex, cmp);
-
-                if (recomputeMBR) {
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.adjustKey(ctx.splitKey.getLeftTuple(), tupleIndex, cmp);
-                    ctx.pathList.moveLast();
-
-                    incrementGlobalNsn();
-                    ctx.interiorFrame.setPageLsn(getGlobalNsn());
-
-                    ctx.splitKey.reset();
-                    if (!ctx.pathList.isEmpty()) {
-                        ctx.interiorFrame.computeMBR(ctx.splitKey);
-                        ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(parentId);
-                    }
-                } else {
-                    ctx.pathList.moveLast();
-                    ctx.splitKey.reset();
-                }
-
-                parentNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                writeLatched = false;
-                incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-                bufferCache.unpin(parentNode);
-                incrementUnpins();
-                return;
-            }
-        } finally {
-            if (writeLatched) {
-                parentNode.releaseWriteLatch();
-                writeLatched = false;
-                incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
-                bufferCache.unpin(parentNode);
-                incrementUnpins();
-            }
-        }
-
-        // very rare situation when the there is a root split, do an exhaustive
-        // breadth-first traversal looking for the parent tuple
-
-        ctx.pathList.clear();
-        ctx.traverseList.clear();
-        findPath(ctx);
-        updateParentForDelete(ctx);
-    }
-
-    public int findTupleToDelete(RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
+    private int findTupleToDelete(RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
         boolean writeLatched = false;
         boolean readLatched = false;
-        boolean succeed = false;
+        boolean succeeded = false;
         ICachedPage node = null;
-        ctx.traverseList.add(rootPage, -1, -1);
-        ctx.pathList.add(rootPage, -1, ctx.traverseList.size() - 1);
+        ctx.pathList.add(rootPage, -1, -1);
 
         try {
             while (!ctx.pathList.isEmpty()) {
                 int pageId = ctx.pathList.getLastPageId();
                 long parentLsn = ctx.pathList.getLastPageLsn();
-                int pageIndex = ctx.pathList.getLastPageIndex();
                 ctx.pathList.moveLast();
                 node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
-                incrementPins();
                 node.acquireReadLatch();
                 readLatched = true;
-                incrementReadLatchesAcquired();
                 ctx.interiorFrame.setPage(node);
                 boolean isLeaf = ctx.interiorFrame.isLeaf();
                 long pageLsn = ctx.interiorFrame.getPageLsn();
-                int parentIndex = ctx.traverseList.getPageIndex(pageIndex);
-                ctx.traverseList.setPageLsn(pageIndex, pageLsn);
 
                 if (pageId != rootPage && parentLsn < ctx.interiorFrame.getPageNsn()) {
                     // Concurrent split detected, we need to visit the right
                     // page
                     int rightPage = ctx.interiorFrame.getRightPage();
                     if (rightPage != -1) {
-                        ctx.traverseList.add(rightPage, -1, parentIndex);
-                        ctx.pathList.add(rightPage, parentLsn, ctx.traverseList.size() - 1);
+                        ctx.pathList.add(rightPage, parentLsn, -1);
                     }
                 }
 
                 if (!isLeaf) {
                     for (int i = 0; i < ctx.interiorFrame.getTupleCount(); i++) {
-                        int childPageId = ctx.interiorFrame.getChildPageIdIfIntersect(ctx.tuple, i, cmp);
+                        int childPageId = ctx.interiorFrame.getChildPageIdIfIntersect(ctx.tuple, i, ctx.cmp);
                         if (childPageId != -1) {
-                            ctx.traverseList.add(childPageId, -1, pageIndex);
-                            ctx.pathList.add(childPageId, pageLsn, ctx.traverseList.size() - 1);
+                            ctx.pathList.add(childPageId, pageLsn, -1);
                         }
                     }
                 } else {
                     ctx.leafFrame.setPage(node);
-                    int tupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findTupleIndex(ctx.tuple, cmp);
+                    int tupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findTupleIndex(ctx.tuple, ctx.cmp);
                     if (tupleIndex != -1) {
 
                         node.releaseReadLatch();
                         readLatched = false;
-                        incrementReadLatchesReleased();
                         bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                        incrementUnpins();
 
                         node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
-                        incrementPins();
                         node.acquireWriteLatch();
                         writeLatched = true;
-                        incrementWriteLatchesAcquired();
                         ctx.leafFrame.setPage(node);
 
+                        // A rare case only happen when a root is no longer a
+                        // leaf page. Simply we restart the search.
+                        if (!ctx.leafFrame.isLeaf()) {
+                            ctx.pathList.add(pageId, -1, -1);
+
+                            node.releaseWriteLatch();
+                            writeLatched = false;
+                            bufferCache.unpin(node);
+                            continue;
+                        }
+
                         if (ctx.leafFrame.getPageLsn() != pageLsn) {
                             // The page was changed while we unlocked it
 
-                            tupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findTupleIndex(ctx.tuple, cmp);
+                            tupleIndex = ctx.leafFrame.findTupleIndex(ctx.tuple, ctx.cmp);
                             if (tupleIndex == -1) {
-                                ctx.traverseList.add(pageId, -1, parentIndex);
-                                ctx.pathList.add(pageId, parentLsn, ctx.traverseList.size() - 1);
+                                ctx.pathList.add(pageId, parentLsn, -1);
 
                                 node.releaseWriteLatch();
                                 writeLatched = false;
-                                incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
                                 bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                                incrementUnpins();
                                 continue;
                             } else {
-                                ctx.pathList.clear();
-                                fillPath(ctx, pageIndex);
-                                succeed = true;
+                                succeeded = true;
                                 return tupleIndex;
                             }
                         } else {
-                            ctx.pathList.clear();
-                            fillPath(ctx, pageIndex);
-                            succeed = true;
+                            succeeded = true;
                             return tupleIndex;
                         }
                     }
                 }
                 node.releaseReadLatch();
                 readLatched = false;
-                incrementReadLatchesReleased();
                 bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                incrementUnpins();
             }
         } finally {
-            if (!succeed) {
+            if (!succeeded) {
                 if (readLatched) {
                     node.releaseReadLatch();
                     readLatched = false;
-                    incrementReadLatchesReleased();
                     bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                    incrementUnpins();
                 } else if (writeLatched) {
                     node.releaseWriteLatch();
                     writeLatched = false;
-                    incrementWriteLatchesReleased();
                     bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                    incrementUnpins();
                 }
             }
         }
         return -1;
     }
 
-    public void deleteTuple(int pageId, int tupleIndex, RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
-        ctx.leafFrame.delete(tupleIndex, cmp);
-        incrementGlobalNsn();
-        ctx.leafFrame.setPageLsn(getGlobalNsn());
-
-        // if the page is empty, just leave it there for future inserts
-        if (pageId != rootPage && ctx.leafFrame.getTupleCount() > 0) {
-            ctx.leafFrame.computeMBR(ctx.splitKey);
-            ctx.splitKey.setLeftPage(pageId);
-        }
+    private void deleteTuple(int tupleIndex, RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
+        ctx.leafFrame.delete(tupleIndex, ctx.cmp);
+        ctx.leafFrame.setPageLsn(incrementGlobalNsn());
     }
 
-    private void search(ITreeIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred, RTreeOpContext ctx)  throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
-    	ctx.reset();
+    private void search(ITreeIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred, RTreeOpContext ctx)
+            throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
+        ctx.reset();
         ctx.cursor = cursor;
 
         cursor.setBufferCache(bufferCache);
         cursor.setFileId(fileId);
         ctx.cursorInitialState.setRootPage(rootPage);
-        ctx.cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, (SearchPredicate)searchPred);
+        ctx.cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, (SearchPredicate) searchPred);
     }
 
+    @Override
     public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getInteriorFrameFactory() {
         return interiorFrameFactory;
     }
 
+    @Override
     public ITreeIndexFrameFactory getLeafFrameFactory() {
         return leafFrameFactory;
     }
 
-    public MultiComparator getCmp() {
-        return cmp;
+    @Override
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
+        return cmpFactories;
     }
 
+    @Override
     public IFreePageManager getFreePageManager() {
         return freePageManager;
     }
@@ -963,20 +834,37 @@
         throw new UnsupportedOperationException("RTree Update not implemented.");
     }
 
+    public boolean isEmptyTree(IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame) throws HyracksDataException {
+        ICachedPage rootNode = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, rootPage), false);
+        rootNode.acquireReadLatch();
+        try {
+            leafFrame.setPage(rootNode);
+            if (leafFrame.getLevel() == 0 && leafFrame.getTupleCount() == 0) {
+                return true;
+            } else {
+                return false;
+            }
+        } finally {
+            rootNode.releaseReadLatch();
+            bufferCache.unpin(rootNode);
+        }
+    }
+
     public final class BulkLoadContext implements IIndexBulkLoadContext {
 
         public ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
 
         public BulkLoadContext(float fillFactor, IRTreeFrame leafFrame, IRTreeFrame interiorFrame,
                 ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame) throws HyracksDataException {
-        	indexAccessor = createAccessor();
+            indexAccessor = createAccessor();
         }
     }
 
     @Override
     public IIndexBulkLoadContext beginBulkLoad(float fillFactor) throws HyracksDataException {
-        if (loaded) {
-            throw new HyracksDataException("Trying to bulk-load RTree but RTree has already been loaded.");
+        IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
+        if (!isEmptyTree(leafFrame)) {
+            throw new HyracksDataException("Trying to Bulk-load a non-empty RTree.");
         }
 
         BulkLoadContext ctx = new BulkLoadContext(fillFactor, (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame(),
@@ -988,21 +876,23 @@
     @Override
     public void bulkLoadAddTuple(ITupleReference tuple, IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException {
         try {
-        	((BulkLoadContext) ictx).indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+            ((BulkLoadContext) ictx).indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
         } catch (Exception e) {
-            throw new HyracksDataException("BulkLoad Error");
+            throw new HyracksDataException("BulkLoad Error", e);
         }
     }
 
     @Override
     public void endBulkLoad(IIndexBulkLoadContext ictx) throws HyracksDataException {
-        loaded = true;
     }
 
     private void diskOrderScan(ITreeIndexCursor icursor, RTreeOpContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException {
         TreeDiskOrderScanCursor cursor = (TreeDiskOrderScanCursor) icursor;
         ctx.reset();
 
+        MultiComparator cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
+        SearchPredicate searchPred = new SearchPredicate(null, cmp);
+
         int currentPageId = rootPage + 1;
         int maxPageId = freePageManager.getMaxPage(ctx.metaFrame);
 
@@ -1014,7 +904,7 @@
             cursor.setCurrentPageId(currentPageId);
             cursor.setMaxPageId(maxPageId);
             ctx.cursorInitialState.setPage(page);
-            cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, diskOrderScanPredicate);
+            cursor.open(ctx.cursorInitialState, searchPred);
         } catch (Exception e) {
             page.releaseReadLatch();
             bufferCache.unpin(page);
@@ -1036,23 +926,23 @@
     public IndexType getIndexType() {
         return IndexType.RTREE;
     }
-    
+
     @Override
-	public ITreeIndexAccessor createAccessor() {
-    	return new RTreeAccessor(this);
-	}
-    
-    private class RTreeAccessor implements ITreeIndexAccessor {
+    public ITreeIndexAccessor createAccessor() {
+        return new RTreeAccessor(this);
+    }
+
+    public class RTreeAccessor implements ITreeIndexAccessor {
         private RTree rtree;
         private RTreeOpContext ctx;
-        
+
         public RTreeAccessor(RTree rtree) {
             this.rtree = rtree;
             this.ctx = rtree.createOpContext();
         }
-        
+
         @Override
-        public void insert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+        public void insert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
             ctx.reset(IndexOp.INSERT);
             rtree.insert(tuple, ctx);
         }
@@ -1070,10 +960,21 @@
         }
 
         @Override
-        public void search(ITreeIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException,
-                TreeIndexException {
+        public ITreeIndexCursor createSearchCursor() {
+            return new RTreeSearchCursor((IRTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame(),
+                    (IRTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame());
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void search(IIndexCursor cursor, ISearchPredicate searchPred) throws HyracksDataException,
+                IndexException {
             ctx.reset(IndexOp.SEARCH);
-            rtree.search(cursor, searchPred, ctx);
+            rtree.search((ITreeIndexCursor) cursor, searchPred, ctx);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public ITreeIndexCursor createDiskOrderScanCursor() {
+            return new TreeDiskOrderScanCursor(leafFrameFactory.createFrame());
         }
 
         @Override
@@ -1081,5 +982,15 @@
             ctx.reset(IndexOp.DISKORDERSCAN);
             rtree.diskOrderScan(cursor, ctx);
         }
+
+        public RTreeOpContext getOpContext() {
+            return ctx;
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void upsert(ITupleReference tuple) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
+            throw new UnsupportedOperationException(
+                    "The RTree does not suypport the notion of keys, therefore upsert does not make sense.");
+        }
     }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeOpContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeOpContext.java
index c258377..6683444 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeOpContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeOpContext.java
@@ -15,73 +15,85 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls;
 
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexOpContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.IndexOp;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeInteriorFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeLeafFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.ICachedPage;
 
-public final class RTreeOpContext implements IIndexOpContext {
-	public final IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame;
-	public final IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame;
-	public IndexOp op;
-	public ITreeIndexCursor cursor;
-	public RTreeCursorInitialState cursorInitialState;
-	public ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame;
-	public RTreeSplitKey splitKey;
-	public ITupleReference tuple;
-	public PathList pathList; // used to record the pageIds and pageLsns
-								// of the visited pages
-	public PathList traverseList; // used for traversing the tree
-	private static final int initTraverseListSize = 100;
+public class RTreeOpContext implements IIndexOpContext {
+    private static final int INITIAL_TRAVERSE_LIST_SIZE = 100;
+    public final MultiComparator cmp;
+    public final IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame;
+    public final IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame;
+    public IndexOp op;
+    public ITreeIndexCursor cursor;
+    public RTreeCursorInitialState cursorInitialState;
+    public ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame;
+    public RTreeSplitKey splitKey;
+    public ITupleReference tuple;
+    // Used to record the pageIds and pageLsns of the visited pages.
+    public PathList pathList;
+    // Used for traversing the tree.
+    public PathList traverseList;
 
-	public RTreeOpContext(IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame,
-			IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame,
-			ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, int treeHeightHint) {
-		this.interiorFrame = interiorFrame;
-		this.leafFrame = leafFrame;
-		this.metaFrame = metaFrame;
-		pathList = new PathList(treeHeightHint, treeHeightHint);
-	}
+    public ArrayList<ICachedPage> NSNUpdates;
+    public ArrayList<ICachedPage> LSNUpdates;
 
-	public ITupleReference getTuple() {
-		return tuple;
-	}
+    public RTreeOpContext(IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame, IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame,
+            ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, int treeHeightHint) {
+        this.cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
+        this.interiorFrame = interiorFrame;
+        this.leafFrame = leafFrame;
+        this.metaFrame = metaFrame;
+        pathList = new PathList(treeHeightHint, treeHeightHint);
+        NSNUpdates = new ArrayList<ICachedPage>();
+        LSNUpdates = new ArrayList<ICachedPage>();
+    }
 
-	public void setTuple(ITupleReference tuple) {
-		this.tuple = tuple;
-	}
+    public ITupleReference getTuple() {
+        return tuple;
+    }
 
-	public void reset() {
-		if (pathList != null) {
-			pathList.clear();
-		}
-		if (traverseList != null) {
-			traverseList.clear();
-		}
-	}
+    public void setTuple(ITupleReference tuple) {
+        this.tuple = tuple;
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public void reset(IndexOp newOp) {
-		if (op != null && newOp == op) {
-			return;
-		}
-		if (op != IndexOp.SEARCH && op != IndexOp.DISKORDERSCAN) {
-			if (splitKey == null) {
-				splitKey = new RTreeSplitKey(interiorFrame.getTupleWriter()
-						.createTupleReference(), interiorFrame.getTupleWriter()
-						.createTupleReference());
-			}
-			if (traverseList == null) {
-				traverseList = new PathList(initTraverseListSize,
-						initTraverseListSize);
-			}
-		}
-		if (cursorInitialState == null) {
-			cursorInitialState = new RTreeCursorInitialState(pathList, 1);
-		}
-		this.op = newOp;
-	}
+    public void reset() {
+        if (pathList != null) {
+            pathList.clear();
+        }
+        if (traverseList != null) {
+            traverseList.clear();
+        }
+        NSNUpdates.clear();
+        LSNUpdates.clear();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void reset(IndexOp newOp) {
+        if (op != null && newOp == op) {
+            return;
+        }
+        if (op != IndexOp.SEARCH && op != IndexOp.DISKORDERSCAN) {
+            if (splitKey == null) {
+                splitKey = new RTreeSplitKey(interiorFrame.getTupleWriter().createTupleReference(), interiorFrame
+                        .getTupleWriter().createTupleReference());
+            }
+            if (traverseList == null) {
+                traverseList = new PathList(INITIAL_TRAVERSE_LIST_SIZE, INITIAL_TRAVERSE_LIST_SIZE);
+            }
+        }
+        if (cursorInitialState == null) {
+            cursorInitialState = new RTreeCursorInitialState(pathList, 1);
+        }
+        this.op = newOp;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeSearchCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeSearchCursor.java
index e65f1d4..ee7ec5f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeSearchCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/RTreeSearchCursor.java
@@ -39,19 +39,18 @@
     private SearchPredicate pred;
     private PathList pathList;
     private int rootPage;
-    ITupleReference searchKey;
+    private ITupleReference searchKey;
 
     private int tupleIndex = 0;
     private int tupleIndexInc = 0;
+    private int currentTupleIndex = 0;
+    private int pageId = -1;
 
     private MultiComparator cmp;
 
     private ITreeIndexTupleReference frameTuple;
     private boolean readLatched = false;
 
-    private int pin = 0;
-    private int unpin = 0;
-
     public RTreeSearchCursor(IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame) {
         this.interiorFrame = interiorFrame;
         this.leafFrame = leafFrame;
@@ -59,7 +58,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void close() throws Exception {
+    public void close() throws HyracksDataException {
         if (readLatched) {
             page.releaseReadLatch();
             bufferCache.unpin(page);
@@ -75,17 +74,24 @@
         return frameTuple;
     }
 
+    public int getTupleOffset() {
+        return leafFrame.getTupleOffset(currentTupleIndex);
+    }
+
+    public int getPageId() {
+        return pageId;
+    }
+
     @Override
     public ICachedPage getPage() {
         return page;
     }
 
-    public boolean fetchNextLeafPage() throws HyracksDataException {
-        boolean succeed = false;
+    private boolean fetchNextLeafPage() throws HyracksDataException {
+        boolean succeeded = false;
         if (readLatched) {
             page.releaseReadLatch();
             bufferCache.unpin(page);
-            unpin++;
             readLatched = false;
         }
 
@@ -94,7 +100,6 @@
             long parentLsn = pathList.getLastPageLsn();
             pathList.moveLast();
             ICachedPage node = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, pageId), false);
-            pin++;
             node.acquireReadLatch();
             readLatched = true;
             try {
@@ -112,26 +117,35 @@
                 }
 
                 if (!isLeaf) {
-                    for (int i = 0; i < interiorFrame.getTupleCount(); i++) {
-                        int childPageId = interiorFrame.getChildPageIdIfIntersect(searchKey, i, cmp);
-                        if (childPageId != -1) {
+                    if (searchKey != null) {
+                        for (int i = 0; i < interiorFrame.getTupleCount(); i++) {
+                            int childPageId = interiorFrame.getChildPageIdIfIntersect(searchKey, i, cmp);
+                            if (childPageId != -1) {
+                                pathList.add(childPageId, pageLsn, -1);
+                            }
+                        }
+                    } else {
+                        for (int i = 0; i < interiorFrame.getTupleCount(); i++) {
+                            int childPageId = interiorFrame.getChildPageId(i);
                             pathList.add(childPageId, pageLsn, -1);
                         }
                     }
+
                 } else {
                     page = node;
+                    this.pageId = pageId; // This is only needed for the
+                                          // LSMRTree flush operation
                     leafFrame.setPage(page);
                     tupleIndex = 0;
-                    succeed = true;
+                    succeeded = true;
                     return true;
                 }
             } finally {
-                if (!succeed) {
+                if (!succeeded) {
                     if (readLatched) {
                         node.releaseReadLatch();
                         readLatched = false;
                         bufferCache.unpin(node);
-                        unpin++;
                     }
                 }
             }
@@ -140,7 +154,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public boolean hasNext() throws Exception {
+    public boolean hasNext() throws HyracksDataException {
         if (page == null) {
             return false;
         }
@@ -153,8 +167,19 @@
 
         do {
             for (int i = tupleIndex; i < leafFrame.getTupleCount(); i++) {
-                if (leafFrame.intersect(searchKey, i, cmp)) {
+                if (searchKey != null) {
+                    if (leafFrame.intersect(searchKey, i, cmp)) {
+                        frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(leafFrame, i);
+                        currentTupleIndex = i; // This is only needed for the
+                                               // LSMRTree flush operation
+                        tupleIndexInc = i + 1;
+                        return true;
+                    }
+                } else {
                     frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(leafFrame, i);
+                    currentTupleIndex = i; // This is only needed for the
+                                           // LSMRTree
+                                           // flush operation
                     tupleIndexInc = i + 1;
                     return true;
                 }
@@ -164,7 +189,7 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void next() throws Exception {
+    public void next() throws HyracksDataException {
         tupleIndex = tupleIndexInc;
     }
 
@@ -185,14 +210,17 @@
         cmp = pred.getLowKeyComparator();
         searchKey = pred.getSearchKey();
 
-        int maxFieldPos = cmp.getKeyFieldCount() / 2;
-        for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
-            int j = maxFieldPos + i;
-            int c = cmp.getComparators()[i].compare(searchKey.getFieldData(i), searchKey.getFieldStart(i),
-                    searchKey.getFieldLength(i), searchKey.getFieldData(j), searchKey.getFieldStart(j),
-                    searchKey.getFieldLength(j));
-            if (c > 0) {
-                throw new IllegalArgumentException("The low key point has larger coordinates than the high key point.");
+        if (searchKey != null) {
+            int maxFieldPos = cmp.getKeyFieldCount() / 2;
+            for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
+                int j = maxFieldPos + i;
+                int c = cmp.getComparators()[i].compare(searchKey.getFieldData(i), searchKey.getFieldStart(i),
+                        searchKey.getFieldLength(i), searchKey.getFieldData(j), searchKey.getFieldStart(j),
+                        searchKey.getFieldLength(j));
+                if (c > 0) {
+                    throw new IllegalArgumentException(
+                            "The low key point has larger coordinates than the high key point.");
+                }
             }
         }
 
@@ -220,8 +248,8 @@
         this.fileId = fileId;
     }
 
-	@Override
-	public boolean exclusiveLatchNodes() {
-		return false;
-	}
+    @Override
+    public boolean exclusiveLatchNodes() {
+        return false;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/UnorderedSlotManager.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/UnorderedSlotManager.java
index 260cdea..a2dcb6d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/UnorderedSlotManager.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/impls/UnorderedSlotManager.java
@@ -24,105 +24,100 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMFrame;
 
 public class UnorderedSlotManager extends AbstractSlotManager {
-	
-	@Override
-	public int findTupleIndex(ITupleReference searchKey,
-			ITreeIndexTupleReference frameTuple, MultiComparator multiCmp,
-			FindTupleMode mode, FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy matchPolicy) {
 
-		int maxFieldPos = multiCmp.getKeyFieldCount() / 2;
-		for (int i = 0; i < frame.getTupleCount(); i++) {
-			frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(frame, i);
+    @Override
+    public int findTupleIndex(ITupleReference searchKey, ITreeIndexTupleReference frameTuple, MultiComparator multiCmp,
+            FindTupleMode mode, FindTupleNoExactMatchPolicy matchPolicy) {
+        if (searchKey.getFieldCount() == frameTuple.getFieldCount()) {
+            int maxFieldPos = multiCmp.getKeyFieldCount() / 2;
+            for (int i = 0; i < frame.getTupleCount(); i++) {
+                frameTuple.resetByTupleIndex(frame, i);
 
-			boolean foundTuple = true;
-			for (int j = 0; j < maxFieldPos; j++) {
-				int k = maxFieldPos + j;
-				int c1 = multiCmp.getComparators()[j].compare(
-						frameTuple.getFieldData(j),
-						frameTuple.getFieldStart(j),
-						frameTuple.getFieldLength(j),
-						searchKey.getFieldData(j), searchKey.getFieldStart(j),
-						searchKey.getFieldLength(j));
+                boolean foundTuple = true;
+                for (int j = 0; j < maxFieldPos; j++) {
+                    int k = maxFieldPos + j;
+                    int c1 = multiCmp.getComparators()[j].compare(frameTuple.getFieldData(j),
+                            frameTuple.getFieldStart(j), frameTuple.getFieldLength(j), searchKey.getFieldData(j),
+                            searchKey.getFieldStart(j), searchKey.getFieldLength(j));
 
-				if (c1 != 0) {
-					foundTuple = false;
-					break;
-				}
-				int c2 = multiCmp.getComparators()[k].compare(
-						frameTuple.getFieldData(k),
-						frameTuple.getFieldStart(k),
-						frameTuple.getFieldLength(k),
-						searchKey.getFieldData(k), searchKey.getFieldStart(k),
-						searchKey.getFieldLength(k));
-				if (c2 != 0) {
-					foundTuple = false;
-					break;
-				}
-			}
-			int remainingFieldCount = frameTuple.getFieldCount()
-					- multiCmp.getKeyFieldCount();
-			for (int j = multiCmp.getKeyFieldCount(); j < multiCmp
-					.getKeyFieldCount() + remainingFieldCount; j++) {
-				if (!compareField(searchKey, frameTuple, j)) {
-					foundTuple = false;
-					break;
-				}
-			}
-			if (foundTuple) {
-				return i;
-			}
-		}
-		return -1;
-	}
+                    if (c1 != 0) {
+                        foundTuple = false;
+                        break;
+                    }
+                    int c2 = multiCmp.getComparators()[k].compare(frameTuple.getFieldData(k),
+                            frameTuple.getFieldStart(k), frameTuple.getFieldLength(k), searchKey.getFieldData(k),
+                            searchKey.getFieldStart(k), searchKey.getFieldLength(k));
+                    if (c2 != 0) {
+                        foundTuple = false;
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+                int remainingFieldCount = frameTuple.getFieldCount() - multiCmp.getKeyFieldCount();
+                for (int j = multiCmp.getKeyFieldCount(); j < multiCmp.getKeyFieldCount() + remainingFieldCount; j++) {
+                    if (!compareField(searchKey, frameTuple, j)) {
+                        foundTuple = false;
+                        break;
+                    }
+                }
+                if (foundTuple) {
+                    return i;
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        return -1;
+    }
 
-	public boolean compareField(ITupleReference searchKey,
-			ITreeIndexTupleReference frameTuple, int fIdx) {
-		int searchKeyFieldLength = searchKey.getFieldLength(fIdx);
-		int frameTupleFieldLength = frameTuple.getFieldLength(fIdx);
+    private boolean compareField(ITupleReference searchKey, ITreeIndexTupleReference frameTuple, int fIdx) {
+        int searchKeyFieldLength = searchKey.getFieldLength(fIdx);
+        int frameTupleFieldLength = frameTuple.getFieldLength(fIdx);
 
-		if (searchKeyFieldLength != frameTupleFieldLength) {
-			return false;
-		}
+        if (searchKeyFieldLength != frameTupleFieldLength) {
+            return false;
+        }
 
-		for (int i = 0; i < searchKeyFieldLength; i++) {
-			if (searchKey.getFieldData(fIdx)[i + searchKey.getFieldStart(fIdx)] != frameTuple
-					.getFieldData(fIdx)[i + frameTuple.getFieldStart(fIdx)]) {
-				return false;
-			}
-		}
-		return true;
-	}
+        for (int i = 0; i < searchKeyFieldLength; i++) {
+            if (searchKey.getFieldData(fIdx)[i + searchKey.getFieldStart(fIdx)] != frameTuple.getFieldData(fIdx)[i
+                    + frameTuple.getFieldStart(fIdx)]) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
 
-	@Override
-	public int insertSlot(int tupleIndex, int tupleOff) {
-		int slotOff = getSlotEndOff() - slotSize;
-		setSlot(slotOff, tupleOff);
-		return slotOff;
-	}
+    @Override
+    public int insertSlot(int tupleIndex, int tupleOff) {
+        int slotOff = getSlotEndOff() - slotSize;
+        setSlot(slotOff, tupleOff);
+        return slotOff;
+    }
 
-	public void modifySlot(int slotOff, int tupleOff) {
-		setSlot(slotOff, tupleOff);
-	}
+    public void modifySlot(int slotOff, int tupleOff) {
+        setSlot(slotOff, tupleOff);
+    }
 
-	public void deleteEmptySlots() {
-		int slotOff = getSlotStartOff();
-		while (slotOff >= getSlotEndOff()) {
-			if (frame.getBuffer().getInt(slotOff) == -1) {
-				while (frame.getBuffer().getInt(getSlotEndOff()) == -1) {
-					((RTreeNSMFrame) frame)
-							.setTupleCount(frame.getTupleCount() - 1);
-				}
-				if (slotOff > getSlotEndOff()) {
-					System.arraycopy(frame.getBuffer().array(),
-							getSlotEndOff(), frame.getBuffer().array(),
-							slotOff, slotSize);
-					((RTreeNSMFrame) frame)
-							.setTupleCount(frame.getTupleCount() - 1);
-				} else {
-					break;
-				}
-			}
-			slotOff -= slotSize;
-		}
-	}
+    public void deleteSlot(int slotOff) {
+        System.arraycopy(frame.getBuffer().array(), getSlotEndOff(), frame.getBuffer().array(), slotOff + slotSize,
+                slotSize);
+    }
+
+    public void deleteEmptySlots() {
+        int slotOff = getSlotStartOff();
+        while (frame.getTupleCount() > 0) {
+            while (frame.getBuffer().getInt(getSlotEndOff()) == -1) {
+                ((RTreeNSMFrame) frame).setTupleCount(frame.getTupleCount() - 1);
+                if (frame.getTupleCount() == 0) {
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            if (frame.getTupleCount() == 0 || slotOff <= getSlotEndOff()) {
+                break;
+            }
+            if (frame.getBuffer().getInt(slotOff) == -1) {
+                modifySlot(slotOff, frame.getBuffer().getInt(getSlotEndOff()));
+                ((RTreeNSMFrame) frame).setTupleCount(frame.getTupleCount() - 1);
+            }
+            slotOff -= slotSize;
+
+        }
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/util/RTreeUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/util/RTreeUtils.java
index 74e4840..6f5d36f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/util/RTreeUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-rtree/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/util/RTreeUtils.java
@@ -15,11 +15,55 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.api.IPointableFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.data.PointablePrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tuples.RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 public class RTreeUtils {
+    public static RTree createRTree(IBufferCache bufferCache, ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) {
+
+        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
+        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
+                valueProviderFactories);
+        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
+                valueProviderFactories);
+        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
+
+        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, typeTraits.length, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
+                leafFrameFactory);
+        return rtree;
+    }
+
+    // Creates a new MultiComparator by constructing new IBinaryComparators.
+    public static MultiComparator getSearchMultiComparator(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories,
+            ITupleReference searchKey) {
+        if (searchKey == null || cmpFactories.length == searchKey.getFieldCount()) {
+            return MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
+        }
+        IBinaryComparator[] newCmps = new IBinaryComparator[searchKey.getFieldCount()];
+        for (int i = 0; i < searchKey.getFieldCount(); i++) {
+            newCmps[i] = cmpFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
+        }
+        return new MultiComparator(newCmps);
+    }
+
     public static IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(int len, IPointableFactory pf) {
         IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] pvpfs = new IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[len];
         for (int i = 0; i < len; ++i) {
@@ -27,4 +71,4 @@
         }
         return pvpfs;
     }
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/BufferCache.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/BufferCache.java
index a6f1a4b..e170a95 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/BufferCache.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/buffercache/BufferCache.java
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Map;
@@ -28,8 +27,8 @@
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.BufferedFileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapManager;
@@ -38,12 +37,11 @@
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(BufferCache.class.getName());
     private static final int MAP_FACTOR = 2;
 
-    private static final int MAX_VICTIMIZATION_TRY_COUNT = 5;
-    private static final int MAX_WAIT_FOR_CLEANER_THREAD_TIME = 1000;
-    private static final int MIN_CLEANED_COUNT_DIFF = 4;
-
-    private final int maxOpenFiles;
+    private static final int MIN_CLEANED_COUNT_DIFF = 3;
+    private static final int PIN_MAX_WAIT_TIME = 50;
     
+    private final int maxOpenFiles;
+
     private final IIOManager ioManager;
     private final int pageSize;
     private final int numPages;
@@ -52,8 +50,8 @@
     private final IPageReplacementStrategy pageReplacementStrategy;
     private final IFileMapManager fileMapManager;
     private final CleanerThread cleanerThread;
-    private final Map<Integer, BufferedFileHandle> fileInfoMap;    
-    
+    private final Map<Integer, BufferedFileHandle> fileInfoMap;
+
     private boolean closed;
 
     public BufferCache(IIOManager ioManager, ICacheMemoryAllocator allocator,
@@ -97,10 +95,10 @@
         }
 
         // check whether file has been created and opened
-        int fileId = BufferedFileHandle.getFileId(dpid);        
+        int fileId = BufferedFileHandle.getFileId(dpid);
         BufferedFileHandle fInfo = null;
-        synchronized(fileInfoMap) {
-        	fInfo = fileInfoMap.get(fileId);
+        synchronized (fileInfoMap) {
+            fInfo = fileInfoMap.get(fileId);
         }
         if (fInfo == null) {
             throw new HyracksDataException("pin called on a fileId " + fileId + " that has not been created.");
@@ -112,7 +110,6 @@
     @Override
     public ICachedPage tryPin(long dpid) throws HyracksDataException {
         pinSanityCheck(dpid);
-
         CachedPage cPage = null;
         int hash = hash(dpid);
         CacheBucket bucket = pageMap[hash];
@@ -121,7 +118,7 @@
             cPage = bucket.cachedPage;
             while (cPage != null) {
                 if (cPage.dpid == dpid) {
-                	cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
+                    cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
                     pageReplacementStrategy.notifyCachePageAccess(cPage);
                     return cPage;
                 }
@@ -130,22 +127,13 @@
         } finally {
             bucket.bucketLock.unlock();
         }
-
         return cPage;
     }
 
     @Override
     public ICachedPage pin(long dpid, boolean newPage) throws HyracksDataException {
         pinSanityCheck(dpid);
-
         CachedPage cPage = findPage(dpid, newPage);
-        if (cPage == null) {
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
-                LOGGER.fine(dumpState());
-            }
-            throw new HyracksDataException("Failed to pin page " + BufferedFileHandle.getFileId(dpid) + ":"
-                    + BufferedFileHandle.getPageId(dpid) + " because all pages are pinned.");
-        }
         if (!newPage) {
             if (!cPage.valid) {
                 /*
@@ -170,10 +158,9 @@
     }
 
     private CachedPage findPage(long dpid, boolean newPage) {
-        int victimizationTryCount = 0;        
         while (true) {
-        	int startCleanedCount = cleanerThread.cleanedCount;
-        	
+            int startCleanedCount = cleanerThread.cleanedCount;
+
             CachedPage cPage = null;
             /*
              * Hash dpid to get a bucket and then check if the page exists in the bucket.
@@ -185,7 +172,7 @@
                 cPage = bucket.cachedPage;
                 while (cPage != null) {
                     if (cPage.dpid == dpid) {
-                    	cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
+                        cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
                         return cPage;
                     }
                     cPage = cPage.next;
@@ -227,8 +214,8 @@
                         cPage = bucket.cachedPage;
                         while (cPage != null) {
                             if (cPage.dpid == dpid) {
-                            	cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
-                            	victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
+                                cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
+                                victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
                                 return cPage;
                             }
                             cPage = cPage.next;
@@ -249,14 +236,14 @@
                     bucket.bucketLock.lock();
                     try {
                         if (victim.pinCount.get() != 1) {
-                        	victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
+                            victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
                             continue;
                         }
                         cPage = bucket.cachedPage;
                         while (cPage != null) {
                             if (cPage.dpid == dpid) {
-                            	cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
-                            	victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
+                                cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
+                                victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
                                 return cPage;
                             }
                             cPage = cPage.next;
@@ -280,14 +267,14 @@
                     }
                     try {
                         if (victim.pinCount.get() != 1) {
-                        	victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();                        	
+                            victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
                             continue;
                         }
                         cPage = bucket.cachedPage;
                         while (cPage != null) {
                             if (cPage.dpid == dpid) {
-                            	cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
-                            	victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
+                                cPage.pinCount.incrementAndGet();
+                                victim.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
                                 return cPage;
                             }
                             cPage = cPage.next;
@@ -312,28 +299,22 @@
                     return victim;
                 }
             }
-            /*
-             * Victimization failed -- all pages pinned? wait a bit, increment victimizationTryCount and loop around. Give up after MAX_VICTIMIZATION_TRY_COUNT trys.
-             */
-            if (++victimizationTryCount >= MAX_VICTIMIZATION_TRY_COUNT) {
-                return null;
-            }
             synchronized (cleanerThread) {
                 cleanerThread.notifyAll();
             }
-			// Heuristic optimization. Check whether the cleaner thread has
-			// cleaned pages since we did our last pin attempt.
-			if (cleanerThread.cleanedCount - startCleanedCount > MIN_CLEANED_COUNT_DIFF) {
-				// Don't go to sleep and wait for notification from the cleaner,
-				// just try to pin again immediately.
-				continue;
-			}
+            // Heuristic optimization. Check whether the cleaner thread has
+            // cleaned pages since we did our last pin attempt.
+            if (cleanerThread.cleanedCount - startCleanedCount > MIN_CLEANED_COUNT_DIFF) {
+                // Don't go to sleep and wait for notification from the cleaner,
+                // just try to pin again immediately.
+                continue;
+            }
             synchronized (cleanerThread.cleanNotification) {
-            	try {
-            		cleanerThread.cleanNotification.wait(MAX_WAIT_FOR_CLEANER_THREAD_TIME);
-            	} catch (InterruptedException e) {
-            		// Do nothing
-            	}
+                try {
+                    cleanerThread.cleanNotification.wait(PIN_MAX_WAIT_TIME);
+                } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+                    // Do nothing
+                }
             }
         }
     }
@@ -390,7 +371,7 @@
 
     private void write(CachedPage cPage) throws HyracksDataException {
         BufferedFileHandle fInfo = getFileInfo(cPage);
-        if(fInfo.fileHasBeenDeleted()){
+        if (fInfo.fileHasBeenDeleted()) {
             return;
         }
         cPage.buffer.position(0);
@@ -512,11 +493,11 @@
         private boolean shutdownStart = false;
         private boolean shutdownComplete = false;
         private final Object cleanNotification = new Object();
-		// Simply keeps incrementing this counter when a page is cleaned.
-		// Used to implement wait-for-cleanerthread heuristic optimizations.
-		// A waiter can detect whether pages have been cleaned.
-		// No need to make this var volatile or synchronize it's access in any
-		// way because it is used for heuristics.
+        // Simply keeps incrementing this counter when a page is cleaned.
+        // Used to implement wait-for-cleanerthread heuristic optimizations.
+        // A waiter can detect whether pages have been cleaned.
+        // No need to make this var volatile or synchronize it's access in any
+        // way because it is used for heuristics.
         private int cleanedCount = 0;
 
         public CleanerThread() {
@@ -524,54 +505,54 @@
         }
 
         public void cleanPage(CachedPage cPage, boolean force) {
-        	if (cPage.dirty.get()) {
-        		boolean proceed = false;
-        		if (force) {        			
-        			cPage.latch.writeLock().lock();
-        			proceed = true;
-        		} else {        			
-        			proceed = cPage.latch.readLock().tryLock();
-        		}
+            if (cPage.dirty.get()) {
+                boolean proceed = false;
+                if (force) {
+                    cPage.latch.writeLock().lock();
+                    proceed = true;
+                } else {
+                    proceed = cPage.latch.readLock().tryLock();
+                }
                 if (proceed) {
-                	try {
-                		// Make sure page is still dirty.
-                    	if (!cPage.dirty.get()) {
-                    		return;
-                    	}
+                    try {
+                        // Make sure page is still dirty.
+                        if (!cPage.dirty.get()) {
+                            return;
+                        }
                         boolean cleaned = true;
                         try {
                             write(cPage);
                         } catch (HyracksDataException e) {
                             cleaned = false;
                         }
-                        if (cleaned) {                           	                        	
-                        	cPage.dirty.set(false);
-                        	cPage.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
-                        	cleanedCount++;
-                        	synchronized (cleanNotification) {                        		
-                        		cleanNotification.notifyAll();
-                        	}
+                        if (cleaned) {
+                            cPage.dirty.set(false);
+                            cPage.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
+                            cleanedCount++;
+                            synchronized (cleanNotification) {
+                                cleanNotification.notifyAll();
+                            }
                         }
                     } finally {
                         if (force) {
-                        	cPage.latch.writeLock().unlock();
+                            cPage.latch.writeLock().unlock();
                         } else {
-                        	cPage.latch.readLock().unlock();
+                            cPage.latch.readLock().unlock();
                         }
                     }
                 } else if (shutdownStart) {
-                    throw new IllegalStateException(
-                            "Cache closed, but unable to acquire read lock on dirty page: " + cPage.dpid);
+                    throw new IllegalStateException("Cache closed, but unable to acquire read lock on dirty page: "
+                            + cPage.dpid);
                 }
             }
         }
-        
+
         @Override
         public synchronized void run() {
             try {
                 while (true) {
-                    for (int i = 0; i < numPages; ++i) {                        
-                    	CachedPage cPage = cachedPages[i];
+                    for (int i = 0; i < numPages; ++i) {
+                        CachedPage cPage = cachedPages[i];
                         cleanPage(cPage, false);
                     }
                     if (shutdownStart) {
@@ -592,7 +573,7 @@
 
     @Override
     public void close() {
-    	closed = true;
+        closed = true;
         synchronized (cleanerThread) {
             cleanerThread.shutdownStart = true;
             cleanerThread.notifyAll();
@@ -668,7 +649,7 @@
 
                 // create, open, and map new file reference
                 FileReference fileRef = fileMapManager.lookupFileName(fileId);
-                FileHandle fh = ioManager.open(fileRef, IIOManager.FileReadWriteMode.READ_WRITE,
+                IFileHandle fh = ioManager.open(fileRef, IIOManager.FileReadWriteMode.READ_WRITE,
                         IIOManager.FileSyncMode.METADATA_ASYNC_DATA_ASYNC);
                 fInfo = new BufferedFileHandle(fileId, fh);
                 fileInfoMap.put(fileId, fInfo);
@@ -717,7 +698,7 @@
                 if (flushDirtyPages) {
                     write(cPage);
                 }
-                cPage.dirty.set(false);                
+                cPage.dirty.set(false);
                 pinCount = cPage.pinCount.decrementAndGet();
             } else {
                 pinCount = cPage.pinCount.get();
@@ -736,10 +717,10 @@
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Closing file: " + fileId + " in cache: " + this);
         }
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {            
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
             LOGGER.fine(dumpState());
         }
-        
+
         synchronized (fileInfoMap) {
             BufferedFileHandle fInfo = fileInfoMap.get(fileId);
             if (fInfo == null) {
@@ -756,32 +737,28 @@
 
     @Override
     public void flushDirtyPage(ICachedPage page) throws HyracksDataException {
-    	// Assumes the caller has pinned the page.
-    	cleanerThread.cleanPage((CachedPage)page, true);
+        // Assumes the caller has pinned the page.
+        cleanerThread.cleanPage((CachedPage) page, true);
     }
-	
-	@Override
+
+    @Override
     public void force(int fileId, boolean metadata) throws HyracksDataException {
-    	BufferedFileHandle fInfo = null;
-    	synchronized (fileInfoMap) {
-    		fInfo = fileInfoMap.get(fileId);
-    		try {
-    			fInfo.getFileHandle().getFileChannel().force(metadata);
-    		} catch (IOException e) {
-    			throw new HyracksDataException(e);
-    		}
-    	}    	
+        BufferedFileHandle fInfo = null;
+        synchronized (fileInfoMap) {
+            fInfo = fileInfoMap.get(fileId);
+            ioManager.sync(fInfo.getFileHandle(), metadata);
+        }
     }
-	
+
     @Override
     public synchronized void deleteFile(int fileId, boolean flushDirtyPages) throws HyracksDataException {
         if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
             LOGGER.info("Deleting file: " + fileId + " in cache: " + this);
         }
         if (flushDirtyPages) {
-        	synchronized (fileInfoMap) {
-        		sweepAndFlush(fileId, flushDirtyPages);
-        	}
+            synchronized (fileInfoMap) {
+                sweepAndFlush(fileId, flushDirtyPages);
+            }
         }
         synchronized (fileInfoMap) {
             BufferedFileHandle fInfo = null;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/file/BufferedFileHandle.java b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/file/BufferedFileHandle.java
index ac062d2..1444886b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/file/BufferedFileHandle.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-storage-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/file/BufferedFileHandle.java
@@ -16,14 +16,14 @@
 
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileHandle;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
 
 public class BufferedFileHandle {
     private final int fileId;
-    private FileHandle handle;
+    private IFileHandle handle;
     private final AtomicInteger refCount;
 
-    public BufferedFileHandle(int fileId, FileHandle handle) {
+    public BufferedFileHandle(int fileId, IFileHandle handle) {
         this.fileId = fileId;
         this.handle = handle;
         refCount = new AtomicInteger();
@@ -33,18 +33,18 @@
         return fileId;
     }
 
-    public FileHandle getFileHandle() {
+    public IFileHandle getFileHandle() {
         return handle;
     }
 
     public void markAsDeleted() {
-    	handle = null;
+        handle = null;
     }
-    
+
     public boolean fileHasBeenDeleted() {
-    	return handle == null;
+        return handle == null;
     }
-    
+
     public int incReferenceCount() {
         return refCount.incrementAndGet();
     }
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@
     public int decReferenceCount() {
         return refCount.decrementAndGet();
     }
-    
+
     public int getReferenceCount() {
         return refCount.get();
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/pom.xml
index b35aae3..12aa45d 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/pom.xml
@@ -45,10 +45,24 @@
   	</dependency>
   	<dependency>
   		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  		<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-rtree</artifactId>
+  		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  		<type>jar</type>
+  		<scope>compile</scope>
+  	</dependency>
+  	<dependency>
+  		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
   		<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex</artifactId>
   		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   		<type>jar</type>
   		<scope>compile</scope>
   	</dependency>
+  	<dependency>
+  		<groupId>junit</groupId>
+  		<artifactId>junit</artifactId>
+  		<version>4.8.1</version>
+  		<type>jar</type>
+  		<scope>compile</scope>
+  	</dependency>
   </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexBulkLoadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexBulkLoadTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..85bfdd2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexBulkLoadTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class OrderedIndexBulkLoadTest extends OrderedIndexTestDriver {
+
+    private final OrderedIndexTestUtils orderedIndexTestUtils;
+    private final int bulkLoadRounds;
+
+    public OrderedIndexBulkLoadTest(BTreeLeafFrameType[] leafFrameTypesToTest, int bulkLoadRounds) {
+        super(leafFrameTypesToTest);
+        this.bulkLoadRounds = bulkLoadRounds;
+        this.orderedIndexTestUtils = new OrderedIndexTestUtils();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType,
+            ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey)
+            throws Exception {
+        OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = createTestContext(fieldSerdes, numKeys, leafType);
+        for (int i = 0; i < bulkLoadRounds; i++) {
+            // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first
+            // one
+            // to determine which field types to generate.
+            if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.bulkLoadIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.bulkLoadStringTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            }
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkPointSearches(ctx);
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkScan(ctx);
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(ctx);
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, lowKey, highKey, true, true);
+            if (prefixLowKey != null && prefixHighKey != null) {
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey, true, true);
+            }
+        }
+        ctx.getIndex().close();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getTestOpName() {
+        return "BulkLoad";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexDeleteTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexDeleteTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..93075a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexDeleteTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class OrderedIndexDeleteTest extends OrderedIndexTestDriver {
+
+    private final OrderedIndexTestUtils orderedIndexTestUtils;
+
+    public OrderedIndexDeleteTest(BTreeLeafFrameType[] leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+        super(leafFrameTypesToTest);
+        this.orderedIndexTestUtils = new OrderedIndexTestUtils();
+    }
+
+    private static final int numInsertRounds = 3;
+    private static final int numDeleteRounds = 3;
+
+    @Override
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType,
+            ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey)
+            throws Exception {
+        OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = createTestContext(fieldSerdes, numKeys, leafType);
+        for (int i = 0; i < numInsertRounds; i++) {
+            // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first
+            // one to determine which field types to generate.
+            if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.insertIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.insertStringTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            }
+            int numTuplesPerDeleteRound = (int) Math
+                    .ceil((float) ctx.getCheckTuples().size() / (float) numDeleteRounds);
+            for (int j = 0; j < numDeleteRounds; j++) {
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.deleteTuples(ctx, numTuplesPerDeleteRound, getRandom());
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.checkPointSearches(ctx);
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.checkScan(ctx);
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(ctx);
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, lowKey, highKey, true, true);
+                if (prefixLowKey != null && prefixHighKey != null) {
+                    orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey, true, true);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        ctx.getIndex().close();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getTestOpName() {
+        return "Delete";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a29be89
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexExamplesTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,644 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.UTF8StringPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.RangePredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.TreeDiskOrderScanCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class OrderedIndexExamplesTest {
+    protected static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(OrderedIndexExamplesTest.class.getName());
+    protected final Random rnd = new Random(50);
+
+    protected abstract ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories)
+            throws TreeIndexException;
+
+    protected abstract int getIndexFileId();
+    
+    /**
+     * Fixed-Length Key,Value Example.
+     * 
+     * Create a tree index with one fixed-length key field and one fixed-length value
+     * field. Fill index with random values using insertions (not bulk load).
+     * Perform scans and range search.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void fixedLengthKeyValueExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Fixed-Length Key,Value Example.");
+        }
+
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 2;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Declare keys.
+        int keyFieldCount = 1;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
+        }
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+        int numInserts = 10000;
+        for (int i = 0; i < numInserts; i++) {
+            int f0 = rnd.nextInt() % numInserts;
+            int f1 = 5;
+            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, f0, f1);
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i + " : " + f0 + " " + f1);
+                }
+            }
+            try {
+                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+            }
+        }
+        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info(numInserts + " inserts in " + (end - start) + "ms");
+        }
+
+        orderedScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+        diskOrderScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+
+        // Build low key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(keyFieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(lowKeyTb, lowKey, -1000);
+
+        // Build high key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(keyFieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, 1000);
+
+        rangeSearch(cmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
+
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Composite Key Example (Non-Unique Index).
+     * 
+     * Create a tree index with two fixed-length key fields and one fixed-length
+     * value field. Fill index with random values using insertions (not bulk
+     * load) Perform scans and range search.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void twoFixedLengthKeysOneFixedLengthValueExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Composite Key Test");
+        }
+
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 3;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // declare keys
+        int keyFieldCount = 2;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
+        }
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+        int numInserts = 10000;
+        for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
+            int f0 = rnd.nextInt() % 2000;
+            int f1 = rnd.nextInt() % 1000;
+            int f2 = 5;
+            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, f0, f1, f2);
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i + " : " + f0 + " " + f1 + " " + f2);
+                }
+            }
+            try {
+                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+            }
+        }
+        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info(numInserts + " inserts in " + (end - start) + "ms");
+        }
+
+        orderedScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+        diskOrderScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+
+        // Build low key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
+        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(lowKeyTb, lowKey, -3);
+
+        // Build high key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
+        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, 3);
+
+        // Prefix-Range search in [-3, 3]
+        rangeSearch(cmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
+
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Variable-Length Example. Create a BTree with one variable-length key
+     * field and one variable-length value field. Fill BTree with random values
+     * using insertions (not bulk load) Perform ordered scans and range search.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void varLenKeyValueExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Variable-Length Key,Value Example");
+        }
+
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 2;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Declare keys.
+        int keyFieldCount = 1;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
+        }
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+        // Max string length to be generated.
+        int maxLength = 10;
+        int numInserts = 10000;
+        for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
+            String f0 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
+            String f1 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
+            TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, f0, f1);
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + f0 + " " + f1);
+                }
+            }
+            try {
+                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+            }
+        }
+        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info(numInserts + " inserts in " + (end - start) + "ms");
+        }
+
+        orderedScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+        diskOrderScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+
+        // Build low key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
+        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createTuple(lowKeyTb, lowKey, fieldSerdes, "cbf");
+
+        // Build high key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
+        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, fieldSerdes, "cc7");
+
+        rangeSearch(cmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
+
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Deletion Example.
+     * 
+     * Create a BTree with one variable-length key field and one variable-length
+     * value field. Fill B-tree with random values using insertions, then delete
+     * entries one-by-one. Repeat procedure a few times on same BTree.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void deleteExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Deletion Example");
+        }
+
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 2;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Declare keys.
+        int keyFieldCount = 1;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+        // Max string length to be generated.
+        int runs = 3;
+        for (int run = 0; run < runs; run++) {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Deletion example run: " + (run + 1) + "/" + runs);
+                LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
+            }
+            int maxLength = 10;
+            int ins = 10000;
+            String[] f0s = new String[ins];
+            String[] f1s = new String[ins];
+            int insDone = 0;
+            int[] insDoneCmp = new int[ins];
+            for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
+                String f0 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
+                String f1 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
+                TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, f0, f1);
+                f0s[i] = f0;
+                f1s[i] = f1;
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                        LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i);
+                    }
+                }
+                try {
+                    indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+                    insDone++;
+                } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+                }
+                insDoneCmp[i] = insDone;
+            }
+
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Deleting from tree...");
+            }
+            int delDone = 0;
+            for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
+                TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, f0s[i], f1s[i]);
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                        LOGGER.info("Deleting " + i);
+                    }
+                }
+                try {
+                    indexAccessor.delete(tuple);
+                    delDone++;
+                } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+                }
+                if (insDoneCmp[i] != delDone) {
+                    if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                        LOGGER.info("INCONSISTENT STATE, ERROR IN DELETION EXAMPLE.");
+                        LOGGER.info("INSDONECMP: " + insDoneCmp[i] + " " + delDone);
+                    }
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            if (insDone != delDone) {
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    LOGGER.info("ERROR! INSDONE: " + insDone + " DELDONE: " + delDone);
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Update example.
+     * 
+     * Create a BTree with one variable-length key field and one variable-length
+     * value field. Fill B-tree with random values using insertions, then update
+     * entries one-by-one. Repeat procedure a few times on same BTree.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void updateExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Update example");
+        }
+
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 2;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Declare keys.
+        int keyFieldCount = 1;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
+        }
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        int maxLength = 10;
+        int ins = 10000;
+        String[] keys = new String[10000];
+        for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
+            String f0 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
+            String f1 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
+            TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, f0, f1);
+            keys[i] = f0;
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i);
+                }
+            }
+            try {
+                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+            }
+        }
+        // Print before doing any updates.
+        orderedScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+
+        int runs = 3;
+        for (int run = 0; run < runs; run++) {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Update test run: " + (run + 1) + "/" + runs);
+                LOGGER.info("Updating BTree");
+            }
+            for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
+                // Generate a new random value for f1.
+                String f1 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
+                TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, keys[i], f1);
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                        LOGGER.info("Updating " + i);
+                    }
+                }
+                try {
+                    indexAccessor.update(tuple);
+                } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+                } catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) {
+                }
+            }
+            // Do another scan after a round of updates.
+            orderedScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+        }
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Bulk load example.
+     * 
+     * Load a tree with 100,000 tuples. BTree has a composite key to "simulate"
+     * non-unique index creation.
+     * 
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void bulkLoadExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Bulk load example");
+        }
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 3;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // declare keys
+        int keyFieldCount = 2;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        // Load sorted records.
+        int ins = 100000;
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Bulk loading " + ins + " tuples");
+        }
+        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        IIndexBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = treeIndex.beginBulkLoad(0.7f);
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
+            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, i, i, 5);
+            treeIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, bulkLoadCtx);
+        }
+        treeIndex.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
+        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info(ins + " tuples loaded in " + (end - start) + "ms");
+        }
+
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+
+        // Build low key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
+        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(lowKeyTb, lowKey, 44444);
+
+        // Build high key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
+        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, 44500);
+
+        // Prefix-Range search in [44444, 44500]
+        rangeSearch(cmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
+
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    private void orderedScan(IIndexAccessor indexAccessor, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes)
+            throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Ordered Scan:");
+        }
+        IIndexCursor scanCursor = (IIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();        
+        RangePredicate nullPred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
+        indexAccessor.search(scanCursor, nullPred);
+        try {
+            while (scanCursor.hasNext()) {
+                scanCursor.next();
+                ITupleReference frameTuple = scanCursor.getTuple();
+                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, fieldSerdes);
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    LOGGER.info(rec);
+                }
+            }
+        } finally {
+            scanCursor.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+	private void diskOrderScan(IIndexAccessor indexAccessor,
+			ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes) throws Exception {
+		try {
+			if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+				LOGGER.info("Disk-Order Scan:");
+			}
+			ITreeIndexAccessor treeIndexAccessor = (ITreeIndexAccessor) indexAccessor;
+			TreeDiskOrderScanCursor diskOrderCursor = (TreeDiskOrderScanCursor) treeIndexAccessor
+					.createDiskOrderScanCursor();
+			treeIndexAccessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderCursor);
+			try {
+				while (diskOrderCursor.hasNext()) {
+					diskOrderCursor.next();
+					ITupleReference frameTuple = diskOrderCursor.getTuple();
+					String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, fieldSerdes);
+					if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+						LOGGER.info(rec);
+					}
+				}
+			} finally {
+				diskOrderCursor.close();
+			}
+		} catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) {
+			// Ignore exception because some indexes, e.g. the LSMBTree, don't
+			// support disk-order scan.
+			if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+				LOGGER.info("Ignoring disk-order scan since it's not supported.");
+			}
+		} catch (ClassCastException e) {
+			// Ignore exception because IIndexAccessor sometimes isn't
+			// an ITreeIndexAccessor, e.g., for the LSMBTree.
+			if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+				LOGGER.info("Ignoring disk-order scan since it's not supported.");
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+    private void rangeSearch(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, IIndexAccessor indexAccessor, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey) throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            String lowKeyString = TupleUtils.printTuple(lowKey, fieldSerdes);
+            String highKeyString = TupleUtils.printTuple(highKey, fieldSerdes);
+            LOGGER.info("Range-Search in: [ " + lowKeyString + ", " + highKeyString + "]");
+        }
+        ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        MultiComparator lowKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmpFactories, lowKey);
+        MultiComparator highKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmpFactories, highKey);
+        RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, true, true, lowKeySearchCmp,
+                highKeySearchCmp);
+        indexAccessor.search(rangeCursor, rangePred);
+        try {
+            while (rangeCursor.hasNext()) {
+                rangeCursor.next();
+                ITupleReference frameTuple = rangeCursor.getTuple();
+                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, fieldSerdes);
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    LOGGER.info(rec);
+                }
+            }
+        } finally {
+            rangeCursor.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static String randomString(int length, Random random) {
+        String s = Long.toHexString(Double.doubleToLongBits(random.nextDouble()));
+        StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
+        for (int i = 0; i < s.length() && i < length; i++) {
+            strBuilder.append(s.charAt(Math.abs(random.nextInt()) % s.length()));
+        }
+        return strBuilder.toString();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexInsertTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexInsertTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d12603b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexInsertTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+
+/**
+ * Tests the BTree insert operation with strings and integer fields using
+ * various numbers of key and payload fields.
+ * 
+ * Each tests first fills a BTree with randomly generated tuples. We compare the
+ * following operations against expected results: 1. Point searches for all
+ * tuples. 2. Ordered scan. 3. Disk-order scan. 4. Range search (and prefix
+ * search for composite keys).
+ * 
+ */
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class OrderedIndexInsertTest extends OrderedIndexTestDriver {
+
+    private final OrderedIndexTestUtils orderedIndexTestUtils;
+
+    public OrderedIndexInsertTest(BTreeLeafFrameType[] leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+        super(leafFrameTypesToTest);
+        this.orderedIndexTestUtils = new OrderedIndexTestUtils();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType,
+            ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey)
+            throws Exception {
+        OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = createTestContext(fieldSerdes, numKeys, leafType);
+        // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first one
+        // to determine which field types to generate.
+        if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.insertIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+        } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.insertStringTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+        }
+
+        orderedIndexTestUtils.checkPointSearches(ctx);
+        orderedIndexTestUtils.checkScan(ctx);
+        orderedIndexTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(ctx);
+
+        orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, lowKey, highKey, true, true);
+        if (prefixLowKey != null && prefixHighKey != null) {
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey, true, true);
+        }
+        ctx.getIndex().close();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getTestOpName() {
+        return "Insert";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexMultiThreadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexMultiThreadTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a894a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexMultiThreadTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.SerdeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestWorkloadConf;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class OrderedIndexMultiThreadTest {    
+    
+    protected final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(OrderedIndexMultiThreadTest.class.getName());
+    
+    // Machine-specific number of threads to use for testing.
+    protected final int REGULAR_NUM_THREADS = Runtime.getRuntime().availableProcessors();
+    // Excessive number of threads for testing.
+    protected final int EXCESSIVE_NUM_THREADS = Runtime.getRuntime().availableProcessors() * 4;
+    protected final int NUM_OPERATIONS = 10000;
+    
+    protected ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf> workloadConfs = getTestWorkloadConf();    
+    
+    protected abstract void setUp() throws HyracksException;
+    
+    protected abstract void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException;        
+
+    protected abstract ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws TreeIndexException;
+    
+    protected abstract int getFileId();
+    
+    protected abstract ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory getWorkerFactory();
+    
+    protected abstract ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf> getTestWorkloadConf();
+    
+    protected abstract String getIndexTypeName();
+    
+    protected static float[] getUniformOpProbs(TestOperation[] ops) {
+        float[] opProbs = new float[ops.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < ops.length; i++) {
+            opProbs[i] = 1.0f / (float) ops.length;
+        }
+        return opProbs;
+    }
+    
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, int numThreads, TestWorkloadConf conf, String dataMsg) throws InterruptedException, TreeIndexException, HyracksException {
+        setUp();
+        
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+        	String indexTypeName = getIndexTypeName();
+            LOGGER.info(indexTypeName + " MultiThread Test:\nData: " + dataMsg + "; Threads: " + numThreads + "; Workload: " + conf.toString() + ".");
+        }
+        
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = SerdeUtils.serdesToTypeTraits(fieldSerdes);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparatorFactories(fieldSerdes, numKeys);     
+        
+        ITreeIndex index = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, cmpFactories);
+        ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory workerFactory = getWorkerFactory();
+        
+        // 4 batches per thread.
+        int batchSize = (NUM_OPERATIONS / numThreads) / 4;
+        
+        TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver driver = new TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver(index, workerFactory, fieldSerdes, conf.ops, conf.opProbs);
+        driver.init(getFileId());
+        long[] times = driver.run(numThreads, 1, NUM_OPERATIONS, batchSize);
+        driver.deinit();
+        
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("BTree MultiThread Test Time: " + times[0] + "ms");
+        }
+        
+        tearDown();
+    }
+    
+    @Test
+    public void oneIntKeyAndValue() throws InterruptedException, TreeIndexException, HyracksException {        
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = new ISerializerDeserializer[] { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+        int numKeys = 1;
+        String dataMsg = "One Int Key And Value";
+        
+        for (TestWorkloadConf conf : workloadConfs) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, numKeys, REGULAR_NUM_THREADS, conf, dataMsg);
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, numKeys, EXCESSIVE_NUM_THREADS, conf, dataMsg);
+        }
+    }
+    
+    @Test
+    public void oneStringKeyAndValue() throws InterruptedException, TreeIndexException, HyracksException {        
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = new ISerializerDeserializer[] { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+        int numKeys = 1;
+        String dataMsg = "One String Key And Value";
+        
+        for (TestWorkloadConf conf : workloadConfs) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, numKeys, REGULAR_NUM_THREADS, conf, dataMsg);
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, numKeys, EXCESSIVE_NUM_THREADS, conf, dataMsg);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestContext.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f75a1f1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestContext.java
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.TreeSet;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.CheckTuple;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TreeIndexTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class OrderedIndexTestContext extends TreeIndexTestContext<CheckTuple> {
+
+    protected final TreeSet<CheckTuple> checkTuples = new TreeSet<CheckTuple>();
+
+    public OrderedIndexTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, ITreeIndex treeIndex) {
+        super(fieldSerdes, treeIndex);
+    }
+
+    public void upsertCheckTuple(CheckTuple checkTuple, Collection<CheckTuple> checkTuples) {
+    	if (checkTuples.contains(checkTuple)) {
+            checkTuples.remove(checkTuple);
+        }
+        checkTuples.add(checkTuple);
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public TreeSet<CheckTuple> getCheckTuples() {
+        return checkTuples;
+    }
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestDriver.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestDriver.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8daa5e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestDriver.java
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class OrderedIndexTestDriver {
+    protected final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(OrderedIndexTestDriver.class.getName());
+
+    protected static final int numTuplesToInsert = 10000;
+
+    protected abstract OrderedIndexTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys,
+            BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws Exception;
+
+    protected abstract Random getRandom();
+
+    protected abstract void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType,
+            ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey)
+            throws Exception;
+
+    protected abstract String getTestOpName();
+
+    protected final BTreeLeafFrameType[] leafFrameTypesToTest;
+
+    public OrderedIndexTestDriver(BTreeLeafFrameType[] leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+        this.leafFrameTypesToTest = leafFrameTypesToTest;
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void oneIntKeyAndValue() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With One Int Key And Value.");
+        }
+
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+        // Range search in [-1000, 1000]
+        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(-1000);
+        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(1000);
+
+        for (BTreeLeafFrameType leafFrameType : leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, 1, leafFrameType, lowKey, highKey, null, null);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void twoIntKeys() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two Int Keys.");
+        }
+
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Range search in [50 0, 50 500]
+        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50, 0);
+        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50, 500);
+
+        // Prefix range search in [50, 50]
+        ITupleReference prefixLowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50);
+        ITupleReference prefixHighKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50);
+
+        for (BTreeLeafFrameType leafFrameType : leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, leafFrameType, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void twoIntKeysAndValues() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two Int Keys And Values.");
+        }
+
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Range search in [50 100, 100 100]
+        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(-100, -100);
+        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(100, 100);
+
+        // Prefix range search in [50, 50]
+        ITupleReference prefixLowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50);
+        ITupleReference prefixHighKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50);
+
+        for (BTreeLeafFrameType leafFrameType : leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, leafFrameType, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void oneStringKeyAndValue() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With One String Key And Value.");
+        }
+
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Range search in ["cbf", cc7"]
+        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf");
+        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7");
+
+        for (BTreeLeafFrameType leafFrameType : leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, 1, leafFrameType, lowKey, highKey, null, null);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void twoStringKeys() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two String Keys.");
+        }
+
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Range search in ["cbf", "ddd", cc7", "eee"]
+        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf", "ddd");
+        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7", "eee");
+
+        // Prefix range search in ["cbf", cc7"]
+        ITupleReference prefixLowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf");
+        ITupleReference prefixHighKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7");
+
+        for (BTreeLeafFrameType leafFrameType : leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, leafFrameType, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void twoStringKeysAndValues() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two String Keys And Values.");
+        }
+
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Range search in ["cbf", "ddd", cc7", "eee"]
+        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf", "ddd");
+        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7", "eee");
+
+        // Prefix range search in ["cbf", cc7"]
+        ITupleReference prefixLowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf");
+        ITupleReference prefixHighKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7");
+
+        for (BTreeLeafFrameType leafFrameType : leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, leafFrameType, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a053dde
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexTestUtils.java
@@ -0,0 +1,440 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
+import java.io.DataInput;
+import java.io.DataInputStream;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Iterator;
+import java.util.NavigableSet;
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.TreeSet;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeDuplicateKeyException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.RangePredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.CheckTuple;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ITreeIndexTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TreeIndexTestUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class OrderedIndexTestUtils extends TreeIndexTestUtils {
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(OrderedIndexTestUtils.class.getName());
+
+    private static void compareActualAndExpected(ITupleReference actual, CheckTuple expected,
+            ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes) throws HyracksDataException {
+        for (int i = 0; i < fieldSerdes.length; i++) {
+            ByteArrayInputStream inStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(actual.getFieldData(i), actual.getFieldStart(i),
+                    actual.getFieldLength(i));
+            DataInput dataIn = new DataInputStream(inStream);
+            Object actualObj = fieldSerdes[i].deserialize(dataIn);
+            if (!actualObj.equals(expected.get(i))) {
+                fail("Actual and expected fields do not match on field " + i + ".\nExpected: " + expected.get(i)
+                        + "\nActual  : " + actualObj);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    // Create a new TreeSet containing the elements satisfying the prefix
+    // search.
+    // Implementing prefix search by changing compareTo() in CheckTuple does not
+    // work.
+    public static TreeSet<CheckTuple> getPrefixExpectedSubset(TreeSet<CheckTuple> checkTuples, CheckTuple lowKey,
+            CheckTuple highKey) {
+        TreeSet<CheckTuple> expectedSubset = new TreeSet<CheckTuple>();
+        Iterator<CheckTuple> iter = checkTuples.iterator();
+        while (iter.hasNext()) {
+            CheckTuple t = iter.next();
+            boolean geLowKey = true;
+            boolean leHighKey = true;
+            for (int i = 0; i < lowKey.getNumKeys(); i++) {
+                if (t.get(i).compareTo(lowKey.get(i)) < 0) {
+                    geLowKey = false;
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            for (int i = 0; i < highKey.getNumKeys(); i++) {
+                if (t.get(i).compareTo(highKey.get(i)) > 0) {
+                    leHighKey = false;
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            if (geLowKey && leHighKey) {
+                expectedSubset.add(t);
+            }
+        }
+        return expectedSubset;
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void checkRangeSearch(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey,
+            boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive) throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Testing Range Search.");
+        }
+        MultiComparator lowKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), lowKey);
+        MultiComparator highKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), highKey);
+        IIndexCursor searchCursor = ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor();
+        RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive, lowKeyCmp,
+                highKeyCmp);
+        ctx.getIndexAccessor().search(searchCursor, rangePred);
+        // Get the subset of elements from the expected set within given key
+        // range.
+        CheckTuple lowKeyCheck = createCheckTupleFromTuple(lowKey, ctx.getFieldSerdes(), lowKeyCmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+        CheckTuple highKeyCheck = createCheckTupleFromTuple(highKey, ctx.getFieldSerdes(),
+                highKeyCmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+        NavigableSet<CheckTuple> expectedSubset = null;
+        if (lowKeyCmp.getKeyFieldCount() < ctx.getKeyFieldCount()
+                || highKeyCmp.getKeyFieldCount() < ctx.getKeyFieldCount()) {
+            // Searching on a key prefix (low key or high key or both).
+            expectedSubset = getPrefixExpectedSubset((TreeSet<CheckTuple>) ctx.getCheckTuples(), lowKeyCheck,
+                    highKeyCheck);
+        } else {
+            // Searching on all key fields.
+            expectedSubset = ((TreeSet<CheckTuple>) ctx.getCheckTuples()).subSet(lowKeyCheck, lowKeyInclusive,
+                    highKeyCheck, highKeyInclusive);
+        }
+        Iterator<CheckTuple> checkIter = expectedSubset.iterator();
+        int actualCount = 0;
+        try {
+            while (searchCursor.hasNext()) {
+                if (!checkIter.hasNext()) {
+                    fail("Range search returned more answers than expected.\nExpected: " + expectedSubset.size());
+                }
+                searchCursor.next();
+                CheckTuple expectedTuple = checkIter.next();
+                ITupleReference tuple = searchCursor.getTuple();
+                compareActualAndExpected(tuple, expectedTuple, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
+                actualCount++;
+            }
+            if (actualCount < expectedSubset.size()) {
+                fail("Range search returned fewer answers than expected.\nExpected: " + expectedSubset.size()
+                        + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
+            }
+        } finally {
+            searchCursor.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    public void checkPointSearches(ITreeIndexTestContext ictx) throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Testing Point Searches On All Expected Keys.");
+        }
+        OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = (OrderedIndexTestContext) ictx;
+        IIndexCursor searchCursor = ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor();
+
+        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(ctx.getKeyFieldCount());
+        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(ctx.getKeyFieldCount());
+        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, true, true, null, null);
+
+        // Iterate through expected tuples, and perform a point search in the
+        // BTree to verify the tuple can be reached.
+        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : ctx.getCheckTuples()) {
+            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, lowKeyBuilder, lowKey, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
+            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, highKeyBuilder, highKey, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
+            MultiComparator lowKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), lowKey);
+            MultiComparator highKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), highKey);
+
+            rangePred.setLowKey(lowKey, true);
+            rangePred.setHighKey(highKey, true);
+            rangePred.setLowKeyComparator(lowKeyCmp);
+            rangePred.setHighKeyComparator(highKeyCmp);
+
+            ctx.getIndexAccessor().search(searchCursor, rangePred);
+
+            try {
+                // We expect exactly one answer.
+                if (searchCursor.hasNext()) {
+                    searchCursor.next();
+                    ITupleReference tuple = searchCursor.getTuple();
+                    compareActualAndExpected(tuple, checkTuple, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
+                }
+                if (searchCursor.hasNext()) {
+                    fail("Point search returned more than one answer.");
+                }
+            } finally {
+                searchCursor.close();
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void insertStringTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numKeyFields = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        String[] fieldValues = new String[fieldCount];
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
+                }
+            }
+            // Set keys.
+            for (int j = 0; j < numKeyFields; j++) {
+                int length = (Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % 10) + 1;
+                fieldValues[j] = getRandomString(length, rnd);
+            }
+            // Set values.
+            for (int j = numKeyFields; j < fieldCount; j++) {
+                fieldValues[j] = getRandomString(5, rnd);
+            }
+            TupleUtils.createTuple(ctx.getTupleBuilder(), ctx.getTuple(), ctx.getFieldSerdes(), (Object[]) fieldValues);
+            try {
+                ctx.getIndexAccessor().insert(ctx.getTuple());
+                // Set expected values. Do this only after insertion succeeds
+                // because we ignore duplicate keys.
+                ctx.insertCheckTuple(createStringCheckTuple(fieldValues, ctx.getKeyFieldCount()), ctx.getCheckTuples());
+            } catch (BTreeDuplicateKeyException e) {
+                // Ignore duplicate key insertions.
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    public void upsertStringTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ictx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+    	OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = (OrderedIndexTestContext) ictx;
+    	int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numKeyFields = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        String[] fieldValues = new String[fieldCount];
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
+                }
+            }
+            // Set keys.
+            for (int j = 0; j < numKeyFields; j++) {
+                int length = (Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % 10) + 1;
+                fieldValues[j] = getRandomString(length, rnd);
+            }
+            // Set values.
+            for (int j = numKeyFields; j < fieldCount; j++) {
+                fieldValues[j] = getRandomString(5, rnd);
+            }
+            TupleUtils.createTuple(ctx.getTupleBuilder(), ctx.getTuple(), ctx.getFieldSerdes(), (Object[]) fieldValues);
+            ctx.getIndexAccessor().upsert(ctx.getTuple());
+            ctx.upsertCheckTuple(createStringCheckTuple(fieldValues, ctx.getKeyFieldCount()), ctx.getCheckTuples());
+        }
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void bulkLoadStringTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numKeyFields = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        String[] fieldValues = new String[fieldCount];
+        TreeSet<CheckTuple> tmpCheckTuples = new TreeSet<CheckTuple>();
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
+            // Set keys.
+            for (int j = 0; j < numKeyFields; j++) {
+                int length = (Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % 10) + 1;
+                fieldValues[j] = getRandomString(length, rnd);
+            }
+            // Set values.
+            for (int j = numKeyFields; j < fieldCount; j++) {
+                fieldValues[j] = getRandomString(5, rnd);
+            }
+            // Set expected values. We also use these as the pre-sorted stream
+            // for bulk loading.
+            ctx.insertCheckTuple(createStringCheckTuple(fieldValues, ctx.getKeyFieldCount()), tmpCheckTuples);
+        }
+        bulkLoadCheckTuples(ctx, tmpCheckTuples);
+
+        // Add tmpCheckTuples to ctx check tuples for comparing searches.
+        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : tmpCheckTuples) {
+            ctx.insertCheckTuple(checkTuple, ctx.getCheckTuples());
+        }
+    }
+
+    public void upsertIntTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ictx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = (OrderedIndexTestContext) ictx;
+    	int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numKeyFields = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        int[] fieldValues = new int[ctx.getFieldCount()];
+        // Scale range of values according to number of keys.
+        // For example, for 2 keys we want the square root of numTuples, for 3
+        // keys the cube root of numTuples, etc.
+        int maxValue = (int) Math.ceil(Math.pow(numTuples, 1.0 / (double) numKeyFields));
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
+            // Set keys.
+            setIntKeyFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, maxValue, rnd);
+            // Set values.
+            setIntPayloadFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, fieldCount);
+            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(ctx.getTupleBuilder(), ctx.getTuple(), fieldValues);
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
+                }
+            }
+            ctx.getIndexAccessor().upsert(ctx.getTuple());
+            ctx.upsertCheckTuple(createIntCheckTuple(fieldValues, ctx.getKeyFieldCount()), ctx.getCheckTuples());
+        }
+    }
+    
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void updateTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ictx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = (OrderedIndexTestContext) ictx;
+        int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int keyFieldCount = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        // This is a noop because we can only update non-key fields.
+        if (fieldCount == keyFieldCount) {
+            return;
+        }
+        ArrayTupleBuilder updateTupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference updateTuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        int numCheckTuples = ctx.getCheckTuples().size();
+        // Copy CheckTuple references into array, so we can randomly pick from
+        // there.
+        CheckTuple[] checkTuples = new CheckTuple[numCheckTuples];
+        int idx = 0;
+        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : ctx.getCheckTuples()) {
+            checkTuples[idx++] = checkTuple;
+        }
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples && numCheckTuples > 0; i++) {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Updating Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
+                }
+            }
+            int checkTupleIdx = Math.abs(rnd.nextInt() % numCheckTuples);
+            CheckTuple checkTuple = checkTuples[checkTupleIdx];
+            // Update check tuple's non-key fields.
+            for (int j = keyFieldCount; j < fieldCount; j++) {
+                Comparable newValue = getRandomUpdateValue(ctx.getFieldSerdes()[j], rnd);
+                checkTuple.set(j, newValue);
+            }
+
+            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, updateTupleBuilder, updateTuple, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
+            ctx.getIndexAccessor().update(updateTuple);
+
+            // Swap with last "valid" CheckTuple.
+            CheckTuple tmp = checkTuples[numCheckTuples - 1];
+            checkTuples[numCheckTuples - 1] = checkTuple;
+            checkTuples[checkTupleIdx] = tmp;
+            numCheckTuples--;
+        }
+    }
+
+    public CheckTuple createStringCheckTuple(String[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields) {
+        CheckTuple<String> checkTuple = new CheckTuple<String>(fieldValues.length, numKeyFields);
+        for (String s : fieldValues) {
+            checkTuple.add((String) s);
+        }
+        return checkTuple;
+    }
+
+    private static Comparable getRandomUpdateValue(ISerializerDeserializer serde, Random rnd) {
+        if (serde instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+            return Integer.valueOf(rnd.nextInt());
+        } else if (serde instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
+            return getRandomString(10, rnd);
+        }
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    public static String getRandomString(int length, Random rnd) {
+        String s = Long.toHexString(Double.doubleToLongBits(rnd.nextDouble()));
+        StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
+        for (int i = 0; i < s.length() && i < length; i++) {
+            strBuilder.append(s.charAt(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % s.length()));
+        }
+        return strBuilder.toString();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected CheckTuple createCheckTuple(int numFields, int numKeyFields) {
+        return new CheckTuple(numFields, numKeyFields);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ISearchPredicate createNullSearchPredicate() {
+        return new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void checkExpectedResults(ITreeIndexCursor cursor, Collection checkTuples,
+            ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int keyFieldCount, Iterator<CheckTuple> checkIter) throws Exception {
+        int actualCount = 0;
+        try {
+            while (cursor.hasNext()) {
+                if (!checkIter.hasNext()) {
+                    fail("Ordered scan returned more answers than expected.\nExpected: " + checkTuples.size());
+                }
+                cursor.next();
+                CheckTuple expectedTuple = checkIter.next();
+                ITupleReference tuple = cursor.getTuple();
+                compareActualAndExpected(tuple, expectedTuple, fieldSerdes);
+                actualCount++;
+            }
+            if (actualCount < checkTuples.size()) {
+                fail("Ordered scan returned fewer answers than expected.\nExpected: " + checkTuples.size()
+                        + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
+            }
+        } finally {
+            cursor.close();
+        }
+
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected CheckTuple createIntCheckTuple(int[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields) {
+        CheckTuple<Integer> checkTuple = new CheckTuple<Integer>(fieldValues.length, numKeyFields);
+        for (int v : fieldValues) {
+            checkTuple.add(v);
+        }
+        return checkTuple;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void setIntKeyFields(int[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields, int maxValue, Random rnd) {
+        for (int j = 0; j < numKeyFields; j++) {
+            fieldValues[j] = rnd.nextInt() % maxValue;
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void setIntPayloadFields(int[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields, int numFields) {
+        for (int j = numKeyFields; j < numFields; j++) {
+            fieldValues[j] = j;
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Collection createCheckTuplesCollection() {
+        return new TreeSet<CheckTuple>();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ArrayTupleBuilder createDeleteTupleBuilder(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx) {
+        return new ArrayTupleBuilder(ctx.getKeyFieldCount());
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected boolean checkDiskOrderScanResult(ITupleReference tuple, CheckTuple checkTuple, ITreeIndexTestContext ctx)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
+        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+        TreeSet<CheckTuple> checkTuples = (TreeSet<CheckTuple>) ctx.getCheckTuples();
+        CheckTuple matchingCheckTuple = checkTuples.floor(checkTuple);
+        if (matchingCheckTuple == null) {
+            return false;
+        }
+        compareActualAndExpected(tuple, matchingCheckTuple, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
+        return true;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexUpdateTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexUpdateTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..65b2ade
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexUpdateTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class OrderedIndexUpdateTest extends OrderedIndexTestDriver {
+
+    private final OrderedIndexTestUtils orderedIndexTestUtils;
+
+    public OrderedIndexUpdateTest(BTreeLeafFrameType[] leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+        super(leafFrameTypesToTest);
+        this.orderedIndexTestUtils = new OrderedIndexTestUtils();
+    }
+
+    private static final int numUpdateRounds = 3;
+
+    @Override
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType,
+            ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey)
+            throws Exception {
+        // This is a noop because we can only update non-key fields.
+        if (fieldSerdes.length == numKeys) {
+            return;
+        }
+        OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = createTestContext(fieldSerdes, numKeys, leafType);
+        // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first one
+        // to determine which field types to generate.
+        if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.insertIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+        } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.insertStringTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+        }
+        int numTuplesPerDeleteRound = (int) Math.ceil((float) ctx.getCheckTuples().size() / (float) numUpdateRounds);
+        for (int j = 0; j < numUpdateRounds; j++) {
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.updateTuples(ctx, numTuplesPerDeleteRound, getRandom());
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkPointSearches(ctx);
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkScan(ctx);
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(ctx);
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, lowKey, highKey, true, true);
+            if (prefixLowKey != null && prefixHighKey != null) {
+                orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey, true, true);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getTestOpName() {
+        return "Update";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexUpsertTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexUpsertTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d94a18
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/OrderedIndexUpsertTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+
+/**
+ * Tests the BTree insert operation with strings and integer fields using
+ * various numbers of key and payload fields.
+ * 
+ * Each tests first fills a BTree with randomly generated tuples. We compare the
+ * following operations against expected results: 1. Point searches for all
+ * tuples. 2. Ordered scan. 3. Disk-order scan. 4. Range search (and prefix
+ * search for composite keys).
+ * 
+ */
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class OrderedIndexUpsertTest extends OrderedIndexTestDriver {
+
+    private final OrderedIndexTestUtils orderedIndexTestUtils;
+
+    public OrderedIndexUpsertTest(BTreeLeafFrameType[] leafFrameTypesToTest) {
+        super(leafFrameTypesToTest);
+        this.orderedIndexTestUtils = new OrderedIndexTestUtils();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType,
+            ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey)
+            throws Exception {
+        OrderedIndexTestContext ctx = createTestContext(fieldSerdes, numKeys, leafType);
+        // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first one
+        // to determine which field types to generate.
+        if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.upsertIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+        } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.upsertStringTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+        }
+
+        orderedIndexTestUtils.checkPointSearches(ctx);
+        orderedIndexTestUtils.checkScan(ctx);
+        orderedIndexTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(ctx);
+
+        orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, lowKey, highKey, true, true);
+        if (prefixLowKey != null && prefixHighKey != null) {
+            orderedIndexTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey, true, true);
+        }
+        ctx.getIndex().close();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getTestOpName() {
+        return "Insert";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eca9b35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker.java
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.TupleBatch;
+
+public abstract class AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker extends Thread implements ITreeIndexTestWorker {
+    private Random rnd = new Random();
+    private final DataGenThread dataGen;
+    private final TestOperationSelector opSelector;
+    private final int numBatches;
+    
+    protected final IIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
+    
+    public AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker(DataGenThread dataGen, TestOperationSelector opSelector, ITreeIndex index, int numBatches) {
+        this.dataGen = dataGen;
+        this.opSelector = opSelector;
+        this.numBatches = numBatches;
+        indexAccessor = index.createAccessor();
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public void run() {
+        try {
+            for (int i = 0; i < numBatches; i++) {
+                TupleBatch batch = dataGen.getBatch();     
+                for (int j = 0; j < batch.size(); j++) {
+                    TestOperation op = opSelector.getOp(rnd.nextInt());
+                    ITupleReference tuple = batch.get(j);
+                    performOp(tuple, op);
+                }
+                dataGen.releaseBatch(batch);
+            }
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            e.printStackTrace();
+        }
+    }
+    
+    protected void consumeCursorTuples(IIndexCursor cursor) throws HyracksDataException {
+        try {
+            while (cursor.hasNext()) {
+                cursor.next();
+            }
+        } finally {
+            cursor.close();
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/CheckTuple.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/CheckTuple.java
similarity index 92%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/CheckTuple.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/CheckTuple.java
index f945ab9..4b4b90b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/CheckTuple.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/CheckTuple.java
@@ -13,13 +13,13 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
 
 @SuppressWarnings({"rawtypes", "unchecked"})
 public class CheckTuple<T extends Comparable<T>> implements Comparable<T> {
-    private final int numKeys;    
-    private final Comparable[] tuple;
-    private int pos;
+    protected final int numKeys;    
+    protected final Comparable[] tuple;
+    protected int pos;
 
     public CheckTuple(int numFields, int numKeys) {
         this.numKeys = numKeys;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ITreeIndexTestContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ITreeIndexTestContext.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9be3e29
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ITreeIndexTestContext.java
@@ -0,0 +1,51 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
+
+import java.util.Collection;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public interface ITreeIndexTestContext<T extends CheckTuple> {
+    public int getFieldCount();
+
+    public int getKeyFieldCount();
+
+    public ISerializerDeserializer[] getFieldSerdes();
+
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories();
+
+    public IIndexAccessor getIndexAccessor();
+
+    public ITreeIndex getIndex();
+
+    public ArrayTupleReference getTuple();
+
+    public ArrayTupleBuilder getTupleBuilder();
+
+    public void insertCheckTuple(T checkTuple, Collection<T> checkTuples);      
+
+    public void deleteCheckTuple(T checkTuple, Collection<T> checkTuples);
+
+    public Collection<T> getCheckTuples();
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexResultCursor.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ITreeIndexTestWorker.java
similarity index 63%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexResultCursor.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ITreeIndexTestWorker.java
index fb73a65..5e2733f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/api/IInvertedIndexResultCursor.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ITreeIndexTestWorker.java
@@ -13,16 +13,13 @@
  * limitations under the License.
  */
 
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
 
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexException;
 
-public interface IInvertedIndexResultCursor {
-    public boolean hasNext();
-
-    public void next();
-
-    public ITupleReference getTuple();
-
-    public void reset(IInvertedIndexSearcher invIndexSearcher);
+public interface ITreeIndexTestWorker {
+    void performOp(ITupleReference tuple, TestOperation op) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException;
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory.java
similarity index 63%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory.java
index 98c083e..64b5aea 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory.java
@@ -12,10 +12,12 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
 
-public interface IReceiverEventListener {
-    public void notifySenderAvailability(int sender);
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
 
-    public void notifySenderCount(int senderCount);
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
+
+public interface ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory {
+    public AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker create(DataGenThread dataGen, TestOperationSelector opSelector, ITreeIndex index, int numBatches);
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TestOperationSelector.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TestOperationSelector.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1ae79a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TestOperationSelector.java
@@ -0,0 +1,83 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
+
+import java.util.Arrays;
+
+public class TestOperationSelector {
+
+    public static enum TestOperation {
+        INSERT,
+        DELETE,
+        UPDATE,
+        UPSERT,
+        POINT_SEARCH,
+        RANGE_SEARCH,
+        SCAN,
+        DISKORDER_SCAN,
+        MERGE        
+    }
+    
+    private final TestOperation[] ops;
+    private final int[] opRanges;    
+    
+    public TestOperationSelector(TestOperation[] ops, float[] opProbs) {
+        sanityCheck(ops, opProbs);
+        this.ops = ops;
+        this.opRanges = getOpRanges(opProbs);
+    }
+    
+    private void sanityCheck(TestOperation[] ops, float[] opProbs) {
+        if (ops.length == 0) {
+            throw new RuntimeException("Empty op array.");
+        }
+        if (opProbs.length == 0) {
+            throw new RuntimeException("Empty op probabilities.");
+        }
+        if (ops.length != opProbs.length) {
+            throw new RuntimeException("Ops and op probabilities have unequal length.");
+        }
+        float sum = 0.0f;
+        for (int i = 0; i < opProbs.length; i++) {
+            sum += opProbs[i];
+        }
+        if (sum != 1.0f) {
+            throw new RuntimeException("Op probabilities don't add up to 1.");
+        }
+    }
+    
+    private int[] getOpRanges(float[] opProbabilities) {
+        int[] opRanges = new int[opProbabilities.length];
+        if (opRanges.length > 1) {
+            opRanges[0] = (int) Math.floor(Integer.MAX_VALUE * opProbabilities[0]);
+            for (int i = 1; i < opRanges.length - 1; i++) {
+                opRanges[i] = opRanges[i - 1] + (int) Math.floor(Integer.MAX_VALUE * opProbabilities[i]);
+            }
+            opRanges[opRanges.length - 1] = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
+        } else {
+            opRanges[0] = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
+        }
+        return opRanges;
+    }
+    
+    public TestOperation getOp(int randomInt) {
+        int ix = Arrays.binarySearch(opRanges, randomInt);
+        if (ix < 0) {
+            ix = -ix - 1;
+        }
+        return ops[ix];
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TestWorkloadConf.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TestWorkloadConf.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2437514
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TestWorkloadConf.java
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+
+public class TestWorkloadConf {
+    public final TestOperation[] ops;
+    public final float[] opProbs;
+
+    public TestWorkloadConf(TestOperation[] ops, float[] opProbs) {
+        this.ops = ops;
+        this.opProbs = opProbs;
+    }
+    
+    public String toString() {
+        StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
+        for (TestOperation op : ops) {
+            strBuilder.append(op.toString());
+            strBuilder.append(',');
+        }
+        strBuilder.deleteCharAt(strBuilder.length() - 1);
+        return strBuilder.toString();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8c1d06f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver.java
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver {
+    private static final int RANDOM_SEED = 50;
+    // Means no additional payload. Only the specified fields.
+    private static final int PAYLOAD_SIZE = 0;
+    private final TestOperationSelector opSelector;    
+    private final ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes;
+    private final ITreeIndex index;
+    private final ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory workerFactory;
+    
+    public TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver(ITreeIndex index, ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory workerFactory,
+            ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, TestOperation[] ops, float[] opProbs) {
+        this.index = index;
+        this.workerFactory = workerFactory;
+        this.fieldSerdes = fieldSerdes;
+        this.opSelector = new TestOperationSelector(ops, opProbs);
+    }      
+    
+    public void init(int fileId) throws HyracksDataException {
+    	index.create(fileId);
+    	index.open(fileId);
+    }
+    
+    public long[] run(int numThreads, int numRepeats, int numOps, int batchSize) throws InterruptedException, TreeIndexException {
+        int numBatches = numOps / batchSize;
+        int threadNumBatches = numBatches / numThreads;
+        if (threadNumBatches <= 0) {
+            throw new TreeIndexException("Inconsistent parameters given. Need at least one batch per thread.");
+        }
+        long[] times = new long[numRepeats];
+        for (int i = 0; i < numRepeats; i++) {
+            DataGenThread dataGen = createDatagenThread(numThreads, numBatches, batchSize);
+            dataGen.start();
+            // Wait until the tupleBatchQueue is filled to capacity.
+            while (dataGen.tupleBatchQueue.remainingCapacity() != 0 && dataGen.tupleBatchQueue.size() != numBatches) {
+                Thread.sleep(10);
+            }
+                        
+            // Start worker threads.
+            AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker[] workers = new AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker[numThreads];
+            long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
+            for (int j = 0; j < numThreads; j++) {
+                workers[j] = workerFactory.create(dataGen, opSelector, index, threadNumBatches);
+                workers[j].start();
+            }
+            // Join worker threads.
+            for (int j = 0; j < numThreads; j++) {                
+                workers[j].join();
+            }
+            long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
+            times[i] = end - start;
+        }
+        return times;
+    }
+    
+    public void deinit() throws HyracksDataException {
+    	index.close();
+    }
+    
+    // To allow subclasses to override the data gen params.
+    public DataGenThread createDatagenThread(int numThreads, int numBatches, int batchSize) {
+        return new DataGenThread(numThreads, numBatches, batchSize, fieldSerdes, PAYLOAD_SIZE, RANDOM_SEED, 2*numThreads, false);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestContext.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc5312c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestContext.java
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
+
+import java.util.Collection;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class TreeIndexTestContext<T extends CheckTuple> implements ITreeIndexTestContext<T> {
+    protected final ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes;
+    protected final ITreeIndex treeIndex;
+    protected final ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder;
+    protected final ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+    protected final IIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
+
+    public TreeIndexTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, ITreeIndex treeIndex) {
+        this.fieldSerdes = fieldSerdes;
+        this.treeIndex = treeIndex;
+        this.indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+        this.tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldSerdes.length);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getFieldCount() {
+        return fieldSerdes.length;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IIndexAccessor getIndexAccessor() {
+        return indexAccessor;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ArrayTupleReference getTuple() {
+        return tuple;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ArrayTupleBuilder getTupleBuilder() {
+        return tupleBuilder;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ISerializerDeserializer[] getFieldSerdes() {
+        return fieldSerdes;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public ITreeIndex getIndex() {
+        return treeIndex;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void insertCheckTuple(T checkTuple, Collection<T> checkTuples) {
+        checkTuples.add(checkTuple);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void deleteCheckTuple(T checkTuple, Collection<T> checkTuples) {
+        checkTuples.remove(checkTuple);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestUtils.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d16553a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/TreeIndexTestUtils.java
@@ -0,0 +1,283 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
+import java.io.DataInput;
+import java.io.DataInputStream;
+import java.io.DataOutput;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Iterator;
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class TreeIndexTestUtils {
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(TreeIndexTestUtils.class.getName());
+
+    protected abstract CheckTuple createCheckTuple(int numFields, int numKeyFields);
+
+    protected abstract ISearchPredicate createNullSearchPredicate();
+
+    public abstract void checkExpectedResults(ITreeIndexCursor cursor, Collection checkTuples,
+            ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int keyFieldCount, Iterator<CheckTuple> checkIter) throws Exception;
+
+    protected abstract CheckTuple createIntCheckTuple(int[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields);
+
+    protected abstract void setIntKeyFields(int[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields, int maxValue, Random rnd);
+
+    protected abstract void setIntPayloadFields(int[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields, int numFields);
+
+    protected abstract Collection createCheckTuplesCollection();
+
+    protected abstract ArrayTupleBuilder createDeleteTupleBuilder(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx);
+
+    // See if tuple with corresponding checkTuple exists in ctx.checkTuples.
+    protected abstract boolean checkDiskOrderScanResult(ITupleReference tuple, CheckTuple checkTuple,
+            ITreeIndexTestContext ctx) throws HyracksDataException;
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public static void createTupleFromCheckTuple(CheckTuple checkTuple, ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder,
+            ArrayTupleReference tuple, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes) throws HyracksDataException {
+        int fieldCount = tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets().length;
+        DataOutput dos = tupleBuilder.getDataOutput();
+        tupleBuilder.reset();
+        for (int i = 0; i < fieldCount; i++) {
+            fieldSerdes[i].serialize(checkTuple.get(i), dos);
+            tupleBuilder.addFieldEndOffset();
+        }
+        tuple.reset(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), tupleBuilder.getByteArray());
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public CheckTuple createCheckTupleFromTuple(ITupleReference tuple, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            int numKeys) throws HyracksDataException {
+        CheckTuple checkTuple = createCheckTuple(fieldSerdes.length, numKeys);
+        int fieldCount = Math.min(fieldSerdes.length, tuple.getFieldCount());
+        for (int i = 0; i < fieldCount; i++) {
+            ByteArrayInputStream inStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
+                    tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+            DataInput dataIn = new DataInputStream(inStream);
+            Comparable fieldObj = (Comparable) fieldSerdes[i].deserialize(dataIn);
+            checkTuple.add(fieldObj);
+        }
+        return checkTuple;
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void checkScan(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx) throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Testing Scan.");
+        }
+        ITreeIndexCursor scanCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor();
+        ISearchPredicate nullPred = createNullSearchPredicate();
+        ctx.getIndexAccessor().search(scanCursor, nullPred);
+        Iterator<CheckTuple> checkIter = ctx.getCheckTuples().iterator();
+        checkExpectedResults(scanCursor, ctx.getCheckTuples(), ctx.getFieldSerdes(), ctx.getKeyFieldCount(), checkIter);
+    }
+
+    public void checkDiskOrderScan(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx) throws Exception {
+        try {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Testing Disk-Order Scan.");
+            }
+            ITreeIndexAccessor treeIndexAccessor = (ITreeIndexAccessor) ctx.getIndexAccessor();
+            ITreeIndexCursor diskOrderCursor = treeIndexAccessor.createDiskOrderScanCursor();
+            treeIndexAccessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderCursor);
+            int actualCount = 0;
+            try {
+                while (diskOrderCursor.hasNext()) {
+                    diskOrderCursor.next();
+                    ITupleReference tuple = diskOrderCursor.getTuple();
+                    CheckTuple checkTuple = createCheckTupleFromTuple(tuple, ctx.getFieldSerdes(),
+                            ctx.getKeyFieldCount());
+                    if (!checkDiskOrderScanResult(tuple, checkTuple, ctx)) {
+                        fail("Disk-order scan returned unexpected answer: " + checkTuple.toString());
+                    }
+                    actualCount++;
+                }
+                if (actualCount < ctx.getCheckTuples().size()) {
+                    fail("Disk-order scan returned fewer answers than expected.\nExpected: "
+                            + ctx.getCheckTuples().size() + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
+                }
+                if (actualCount > ctx.getCheckTuples().size()) {
+                    fail("Disk-order scan returned more answers than expected.\nExpected: "
+                            + ctx.getCheckTuples().size() + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
+                }
+            } finally {
+                diskOrderCursor.close();
+            }
+        } catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) {
+            // Ignore exception because some indexes, e.g. the LSMTrees, don't
+            // support disk-order scan.
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Ignoring disk-order scan since it's not supported.");
+            }
+        } catch (ClassCastException e) {
+			// Ignore exception because IIndexAccessor sometimes isn't
+			// an ITreeIndexAccessor, e.g., for the LSMBTree.
+			if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+				LOGGER.info("Ignoring disk-order scan since it's not supported.");
+			}
+		}
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void insertIntTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numKeyFields = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        int[] fieldValues = new int[ctx.getFieldCount()];
+        // Scale range of values according to number of keys.
+        // For example, for 2 keys we want the square root of numTuples, for 3
+        // keys the cube root of numTuples, etc.
+        int maxValue = (int) Math.ceil(Math.pow(numTuples, 1.0 / (double) numKeyFields));
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
+            // Set keys.
+            setIntKeyFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, maxValue, rnd);
+            // Set values.
+            setIntPayloadFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, fieldCount);
+            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(ctx.getTupleBuilder(), ctx.getTuple(), fieldValues);
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
+                }
+            }
+            try {
+                ctx.getIndexAccessor().insert(ctx.getTuple());
+                ctx.insertCheckTuple(createIntCheckTuple(fieldValues, ctx.getKeyFieldCount()), ctx.getCheckTuples());
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+                // We set expected values only after insertion succeeds because
+                // we ignore duplicate keys.
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void upsertIntTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numKeyFields = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        int[] fieldValues = new int[ctx.getFieldCount()];
+        // Scale range of values according to number of keys.
+        // For example, for 2 keys we want the square root of numTuples, for 3
+        // keys the cube root of numTuples, etc.
+        int maxValue = (int) Math.ceil(Math.pow(numTuples, 1.0 / (double) numKeyFields));
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
+            // Set keys.
+            setIntKeyFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, maxValue, rnd);
+            // Set values.
+            setIntPayloadFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, fieldCount);
+            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(ctx.getTupleBuilder(), ctx.getTuple(), fieldValues);
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
+                }
+            }
+            try {
+                ctx.getIndexAccessor().upsert(ctx.getTuple());
+                ctx.insertCheckTuple(createIntCheckTuple(fieldValues, ctx.getKeyFieldCount()), ctx.getCheckTuples());
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+                // We set expected values only after insertion succeeds because
+                // we ignore duplicate keys.
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void bulkLoadIntTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numKeyFields = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        int[] fieldValues = new int[ctx.getFieldCount()];
+        int maxValue = (int) Math.ceil(Math.pow(numTuples, 1.0 / (double) numKeyFields));
+        Collection<CheckTuple> tmpCheckTuples = createCheckTuplesCollection();
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
+            // Set keys.
+            setIntKeyFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, maxValue, rnd);
+            // Set values.
+            setIntPayloadFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, fieldCount);
+
+            // Set expected values. (We also use these as the pre-sorted stream
+            // for ordered indexes bulk loading).
+            ctx.insertCheckTuple(createIntCheckTuple(fieldValues, ctx.getKeyFieldCount()), tmpCheckTuples);
+        }
+        bulkLoadCheckTuples(ctx, tmpCheckTuples);
+
+        // Add tmpCheckTuples to ctx check tuples for comparing searches.
+        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : tmpCheckTuples) {
+            ctx.insertCheckTuple(checkTuple, ctx.getCheckTuples());
+        }
+    }
+
+    public static void bulkLoadCheckTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, Collection<CheckTuple> checkTuples)
+            throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
+        int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numTuples = checkTuples.size();
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        // Perform bulk load.
+        IIndexBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = ctx.getIndex().beginBulkLoad(0.7f);
+        int c = 1;
+        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : checkTuples) {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if (c % (numTuples / 10) == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Bulk Loading Tuple " + c + "/" + numTuples);
+                }
+            }
+            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, tupleBuilder, tuple, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
+            ctx.getIndex().bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, bulkLoadCtx);
+            c++;
+        }
+        ctx.getIndex().endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void deleteTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        ArrayTupleBuilder deleteTupleBuilder = createDeleteTupleBuilder(ctx);
+        ArrayTupleReference deleteTuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        int numCheckTuples = ctx.getCheckTuples().size();
+        // Copy CheckTuple references into array, so we can randomly pick from
+        // there.
+        CheckTuple[] checkTuples = new CheckTuple[numCheckTuples];
+        int idx = 0;
+        Iterator<CheckTuple> iter = ctx.getCheckTuples().iterator();
+        while (iter.hasNext()) {
+            CheckTuple checkTuple = iter.next();
+            checkTuples[idx++] = checkTuple;
+        }
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples && numCheckTuples > 0; i++) {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Deleting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
+                }
+            }
+            int checkTupleIdx = Math.abs(rnd.nextInt() % numCheckTuples);
+            CheckTuple checkTuple = checkTuples[checkTupleIdx];
+            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, deleteTupleBuilder, deleteTuple, ctx.getFieldSerdes());
+            ctx.getIndexAccessor().delete(deleteTuple);
+
+            // Remove check tuple from expected results.
+            ctx.deleteCheckTuple(checkTuple, ctx.getCheckTuples());
+
+            // Swap with last "valid" CheckTuple.
+            CheckTuple tmp = checkTuples[numCheckTuples - 1];
+            checkTuples[numCheckTuples - 1] = checkTuple;
+            checkTuples[checkTupleIdx] = tmp;
+            numCheckTuples--;
+        }
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeBulkLoadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeBulkLoadTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..198ac58
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeBulkLoadTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class AbstractRTreeBulkLoadTest extends AbstractRTreeTestDriver {
+
+    private final RTreeTestUtils rTreeTestUtils;
+    private final int bulkLoadRounds;
+
+    public AbstractRTreeBulkLoadTest(int bulkLoadRounds) {
+        this.bulkLoadRounds = bulkLoadRounds;
+        this.rTreeTestUtils = new RTreeTestUtils();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, int numKeys, ITupleReference key) throws Exception {
+        AbstractRTreeTestContext ctx = createTestContext(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys);
+        for (int i = 0; i < bulkLoadRounds; i++) {
+            // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first
+            // one to determine which field types to generate.
+            if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+                rTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof DoubleSerializerDeserializer) {
+                rTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadDoubleTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            }
+
+            rTreeTestUtils.checkScan(ctx);
+            rTreeTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(ctx);
+            rTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, key);
+        }
+        ctx.getIndex().close();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getTestOpName() {
+        return "BulkLoad";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeDeleteTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeDeleteTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e70f433
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeDeleteTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class AbstractRTreeDeleteTest extends AbstractRTreeTestDriver {
+
+    private final RTreeTestUtils rTreeTestUtils;
+
+    private static final int numInsertRounds = 2;
+    private static final int numDeleteRounds = 2;
+
+    public AbstractRTreeDeleteTest() {
+        this.rTreeTestUtils = new RTreeTestUtils();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, int numKeys, ITupleReference key) throws Exception {
+        AbstractRTreeTestContext ctx = createTestContext(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys);
+        for (int i = 0; i < numInsertRounds; i++) {
+            // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first
+            // one to determine which field types to generate.
+            if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+                rTreeTestUtils.insertIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof DoubleSerializerDeserializer) {
+                rTreeTestUtils.insertDoubleTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+            }
+            int numTuplesPerDeleteRound = (int) Math
+                    .ceil((float) ctx.getCheckTuples().size() / (float) numDeleteRounds);
+            for (int j = 0; j < numDeleteRounds; j++) {
+                rTreeTestUtils.deleteTuples(ctx, numTuplesPerDeleteRound, getRandom());
+                rTreeTestUtils.checkScan(ctx);
+                rTreeTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(ctx);
+                rTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, key);
+            }
+        }
+        ctx.getIndex().close();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getTestOpName() {
+        return "Delete";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeExamplesTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeExamplesTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7192c53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeExamplesTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,575 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.DoublePointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.TreeDiskOrderScanCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.SearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class AbstractRTreeExamplesTest {
+    protected static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(AbstractRTreeExamplesTest.class.getName());
+    protected final Random rnd = new Random(50);
+
+    protected abstract ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories) throws TreeIndexException;
+
+    protected abstract int getIndexFileId();
+
+    /**
+     * Two Dimensions Example.
+     * 
+     * Create an RTree index of two dimensions, where they keys are of type
+     * integer, and the payload is two integer values. Fill index with random
+     * values using insertions (not bulk load). Perform scans and range search.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void twoDimensionsExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Fixed-Length Key,Value Example.");
+        }
+
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 6;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[3] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[4] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[5] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Declare RTree keys.
+        int rtreeKeyFieldCount = 4;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[2] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[3] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        // Declare BTree keys, this will only be used for LSMRTree
+        int btreeKeyFieldCount = 6;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[2] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[3] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[4] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[5] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        // create value providers
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                rtreeCmpFactories.length, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories, valueProviderFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
+        }
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+        int numInserts = 10000;
+        for (int i = 0; i < numInserts; i++) {
+            int p1x = rnd.nextInt();
+            int p1y = rnd.nextInt();
+            int p2x = rnd.nextInt();
+            int p2y = rnd.nextInt();
+
+            int pk1 = 5;
+            int pk2 = 10;
+
+            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, Math.min(p1x, p2x), Math.min(p1y, p2y), Math.max(p1x, p2x),
+                    Math.max(p1y, p2y), pk1, pk2);
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i + " " + Math.min(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.min(p1y, p2y) + " "
+                            + Math.max(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.max(p1y, p2y) + ", " + pk1 + ", " + pk2);
+                }
+            }
+            try {
+                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+            }
+        }
+        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info(numInserts + " inserts in " + (end - start) + "ms");
+        }
+
+        scan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+        diskOrderScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+
+        // Build key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder keyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(rtreeKeyFieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference key = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(keyTb, key, -1000, -1000, 1000, 1000);
+
+        rangeSearch(rtreeCmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, key);
+
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Two Dimensions Example.
+     * 
+     * Create an RTree index of three dimensions, where they keys are of type
+     * double, and the payload is one double value. Fill index with random
+     * values using insertions (not bulk load). Perform scans and range search.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void threeDimensionsExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Fixed-Length Key,Value Example.");
+        }
+
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 7;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[2] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[3] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[4] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[5] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[6] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Declare RTree keys.
+        int rtreeKeyFieldCount = 6;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[2] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[3] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[4] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[5] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+
+        // Declare RTree keys.
+        int btreeKeyFieldCount = 7;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[2] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[3] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[4] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[5] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[6] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+
+        // create value providers
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                rtreeCmpFactories.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories, valueProviderFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
+        }
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+        int numInserts = 10000;
+        for (int i = 0; i < numInserts; i++) {
+            double p1x = rnd.nextDouble();
+            double p1y = rnd.nextDouble();
+            double p1z = rnd.nextDouble();
+            double p2x = rnd.nextDouble();
+            double p2y = rnd.nextDouble();
+            double p2z = rnd.nextDouble();
+
+            double pk = 5.0;
+
+            TupleUtils.createDoubleTuple(tb, tuple, Math.min(p1x, p2x), Math.min(p1y, p2y), Math.min(p1z, p2z),
+                    Math.max(p1x, p2x), Math.max(p1y, p2y), Math.max(p1z, p2z), pk);
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i + " " + Math.min(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.min(p1y, p2y) + " "
+                            + Math.min(p1z, p2z) + " " + Math.max(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.max(p1y, p2y) + " "
+                            + Math.max(p1z, p2z) + ", " + pk);
+                }
+            }
+            try {
+                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+            }
+        }
+        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info(numInserts + " inserts in " + (end - start) + "ms");
+        }
+
+        scan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+        diskOrderScan(indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
+
+        // Build key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder keyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(rtreeKeyFieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference key = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createDoubleTuple(keyTb, key, -1000.0, -1000.0, -1000.0, 1000.0, 1000.0, 1000.0);
+
+        rangeSearch(rtreeCmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, key);
+
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Deletion Example.
+     * 
+     * Create an RTree index of two dimensions, where they keys are of type
+     * integer, and the payload is one integer value. Fill index with random
+     * values using insertions, then delete entries one-by-one. Repeat procedure
+     * a few times on same RTree.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void deleteExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Deletion Example");
+        }
+
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 5;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[3] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[4] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+
+        // Declare RTree keys.
+        int rtreeKeyFieldCount = 4;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[2] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[3] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        // Declare BTree keys.
+        int btreeKeyFieldCount = 5;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[2] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[3] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[4] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        // create value providers
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                rtreeCmpFactories.length, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories, valueProviderFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+
+        int runs = 3;
+        for (int run = 0; run < runs; run++) {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Deletion example run: " + (run + 1) + "/" + runs);
+                LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
+            }
+
+            int numInserts = 10000;
+            int[] p1xs = new int[numInserts];
+            int[] p1ys = new int[numInserts];
+            int[] p2xs = new int[numInserts];
+            int[] p2ys = new int[numInserts];
+            int[] pks = new int[numInserts];
+            int insDone = 0;
+
+            int[] insDoneCmp = new int[numInserts];
+            for (int i = 0; i < numInserts; i++) {
+                int p1x = rnd.nextInt();
+                int p1y = rnd.nextInt();
+                int p2x = rnd.nextInt();
+                int p2y = rnd.nextInt();
+                int pk = 5;
+
+                p1xs[i] = Math.min(p1x, p2x);
+                p1ys[i] = Math.min(p1y, p2y);
+                p2xs[i] = Math.max(p1x, p2x);
+                p2ys[i] = Math.max(p1y, p2y);
+                pks[i] = pk;
+
+                TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, Math.min(p1x, p2x), Math.min(p1y, p2y), Math.max(p1x, p2x),
+                        Math.max(p1y, p2y), pk);
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                        LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i);
+                    }
+                }
+                try {
+                    indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+                } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+                }
+                insDoneCmp[i] = insDone;
+            }
+
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Deleting from tree...");
+            }
+            int delDone = 0;
+            for (int i = 0; i < numInserts; i++) {
+                TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, p1xs[i], p1ys[i], p2xs[i], p2ys[i], pks[i]);
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    if (i % 1000 == 0) {
+                        LOGGER.info("Deleting " + i);
+                    }
+                }
+                try {
+                    indexAccessor.delete(tuple);
+                    delDone++;
+                } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+                }
+                if (insDoneCmp[i] != delDone) {
+                    if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                        LOGGER.info("INCONSISTENT STATE, ERROR IN DELETION EXAMPLE.");
+                        LOGGER.info("INSDONECMP: " + insDoneCmp[i] + " " + delDone);
+                    }
+                    break;
+                }
+            }
+            if (insDone != delDone) {
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    LOGGER.info("ERROR! INSDONE: " + insDone + " DELDONE: " + delDone);
+                }
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Bulk load example.
+     * 
+     * Load a tree with 10,000 tuples.
+     * 
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void bulkLoadExample() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Bulk load example");
+        }
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 5;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[3] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[4] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Declare RTree keys.
+        int rtreeKeyFieldCount = 4;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[rtreeKeyFieldCount];
+        rtreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[2] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        rtreeCmpFactories[3] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        // Declare BTree keys.
+        int btreeKeyFieldCount = 5;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[2] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[3] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        btreeCmpFactories[4] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        // create value providers
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                rtreeCmpFactories.length, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        int indexFileId = getIndexFileId();
+        ITreeIndex treeIndex = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories, valueProviderFactories);
+        treeIndex.create(indexFileId);
+        treeIndex.open(indexFileId);
+
+        // Load records.
+        int numInserts = 10000;
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Bulk loading " + numInserts + " tuples");
+        }
+        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        IIndexBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = treeIndex.beginBulkLoad(0.7f);
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+
+        for (int i = 0; i < numInserts; i++) {
+            int p1x = rnd.nextInt();
+            int p1y = rnd.nextInt();
+            int p2x = rnd.nextInt();
+            int p2y = rnd.nextInt();
+
+            int pk = 5;
+
+            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, Math.min(p1x, p2x), Math.min(p1y, p2y), Math.max(p1x, p2x),
+                    Math.max(p1y, p2y), pk);
+            treeIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, bulkLoadCtx);
+        }
+
+        treeIndex.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
+        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info(numInserts + " tuples loaded in " + (end - start) + "ms");
+        }
+
+        IIndexAccessor indexAccessor = (IIndexAccessor) treeIndex.createAccessor();
+
+        // Build key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder keyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(rtreeKeyFieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference key = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(keyTb, key, -1000, -1000, 1000, 1000);
+
+        rangeSearch(rtreeCmpFactories, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, key);
+
+        treeIndex.close();
+    }
+
+    private void scan(IIndexAccessor indexAccessor, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes) throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Scan:");
+        }
+        ITreeIndexCursor scanCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        SearchPredicate nullPred = new SearchPredicate(null, null);
+        indexAccessor.search(scanCursor, nullPred);
+        try {
+            while (scanCursor.hasNext()) {
+                scanCursor.next();
+                ITupleReference frameTuple = scanCursor.getTuple();
+                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, fieldSerdes);
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    LOGGER.info(rec);
+                }
+            }
+        } finally {
+            scanCursor.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void diskOrderScan(IIndexAccessor indexAccessor, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes)
+            throws Exception {
+        try {
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Disk-Order Scan:");
+            }
+            ITreeIndexAccessor treeIndexAccessor = (ITreeIndexAccessor) indexAccessor;
+            TreeDiskOrderScanCursor diskOrderCursor = (TreeDiskOrderScanCursor) treeIndexAccessor
+                    .createDiskOrderScanCursor();
+            treeIndexAccessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderCursor);
+            try {
+                while (diskOrderCursor.hasNext()) {
+                    diskOrderCursor.next();
+                    ITupleReference frameTuple = diskOrderCursor.getTuple();
+                    String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, fieldSerdes);
+                    if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                        LOGGER.info(rec);
+                    }
+                }
+            } finally {
+                diskOrderCursor.close();
+            }
+        } catch (UnsupportedOperationException e) {
+            // Ignore exception because some indexes, e.g. the LSMRTree, don't
+            // support disk-order scan.
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                LOGGER.info("Ignoring disk-order scan since it's not supported.");
+            }
+        } catch (ClassCastException e) {
+			// Ignore exception because IIndexAccessor sometimes isn't
+			// an ITreeIndexAccessor, e.g., for the LSMRTree.
+			if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+				LOGGER.info("Ignoring disk-order scan since it's not supported.");
+			}
+		}
+    }
+
+    private void rangeSearch(IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories, IIndexAccessor indexAccessor,
+            ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, ITupleReference key) throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            String kString = TupleUtils.printTuple(key, fieldSerdes);
+            LOGGER.info("Range-Search using key: " + kString);
+        }
+        ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) indexAccessor.createSearchCursor();
+        MultiComparator cmp = RTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(cmpFactories, key);
+        SearchPredicate rangePred = new SearchPredicate(key, cmp);
+        indexAccessor.search(rangeCursor, rangePred);
+        try {
+            while (rangeCursor.hasNext()) {
+                rangeCursor.next();
+                ITupleReference frameTuple = rangeCursor.getTuple();
+                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, fieldSerdes);
+                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                    LOGGER.info(rec);
+                }
+            }
+        } finally {
+            rangeCursor.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeInsertTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeInsertTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..cdd6ee0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeInsertTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+
+/**
+ * Tests the RTree insert operation with integer and double fields using various
+ * numbers of dimensions and payload fields.
+ * 
+ * Each tests first fills an RTree with randomly generated tuples. We compare
+ * the following operations against expected results: 1. RTree scan. 3.
+ * Disk-order scan. 4. Range search.
+ * 
+ */
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class AbstractRTreeInsertTest extends AbstractRTreeTestDriver {
+
+    private final RTreeTestUtils rTreeTestUtils;
+
+    public AbstractRTreeInsertTest() {
+        this.rTreeTestUtils = new RTreeTestUtils();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, int numKeys, ITupleReference key) throws Exception {
+        AbstractRTreeTestContext ctx = createTestContext(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys);
+        // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first one
+        // to determine which field types to generate.
+        if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
+            rTreeTestUtils.insertIntTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+        } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof DoubleSerializerDeserializer) {
+            rTreeTestUtils.insertDoubleTuples(ctx, numTuplesToInsert, getRandom());
+        }
+
+        rTreeTestUtils.checkScan(ctx);
+        rTreeTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(ctx);
+        rTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(ctx, key);
+        ctx.getIndex().close();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getTestOpName() {
+        return "Insert";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeMultiThreadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeMultiThreadTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2c185a5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeMultiThreadTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,152 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.DoublePointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.SerdeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestWorkloadConf;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class AbstractRTreeMultiThreadTest {
+
+    protected final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(AbstractRTreeMultiThreadTest.class.getName());
+
+    // Machine-specific number of threads to use for testing.
+    protected final int REGULAR_NUM_THREADS = Runtime.getRuntime().availableProcessors();
+    // Excessive number of threads for testing.
+    protected final int EXCESSIVE_NUM_THREADS = Runtime.getRuntime().availableProcessors() * 4;
+    protected final int NUM_OPERATIONS = 5000;
+
+    protected ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf> workloadConfs = getTestWorkloadConf();
+
+    protected abstract void setUp() throws HyracksException;
+
+    protected abstract void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException;
+
+    protected abstract ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories) throws TreeIndexException;
+
+    protected abstract int getFileId();
+
+    protected abstract ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory getWorkerFactory();
+
+    protected abstract ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf> getTestWorkloadConf();
+
+    protected abstract String getIndexTypeName();
+
+    protected static float[] getUniformOpProbs(TestOperation[] ops) {
+        float[] opProbs = new float[ops.length];
+        for (int i = 0; i < ops.length; i++) {
+            opProbs[i] = 1.0f / (float) ops.length;
+        }
+        return opProbs;
+    }
+
+    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, int numKeys, int numThreads,
+            TestWorkloadConf conf, String dataMsg) throws HyracksException, InterruptedException, TreeIndexException {
+        setUp();
+
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            String indexTypeName = getIndexTypeName();
+            LOGGER.info(indexTypeName + " MultiThread Test:\nData: " + dataMsg + "; Threads: " + numThreads
+                    + "; Workload: " + conf.toString() + ".");
+        }
+
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = SerdeUtils.serdesToTypeTraits(fieldSerdes);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparatorFactories(fieldSerdes, numKeys);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparatorFactories(fieldSerdes,
+                fieldSerdes.length);
+
+        ITreeIndex index = createTreeIndex(typeTraits, rtreeCmpFactories, btreeCmpFactories, valueProviderFactories);
+        ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory workerFactory = getWorkerFactory();
+
+        // 4 batches per thread.
+        int batchSize = (NUM_OPERATIONS / numThreads) / 4;
+
+        TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver driver = new TreeIndexMultiThreadTestDriver(index, workerFactory, fieldSerdes,
+                conf.ops, conf.opProbs);
+        driver.init(getFileId());
+        long[] times = driver.run(numThreads, 1, NUM_OPERATIONS, batchSize);
+        driver.deinit();
+
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("RTree MultiThread Test Time: " + times[0] + "ms");
+        }
+
+        tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void twoDimensionsInt() throws InterruptedException, HyracksException, TreeIndexException {
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        int numKeys = 4;
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                numKeys, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        String dataMsg = "Two Dimensions Of Integer Values";
+
+        for (TestWorkloadConf conf : workloadConfs) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys, REGULAR_NUM_THREADS, conf, dataMsg);
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys, EXCESSIVE_NUM_THREADS, conf, dataMsg);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void fourDimensionsDouble() throws InterruptedException, HyracksException, TreeIndexException {
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        int numKeys = 8;
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                numKeys, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+
+        String dataMsg = "Four Dimensions Of Double Values";
+
+        for (TestWorkloadConf conf : workloadConfs) {
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys, REGULAR_NUM_THREADS, conf, dataMsg);
+            runTest(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys, EXCESSIVE_NUM_THREADS, conf, dataMsg);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeTestContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeTestContext.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9affc47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeTestContext.java
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collection;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TreeIndexTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class AbstractRTreeTestContext extends TreeIndexTestContext<RTreeCheckTuple> {
+    private final ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple> checkTuples = new ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple>();
+
+    public AbstractRTreeTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, ITreeIndex treeIndex) {
+        super(fieldSerdes, treeIndex);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public Collection<RTreeCheckTuple> getCheckTuples() {
+        return checkTuples;
+    }
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeTestDriver.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeTestDriver.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..10f4364
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeTestDriver.java
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.DoublePointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public abstract class AbstractRTreeTestDriver {
+    protected final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(AbstractRTreeTestDriver.class.getName());
+
+    protected static final int numTuplesToInsert = 5000;
+
+    protected abstract AbstractRTreeTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, int numKeys) throws Exception;
+
+    protected abstract Random getRandom();
+
+    protected abstract void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, int numKeys, ITupleReference key) throws Exception;
+
+    protected abstract String getTestOpName();
+
+    @Test
+    public void twoDimensionsInt() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("RTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two Dimensions With Integer Keys.");
+        }
+
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        int numKeys = 4;
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                numKeys, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        // Range search, the rectangle bottom left coordinates are -1000, -1000
+        // and the top right coordinates are 1000, 1000
+        ITupleReference key = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(-1000, -1000, 1000, 1000);
+
+        runTest(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys, key);
+
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void twoDimensionsDouble() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("RTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two Dimensions With Double Keys.");
+        }
+
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        int numKeys = 4;
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                numKeys, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        // Range search, the rectangle bottom left coordinates are -1000.0,
+        // -1000.0 and the top right coordinates are 1000.0, 1000.0
+        ITupleReference key = TupleUtils.createDoubleTuple(-1000.0, -1000.0, 1000.0, 1000.0);
+
+        runTest(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys, key);
+
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    public void fourDimensionsDouble() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("RTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Four Dimensions With Double Keys.");
+        }
+
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        int numKeys = 8;
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                numKeys, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
+        // Range search, the rectangle bottom left coordinates are -1000.0,
+        // -1000.0, -1000.0, -1000.0 and the top right coordinates are 1000.0,
+        // 1000.0, 1000.0, 1000.0
+        ITupleReference key = TupleUtils.createDoubleTuple(-1000.0, -1000.0, -1000.0, -1000.0, 1000.0, 1000.0, 1000.0,
+                1000.0);
+
+        runTest(fieldSerdes, valueProviderFactories, numKeys, key);
+
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeCheckTuple.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeCheckTuple.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..98800e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeCheckTuple.java
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.CheckTuple;
+
+@SuppressWarnings({ "rawtypes", "unchecked" })
+public class RTreeCheckTuple<T> extends CheckTuple {
+
+    public RTreeCheckTuple(int numFields, int numKeys) {
+        super(numFields, numKeys);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public boolean equals(Object o) {
+        RTreeCheckTuple<T> other = (RTreeCheckTuple<T>) o;
+        for (int i = 0; i < tuple.length; i++) {
+            int cmp = tuple[i].compareTo(other.get(i));
+            if (cmp != 0) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    public boolean intersect(T o) {
+        RTreeCheckTuple<T> other = (RTreeCheckTuple<T>) o;
+        int maxFieldPos = numKeys / 2;
+        for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
+            int j = maxFieldPos + i;
+            int cmp = tuple[i].compareTo(other.get(j));
+            if (cmp > 0) {
+                return false;
+            }
+            cmp = tuple[j].compareTo(other.get(i));
+            if (cmp < 0) {
+                return false;
+            }
+        }
+        return true;
+    }
+
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTestUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTestUtils.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a23f375
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTestUtils.java
@@ -0,0 +1,239 @@
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Collection;
+import java.util.Iterator;
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.CheckTuple;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ITreeIndexTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TreeIndexTestUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ISearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.SearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class RTreeTestUtils extends TreeIndexTestUtils {
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(RTreeTestUtils.class.getName());
+    private int intPayloadValue = 0;
+    private double doublePayloadValue = 0.0;
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    // Create a new ArrayList containing the elements satisfying the search key
+    public ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple> getRangeSearchExpectedResults(ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple> checkTuples,
+            RTreeCheckTuple key) {
+        ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple> expectedResult = new ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple>();
+        Iterator<RTreeCheckTuple> iter = checkTuples.iterator();
+        while (iter.hasNext()) {
+            RTreeCheckTuple t = iter.next();
+            if (t.intersect(key)) {
+                expectedResult.add(t);
+            }
+        }
+        return expectedResult;
+    }
+
+    public void checkRangeSearch(ITreeIndexTestContext ictx, ITupleReference key) throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("Testing Range Search.");
+        }
+        AbstractRTreeTestContext ctx = (AbstractRTreeTestContext) ictx;
+        MultiComparator cmp = RTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(ctx.getComparatorFactories(), key);
+
+        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = (ITreeIndexCursor) ctx.getIndexAccessor().createSearchCursor();
+        SearchPredicate searchPred = new SearchPredicate(key, cmp);
+        ctx.getIndexAccessor().search(searchCursor, searchPred);
+
+        // Get the subset of elements from the expected set within given key
+        // range.
+        RTreeCheckTuple keyCheck = (RTreeCheckTuple) createCheckTupleFromTuple(key, ctx.getFieldSerdes(),
+                cmp.getKeyFieldCount());
+
+        ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple> expectedResult = null;
+
+        expectedResult = getRangeSearchExpectedResults((ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple>) ctx.getCheckTuples(), keyCheck);
+        checkExpectedResults(searchCursor, expectedResult, ctx.getFieldSerdes(), ctx.getKeyFieldCount(), null);
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void insertDoubleTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numKeyFields = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        double[] fieldValues = new double[ctx.getFieldCount()];
+        // Scale range of values according to number of keys.
+        // For example, for 2 keys we want the square root of numTuples, for 3
+        // keys the cube root of numTuples, etc.
+        double maxValue = Math.ceil(Math.pow(numTuples, 1.0 / (double) numKeyFields));
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
+            // Set keys.
+            setDoubleKeyFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, maxValue, rnd);
+            // Set values.
+            setDoublePayloadFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, fieldCount);
+            TupleUtils.createDoubleTuple(ctx.getTupleBuilder(), ctx.getTuple(), fieldValues);
+            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
+                    LOGGER.info("Inserting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
+                }
+            }
+            try {
+                ctx.getIndexAccessor().insert(ctx.getTuple());
+                ctx.insertCheckTuple(createDoubleCheckTuple(fieldValues, ctx.getKeyFieldCount()), ctx.getCheckTuples());
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+                // We set expected values only after insertion succeeds because
+                // we
+                // ignore duplicate keys.
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void setDoubleKeyFields(double[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields, double maxValue, Random rnd) {
+        int maxFieldPos = numKeyFields / 2;
+        for (int j = 0; j < maxFieldPos; j++) {
+            int k = maxFieldPos + j;
+            double firstValue = rnd.nextDouble() % maxValue;
+            double secondValue;
+            do {
+                secondValue = rnd.nextDouble() % maxValue;
+            } while (secondValue < firstValue);
+            fieldValues[j] = firstValue;
+            fieldValues[k] = secondValue;
+        }
+    }
+    
+    private void setDoublePayloadFields(double[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields, int numFields) {
+        for (int j = numKeyFields; j < numFields; j++) {
+            fieldValues[j] = doublePayloadValue++;
+        }
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    protected CheckTuple createDoubleCheckTuple(double[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields) {
+        RTreeCheckTuple<Double> checkTuple = new RTreeCheckTuple<Double>(fieldValues.length, numKeyFields);
+        for (double v : fieldValues) {
+            checkTuple.add(v);
+        }
+        return checkTuple;
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    public void bulkLoadDoubleTuples(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
+        int fieldCount = ctx.getFieldCount();
+        int numKeyFields = ctx.getKeyFieldCount();
+        double[] fieldValues = new double[ctx.getFieldCount()];
+        double maxValue = Math.ceil(Math.pow(numTuples, 1.0 / (double) numKeyFields));
+        Collection<CheckTuple> tmpCheckTuples = createCheckTuplesCollection();
+        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
+            // Set keys.
+            setDoubleKeyFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, maxValue, rnd);
+            // Set values.
+            setDoublePayloadFields(fieldValues, numKeyFields, fieldCount);
+
+            // Set expected values.
+            ctx.insertCheckTuple(createDoubleCheckTuple(fieldValues, ctx.getKeyFieldCount()), tmpCheckTuples);
+        }
+        bulkLoadCheckTuples(ctx, tmpCheckTuples);
+
+        // Add tmpCheckTuples to ctx check tuples for comparing searches.
+        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : tmpCheckTuples) {
+            ctx.insertCheckTuple(checkTuple, ctx.getCheckTuples());
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void checkExpectedResults(ITreeIndexCursor cursor, Collection checkTuples,
+            ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int keyFieldCount, Iterator<CheckTuple> checkIter) throws Exception {
+        int actualCount = 0;
+        try {
+            while (cursor.hasNext()) {
+                cursor.next();
+                ITupleReference tuple = cursor.getTuple();
+                RTreeCheckTuple checkTuple = (RTreeCheckTuple) createCheckTupleFromTuple(tuple, fieldSerdes,
+                        keyFieldCount);
+                if (!checkTuples.contains(checkTuple)) {
+                    fail("Scan or range search returned unexpected answer: " + checkTuple.toString());
+                }
+                actualCount++;
+            }
+            if (actualCount < checkTuples.size()) {
+                fail("Scan or range search returned fewer answers than expected.\nExpected: " + checkTuples.size()
+                        + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
+            }
+            if (actualCount > checkTuples.size()) {
+                fail("Scan or range search returned more answers than expected.\nExpected: " + checkTuples.size()
+                        + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
+            }
+        } finally {
+            cursor.close();
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected CheckTuple createCheckTuple(int numFields, int numKeyFields) {
+        return new RTreeCheckTuple(numFields, numKeyFields);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ISearchPredicate createNullSearchPredicate() {
+        return new SearchPredicate(null, null);
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
+    @Override
+    protected CheckTuple createIntCheckTuple(int[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields) {
+        RTreeCheckTuple<Integer> checkTuple = new RTreeCheckTuple<Integer>(fieldValues.length, numKeyFields);
+        for (int v : fieldValues) {
+            checkTuple.add(v);
+        }
+        return checkTuple;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void setIntKeyFields(int[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields, int maxValue, Random rnd) {
+        int maxFieldPos = numKeyFields / 2;
+        for (int j = 0; j < maxFieldPos; j++) {
+            int k = maxFieldPos + j;
+            int firstValue = rnd.nextInt() % maxValue;
+            int secondValue;
+            do {
+                secondValue = rnd.nextInt() % maxValue;
+            } while (secondValue < firstValue);
+            fieldValues[j] = firstValue;
+            fieldValues[k] = secondValue;
+        }
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    protected void setIntPayloadFields(int[] fieldValues, int numKeyFields, int numFields) {
+        for (int j = numKeyFields; j < numFields; j++) {
+            fieldValues[j] = intPayloadValue++;
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Collection createCheckTuplesCollection() {
+        return new ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple>();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ArrayTupleBuilder createDeleteTupleBuilder(ITreeIndexTestContext ctx) {
+        return new ArrayTupleBuilder(ctx.getFieldCount());
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected boolean checkDiskOrderScanResult(ITupleReference tuple, CheckTuple checkTuple, ITreeIndexTestContext ctx)
+            throws HyracksDataException {
+        return ctx.getCheckTuples().contains(checkTuple);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestJobletContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestJobletContext.java
index 4f84466..7612db9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestJobletContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestJobletContext.java
@@ -29,27 +29,26 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.io.WorkspaceFileFactory;
 
 public class TestJobletContext implements IHyracksJobletContext {
+    private final int frameSize;
     private final INCApplicationContext appContext;
     private JobId jobId;
     private WorkspaceFileFactory fileFactory;
 
-    public TestJobletContext(INCApplicationContext appContext, JobId jobId) throws HyracksException {
+    public TestJobletContext(int frameSize, INCApplicationContext appContext, JobId jobId) throws HyracksException {
+        this.frameSize = frameSize;
         this.appContext = appContext;
         this.jobId = jobId;
         fileFactory = new WorkspaceFileFactory(this, (IOManager) getIOManager());
     }
 
-    @Override
     public ByteBuffer allocateFrame() {
-        return appContext.getRootContext().allocateFrame();
+        return ByteBuffer.allocate(frameSize);
     }
 
-    @Override
     public int getFrameSize() {
-        return appContext.getRootContext().getFrameSize();
+        return frameSize;
     }
 
-    @Override
     public IIOManager getIOManager() {
         return appContext.getRootContext().getIOManager();
     }
@@ -88,4 +87,9 @@
     public JobId getJobId() {
         return jobId;
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public Object getGlobalJobData() {
+        return null;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestNCApplicationContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestNCApplicationContext.java
index 1b95ccb..0bd872c 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestNCApplicationContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestNCApplicationContext.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.INCApplicationContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.messages.IMessageBroker;
 
 public class TestNCApplicationContext implements INCApplicationContext {
     private final IHyracksRootContext rootCtx;
@@ -60,4 +61,22 @@
     public Object getApplicationObject() {
         return appObject;
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public String getApplicationName() {
+        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void setMessageBroker(IMessageBroker staticticsConnector) {
+        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+        
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IMessageBroker getMessageBroker() {
+        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+        return null;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestRootContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestRootContext.java
index 93409ef..e195036 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestRootContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestRootContext.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support;
 
 import java.io.File;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
@@ -27,27 +26,15 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.io.IOManager;
 
 public class TestRootContext implements IHyracksRootContext {
-    private int frameSize;
     private IOManager ioManager;
 
-    public TestRootContext(int frameSize) throws HyracksException {
-        this.frameSize = frameSize;
+    public TestRootContext() throws HyracksException {
         List<IODeviceHandle> devices = new ArrayList<IODeviceHandle>();
         devices.add(new IODeviceHandle(new File(System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir")), "."));
         ioManager = new IOManager(devices, Executors.newCachedThreadPool());
     }
 
     @Override
-    public ByteBuffer allocateFrame() {
-        return ByteBuffer.allocate(frameSize);
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    public int getFrameSize() {
-        return frameSize;
-    }
-
-    @Override
     public IIOManager getIOManager() {
         return ioManager;
     }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.java
index d006f42..ccbe862 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.java
@@ -14,7 +14,15 @@
  */
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support;
 
+import java.io.File;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
+
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IODeviceHandle;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.io.IOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.dataflow.IndexRegistry;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.BufferCache;
@@ -31,7 +39,8 @@
     private static IBufferCache bufferCache;
     private static IFileMapProvider fileMapProvider;
     private static IndexRegistry<IIndex> indexRegistry;
-
+    private static IOManager ioManager;
+    
     private static int pageSize;
     private static int numPages;
     private static int maxOpenFiles;
@@ -69,4 +78,13 @@
         }
         return indexRegistry;
     }
+    
+    public synchronized static IOManager getIOManager() throws HyracksException {
+    	if (ioManager == null) {
+    		List<IODeviceHandle> devices = new ArrayList<IODeviceHandle>();
+    		devices.add(new IODeviceHandle(new File(System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir")), "iodev_test_wa"));
+    		ioManager = new IOManager(devices, Executors.newCachedThreadPool());
+    	}
+    	return ioManager;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestTaskContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestTaskContext.java
index e1743a1..c122b25 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestTaskContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestTaskContext.java
@@ -19,8 +19,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksJobletContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskAttemptId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.TaskId;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.ITaskState;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.state.IStateObject;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
@@ -31,11 +30,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.control.nc.io.WorkspaceFileFactory;
 
 public class TestTaskContext implements IHyracksTaskContext {
-    private final IHyracksJobletContext jobletContext;
+    private final TestJobletContext jobletContext;
     private final TaskAttemptId taskId;
     private WorkspaceFileFactory fileFactory;
 
-    public TestTaskContext(IHyracksJobletContext jobletContext, TaskAttemptId taskId) throws HyracksException {
+    public TestTaskContext(TestJobletContext jobletContext, TaskAttemptId taskId) throws HyracksException {
         this.jobletContext = jobletContext;
         this.taskId = taskId;
         fileFactory = new WorkspaceFileFactory(this, (IOManager) getIOManager());
@@ -92,12 +91,18 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public void setTaskState(ITaskState taskState) {
+    public void setStateObject(IStateObject taskState) {
 
     }
 
     @Override
-    public ITaskState getTaskState(TaskId taskId) {
+    public IStateObject getStateObject(Object id) {
         return null;
     }
+
+    @Override
+    public void sendApplicationMessageToCC(byte[] message, String nodeId) throws Exception {
+        // TODO Auto-generated method stub
+
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestUtils.java
index 5d488c1..71da634 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestUtils.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-test-support/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/test/support/TestUtils.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.application.INCApplicationContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksJobletContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksRootContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.ActivityId;
@@ -28,9 +27,9 @@
 public class TestUtils {
     public static IHyracksTaskContext create(int frameSize) {
         try {
-            IHyracksRootContext rootCtx = new TestRootContext(frameSize);
+            IHyracksRootContext rootCtx = new TestRootContext();
             INCApplicationContext appCtx = new TestNCApplicationContext(rootCtx, null);
-            IHyracksJobletContext jobletCtx = new TestJobletContext(appCtx, new JobId(0));
+            TestJobletContext jobletCtx = new TestJobletContext(frameSize, appCtx, new JobId(0));
             TaskAttemptId tid = new TaskAttemptId(new TaskId(new ActivityId(new OperatorDescriptorId(0), 0), 0), 0);
             IHyracksTaskContext taskCtx = new TestTaskContext(jobletCtx, tid);
             return taskCtx;
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/pom.xml
index 6655844..607d13a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/pom.xml
@@ -33,12 +33,6 @@
   	</dependency>
   	<dependency>
   		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
-  		<artifactId>hyracks-control-nc</artifactId>
-  		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
-  		<scope>compile</scope>
-  	</dependency>
-  	<dependency>
-  		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
   		<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-btree</artifactId>
   		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   		<type>jar</type>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeBulkLoadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeBulkLoadTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..11c47c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeBulkLoadTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexBulkLoadTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestHarness;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class BTreeBulkLoadTest extends OrderedIndexBulkLoadTest {
+
+    public BTreeBulkLoadTest() {
+        super(BTreeTestHarness.LEAF_FRAMES_TO_TEST, 1);
+    }
+
+    private final BTreeTestHarness harness = new BTreeTestHarness();
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected OrderedIndexTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys,
+            BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws Exception {
+        return BTreeTestContext.create(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getBTreeFileId(), fieldSerdes, numKeys,
+                leafType);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Random getRandom() {
+        return harness.getRandom();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeDeleteTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeDeleteTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0205540
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeDeleteTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexDeleteTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestHarness;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class BTreeDeleteTest extends OrderedIndexDeleteTest {
+
+    public BTreeDeleteTest() {
+        super(BTreeTestHarness.LEAF_FRAMES_TO_TEST);
+    }
+
+    private final BTreeTestHarness harness = new BTreeTestHarness();
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected OrderedIndexTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys,
+            BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws Exception {
+        return BTreeTestContext.create(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getBTreeFileId(), fieldSerdes, numKeys,
+                leafType);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Random getRandom() {
+        return harness.getRandom();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeExamplesTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeExamplesTest.java
index 5bb86b9..f4f8b12 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeExamplesTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeExamplesTest.java
@@ -15,610 +15,38 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
 
-import java.util.Random;
-import java.util.logging.Level;
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
 
-import org.junit.Test;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.UTF8StringPointable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeLeafFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexExamplesTest;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTreeRangeSearchCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.RangePredicate;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.AbstractBTreeTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestHarness;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.TreeDiskOrderScanCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 
-@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-public class BTreeExamplesTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
+public class BTreeExamplesTest extends OrderedIndexExamplesTest {
+    private final BTreeTestHarness harness = new BTreeTestHarness();
 
-    /**
-     * Fixed-Length Key,Value Example.
-     * 
-     * Create a BTree with one fixed-length key field and one fixed-length value
-     * field. Fill BTree with random values using insertions (not bulk load).
-     * Perform scans and range search.
-     */
-    @Test
-    public void fixedLengthKeyValueExample() throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Fixed-Length Key,Value Example.");
-        }
-
-        // Declare fields.
-        int fieldCount = 2;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        // Declare field serdes.
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-
-        // Declare keys.
-        int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-
-        BTree btree = BTreeUtils
-                .createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmps, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
-        btree.create(btreeFileId);
-        btree.open(btreeFileId);
-
-        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
-        }
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
-        int numInserts = 10000;
-        for (int i = 0; i < numInserts; i++) {
-            int f0 = rnd.nextInt() % numInserts;
-            int f1 = 5;
-            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, f0, f1);
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i + " : " + f0 + " " + f1);
-                }
-            }
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            }
-        }
-        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(numInserts + " inserts in " + (end - start) + "ms");
-        }
-
-        orderedScan(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
-        diskOrderScan(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
-
-        // Build low key.
-        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(keyFieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(lowKeyTb, lowKey, -1000);
-
-        // Build high key.
-        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(keyFieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, 1000);
-
-        rangeSearch(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
-
-        btree.close();
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
     }
 
-    /**
-     * Composite Key Example (Non-Unique B-Tree).
-     * 
-     * Create a BTree with two fixed-length key fields and one fixed-length
-     * value field. Fill BTree with random values using insertions (not bulk
-     * load) Perform scans and range search.
-     */
-    @Test
-    public void twoFixedLengthKeysOneFixedLengthValueExample() throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Composite Key Test");
-        }
-
-        // Declare fields.
-        int fieldCount = 3;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        // Declare field serdes.
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-
-        // declare keys
-        int keyFieldCount = 2;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-
-        BTree btree = BTreeUtils
-                .createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmps, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
-        btree.create(btreeFileId);
-        btree.open(btreeFileId);
-
-        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
-        }
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
-        int numInserts = 10000;
-        for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
-            int f0 = rnd.nextInt() % 2000;
-            int f1 = rnd.nextInt() % 1000;
-            int f2 = 5;
-            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, f0, f1, f2);
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i + " : " + f0 + " " + f1 + " " + f2);
-                }
-            }
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            }
-        }
-        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(numInserts + " inserts in " + (end - start) + "ms");
-        }
-
-        orderedScan(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
-        diskOrderScan(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
-
-        // Build low key.
-        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
-        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(lowKeyTb, lowKey, -3);
-
-        // Build high key.
-        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
-        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, 3);
-
-        // Prefix-Range search in [-3, 3]
-        rangeSearch(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
-
-        btree.close();
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
     }
-
-    /**
-     * Variable-Length Example. Create a BTree with one variable-length key
-     * field and one variable-length value field. Fill BTree with random values
-     * using insertions (not bulk load) Perform ordered scans and range search.
-     */
-    @Test
-    public void varLenKeyValueExample() throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Variable-Length Key,Value Example");
-        }
-
-        // Declare fields.
-        int fieldCount = 2;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        // Declare field serdes.
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-
-        // Declare keys.
-        int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-
-        BTree btree = BTreeUtils
-                .createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmps, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
-        btree.create(btreeFileId);
-        btree.open(btreeFileId);
-
-        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
-        }
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
-        // Max string length to be generated.
-        int maxLength = 10;
-        int numInserts = 10000;
-        for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
-            String f0 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
-            String f1 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
-            TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, f0, f1);
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + f0 + " " + f1);
-                }
-            }
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            }
-        }
-        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(numInserts + " inserts in " + (end - start) + "ms");
-        }
-
-        orderedScan(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
-        diskOrderScan(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
-
-        // Build low key.
-        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
-        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        TupleUtils.createTuple(lowKeyTb, lowKey, fieldSerdes, "cbf");
-
-        // Build high key.
-        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
-        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        TupleUtils.createTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, fieldSerdes, "cc7");
-
-        rangeSearch(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
-
-        btree.close();
+    
+    protected ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws TreeIndexException {
+        return BTreeUtils.createBTree(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getOpCallback(), typeTraits, cmpFactories,
+                BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
     }
-
-    /**
-     * Deletion Example.
-     * 
-     * Create a BTree with one variable-length key field and one variable-length
-     * value field. Fill B-tree with random values using insertions, then delete
-     * entries one-by-one. Repeat procedure a few times on same BTree.
-     */
-    @Test
-    public void deleteExample() throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Deletion Example");
-        }
-
-        // Declare fields.
-        int fieldCount = 2;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        // Declare field serdes.
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-
-        // Declare keys.
-        int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-
-        BTree btree = BTreeUtils
-                .createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmps, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
-        btree.create(btreeFileId);
-        btree.open(btreeFileId);
-
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
-        // Max string length to be generated.
-        int runs = 3;
-        for (int run = 0; run < runs; run++) {
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                LOGGER.info("Deletion example run: " + (run + 1) + "/" + runs);
-                LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
-            }
-            int maxLength = 10;
-            int ins = 10000;
-            String[] f0s = new String[ins];
-            String[] f1s = new String[ins];
-            int insDone = 0;
-            int[] insDoneCmp = new int[ins];
-            for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
-                String f0 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
-                String f1 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
-                TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, f0, f1);
-                f0s[i] = f0;
-                f1s[i] = f1;
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                        LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i);
-                    }
-                }
-                try {
-                    indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-                    insDone++;
-                } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-                }
-                insDoneCmp[i] = insDone;
-            }
-
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                LOGGER.info("Deleting from tree...");
-            }
-            int delDone = 0;
-            for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
-                TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, f0s[i], f1s[i]);
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                        LOGGER.info("Deleting " + i);
-                    }
-                }
-                try {
-                    indexAccessor.delete(tuple);
-                    delDone++;
-                } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-                }
-                if (insDoneCmp[i] != delDone) {
-                    if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                        LOGGER.info("INCONSISTENT STATE, ERROR IN DELETION EXAMPLE.");
-                        LOGGER.info("INSDONECMP: " + insDoneCmp[i] + " " + delDone);
-                    }
-                    break;
-                }
-            }
-            if (insDone != delDone) {
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    LOGGER.info("ERROR! INSDONE: " + insDone + " DELDONE: " + delDone);
-                }
-                break;
-            }
-        }
-        btree.close();
+    
+    protected int getIndexFileId() {
+        return harness.getBTreeFileId();
     }
-
-    /**
-     * Update example.
-     * 
-     * Create a BTree with one variable-length key field and one variable-length
-     * value field. Fill B-tree with random values using insertions, then update
-     * entries one-by-one. Repeat procedure a few times on same BTree.
-     */
-    @Test
-    public void updateExample() throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Update example");
-        }
-
-        // Declare fields.
-        int fieldCount = 2;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        // Declare field serdes.
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-
-        // Declare keys.
-        int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-
-        BTree btree = BTreeUtils
-                .createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmps, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
-        btree.create(btreeFileId);
-        btree.open(btreeFileId);
-
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Inserting into tree...");
-        }
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        int maxLength = 10;
-        int ins = 10000;
-        String[] keys = new String[10000];
-        for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
-            String f0 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
-            String f1 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
-            TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, f0, f1);
-            keys[i] = f0;
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("Inserting " + i);
-                }
-            }
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            }
-        }
-        // Print before doing any updates.
-        orderedScan(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
-
-        int runs = 3;
-        for (int run = 0; run < runs; run++) {
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                LOGGER.info("Update test run: " + (run + 1) + "/" + runs);
-                LOGGER.info("Updating BTree");
-            }
-            for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
-                // Generate a new random value for f1.
-                String f1 = randomString(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % maxLength + 1, rnd);
-                TupleUtils.createTuple(tb, tuple, fieldSerdes, keys[i], f1);
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                        LOGGER.info("UPDATING " + i);
-                    }
-                }
-                try {
-                    indexAccessor.update(tuple);
-                } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-                }
-            }
-            // Do another scan after a round of updates.
-            orderedScan(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes);
-        }
-        btree.close();
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * Bulk load example.
-     * 
-     * Load a tree with 100,000 tuples. BTree has a composite key to "simulate"
-     * non-unique index creation.
-     * 
-     */
-    @Test
-    public void bulkLoadExample() throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Bulk load example");
-        }
-        // Declare fields.
-        int fieldCount = 3;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        // Declare field serdes.
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-
-        // declare keys
-        int keyFieldCount = 2;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-
-        BTree btree = BTreeUtils
-                .createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmps, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
-        btree.create(btreeFileId);
-        btree.open(btreeFileId);
-
-        // Load sorted records.
-        int ins = 100000;
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Bulk loading " + ins + " tuples");
-        }
-        long start = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        IIndexBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = btree.beginBulkLoad(0.7f);
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        for (int i = 0; i < ins; i++) {
-            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, i, i, 5);
-            btree.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, bulkLoadCtx);
-        }
-        btree.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
-        long end = System.currentTimeMillis();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(ins + " tuples loaded in " + (end - start) + "ms");
-        }
-
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
-
-        // Build low key.
-        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
-        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(lowKeyTb, lowKey, 44444);
-
-        // Build high key.
-        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(1);
-        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(highKeyTb, highKey, 44500);
-
-        // Prefix-Range search in [44444, 44500]
-        rangeSearch(btree, indexAccessor, fieldSerdes, lowKey, highKey);
-
-        btree.close();
-    }
-
-    private void orderedScan(BTree btree, ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes)
-            throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Ordered Scan:");
-        }
-        IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) btree.getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
-        ITreeIndexCursor scanCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(leafFrame, false);
-        RangePredicate nullPred = new RangePredicate(true, null, null, true, true, null, null);
-        indexAccessor.search(scanCursor, nullPred);
-        try {
-            while (scanCursor.hasNext()) {
-                scanCursor.next();
-                ITupleReference frameTuple = scanCursor.getTuple();
-                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, fieldSerdes);
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    LOGGER.info(rec);
-                }
-            }
-        } finally {
-            scanCursor.close();
-        }
-    }
-
-    private void diskOrderScan(BTree btree, ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes)
-            throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Disk-Order Scan:");
-        }
-        IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) btree.getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
-        TreeDiskOrderScanCursor diskOrderCursor = new TreeDiskOrderScanCursor(leafFrame);
-        indexAccessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderCursor);
-        try {
-            while (diskOrderCursor.hasNext()) {
-                diskOrderCursor.next();
-                ITupleReference frameTuple = diskOrderCursor.getTuple();
-                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, fieldSerdes);
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    LOGGER.info(rec);
-                }
-            }
-        } finally {
-            diskOrderCursor.close();
-        }
-    }
-
-    private void rangeSearch(BTree btree, ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
-            ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey) throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            String lowKeyString = TupleUtils.printTuple(lowKey, fieldSerdes);
-            String highKeyString = TupleUtils.printTuple(highKey, fieldSerdes);
-            LOGGER.info("Range-Search in: [" + lowKeyString + ", " + highKeyString + "]");
-        }
-        IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) btree.getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
-        MultiComparator lowKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(btree.getMultiComparator(), lowKey);
-        MultiComparator highKeySearchCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(btree.getMultiComparator(), highKey);
-        ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(leafFrame, false);
-        RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(true, lowKey, highKey, true, true, lowKeySearchCmp,
-                highKeySearchCmp);
-        indexAccessor.search(rangeCursor, rangePred);
-        try {
-            while (rangeCursor.hasNext()) {
-                rangeCursor.next();
-                ITupleReference frameTuple = rangeCursor.getTuple();
-                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, fieldSerdes);
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    LOGGER.info(rec);
-                }
-            }
-        } finally {
-            rangeCursor.close();
-        }
-    }
-
-    public static String randomString(int length, Random random) {
-        String s = Long.toHexString(Double.doubleToLongBits(random.nextDouble()));
-        StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
-        for (int i = 0; i < s.length() && i < length; i++) {
-            strBuilder.append(s.charAt(Math.abs(random.nextInt()) % s.length()));
-        }
-        return strBuilder.toString();
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeInsertTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeInsertTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0b6cf4d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeInsertTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexInsertTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestHarness;
+
+/**
+ * Tests the BTree insert operation with strings and integer fields using
+ * various numbers of key and payload fields.
+ * 
+ * Each tests first fills a BTree with randomly generated tuples. We compare the
+ * following operations against expected results: 1. Point searches for all
+ * tuples. 2. Ordered scan. 3. Disk-order scan. 4. Range search (and prefix
+ * search for composite keys).
+ * 
+ */
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class BTreeInsertTest extends OrderedIndexInsertTest {
+
+    public BTreeInsertTest() {
+        super(BTreeTestHarness.LEAF_FRAMES_TO_TEST);
+    }
+
+    private final BTreeTestHarness harness = new BTreeTestHarness();
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected OrderedIndexTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys,
+            BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws Exception {
+        return BTreeTestContext.create(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getBTreeFileId(), fieldSerdes, numKeys,
+                leafType);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Random getRandom() {
+        return harness.getRandom();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/RangeSearchCursorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeSearchCursorTest.java
similarity index 78%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/RangeSearchCursorTest.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeSearchCursorTest.java
index 4031e7f..4003cf1 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/RangeSearchCursorTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeSearchCursorTest.java
@@ -55,11 +55,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallback;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
-public class RangeSearchCursorTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
+public class BTreeSearchCursorTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
     // Declare fields
     int fieldCount = 2;
     ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
@@ -83,22 +84,23 @@
             LOGGER.info("TESTING RANGE SEARCH CURSOR ON UNIQUE INDEX");
         }
 
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = harness.getBufferCache();
+        int btreeFileId = harness.getBTreeFileId();
+        
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 1;
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
 
         IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame = (IBTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
 
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
@@ -140,16 +142,10 @@
         int maxSearchKey = 100;
 
         // forward searches
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, false, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, false, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, true, false);
-
-        // backward searches
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, false, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, false, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, true, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, false, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, false);
 
         btree.close();
     }
@@ -160,23 +156,24 @@
             LOGGER.info("TESTING RANGE SEARCH CURSOR ON NONUNIQUE INDEX");
         }
 
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = harness.getBufferCache();
+        int btreeFileId = harness.getBTreeFileId();
+        
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 2;
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
         cmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
 
         IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame = (IBTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
 
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
@@ -215,16 +212,10 @@
         int maxSearchKey = 100;
 
         // forward searches
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, false, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, false, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, true, false);
-
-        // backward searches
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, false, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, false, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, true, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, false, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, false);
 
         btree.close();
     }
@@ -235,23 +226,24 @@
             LOGGER.info("TESTING RANGE SEARCH CURSOR ON NONUNIQUE FIELD-PREFIX COMPRESSED INDEX");
         }
 
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = harness.getBufferCache();
+        int btreeFileId = harness.getBTreeFileId();
+        
         // declare keys
         int keyFieldCount = 2;
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
         cmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
 
         IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
         IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame = (IBTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
 
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
@@ -290,22 +282,16 @@
         int maxSearchKey = 100;
 
         // forward searches
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, false, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, false, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, true, false);
-
-        // backward searches
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, false, true, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, false, false);
-        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, true, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, false, true, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, false, false);
+        performSearches(keys, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, minSearchKey, maxSearchKey, true, true, false);
 
         btree.close();
     }
 
-    public RangePredicate createRangePredicate(int lk, int hk, boolean isForward, boolean lowKeyInclusive,
-            boolean highKeyInclusive, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException {
+    public RangePredicate createRangePredicate(int lk, int hk, boolean lowKeyInclusive,
+            boolean highKeyInclusive) throws HyracksDataException {
 
         // create tuplereferences for search keys
         ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(lk);
@@ -315,13 +301,13 @@
         searchCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
         MultiComparator searchCmp = new MultiComparator(searchCmps);
 
-        RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(isForward, lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive,
+        RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive,
                 searchCmp, searchCmp);
         return rangePred;
     }
 
     public void getExpectedResults(ArrayList<Integer> expectedResults, ArrayList<Integer> keys, int lk, int hk,
-            boolean isForward, boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive) {
+            boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive) {
 
         // special cases
         if (lk == hk && (!lowKeyInclusive || !highKeyInclusive))
@@ -329,35 +315,21 @@
         if (lk > hk)
             return;
 
-        if (isForward) {
-            for (int i = 0; i < keys.size(); i++) {
-                if ((lk == keys.get(i) && lowKeyInclusive) || (hk == keys.get(i) && highKeyInclusive)) {
-                    expectedResults.add(keys.get(i));
-                    continue;
-                }
-
-                if (lk < keys.get(i) && hk > keys.get(i)) {
-                    expectedResults.add(keys.get(i));
-                    continue;
-                }
+        for (int i = 0; i < keys.size(); i++) {
+            if ((lk == keys.get(i) && lowKeyInclusive) || (hk == keys.get(i) && highKeyInclusive)) {
+                expectedResults.add(keys.get(i));
+                continue;
             }
-        } else {
-            for (int i = keys.size() - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
-                if ((lk == keys.get(i) && lowKeyInclusive) || (hk == keys.get(i) && highKeyInclusive)) {
-                    expectedResults.add(keys.get(i));
-                    continue;
-                }
 
-                if (lk < keys.get(i) && hk > keys.get(i)) {
-                    expectedResults.add(keys.get(i));
-                    continue;
-                }
+            if (lk < keys.get(i) && hk > keys.get(i)) {
+                expectedResults.add(keys.get(i));
+                continue;
             }
         }
     }
 
     public boolean performSearches(ArrayList<Integer> keys, BTree btree, IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame,
-            IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, int minKey, int maxKey, boolean isForward, boolean lowKeyInclusive,
+            IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, int minKey, int maxKey, boolean lowKeyInclusive,
             boolean highKeyInclusive, boolean printExpectedResults) throws Exception {
 
         ArrayList<Integer> results = new ArrayList<Integer>();
@@ -373,8 +345,8 @@
                 int highKey = j;
 
                 ITreeIndexCursor rangeCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(leafFrame, false);
-                RangePredicate rangePred = createRangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, isForward, lowKeyInclusive,
-                        highKeyInclusive, btree.getMultiComparator());
+                RangePredicate rangePred = createRangePredicate(lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive,
+                        highKeyInclusive);
                 ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
                 indexAccessor.search(rangeCursor, rangePred);
 
@@ -394,7 +366,7 @@
                     rangeCursor.close();
                 }
 
-                getExpectedResults(expectedResults, keys, lowKey, highKey, isForward, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive);
+                getExpectedResults(expectedResults, keys, lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive);
 
                 if (printExpectedResults) {
                     if (expectedResults.size() > 0) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/StatsTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeStatsTest.java
similarity index 91%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/StatsTest.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeStatsTest.java
index 1ae80d6..c33b4e9 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/StatsTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeStatsTest.java
@@ -36,9 +36,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallback;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexBufferCacheWarmup;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexStats;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexStatsGatherer;
@@ -47,11 +46,8 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
 
-public class StatsTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
-
-    // private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 256;
-    // private static final int NUM_PAGES = 10;
-    // private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 32768;
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class BTreeStatsTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
     private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 4096;
     private static final int NUM_PAGES = 1000;
     private static final int MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
@@ -64,7 +60,7 @@
         TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, NUM_PAGES, MAX_OPEN_FILES);
         IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
         IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
-        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
+        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(harness.getFileName()));
         bufferCache.createFile(file);
         int fileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
         bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
@@ -80,8 +76,6 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
@@ -91,9 +85,9 @@
         IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame = (IBTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
         ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame = metaFrameFactory.createFrame();
 
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(fileId);
         btree.open(fileId);
 
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeTestDriver.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeTestDriver.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 1daa273..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeTestDriver.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,133 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
-
-import java.util.logging.Level;
-
-import org.junit.Test;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.AbstractBTreeTest;
-
-@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-public abstract class BTreeTestDriver extends AbstractBTreeTest {
-
-    protected static final int numTuplesToInsert = 10000;
-    
-    protected abstract void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType, ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey) throws Exception;
-    protected abstract String getTestOpName();
-    
-    @Test
-    public void oneIntKeyAndValue() throws Exception {        
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With One Int Key And Value.");
-        }
-                
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        // Range search in [-1000, 1000]
-        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(-1000);
-        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(1000);
-        
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 1, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM, lowKey, highKey, null, null);
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 1, BTreeLeafFrameType.FIELD_PREFIX_COMPRESSED_NSM, lowKey, highKey, null, null);
-    }
-    
-    @Test
-    public void twoIntKeys() throws Exception {    
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two Int Keys.");
-        }
-        
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        
-        // Range search in [50 0, 50 500]
-        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50, 0);
-        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50, 500);
-        
-        // Prefix range search in [50, 50]
-        ITupleReference prefixLowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50);
-        ITupleReference prefixHighKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50);
-        
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, BTreeLeafFrameType.FIELD_PREFIX_COMPRESSED_NSM, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
-    }
-    
-    @Test
-    public void twoIntKeysAndValues() throws Exception {  
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two Int Keys And Values.");
-        }
-        
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        
-        // Range search in [50 100, 100 100]
-        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(-100, -100);
-        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(100, 100);
-        
-        // Prefix range search in [50, 50]
-        ITupleReference prefixLowKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50);
-        ITupleReference prefixHighKey = TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(50);
-        
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, BTreeLeafFrameType.FIELD_PREFIX_COMPRESSED_NSM, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
-    }        
-    
-    @Test
-    public void oneStringKeyAndValue() throws Exception {        
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With One String Key And Value.");
-        }
-        
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        
-        // Range search in ["cbf", cc7"]
-        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf");
-        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7");
-        
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 1, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM, lowKey, highKey, null, null);
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 1, BTreeLeafFrameType.FIELD_PREFIX_COMPRESSED_NSM, lowKey, highKey, null, null);
-    }
-    
-    @Test
-    public void twoStringKeys() throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two String Keys.");
-        }
-        
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        
-        // Range search in ["cbf", "ddd", cc7", "eee"]
-        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf", "ddd");
-        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7", "eee");
-        
-        // Prefix range search in ["cbf", cc7"]
-        ITupleReference prefixLowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf");
-        ITupleReference prefixHighKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7");
-        
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, BTreeLeafFrameType.FIELD_PREFIX_COMPRESSED_NSM, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
-    }
-    
-    @Test
-    public void twoStringKeysAndValues() throws Exception {      
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("BTree " + getTestOpName() + " Test With Two String Keys And Values.");
-        }
-        
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        
-        // Range search in ["cbf", "ddd", cc7", "eee"]
-        ITupleReference lowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf", "ddd");
-        ITupleReference highKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7", "eee");
-        
-        // Prefix range search in ["cbf", cc7"]
-        ITupleReference prefixLowKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cbf");
-        ITupleReference prefixHighKey = TupleUtils.createTuple(fieldSerdes, "cc7");
-        
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
-        runTest(fieldSerdes, 2, BTreeLeafFrameType.FIELD_PREFIX_COMPRESSED_NSM, lowKey, highKey, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey);
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/UpdateSearchTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateSearchTest.java
similarity index 89%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/UpdateSearchTest.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateSearchTest.java
index 5d43ae1..2b03a6a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/UpdateSearchTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateSearchTest.java
@@ -30,15 +30,19 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallback;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.IndexUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
-public class UpdateSearchTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class BTreeUpdateSearchTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
 
     // Update scan test on fixed-length tuples.
     @Test
     public void test01() throws Exception {
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = harness.getBufferCache();
+        int btreeFileId = harness.getBTreeFileId();
+        
         // declare fields
         int fieldCount = 2;
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
@@ -50,8 +54,6 @@
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
         cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator cmp = IndexUtils.createMultiComparator(cmpFactories);
-
         ISerializerDeserializer[] recDescSers = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
 
@@ -62,8 +64,8 @@
 
         IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
 
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
+        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
@@ -81,7 +83,7 @@
         ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
 
         int numInserts = 10000;
-        for (int i = 0; i < 10000; i++) {
+        for (int i = 0; i < numInserts; i++) {
             int f0 = rnd.nextInt() % 10000;
             int f1 = 5;
             TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, insertTuple, f0, f1);
@@ -111,7 +113,7 @@
         }
         // Set the cursor to X latch nodes.
         ITreeIndexCursor updateScanCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(leafFrame, true);
-        RangePredicate nullPred = new RangePredicate(true, null, null, true, true, null, null);
+        RangePredicate nullPred = new RangePredicate(null, null, true, true, null, null);
         indexAccessor.search(updateScanCursor, nullPred);
         try {
             while (updateScanCursor.hasNext()) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c3b56d5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpdateTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexUpdateTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestHarness;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class BTreeUpdateTest extends OrderedIndexUpdateTest {
+
+    public BTreeUpdateTest() {
+        super(BTreeTestHarness.LEAF_FRAMES_TO_TEST);
+    }
+
+    private final BTreeTestHarness harness = new BTreeTestHarness();
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected OrderedIndexTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys,
+            BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws Exception {
+        return BTreeTestContext.create(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getBTreeFileId(), fieldSerdes, numKeys,
+                leafType);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Random getRandom() {
+        return harness.getRandom();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpsertTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpsertTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6e14607
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BTreeUpsertTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestHarness;
+
+/**
+ * Tests the BTree insert operation with strings and integer fields using
+ * various numbers of key and payload fields.
+ * 
+ * Each tests first fills a BTree with randomly generated tuples. We compare the
+ * following operations against expected results: 1. Point searches for all
+ * tuples. 2. Ordered scan. 3. Disk-order scan. 4. Range search (and prefix
+ * search for composite keys).
+ * 
+ */
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class BTreeUpsertTest extends OrderedIndexUpsertTest {
+
+    public BTreeUpsertTest() {
+        super(BTreeTestHarness.LEAF_FRAMES_TO_TEST);
+    }
+
+    private final BTreeTestHarness harness = new BTreeTestHarness();
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected OrderedIndexTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys,
+            BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws Exception {
+        return BTreeTestContext.create(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getBTreeFileId(), fieldSerdes, numKeys,
+                leafType);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Random getRandom() {
+        return harness.getRandom();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BulkLoadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BulkLoadTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 49d08a3..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/BulkLoadTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,53 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestUtils;
-
-@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-public class BulkLoadTest extends BTreeTestDriver {
-    
-    @Override
-    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType, ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey) throws Exception {
-        BTreeTestContext testCtx = BTreeTestUtils.createBTreeTestContext(bufferCache, btreeFileId, fieldSerdes, numKeys, leafType);
-
-        // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first one to determine which field types to generate.
-        if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
-            BTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadIntTuples(testCtx, numTuplesToInsert, rnd);
-        } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
-            BTreeTestUtils.bulkLoadStringTuples(testCtx, numTuplesToInsert, rnd);
-        }
-
-        BTreeTestUtils.checkPointSearches(testCtx);
-        BTreeTestUtils.checkOrderedScan(testCtx);
-        BTreeTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(testCtx);
-        BTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(testCtx, lowKey, highKey, true, true);
-        if (prefixLowKey != null && prefixHighKey != null) {
-            BTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(testCtx, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey, true, true);
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    protected String getTestOpName() {
-        return "BulkLoad";
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/DeleteTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/DeleteTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 2157adb..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/DeleteTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,63 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestUtils;
-
-@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-public class DeleteTest extends BTreeTestDriver {
-    
-    private static final int numInsertRounds = 3;
-    private static final int numDeleteRounds = 3;
-    
-    @Override
-    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType, ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey) throws Exception {
-        BTreeTestContext testCtx = BTreeTestUtils.createBTreeTestContext(bufferCache, btreeFileId, fieldSerdes, numKeys, leafType);
-        for (int i = 0; i < numInsertRounds; i++) {
-            
-            // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first one to determine which field types to generate.
-            if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
-                BTreeTestUtils.insertIntTuples(testCtx, numTuplesToInsert, rnd);
-            } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
-                BTreeTestUtils.insertStringTuples(testCtx, numTuplesToInsert, rnd);
-            }
-            
-            int numTuplesPerDeleteRound = (int)Math.ceil((float)testCtx.checkTuples.size() / (float)numDeleteRounds);
-            for(int j = 0; j < numDeleteRounds; j++) {
-                BTreeTestUtils.deleteTuples(testCtx, numTuplesPerDeleteRound, rnd);
-                
-                BTreeTestUtils.checkPointSearches(testCtx);
-                BTreeTestUtils.checkOrderedScan(testCtx);
-                BTreeTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(testCtx);
-                BTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(testCtx, lowKey, highKey, true, true);
-                if (prefixLowKey != null && prefixHighKey != null) {
-                    BTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(testCtx, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey, true, true);
-                }
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    protected String getTestOpName() {
-        return "Delete";
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/FieldPrefixNSMTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/FieldPrefixNSMTest.java
index e8aa00a..d61d16a 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/FieldPrefixNSMTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/FieldPrefixNSMTest.java
@@ -45,9 +45,11 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriter;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.ICachedPage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.BufferedFileHandle;
 
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
 public class FieldPrefixNSMTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
 
     private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 32768; // 32K
@@ -55,6 +57,10 @@
     private static final int MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
     private static final int HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = 128;
 
+    public FieldPrefixNSMTest() {        
+        super(PAGE_SIZE, NUM_PAGES, MAX_OPEN_FILES, HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE);
+    }
+    
     private ITupleReference createTuple(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, int f0, int f1, int f2, boolean print)
             throws HyracksDataException {
         if (print) {
@@ -67,7 +73,7 @@
         FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
         ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(3);
         DataOutput dos = tb.getDataOutput();
-
+        
         ISerializerDeserializer[] recDescSers = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
         RecordDescriptor recDesc = new RecordDescriptor(recDescSers);
@@ -92,8 +98,8 @@
     }
 
     @Test
-    public void test01() throws Exception {
-
+    public void test01() throws Exception {        
+        
         // declare fields
         int fieldCount = 3;
         ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
@@ -116,6 +122,9 @@
         Random rnd = new Random();
         rnd.setSeed(50);
 
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = harness.getBufferCache();
+        int btreeFileId = harness.getBTreeFileId();
+        IHyracksTaskContext ctx = harness.getHyracksTaskContext();
         ICachedPage page = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(btreeFileId, 0), false);
         try {
 
@@ -213,20 +222,4 @@
             bufferCache.unpin(page);
         }
     }
-
-    public int getPageSize() {
-        return PAGE_SIZE;
-    }
-
-    public int getNumPages() {
-        return NUM_PAGES;
-    }
-
-    public int getHyracksFrameSize() {
-        return HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE;
-    }
-
-    public int getMaxOpenFiles() {
-        return MAX_OPEN_FILES;
-    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/InsertTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/InsertTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index fa3f895..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/InsertTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,65 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestUtils;
-
-/**
- * Tests the BTree insert operation with strings and integer fields using
- * various numbers of key and payload fields.
- * 
- * Each tests first fills a BTree with randomly generated tuples.
- * We compare the following operations against expected results:
- * 1. Point searches for all tuples.
- * 2. Ordered scan.
- * 3. Disk-order scan.
- * 4. Range search (and prefix search for composite keys).
- * 
- */
-@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-public class InsertTest extends BTreeTestDriver {        
-    @Override
-    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType, ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey) throws Exception {
-        BTreeTestContext testCtx = BTreeTestUtils.createBTreeTestContext(bufferCache, btreeFileId, fieldSerdes, numKeys, leafType);
-        // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first one to determine which field types to generate.
-        if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
-            BTreeTestUtils.insertIntTuples(testCtx, numTuplesToInsert, rnd);
-        } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
-            BTreeTestUtils.insertStringTuples(testCtx, numTuplesToInsert, rnd);
-        }
-        
-        BTreeTestUtils.checkPointSearches(testCtx);
-        BTreeTestUtils.checkOrderedScan(testCtx);
-        BTreeTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(testCtx);
-                
-        BTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(testCtx, lowKey, highKey, true, true);
-        if (prefixLowKey != null && prefixHighKey != null) {
-            BTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(testCtx, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey, true, true);
-        }
-        testCtx.btree.close();
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    protected String getTestOpName() {
-        return "Insert";
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/StorageManagerTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/StorageManagerTest.java
index ac4133d..9ec64b5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/StorageManagerTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/StorageManagerTest.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
 
-import java.io.File;
 import java.util.LinkedList;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Random;
@@ -24,21 +23,13 @@
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.AbstractBTreeTest;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.ICachedPage;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.BufferedFileHandle;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapProvider;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.sync.LatchType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
 
-public class StorageManagerTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {
-    private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 256;
-    private static final int NUM_PAGES = 10;
-    private static final int MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
-    private static final int HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = 32768;
-
+public class StorageManagerTest extends AbstractBTreeTest {	
     public class PinnedLatchedPage {
         public final ICachedPage page;
         public final LatchType latch;
@@ -258,38 +249,11 @@
     }
 
     @Test
-    public void oneThreadOneFileTest() throws Exception {
-        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, NUM_PAGES, MAX_OPEN_FILES);
-        IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
-        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
-        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-        bufferCache.createFile(file);
-        int fileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
-        bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
-
-        Thread worker = new Thread(new FileAccessWorker(0, bufferCache, FileAccessType.FTA_UNLATCHED, fileId, 10, 10,
-                100, 10, 0));
-
+    public void oneThreadOneFileTest() throws Exception { 
+		Thread worker = new Thread(new FileAccessWorker(0,
+				harness.getBufferCache(), FileAccessType.FTA_UNLATCHED,
+				harness.getBTreeFileId(), 10, 10, 100, 10, 0));
         worker.start();
-
         worker.join();
-
-        bufferCache.close();
-    }
-    
-    public int getPageSize() {
-        return PAGE_SIZE;
-    }
-    
-    public int getNumPages() {
-        return NUM_PAGES;
-    }
-    
-    public int getHyracksFrameSize() {
-        return HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE;
-    }
-    
-    public int getMaxOpenFiles() {
-        return MAX_OPEN_FILES;
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/UpdateTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/UpdateTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index b40539f..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/UpdateTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestUtils;
-
-@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-public class UpdateTest extends BTreeTestDriver {
-    private static final int numUpdateRounds = 3;
-    
-    @Override
-    protected void runTest(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType, ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, ITupleReference prefixLowKey, ITupleReference prefixHighKey) throws Exception {
-        // This is a noop because we can only update non-key fields.
-        if (fieldSerdes.length == numKeys) {
-            return;
-        }
-        
-        BTreeTestContext testCtx = BTreeTestUtils.createBTreeTestContext(bufferCache, btreeFileId, fieldSerdes, numKeys, leafType);
-
-        // We assume all fieldSerdes are of the same type. Check the first one to determine which field types to generate.
-        if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
-            BTreeTestUtils.insertIntTuples(testCtx, numTuplesToInsert, rnd);
-        } else if (fieldSerdes[0] instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
-            BTreeTestUtils.insertStringTuples(testCtx, numTuplesToInsert, rnd);
-        }
-
-        int numTuplesPerDeleteRound = (int)Math.ceil((float)testCtx.checkTuples.size() / (float)numUpdateRounds);
-        for(int j = 0; j < numUpdateRounds; j++) {
-            BTreeTestUtils.updateTuples(testCtx, numTuplesPerDeleteRound, rnd);
-
-            BTreeTestUtils.checkPointSearches(testCtx);
-            BTreeTestUtils.checkOrderedScan(testCtx);
-            BTreeTestUtils.checkDiskOrderScan(testCtx);
-            BTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(testCtx, lowKey, highKey, true, true);
-            if (prefixLowKey != null && prefixHighKey != null) {
-                BTreeTestUtils.checkRangeSearch(testCtx, prefixLowKey, prefixHighKey, true, true);
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    @Override
-    protected String getTestOpName() {
-        return "Update";
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeMultiThreadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeMultiThreadTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..596fa31
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeMultiThreadTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.multithread;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexMultiThreadTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeTestHarness;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util.BTreeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestWorkloadConf;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+
+public class BTreeMultiThreadTest extends OrderedIndexMultiThreadTest {
+
+    private BTreeTestHarness harness = new BTreeTestHarness();
+    
+    private BTreeTestWorkerFactory workerFactory = new BTreeTestWorkerFactory();
+    
+    @Override
+    protected void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories) throws TreeIndexException {
+        return BTreeUtils.createBTree(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getOpCallback(), typeTraits, cmpFactories, BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory getWorkerFactory() {
+        return workerFactory;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf> getTestWorkloadConf() {
+        ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf> workloadConfs = new ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf>();
+        
+        // Insert only workload.
+        TestOperation[] insertOnlyOps = new TestOperation[] { TestOperation.INSERT };
+        workloadConfs.add(new TestWorkloadConf(insertOnlyOps, getUniformOpProbs(insertOnlyOps)));
+        
+        // Inserts mixed with point searches and scans.
+        TestOperation[] insertSearchOnlyOps = new TestOperation[] { TestOperation.INSERT, TestOperation.POINT_SEARCH, TestOperation.SCAN, TestOperation.DISKORDER_SCAN };
+        workloadConfs.add(new TestWorkloadConf(insertSearchOnlyOps, getUniformOpProbs(insertSearchOnlyOps)));
+        
+        // Inserts, updates, deletes, and upserts.        
+        TestOperation[] insertDeleteUpdateUpsertOps = new TestOperation[] { TestOperation.INSERT, TestOperation.DELETE, TestOperation.UPDATE, TestOperation.UPSERT };
+        workloadConfs.add(new TestWorkloadConf(insertDeleteUpdateUpsertOps, getUniformOpProbs(insertDeleteUpdateUpsertOps)));
+        
+        // All operations mixed.
+        TestOperation[] allOps = new TestOperation[] { TestOperation.INSERT, TestOperation.DELETE, TestOperation.UPDATE, TestOperation.UPSERT, TestOperation.POINT_SEARCH, TestOperation.SCAN, TestOperation.DISKORDER_SCAN };
+        workloadConfs.add(new TestWorkloadConf(allOps, getUniformOpProbs(allOps)));
+        
+        return workloadConfs;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected int getFileId() {
+        return harness.getBTreeFileId();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getIndexTypeName() {
+        return "BTree";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorker.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorker.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7d8de7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorker.java
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.multithread;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeDuplicateKeyException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeNonExistentKeyException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeNotUpdateableException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.RangePredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+
+public class BTreeTestWorker extends AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker {
+    
+    private final BTree btree;
+    private final int numKeyFields;
+    private final ArrayTupleBuilder deleteTb;
+    private final ArrayTupleReference deleteTuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+    
+    public BTreeTestWorker(DataGenThread dataGen, TestOperationSelector opSelector, ITreeIndex index, int numBatches) {
+        super(dataGen, opSelector, index, numBatches);
+        btree = (BTree) index;
+        numKeyFields = btree.getComparatorFactories().length;
+        deleteTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(numKeyFields);
+    }
+    
+    @Override
+    public void performOp(ITupleReference tuple, TestOperation op) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {        
+        BTree.BTreeAccessor accessor = (BTree.BTreeAccessor) indexAccessor;
+        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor diskOrderScanCursor = accessor.createDiskOrderScanCursor();
+        MultiComparator cmp = accessor.getOpContext().cmp;
+        RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(tuple, tuple, true, true, cmp, cmp);
+        
+        switch (op) {
+            case INSERT:
+                try {
+                    accessor.insert(tuple);
+                } catch (BTreeDuplicateKeyException e) {
+                    // Ignore duplicate keys, since we get random tuples.
+                }
+                break;
+                
+            case DELETE:
+                // Create a tuple reference with only key fields.
+                deleteTb.reset();
+                for (int i = 0; i < numKeyFields; i++) {
+                    deleteTb.addField(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+                }
+                deleteTuple.reset(deleteTb.getFieldEndOffsets(), deleteTb.getByteArray());
+                try {
+                    accessor.delete(deleteTuple);
+                } catch (BTreeNonExistentKeyException e) {
+                    // Ignore non-existant keys, since we get random tuples.
+                }
+                break;
+                
+            case UPDATE:
+                try {
+                    accessor.update(tuple);
+                } catch (BTreeNonExistentKeyException e) {
+                    // Ignore non-existant keys, since we get random tuples.
+                } catch (BTreeNotUpdateableException e) {
+                    // Ignore not updateable exception due to numKeys == numFields.
+                }
+                break;
+                
+            case UPSERT:
+                accessor.upsert(tuple);
+                // Upsert should not throw. If it does, there's 
+                // a bigger problem and the test should fail.
+                break;
+                
+            case POINT_SEARCH: 
+                searchCursor.reset();
+                rangePred.setLowKey(tuple, true);
+                rangePred.setHighKey(tuple, true);
+                accessor.search(searchCursor, rangePred);
+                consumeCursorTuples(searchCursor);
+                break;
+                
+            case SCAN:
+                searchCursor.reset();
+                rangePred.setLowKey(null, true);
+                rangePred.setHighKey(null, true);
+                accessor.search(searchCursor, rangePred);
+                consumeCursorTuples(searchCursor);
+                break;
+                
+            case DISKORDER_SCAN:
+                diskOrderScanCursor.reset();
+                accessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderScanCursor);
+                consumeCursorTuples(diskOrderScanCursor);
+                break;                            
+            
+            default:
+                throw new HyracksDataException("Op " + op.toString() + " not supported.");
+        }
+    }
+    
+    private void consumeCursorTuples(ITreeIndexCursor cursor) throws HyracksDataException {
+        try {
+            while(cursor.hasNext()) {
+                cursor.next();
+            }
+        } finally {
+            cursor.close();
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorkerFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorkerFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..dc4d883
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/multithread/BTreeTestWorkerFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.multithread;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
+
+public class BTreeTestWorkerFactory implements ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory {
+    @Override
+    public AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker create(DataGenThread dataGen, TestOperationSelector opSelector,
+            ITreeIndex index, int numBatches) {
+        return new BTreeTestWorker(dataGen, opSelector, index, numBatches);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/AbstractBTreeTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/AbstractBTreeTest.java
index 9630a1b..f4eca1b 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/AbstractBTreeTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/AbstractBTreeTest.java
@@ -1,76 +1,46 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util;
 
-import java.io.File;
-import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
-import java.util.Date;
-import java.util.Random;
 import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import org.junit.After;
 import org.junit.Before;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
 
 public abstract class AbstractBTreeTest {
-    protected static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(AbstractBTreeTest.class.getName());
-    public static final long RANDOM_SEED = 50;
-    
-    private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 256;
-    private static final int NUM_PAGES = 10;
-    private static final int MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
-    private static final int HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = 128;
-        
-    protected IHyracksTaskContext ctx; 
-    protected IBufferCache bufferCache;
-    protected int btreeFileId;
-    
-    protected final Random rnd = new Random();
-    protected final static SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("ddMMyy-hhmmssSS");
-    protected final static String tmpDir = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");
-    protected final static String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
-    protected String fileName;   
-    
-    @Before
-    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
-        fileName = tmpDir + sep + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
-        ctx = TestUtils.create(getHyracksFrameSize());
-        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(getPageSize(), getNumPages(), getMaxOpenFiles());
-        bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
-        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
-        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-        bufferCache.createFile(file);
-        btreeFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
-        bufferCache.openFile(btreeFileId);
-        rnd.setSeed(RANDOM_SEED);
+	protected final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(BTreeTestHarness.class.getName());
+	protected final BTreeTestHarness harness;
+	
+	public AbstractBTreeTest() {
+		harness = new BTreeTestHarness();
     }
     
-    @After
+    public AbstractBTreeTest(int pageSize, int numPages, int maxOpenFiles, int hyracksFrameSize) {
+    	harness = new BTreeTestHarness(pageSize, numPages, maxOpenFiles, hyracksFrameSize);
+    }
+	
+	@Before
+	public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+		harness.setUp();
+    }
+	
+	@After
     public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
-        bufferCache.closeFile(btreeFileId);
-        bufferCache.close();
-        File f = new File(fileName);
-        f.deleteOnExit();
-    }
-    
-    public int getPageSize() {
-        return PAGE_SIZE;
-    }
-    
-    public int getNumPages() {
-        return NUM_PAGES;
-    }
-    
-    public int getHyracksFrameSize() {
-        return HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE;
-    }
-    
-    public int getMaxOpenFiles() {
-        return MAX_OPEN_FILES;
+		harness.tearDown();
     }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestContext.java
index f1b03c1..b820f93 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestContext.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestContext.java
@@ -15,49 +15,43 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util;
 
-import java.util.TreeSet;
-
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeInteriorFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeLeafFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.SerdeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.OrderedIndexTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallback;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
 
 @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-public final class BTreeTestContext {
-    public final ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes;
-    public final IBufferCache bufferCache;
-    public final BTree btree;
-    public final IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame;
-    public final IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame;
-    public final ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame;
-    public final ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder;
-    public final ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-    public final TreeSet<CheckTuple> checkTuples = new TreeSet<CheckTuple>();
-    public final ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor;
-
-    public BTreeTestContext(IBufferCache bufferCache, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, BTree btree,
-            IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame, IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame, ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame,
-            ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor) {
-        this.bufferCache = bufferCache;
-        this.fieldSerdes = fieldSerdes;
-        this.btree = btree;
-        this.leafFrame = leafFrame;
-        this.interiorFrame = interiorFrame;
-        this.metaFrame = metaFrame;
-        this.indexAccessor = indexAccessor;
-        this.tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldSerdes.length);
+public class BTreeTestContext extends OrderedIndexTestContext {
+    
+    public BTreeTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, ITreeIndex treeIndex) {
+        super(fieldSerdes, treeIndex);
     }
 
-    public int getFieldCount() {
-        return fieldSerdes.length;
-    }
-
+    @Override
     public int getKeyFieldCount() {
-        return btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount();
+        BTree btree = (BTree) treeIndex;
+        return btree.getComparatorFactories().length;
     }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+    
+    @Override
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
+        BTree btree = (BTree) treeIndex;
+        return btree.getComparatorFactories();
+    }
+    
+    public static BTreeTestContext create(IBufferCache bufferCache, int btreeFileId, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeyFields, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws Exception {        
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = SerdeUtils.serdesToTypeTraits(fieldSerdes);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparatorFactories(fieldSerdes, numKeyFields);
+        BTree btree = BTreeUtils.createBTree(bufferCache, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, typeTraits, cmpFactories, leafType);
+        btree.create(btreeFileId);
+        btree.open(btreeFileId);
+        BTreeTestContext testCtx = new BTreeTestContext(fieldSerdes, btree);
+        return testCtx;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestHarness.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestHarness.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b450d8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestHarness.java
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
+import java.util.Date;
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IOperationCallback;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallback;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
+
+public class BTreeTestHarness {    
+    public static final BTreeLeafFrameType[] LEAF_FRAMES_TO_TEST = new BTreeLeafFrameType[] {
+        BTreeLeafFrameType.REGULAR_NSM, BTreeLeafFrameType.FIELD_PREFIX_COMPRESSED_NSM };
+    
+    private static final long RANDOM_SEED = 50;
+    private static final int DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE = 256;
+    private static final int DEFAULT_NUM_PAGES = 100;
+    private static final int DEFAULT_MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
+    private static final int DEFAULT_HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = 128;
+    
+    protected final int pageSize;
+    protected final int numPages;
+    protected final int maxOpenFiles;
+    protected final int hyracksFrameSize;
+        
+    protected IHyracksTaskContext ctx; 
+    protected IBufferCache bufferCache;
+    protected int btreeFileId;
+    
+    protected final Random rnd = new Random();
+    protected final SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("ddMMyy-hhmmssSS");
+    protected final String tmpDir = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");
+    protected final String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
+    protected String fileName;
+    
+    public BTreeTestHarness() {
+    	this.pageSize = DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE;
+    	this.numPages = DEFAULT_NUM_PAGES;
+    	this.maxOpenFiles = DEFAULT_MAX_OPEN_FILES;
+    	this.hyracksFrameSize = DEFAULT_HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE;
+    }
+    
+    public BTreeTestHarness(int pageSize, int numPages, int maxOpenFiles, int hyracksFrameSize) {
+    	this.pageSize = pageSize;
+    	this.numPages = numPages;
+    	this.maxOpenFiles = maxOpenFiles;
+    	this.hyracksFrameSize = hyracksFrameSize;
+    }
+    
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        fileName = tmpDir + sep + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
+        ctx = TestUtils.create(getHyracksFrameSize());
+        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(pageSize, numPages, maxOpenFiles);
+        bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
+        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
+        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
+        bufferCache.createFile(file);
+        btreeFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
+        bufferCache.openFile(btreeFileId);
+        rnd.setSeed(RANDOM_SEED);
+    }
+    
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        bufferCache.closeFile(btreeFileId);
+        bufferCache.close();
+        File f = new File(fileName);
+        f.deleteOnExit();
+    }
+    
+    public IHyracksTaskContext getHyracksTaskContext() {
+    	return ctx;
+    }
+    
+    public IBufferCache getBufferCache() {
+    	return bufferCache;
+    }
+    
+    public int getBTreeFileId() {
+    	return btreeFileId;
+    }
+    
+    public String getFileName() {
+        return fileName;
+    }
+    
+    public Random getRandom() {
+    	return rnd;
+    }
+    
+    public int getPageSize() {
+        return pageSize;
+    }
+    
+    public int getNumPages() {
+        return numPages;
+    }
+    
+    public int getHyracksFrameSize() {
+        return hyracksFrameSize;
+    }
+    
+    public int getMaxOpenFiles() {
+        return maxOpenFiles;
+    }
+    
+    public IOperationCallback getOpCallback() {
+        return NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestUtils.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestUtils.java
deleted file mode 100644
index b5186b0..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-btree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/btree/util/BTreeTestUtils.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,505 +0,0 @@
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.util;
-
-import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
-
-import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
-import java.io.DataInput;
-import java.io.DataInputStream;
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.util.Iterator;
-import java.util.NavigableSet;
-import java.util.Random;
-import java.util.TreeSet;
-import java.util.logging.Level;
-import java.util.logging.Logger;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.SerdeUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeInteriorFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.api.IBTreeLeafFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.exceptions.BTreeDuplicateKeyException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeLeafFrameType;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTreeRangeSearchCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.RangePredicate;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.PageAllocationException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.TreeDiskOrderScanCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
-
-@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-public class BTreeTestUtils {
-    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(BTreeTestUtils.class.getName());    
-    
-    public static BTreeTestContext createBTreeTestContext(IBufferCache bufferCache, int btreeFileId, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeyFields, BTreeLeafFrameType leafType) throws Exception {        
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = SerdeUtils.serdesToTypeTraits(fieldSerdes, fieldSerdes.length);
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparators(fieldSerdes, numKeyFields);
-        
-        BTree btree = BTreeUtils.createBTree(bufferCache, btreeFileId, typeTraits, cmps, leafType);
-        btree.create(btreeFileId);
-        btree.open(btreeFileId);
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = btree.createAccessor();
-        
-        IBTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IBTreeLeafFrame) btree.getLeafFrameFactory().createFrame();
-        IBTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame = (IBTreeInteriorFrame) btree.getInteriorFrameFactory().createFrame();
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame = btree.getFreePageManager().getMetaDataFrameFactory().createFrame();
-        BTreeTestContext testCtx = new BTreeTestContext(bufferCache, fieldSerdes, btree, leafFrame, interiorFrame, metaFrame, indexAccessor);
-        return testCtx;
-    }
-    
-    private static void compareActualAndExpected(ITupleReference actual, CheckTuple expected, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes) throws HyracksDataException {
-        for (int i = 0; i < fieldSerdes.length; i++) {
-            ByteArrayInputStream inStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(
-                    actual.getFieldData(i), actual.getFieldStart(i),
-                    actual.getFieldLength(i));
-            DataInput dataIn = new DataInputStream(inStream);
-            Object actualObj = fieldSerdes[i].deserialize(dataIn);            
-            if (!actualObj.equals(expected.get(i))) {
-                fail("Actual and expected fields do not match.\nExpected: " + expected.get(i) + "\nActual  : " + actualObj);
-            }
-        }
-    }
-    
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    private static CheckTuple createCheckTupleFromTuple(ITupleReference tuple, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, int numKeys) throws HyracksDataException {
-        CheckTuple checkTuple = new CheckTuple(fieldSerdes.length, numKeys);
-        int fieldCount = Math.min(fieldSerdes.length, tuple.getFieldCount());
-        for (int i = 0; i < fieldCount; i++) {
-            ByteArrayInputStream inStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(
-                    tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
-                    tuple.getFieldLength(i));
-            DataInput dataIn = new DataInputStream(inStream);
-            Comparable fieldObj = (Comparable)fieldSerdes[i].deserialize(dataIn);
-            checkTuple.add(fieldObj);
-        }
-        return checkTuple;
-    }
-    
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    private static void createTupleFromCheckTuple(CheckTuple checkTuple, ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder, ArrayTupleReference tuple, ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes) throws HyracksDataException {
-        int fieldCount = tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets().length; 
-        DataOutput dos = tupleBuilder.getDataOutput();
-        tupleBuilder.reset();
-        for (int i = 0; i < fieldCount; i++) {
-            fieldSerdes[i].serialize(checkTuple.get(i), dos);
-            tupleBuilder.addFieldEndOffset();
-        }
-        tuple.reset(tupleBuilder.getFieldEndOffsets(), tupleBuilder.getByteArray());
-    }
-    
-    public static void checkOrderedScan(BTreeTestContext testCtx) throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Testing Ordered Scan.");
-        }
-        ITreeIndexCursor scanCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(testCtx.leafFrame, false);
-        RangePredicate nullPred = new RangePredicate(true, null, null, true, true, null, null);
-        testCtx.indexAccessor.search(scanCursor, nullPred);
-        Iterator<CheckTuple> checkIter = testCtx.checkTuples.iterator();
-        int actualCount = 0;
-        try {
-            while (scanCursor.hasNext()) {
-                if (!checkIter.hasNext()) {
-                    fail("Ordered scan returned more answers than expected.\nExpected: " + testCtx.checkTuples.size());
-                }
-                scanCursor.next();
-                CheckTuple expectedTuple = checkIter.next();
-                ITupleReference tuple = scanCursor.getTuple();
-                compareActualAndExpected(tuple, expectedTuple, testCtx.fieldSerdes);
-                actualCount++;
-            }
-            if (actualCount < testCtx.checkTuples.size()) {
-                fail("Ordered scan returned fewer answers than expected.\nExpected: " + testCtx.checkTuples.size() + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
-            }
-        } finally {
-            scanCursor.close();
-        }
-    }
-    
-    public static void checkDiskOrderScan(BTreeTestContext testCtx) throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Testing Disk-Order Scan.");
-        }
-        ITreeIndexCursor diskOrderCursor = new TreeDiskOrderScanCursor(testCtx.leafFrame);
-        testCtx.indexAccessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderCursor);
-        int actualCount = 0;        
-        try {
-            while (diskOrderCursor.hasNext()) {
-                diskOrderCursor.next();
-                ITupleReference tuple = diskOrderCursor.getTuple();
-                CheckTuple checkTuple = createCheckTupleFromTuple(tuple, testCtx.fieldSerdes, testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount());
-                if (!testCtx.checkTuples.contains(checkTuple)) {
-                    fail("Disk-order scan returned unexpected answer: " + checkTuple.toString());
-                }
-                actualCount++;
-            }
-            if (actualCount < testCtx.checkTuples.size()) {
-                fail("Disk-order scan returned fewer answers than expected.\nExpected: " + testCtx.checkTuples.size() + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
-            }
-            if (actualCount > testCtx.checkTuples.size()) {
-                fail("Disk-order scan returned more answers than expected.\nExpected: " + testCtx.checkTuples.size() + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
-            }
-        } finally {
-            diskOrderCursor.close();
-        }
-    }
-    
-    public static void checkRangeSearch(BTreeTestContext testCtx, ITupleReference lowKey, ITupleReference highKey, boolean lowKeyInclusive, boolean highKeyInclusive) throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Testing Range Search.");
-        }
-        MultiComparator lowKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator(), lowKey);
-        MultiComparator highKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator(), highKey);
-        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(testCtx.leafFrame, false);
-        RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(true, lowKey, highKey, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyInclusive, lowKeyCmp, highKeyCmp);
-        testCtx.indexAccessor.search(searchCursor, rangePred);
-        // Get the subset of elements from the expected set within given key range.
-        CheckTuple lowKeyCheck = createCheckTupleFromTuple(lowKey, testCtx.fieldSerdes, lowKeyCmp.getKeyFieldCount());
-        CheckTuple highKeyCheck = createCheckTupleFromTuple(highKey, testCtx.fieldSerdes, highKeyCmp.getKeyFieldCount());
-        NavigableSet<CheckTuple> expectedSubset = null;
-        if (lowKeyCmp.getKeyFieldCount() < testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount() || 
-                highKeyCmp.getKeyFieldCount() < testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount()) {
-            // Searching on a key prefix (low key or high key or both).
-            expectedSubset = getPrefixExpectedSubset(testCtx.checkTuples, lowKeyCheck, highKeyCheck);
-        } else {
-            // Searching on all key fields.
-            expectedSubset = testCtx.checkTuples.subSet(lowKeyCheck, lowKeyInclusive, highKeyCheck, highKeyInclusive);
-        }
-        Iterator<CheckTuple> checkIter = expectedSubset.iterator();
-        int actualCount = 0;
-        try {
-            while (searchCursor.hasNext()) {
-                if (!checkIter.hasNext()) {
-                    fail("Range search returned more answers than expected.\nExpected: " + expectedSubset.size());
-                }
-                searchCursor.next();
-                CheckTuple expectedTuple = checkIter.next();
-                ITupleReference tuple = searchCursor.getTuple();
-                compareActualAndExpected(tuple, expectedTuple, testCtx.fieldSerdes);
-                actualCount++;
-            }
-            if (actualCount < expectedSubset.size()) {
-                fail("Range search returned fewer answers than expected.\nExpected: " + expectedSubset.size() + "\nActual  : " + actualCount);
-            }
-        } finally {
-            searchCursor.close();
-        }
-    }
-    
-    public static void checkPointSearches(BTreeTestContext testCtx) throws Exception {
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("Testing Point Searches On All Expected Keys.");
-        }
-        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor(testCtx.leafFrame, false);
-        
-        ArrayTupleBuilder lowKeyBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount());
-        ArrayTupleReference lowKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        ArrayTupleBuilder highKeyBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount());
-        ArrayTupleReference highKey = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        RangePredicate rangePred = new RangePredicate(true, lowKey, highKey, true, true, null, null);
-
-        // Iterate through expected tuples, and perform a point search in the BTree to verify the tuple can be reached.
-        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : testCtx.checkTuples) {
-            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, lowKeyBuilder, lowKey, testCtx.fieldSerdes);
-            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, highKeyBuilder, highKey, testCtx.fieldSerdes);
-            MultiComparator lowKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator(), lowKey);
-            MultiComparator highKeyCmp = BTreeUtils.getSearchMultiComparator(testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator(), highKey);
-                        
-            rangePred.setLowKey(lowKey, true);
-            rangePred.setHighKey(highKey, true);
-            rangePred.setLowKeyComparator(lowKeyCmp);
-            rangePred.setHighKeyComparator(highKeyCmp);
-            
-            testCtx.indexAccessor.search(searchCursor, rangePred);
-            
-            try {
-                // We expect exactly one answer.
-                if (searchCursor.hasNext()) {
-                    searchCursor.next();
-                    ITupleReference tuple = searchCursor.getTuple();
-                    compareActualAndExpected(tuple, checkTuple, testCtx.fieldSerdes);
-                }
-                if (searchCursor.hasNext()) {
-                    fail("Point search returned more than one answer.");
-                }
-            } finally {
-                searchCursor.close();
-            }
-        }
-    }
-    
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    // Create a new TreeSet containing the elements satisfying the prefix search.
-    // Implementing prefix search by changing compareTo() in CheckTuple does not work.
-    public static TreeSet<CheckTuple> getPrefixExpectedSubset(TreeSet<CheckTuple> checkTuples, CheckTuple lowKey, CheckTuple highKey) {
-        TreeSet<CheckTuple> expectedSubset = new TreeSet<CheckTuple>();
-        Iterator<CheckTuple> iter = checkTuples.iterator();
-        while(iter.hasNext()) {
-            CheckTuple t = iter.next();
-            boolean geLowKey = true;
-            boolean leHighKey = true;
-            for (int i = 0; i < lowKey.getNumKeys(); i++) {
-                if (t.get(i).compareTo(lowKey.get(i)) < 0) {
-                    geLowKey = false;
-                    break;
-                }
-            }
-            for (int i = 0; i < highKey.getNumKeys(); i++) {
-                if (t.get(i).compareTo(highKey.get(i)) > 0) {
-                    leHighKey = false;
-                    break;
-                }
-            }
-            if (geLowKey && leHighKey) {
-                expectedSubset.add(t);
-            }
-        }
-        return expectedSubset;
-    }
-    
-    public static void insertIntTuples(BTreeTestContext testCtx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
-        int fieldCount = testCtx.getFieldCount();
-        int numKeyFields = testCtx.getKeyFieldCount();
-        int[] tupleValues = new int[testCtx.getFieldCount()];
-        // Scale range of values according to number of keys. 
-        // For example, for 2 keys we want the square root of numTuples, for 3 keys the cube root of numTuples, etc.        
-        int maxValue = (int)Math.ceil(Math.pow(numTuples, 1.0/(double)numKeyFields));
-        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
-            // Set keys.
-            for (int j = 0; j < numKeyFields; j++) {
-                tupleValues[j] = rnd.nextInt() % maxValue;
-            }
-            // Set values.
-            for (int j = numKeyFields; j < fieldCount; j++) {
-                tupleValues[j] = j;
-            }
-            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(testCtx.tupleBuilder, testCtx.tuple, tupleValues);
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("Inserting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
-                }
-            }
-            try {
-                testCtx.indexAccessor.insert(testCtx.tuple);
-                // Set expected values. Do this only after insertion succeeds because we ignore duplicate keys.
-                CheckTuple<Integer> checkTuple = new CheckTuple<Integer>(fieldCount, numKeyFields);
-                for(int v : tupleValues) {
-                    checkTuple.add(v);
-                }
-                testCtx.checkTuples.add(checkTuple);
-            } catch (BTreeDuplicateKeyException e) {
-                // Ignore duplicate key insertions.
-            }
-        }
-    }
-    
-    public static void insertStringTuples(BTreeTestContext testCtx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
-        int fieldCount = testCtx.getFieldCount();
-        int numKeyFields = testCtx.getKeyFieldCount();
-        Object[] tupleValues = new Object[fieldCount];
-        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("Inserting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
-                }
-            }
-            // Set keys.
-            for (int j = 0; j < numKeyFields; j++) {
-                int length = (Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % 10) + 1;
-                tupleValues[j] = getRandomString(length, rnd);
-            }
-            // Set values.
-            for (int j = numKeyFields; j < fieldCount; j++) {
-                tupleValues[j] = getRandomString(5, rnd);
-            }
-            TupleUtils.createTuple(testCtx.tupleBuilder, testCtx.tuple, testCtx.fieldSerdes, tupleValues);
-            try {
-                testCtx.indexAccessor.insert(testCtx.tuple);
-                // Set expected values. Do this only after insertion succeeds because we ignore duplicate keys.
-                CheckTuple<String> checkTuple = new CheckTuple<String>(fieldCount, numKeyFields);
-                for(Object v : tupleValues) {
-                    checkTuple.add((String)v);
-                }
-                testCtx.checkTuples.add(checkTuple);
-            } catch (BTreeDuplicateKeyException e) {
-                // Ignore duplicate key insertions.
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    public static void bulkLoadIntTuples(BTreeTestContext testCtx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
-        int fieldCount = testCtx.getFieldCount();
-        int numKeyFields = testCtx.getKeyFieldCount();
-        int[] tupleValues = new int[testCtx.getFieldCount()];
-        int maxValue = (int)Math.ceil(Math.pow(numTuples, 1.0/(double)numKeyFields));
-        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
-            // Set keys.
-            for (int j = 0; j < numKeyFields; j++) {
-                tupleValues[j] = rnd.nextInt() % maxValue;
-            }
-            // Set values.
-            for (int j = numKeyFields; j < fieldCount; j++) {
-                tupleValues[j] = j;
-            }
-            
-            // Set expected values. We also use these as the pre-sorted stream for bulk loading.
-            CheckTuple<Integer> checkTuple = new CheckTuple<Integer>(fieldCount, numKeyFields);
-            for(int v : tupleValues) {
-                checkTuple.add(v);
-            }            
-            testCtx.checkTuples.add(checkTuple);
-        }
-        
-        bulkLoadCheckTuples(testCtx, numTuples);
-    }
-    
-    public static void bulkLoadStringTuples(BTreeTestContext testCtx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
-        int fieldCount = testCtx.getFieldCount();
-        int numKeyFields = testCtx.getKeyFieldCount();
-        String[] tupleValues = new String[fieldCount];
-        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples; i++) {
-            // Set keys.
-            for (int j = 0; j < numKeyFields; j++) {
-                int length = (Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % 10) + 1;
-                tupleValues[j] = getRandomString(length, rnd);
-            }
-            // Set values.
-            for (int j = numKeyFields; j < fieldCount; j++) {
-                tupleValues[j] = getRandomString(5, rnd);
-            }
-            // Set expected values. We also use these as the pre-sorted stream for bulk loading.
-            CheckTuple<String> checkTuple = new CheckTuple<String>(fieldCount, numKeyFields);
-            for(String v : tupleValues) {
-                checkTuple.add(v);
-            }            
-            testCtx.checkTuples.add(checkTuple);
-        }
-        
-        bulkLoadCheckTuples(testCtx, numTuples);
-    }
-    
-    private static void bulkLoadCheckTuples(BTreeTestContext testCtx, int numTuples) throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
-        int fieldCount = testCtx.getFieldCount();
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        // Perform bulk load.
-        IIndexBulkLoadContext bulkLoadCtx = testCtx.btree.beginBulkLoad(0.7f);
-        int c = 1;
-        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : testCtx.checkTuples) {
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (c % (numTuples / 10) == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("Bulk Loading Tuple " + c + "/" + numTuples);
-                }
-            }
-            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, tupleBuilder, tuple, testCtx.fieldSerdes);
-            testCtx.btree.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, bulkLoadCtx);
-            c++;
-        }
-        testCtx.btree.endBulkLoad(bulkLoadCtx);
-    }
-    
-    public static void deleteTuples(BTreeTestContext testCtx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
-        ArrayTupleBuilder deleteTupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount());
-        ArrayTupleReference deleteTuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        int numCheckTuples = testCtx.checkTuples.size();        
-        // Copy CheckTuple references into array, so we can randomly pick from there.
-        CheckTuple[] checkTuples = new CheckTuple[numCheckTuples];
-        int idx = 0;
-        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : testCtx.checkTuples) {
-            checkTuples[idx++] = checkTuple;
-        }
-        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples && numCheckTuples > 0; i++) {
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("Deleting Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
-                }
-            }
-            int checkTupleIdx = Math.abs(rnd.nextInt() % numCheckTuples);
-            CheckTuple checkTuple = checkTuples[checkTupleIdx];            
-            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, deleteTupleBuilder, deleteTuple, testCtx.fieldSerdes);          
-            testCtx.indexAccessor.delete(deleteTuple);
-            
-            // Remove check tuple from expected results.
-            testCtx.checkTuples.remove(checkTuple);
-            
-            // Swap with last "valid" CheckTuple.
-            CheckTuple tmp = checkTuples[numCheckTuples - 1];
-            checkTuples[numCheckTuples - 1] = checkTuple;
-            checkTuples[checkTupleIdx] = tmp;
-            numCheckTuples--;
-        }
-    }
-    
-    @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    public static void updateTuples(BTreeTestContext testCtx, int numTuples, Random rnd) throws Exception {
-        int fieldCount = testCtx.btree.getFieldCount();
-        int keyFieldCount = testCtx.btree.getMultiComparator().getKeyFieldCount();
-        // This is a noop because we can only update non-key fields.
-        if (fieldCount == keyFieldCount) {
-            return;
-        }
-        ArrayTupleBuilder updateTupleBuilder = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        ArrayTupleReference updateTuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
-        int numCheckTuples = testCtx.checkTuples.size();
-        // Copy CheckTuple references into array, so we can randomly pick from there.
-        CheckTuple[] checkTuples = new CheckTuple[numCheckTuples];
-        int idx = 0;
-        for (CheckTuple checkTuple : testCtx.checkTuples) {
-            checkTuples[idx++] = checkTuple;
-        }
-        for (int i = 0; i < numTuples && numCheckTuples > 0; i++) {
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if ((i + 1) % (numTuples / Math.min(10, numTuples)) == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("Updating Tuple " + (i + 1) + "/" + numTuples);
-                }
-            }
-            int checkTupleIdx = Math.abs(rnd.nextInt() % numCheckTuples);
-            CheckTuple checkTuple = checkTuples[checkTupleIdx];
-            // Update check tuple's non-key fields.
-            for (int j = keyFieldCount; j < fieldCount; j++) {
-                Comparable newValue = getRandomUpdateValue(testCtx.fieldSerdes[j], rnd);
-                checkTuple.set(j, newValue);
-            }
-            
-            createTupleFromCheckTuple(checkTuple, updateTupleBuilder, updateTuple, testCtx.fieldSerdes);            
-            testCtx.indexAccessor.update(updateTuple);
-            
-            // Swap with last "valid" CheckTuple.
-            CheckTuple tmp = checkTuples[numCheckTuples - 1];
-            checkTuples[numCheckTuples - 1] = checkTuple;
-            checkTuples[checkTupleIdx] = tmp;
-            numCheckTuples--;
-        }
-    }
-    
-    private static Comparable getRandomUpdateValue(ISerializerDeserializer serde, Random rnd) {
-        if (serde instanceof IntegerSerializerDeserializer) {
-            return Integer.valueOf(rnd.nextInt());
-        } else if (serde instanceof UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer) {
-            return getRandomString(10, rnd);
-        }
-        return null;
-    }
-    
-    public static String getRandomString(int length, Random rnd) {
-        String s = Long.toHexString(Double.doubleToLongBits(rnd.nextDouble()));
-        StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
-        for (int i = 0; i < s.length() && i < length; i++) {
-            strBuilder.append(s.charAt(Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % s.length()));
-        }
-        return strBuilder.toString();
-    }
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/pom.xml
index 963903a..5bf44d3 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/pom.xml
@@ -27,12 +27,6 @@
   <dependencies>
   	<dependency>
   		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
-  		<artifactId>hyracks-control-nc</artifactId>
-  		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
-  		<scope>compile</scope>
-  	</dependency>
-  	<dependency>
-  		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
   		<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex</artifactId>
   		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   		<type>jar</type>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/AbstractInvIndexSearchTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/AbstractInvIndexSearchTest.java
index 7b6bd9f..e086af6 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/AbstractInvIndexSearchTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/AbstractInvIndexSearchTest.java
@@ -15,18 +15,15 @@
 
 package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex;
 
-import java.io.DataOutput;
 import java.io.File;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Random;
 
 import org.junit.After;
 import org.junit.Before;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -36,26 +33,25 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.UTF8StringPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.frames.BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallback;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexResultCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.TOccurrenceSearcher;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.IBinaryTokenizer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.tokenizers.ITokenFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.util.InvertedIndexUtils;
@@ -86,8 +82,7 @@
 
     // declare btree keys
     protected int btreeKeyFieldCount = 1;
-    protected IBinaryComparator[] btreeBinCmps = new IBinaryComparator[btreeKeyFieldCount];
-    protected MultiComparator btreeCmp = new MultiComparator(btreeBinCmps);
+    protected IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[btreeKeyFieldCount];
 
     // btree frame factories
     protected TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(btreeTypeTraits);
@@ -112,48 +107,38 @@
     protected ITypeTraits[] invListTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[invListFields];
 
     protected int invListKeys = 1;
-    protected IBinaryComparator[] invListBinCmps = new IBinaryComparator[invListKeys];
-    protected MultiComparator invListCmp = new MultiComparator(invListBinCmps);
+    protected IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[invListKeys];
 
     protected InvertedIndex invIndex;
 
     protected Random rnd = new Random();
 
-    protected ByteBuffer frame = taskCtx.allocateFrame();
-    protected FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(taskCtx.getFrameSize());
     protected ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(2);
-    protected DataOutput dos = tb.getDataOutput();
+    protected ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
 
     protected ISerializerDeserializer[] insertSerde = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
             IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
     protected RecordDescriptor insertRecDesc = new RecordDescriptor(insertSerde);
-    protected IFrameTupleAccessor accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(taskCtx.getFrameSize(), insertRecDesc);
-
-    protected FrameTupleReference tuple = new FrameTupleReference();
 
     protected ArrayList<ArrayList<Integer>> checkInvLists = new ArrayList<ArrayList<Integer>>();
 
     protected int maxId = 1000000;
-    // protected int maxId = 1000;
     protected int[] scanCountArray = new int[maxId];
     protected ArrayList<Integer> expectedResults = new ArrayList<Integer>();
 
     protected ISerializerDeserializer[] querySerde = { UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
     protected RecordDescriptor queryRecDesc = new RecordDescriptor(querySerde);
 
-    protected FrameTupleAppender queryAppender = new FrameTupleAppender(taskCtx.getFrameSize());
     protected ArrayTupleBuilder queryTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(querySerde.length);
-    protected DataOutput queryDos = queryTb.getDataOutput();
-
-    protected IFrameTupleAccessor queryAccessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(taskCtx.getFrameSize(), queryRecDesc);
-    protected FrameTupleReference queryTuple = new FrameTupleReference();
+    protected ArrayTupleReference queryTuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
 
     protected ITokenFactory tokenFactory;
     protected IBinaryTokenizer tokenizer;
 
-    protected TOccurrenceSearcher searcher;
-    protected IInvertedIndexResultCursor resultCursor;
+    protected IIndexCursor resultCursor;
 
+    protected abstract void setTokenizer();
+    
     /**
      * Initialize members, generate data, and bulk load the inverted index.
      */
@@ -169,31 +154,31 @@
         btreeFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(btreeFile);
         bufferCache.openFile(btreeFileId);
 
-        btreeBinCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        btreeCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+        freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        btree = new BTree(bufferCache, btreeTypeTraits.length, btreeCmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory);
+        btree = new BTree(bufferCache, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, btreeTypeTraits.length, btreeCmpFactories,
+                freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
         // --- INVERTED INDEX ---
 
+        setTokenizer();
+        
         bufferCache.createFile(invListsFile);
         invListsFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(invListsFile);
         bufferCache.openFile(invListsFileId);
 
         invListTypeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        invListBinCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        invListCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        invIndex = new InvertedIndex(bufferCache, btree, invListTypeTraits, invListCmp);
+        IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder = new FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder(invListTypeTraits);
+        invIndex = new InvertedIndex(bufferCache, btree, invListTypeTraits, invListCmpFactories, invListBuilder);
         invIndex.open(invListsFileId);
 
         rnd.setSeed(50);
-
-        accessor.reset(frame);
-        queryAccessor.reset(frame);
     }
 
     @After
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/BulkLoadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/BulkLoadTest.java
index 93934ed..9fdc1c4 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/BulkLoadTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/BulkLoadTest.java
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTreeRangeSearchCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.RangePredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrame;
@@ -58,6 +59,7 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.NoOpOperationCallback;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.tuples.TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListBuilder;
@@ -109,10 +111,8 @@
 
         // declare btree keys
         int keyFieldCount = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-
-        MultiComparator btreeCmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
 
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(btreeTypeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
@@ -121,10 +121,10 @@
 
         ITreeIndexFrame leafFrame = leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
 
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, btreeFileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
 
-        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, btreeTypeTraits.length, btreeCmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
-                leafFrameFactory);
+        BTree btree = new BTree(bufferCache, NoOpOperationCallback.INSTANCE, btreeTypeTraits.length, cmpFactories,
+                freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
         btree.create(btreeFileId);
         btree.open(btreeFileId);
 
@@ -133,12 +133,11 @@
         invListTypeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         int invListKeys = 1;
-        IBinaryComparator[] invListBinCmps = new IBinaryComparator[invListKeys];
-        invListBinCmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] invListCmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[invListKeys];
+        invListCmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
 
-        MultiComparator invListCmp = new MultiComparator(invListBinCmps);
-
-        InvertedIndex invIndex = new InvertedIndex(bufferCache, btree, invListTypeTraits, invListCmp);
+        IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder = new FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder(invListTypeTraits);
+        InvertedIndex invIndex = new InvertedIndex(bufferCache, btree, invListTypeTraits, invListCmpFactories, invListBuilder);
         invIndex.open(invListsFileId);
 
         Random rnd = new Random();
@@ -176,19 +175,14 @@
         int addProb = 0;
         int addProbStep = 10;
 
-        IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder = new FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder(invListTypeTraits);
-        InvertedIndex.BulkLoadContext ctx = invIndex.beginBulkLoad(invListBuilder, HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE,
-                BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
+        IIndexBulkLoadContext ctx = invIndex.beginBulkLoad(BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
 
-        int totalElements = 0;
         for (int i = 0; i < tokens.size(); i++) {
 
             addProb += addProbStep * (i + 1);
             for (int j = 0; j < maxId; j++) {
                 if ((Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % addProb) == 0) {
 
-                    totalElements++;
-
                     tb.reset();
                     UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(tokens.get(i), dos);
                     tb.addFieldEndOffset();
@@ -203,7 +197,7 @@
                     tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
 
                     try {
-                        invIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(ctx, tuple);
+                        invIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, ctx);
                     } catch (Exception e) {
                         e.printStackTrace();
                     }
@@ -216,7 +210,8 @@
 
         ITreeIndexCursor btreeCursor = new BTreeRangeSearchCursor((IBTreeLeafFrame) leafFrame, false);
         FrameTupleReference searchKey = new FrameTupleReference();
-        RangePredicate btreePred = new RangePredicate(true, searchKey, searchKey, true, true, btreeCmp, btreeCmp);
+        MultiComparator btreeCmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
+        RangePredicate btreePred = new RangePredicate(searchKey, searchKey, true, true, btreeCmp, btreeCmp);
 
         IInvertedListCursor invListCursor = new FixedSizeElementInvertedListCursor(bufferCache, invListsFileId,
                 invListTypeTraits);
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchPerfTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchPerfTest.java
index 1299fcb..33bf0c5 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchPerfTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchPerfTest.java
@@ -28,14 +28,12 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.PageAllocationException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearchModifier;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex.InvertedIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndexSearchPredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.OccurrenceThresholdPanicException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.SearchResultCursor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.TOccurrenceSearcher;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.searchmodifiers.ConjunctiveSearchModifier;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.searchmodifiers.JaccardSearchModifier;
@@ -55,20 +53,20 @@
 
 	protected List<String> tokens = new ArrayList<String>();
 
-	@Before
-	public void start() throws Exception {
-		super.start();
+	@Override
+	protected void setTokenizer() {
 		tokenFactory = new UTF8WordTokenFactory();
 		tokenizer = new DelimitedUTF8StringBinaryTokenizer(true, false,
 				tokenFactory);
-		searcher = new TOccurrenceSearcher(taskCtx, invIndex, tokenizer);
-		resultCursor = new SearchResultCursor(
-				searcher.createResultFrameTupleAccessor(),
-				searcher.createResultTupleReference());
+	}
+	
+	@Before
+	public void start() throws Exception {
+		super.start();
 		loadData();
 	}
 
-	public void loadData() throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+	public void loadData() throws HyracksDataException, TreeIndexException {
 		tokens.add("compilers");
 		tokens.add("computer");
 		tokens.add("databases");
@@ -87,37 +85,23 @@
 		int addProb = 0;
 		int addProbStep = 10;
 
-		IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder = new FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder(
-				invListTypeTraits);
-		InvertedIndex.BulkLoadContext ctx = invIndex.beginBulkLoad(
-				invListBuilder, HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE, BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
+		IIndexBulkLoadContext ctx = invIndex.beginBulkLoad(BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
 
-		int totalElements = 0;
 		for (int i = 0; i < tokens.size(); i++) {
 
 			addProb += addProbStep * (i + 1);
 			for (int j = 0; j < maxId; j++) {
 				if ((Math.abs(rnd.nextInt()) % addProb) == 0) {
-
-					totalElements++;
-
 					tb.reset();
 					UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(
-							tokens.get(i), dos);
+							tokens.get(i), tb.getDataOutput());
 					tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-					IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(j, dos);
+					IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(j, tb.getDataOutput());
 					tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-
+					tuple.reset(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray());
 					checkInvLists.get(i).add(j);
-
-					appender.reset(frame, true);
-					appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(),
-							0, tb.getSize());
-
-					tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
-
 					try {
-						invIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(ctx, tuple);
+						invIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, ctx);
 					} catch (Exception e) {
 						e.printStackTrace();
 					}
@@ -170,6 +154,9 @@
 
 		rnd.setSeed(50);
 
+		InvertedIndexAccessor accessor = (InvertedIndexAccessor) invIndex.createAccessor();
+		InvertedIndexSearchPredicate searchPred = new InvertedIndexSearchPredicate(tokenizer, searchModifier);
+		
 		// generate random queries
 		int[] queryTokenIndexes = new int[tokens.size()];
 		for (int i = 0; i < numQueries; i++) {
@@ -182,31 +169,34 @@
 			StringBuilder strBuilder = new StringBuilder();
 			for (int j = 0; j < numQueryTokens; j++) {
 				strBuilder.append(tokens.get(queryTokenIndexes[j]));
-				if (j + 1 != numQueryTokens)
+				if (j + 1 != numQueryTokens) {
 					strBuilder.append(" ");
+				}
 			}
 
 			String queryString = strBuilder.toString();
 
+			// Serialize query.
 			queryTb.reset();
 			UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(queryString,
-					queryDos);
+					queryTb.getDataOutput());
 			queryTb.addFieldEndOffset();
+			queryTuple.reset(queryTb.getFieldEndOffsets(), queryTb.getByteArray());
 
-			queryAppender.reset(frame, true);
-			queryAppender.append(queryTb.getFieldEndOffsets(),
-					queryTb.getByteArray(), 0, queryTb.getSize());
-			queryTuple.reset(queryAccessor, 0);
-
+			// Set query tuple in search predicate.
+			searchPred.setQueryTuple(queryTuple);
+			searchPred.setQueryFieldIndex(0);
+			
 			boolean panic = false;
 
+			resultCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
 			int repeats = 1;
 			double totalTime = 0;
 			for (int j = 0; j < repeats; j++) {
 				long timeStart = System.currentTimeMillis();
 				try {
-					searcher.reset();
-					searcher.search(resultCursor, queryTuple, 0, searchModifier);
+					resultCursor.reset();
+					accessor.search(resultCursor, searchPred);
 				} catch (OccurrenceThresholdPanicException e) {
 					panic = true;
 				}
@@ -220,10 +210,9 @@
 			}
 
 			if (!panic) {
-
+				TOccurrenceSearcher searcher = (TOccurrenceSearcher) accessor.getSearcher();
 				fillExpectedResults(queryTokenIndexes, numQueryTokens,
 						searcher.getOccurrenceThreshold());
-
 				// verify results
 				int checkIndex = 0;
 				while (resultCursor.hasNext()) {
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchTest.java
index eb2b39c..c3c9b99 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchTest.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-invertedindex-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/invertedindex/SearchTest.java
@@ -25,20 +25,18 @@
 import org.junit.Before;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.util.ByteArrayAccessibleOutputStream;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.btree.impls.BTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.PageAllocationException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexBulkLoadContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedIndexSearchModifier;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.api.IInvertedListBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndex.InvertedIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.InvertedIndexSearchPredicate;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.OccurrenceThresholdPanicException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.SearchResultCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.impls.TOccurrenceSearcher;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.searchmodifiers.ConjunctiveSearchModifier;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.searchmodifiers.EditDistanceSearchModifier;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.invertedindex.searchmodifiers.JaccardSearchModifier;
@@ -52,16 +50,22 @@
 	protected List<String> firstNames = new ArrayList<String>();
 	protected List<String> lastNames = new ArrayList<String>();
 
-	@Before
-	public void start() throws Exception {
-		super.start();
+	protected IBinaryComparator[] btreeBinCmps;
+	
+	@Override
+	protected void setTokenizer() {
 		tokenFactory = new UTF8NGramTokenFactory();
 		tokenizer = new NGramUTF8StringBinaryTokenizer(3, false, true, false,
 				tokenFactory);
-		searcher = new TOccurrenceSearcher(taskCtx, invIndex, tokenizer);
-		resultCursor = new SearchResultCursor(
-				searcher.createResultFrameTupleAccessor(),
-				searcher.createResultTupleReference());
+	}
+	
+	@Before
+	public void start() throws Exception {
+		super.start();
+		btreeBinCmps = new IBinaryComparator[btreeCmpFactories.length];
+		for (int i = 0; i < btreeCmpFactories.length; i++) {
+			btreeBinCmps[i] = btreeCmpFactories[i].createBinaryComparator();
+		}
 		generateDataStrings();
 		loadData();
 	}
@@ -130,7 +134,7 @@
 		}
 	}
 
-	public void loadData() throws IOException, TreeIndexException, PageAllocationException {
+	public void loadData() throws IOException, TreeIndexException {
 		List<TokenIdPair> pairs = new ArrayList<TokenIdPair>();
 		// generate pairs for subsequent sorting and bulk-loading
 		int id = 0;
@@ -139,38 +143,28 @@
 			DataOutputStream dos = new DataOutputStream(baaos);
 			UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(s, dos);
 			tokenizer.reset(baaos.getByteArray(), 0, baaos.size());
-			int tokenCount = 0;
 			while (tokenizer.hasNext()) {
 				tokenizer.next();
 				IToken token = tokenizer.getToken();
 				pairs.add(new TokenIdPair(token, id));
-				++tokenCount;
 			}
 			++id;
 		}
 		Collections.sort(pairs);
 
 		// bulk load index
-		IInvertedListBuilder invListBuilder = new FixedSizeElementInvertedListBuilder(
-				invListTypeTraits);
-		InvertedIndex.BulkLoadContext ctx = invIndex.beginBulkLoad(
-				invListBuilder, HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE, BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
+		IIndexBulkLoadContext ctx = invIndex.beginBulkLoad(BTree.DEFAULT_FILL_FACTOR);
 
 		for (TokenIdPair t : pairs) {
 			tb.reset();
 			tb.addField(t.baaos.getByteArray(), 0,
 					t.baaos.getByteArray().length);
-			IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(t.id, dos);
+			IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(t.id, tb.getDataOutput());
 			tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-
-			appender.reset(frame, true);
-			appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0,
-					tb.getSize());
-
-			tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
+			tuple.reset(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray());
 
 			try {
-				invIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(ctx, tuple);
+				invIndex.bulkLoadAddTuple(tuple, ctx);
 			} catch (Exception e) {
 				e.printStackTrace();
 			}
@@ -188,28 +182,34 @@
 
 		rnd.setSeed(50);
 
+		InvertedIndexAccessor accessor = (InvertedIndexAccessor) invIndex.createAccessor();
+		InvertedIndexSearchPredicate searchPred = new InvertedIndexSearchPredicate(tokenizer, searchModifier);
+		
 		for (int i = 0; i < numQueries; i++) {
 
 			int queryIndex = Math.abs(rnd.nextInt() % dataStrings.size());
 			String queryString = dataStrings.get(queryIndex);
 
+			// Serialize query.
 			queryTb.reset();
 			UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(queryString,
-					queryDos);
+					queryTb.getDataOutput());
 			queryTb.addFieldEndOffset();
+			queryTuple.reset(queryTb.getFieldEndOffsets(), queryTb.getByteArray());
 
-			queryAppender.reset(frame, true);
-			queryAppender.append(queryTb.getFieldEndOffsets(),
-					queryTb.getByteArray(), 0, queryTb.getSize());
-			queryTuple.reset(queryAccessor, 0);
-
+			// Set query tuple in search predicate.
+			searchPred.setQueryTuple(queryTuple);
+			searchPred.setQueryFieldIndex(0);
+			
+			resultCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+			
 			int repeats = 1;
 			double totalTime = 0;
 			for (int j = 0; j < repeats; j++) {
 				long timeStart = System.currentTimeMillis();
 				try {
-					searcher.reset();
-					searcher.search(resultCursor, queryTuple, 0, searchModifier);
+					resultCursor.reset();
+					accessor.search(resultCursor, searchPred);
 				} catch (OccurrenceThresholdPanicException e) {
 					// ignore panic queries
 				}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/pom.xml
index 5800867..e071098 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/pom.xml
@@ -33,12 +33,6 @@
   	</dependency>
   	<dependency>
   		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
-  		<artifactId>hyracks-control-nc</artifactId>
-  		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
-  		<scope>compile</scope>
-  	</dependency>
-  	<dependency>
-  		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
   		<artifactId>hyracks-storage-am-rtree</artifactId>
   		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   		<type>jar</type>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 8f619a4..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/AbstractRTreeTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,40 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
-
-import java.io.File;
-import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
-import java.util.Date;
-import java.util.logging.Logger;
-
-import org.junit.AfterClass;
-
-public abstract class AbstractRTreeTest {
-
-	protected static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(AbstractRTreeTest.class.getName());
-	protected final static SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat(
-			"ddMMyy-hhmmssSS");
-	protected final static String tmpDir = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");
-	protected final static String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
-	protected final static String fileName = tmpDir + sep
-			+ simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
-
-	@AfterClass
-	public static void cleanup() throws Exception {
-		File f = new File(fileName);
-		f.deleteOnExit();
-	}
-}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeBulkLoadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeBulkLoadTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58bca10
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeBulkLoadTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.AbstractRTreeBulkLoadTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.AbstractRTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils.RTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils.RTreeTestHarness;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class RTreeBulkLoadTest extends AbstractRTreeBulkLoadTest {
+
+    public RTreeBulkLoadTest() {
+        super(1);
+    }
+
+    private final RTreeTestHarness harness = new RTreeTestHarness();
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected AbstractRTreeTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, int numKeys) throws Exception {
+        return RTreeTestContext.create(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getTreeFileId(), fieldSerdes,
+                valueProviderFactories, numKeys);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Random getRandom() {
+        return harness.getRandom();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeDeleteTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeDeleteTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..42e933e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeDeleteTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.AbstractRTreeDeleteTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.AbstractRTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils.RTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils.RTreeTestHarness;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class RTreeDeleteTest extends AbstractRTreeDeleteTest {
+
+    private final RTreeTestHarness harness = new RTreeTestHarness();
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected AbstractRTreeTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, int numKeys) throws Exception {
+        return RTreeTestContext.create(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getTreeFileId(), fieldSerdes,
+                valueProviderFactories, numKeys);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Random getRandom() {
+        return harness.getRandom();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeExamplesTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeExamplesTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c72338e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeExamplesTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.AbstractRTreeExamplesTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils.RTreeTestHarness;
+
+public class RTreeExamplesTest extends AbstractRTreeExamplesTest {
+    private final RTreeTestHarness harness = new RTreeTestHarness();
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories, IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories)
+            throws TreeIndexException {
+        return RTreeUtils.createRTree(harness.getBufferCache(), typeTraits,
+                valueProviderFactories, rtreeCmpFactories);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected int getIndexFileId() {
+        return harness.getTreeFileId();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeInsertTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeInsertTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6efa620
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeInsertTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.AbstractRTreeInsertTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.AbstractRTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils.RTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils.RTreeTestHarness;
+
+/**
+ * Tests the BTree insert operation with strings and integer fields using
+ * various numbers of key and payload fields.
+ * 
+ * Each tests first fills a BTree with randomly generated tuples. We compare the
+ * following operations against expected results: 1. Point searches for all
+ * tuples. 2. Ordered scan. 3. Disk-order scan. 4. Range search (and prefix
+ * search for composite keys).
+ * 
+ */
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class RTreeInsertTest extends AbstractRTreeInsertTest {
+
+    private final RTreeTestHarness harness = new RTreeTestHarness();
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected AbstractRTreeTestContext createTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes,
+            IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories, int numKeys) throws Exception {
+        return RTreeTestContext.create(harness.getBufferCache(), harness.getTreeFileId(), fieldSerdes,
+                valueProviderFactories, numKeys);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected Random getRandom() {
+        return harness.getRandom();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeSearchCursorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeSearchCursorTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8332c11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeSearchCursorTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,175 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Random;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+
+import org.junit.Before;
+import org.junit.Test;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.RTreeCheckTuple;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.RTreeTestUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeInteriorFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeLeafFrame;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTreeSearchCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.SearchPredicate;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tuples.RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils.AbstractRTreeTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
+
+public class RTreeSearchCursorTest extends AbstractRTreeTest {
+
+    private final RTreeTestUtils rTreeTestUtils;
+    private Random rnd = new Random(50);
+
+    public RTreeSearchCursorTest() {
+        this.rTreeTestUtils = new RTreeTestUtils();
+    }
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        super.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @SuppressWarnings({ "unchecked", "rawtypes" })
+    @Test
+    public void rangeSearchTest() throws Exception {
+        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
+            LOGGER.info("TESTING RANGE SEARCH CURSOR FOR RTREE");
+        }
+
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = harness.getBufferCache();
+        int rtreeFileId = harness.getTreeFileId();
+
+        // Declare fields.
+        int fieldCount = 5;
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[3] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[4] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        // Declare field serdes.
+        ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
+                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
+
+        // Declare keys.
+        int keyFieldCount = 4;
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[keyFieldCount];
+        cmpFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[2] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+        cmpFactories[3] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        // create value providers
+        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
+                cmpFactories.length, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
+        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
+        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
+
+        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
+                valueProviderFactories);
+        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
+                valueProviderFactories);
+
+        IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame = (IRTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
+        IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
+        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, 0, metaFrameFactory);
+
+        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmpFactories, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory,
+                leafFrameFactory);
+        rtree.create(rtreeFileId);
+        rtree.open(rtreeFileId);
+
+        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference tuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = rtree.createAccessor();
+        int numInserts = 10000;
+        ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple> checkTuples = new ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple>();
+        for (int i = 0; i < numInserts; i++) {
+            int p1x = rnd.nextInt();
+            int p1y = rnd.nextInt();
+            int p2x = rnd.nextInt();
+            int p2y = rnd.nextInt();
+
+            int pk = rnd.nextInt();;
+
+            TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(tb, tuple, Math.min(p1x, p2x), Math.min(p1y, p2y), Math.max(p1x, p2x),
+                    Math.max(p1y, p2y), pk);
+            try {
+                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
+            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
+            }
+            RTreeCheckTuple checkTuple = new RTreeCheckTuple(fieldCount, keyFieldCount);
+            checkTuple.add(Math.min(p1x, p2x));
+            checkTuple.add(Math.min(p1y, p2y));
+            checkTuple.add(Math.max(p1x, p2x));
+            checkTuple.add(Math.max(p1y, p2y));
+            checkTuple.add(pk);
+
+            checkTuples.add(checkTuple);
+        }
+
+        // Build key.
+        ArrayTupleBuilder keyTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(keyFieldCount);
+        ArrayTupleReference key = new ArrayTupleReference();
+        TupleUtils.createIntegerTuple(keyTb, key, -1000, -1000, 1000, 1000);
+
+        MultiComparator cmp = MultiComparator.create(cmpFactories);
+        ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = new RTreeSearchCursor(interiorFrame, leafFrame);
+        SearchPredicate searchPredicate = new SearchPredicate(key, cmp);
+
+        RTreeCheckTuple keyCheck = (RTreeCheckTuple) rTreeTestUtils.createCheckTupleFromTuple(key, fieldSerdes,
+                keyFieldCount);
+        ArrayList<RTreeCheckTuple> expectedResult = rTreeTestUtils.getRangeSearchExpectedResults(checkTuples, keyCheck);
+
+        rTreeTestUtils.getRangeSearchExpectedResults(checkTuples, keyCheck);
+        indexAccessor.search(searchCursor, searchPredicate);
+
+        rTreeTestUtils.checkExpectedResults(searchCursor, expectedResult, fieldSerdes, keyFieldCount, null);
+
+        rtree.close();
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index 9fe2c94..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/RTreeTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,769 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
-
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.File;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-import java.util.Random;
-import java.util.logging.Level;
-
-import org.junit.Test;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.DoublePointable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.TupleUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.impls.TreeDiskOrderScanCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexStats;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.util.TreeIndexStatsGatherer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tuples.RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
-
-public class RTreeTest extends AbstractRTreeTest {
-    private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 256;
-    private static final int NUM_PAGES = 10;
-    private static final int MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
-    private static final int HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = 128;
-    private IHyracksTaskContext ctx = TestUtils.create(HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE);
-
-    // create an R-tree of two dimensions
-    // fill the R-tree with random values using insertions
-    // perform ordered scan
-    @Test
-    public void test01() throws Exception {
-
-        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, NUM_PAGES, MAX_OPEN_FILES);
-        IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
-        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
-        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-        bufferCache.createFile(file);
-        int fileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
-        bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
-
-        // declare keys
-        int keyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
-
-        // declare tuple fields
-        int fieldCount = 7;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[2] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[3] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[4] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[5] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[6] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-
-        // create value providers
-        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
-
-        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
-
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame = metaFrameFactory.createFrame();
-
-        IRTreeFrame interiorFrame = (IRTreeFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IRTreeFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
-
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
-        rtree.create(fileId);
-        rtree.open(fileId);
-
-        ByteBuffer hyracksFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-        FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        DataOutput dos = tb.getDataOutput();
-
-        @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] recDescSers = { DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = new RecordDescriptor(recDescSers);
-        IFrameTupleAccessor accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), recDesc);
-        accessor.reset(hyracksFrame);
-        FrameTupleReference tuple = new FrameTupleReference();
-
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = rtree.createAccessor();
-
-        Random rnd = new Random();
-        rnd.setSeed(50);
-
-        Random rnd2 = new Random();
-        rnd2.setSeed(50);
-        for (int i = 0; i < 5000; i++) {
-
-            double p1x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p1y = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2y = rnd.nextDouble();
-
-            double pk1 = rnd2.nextDouble();
-            int pk2 = rnd2.nextInt();
-            double pk3 = rnd2.nextDouble();
-
-            tb.reset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk1, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk2, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk3, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-
-            appender.reset(hyracksFrame, true);
-            appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize());
-
-            tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
-
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("INSERTING " + i + " " + Math.min(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.min(p1y, p2y) + " "
-                            + Math.max(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.max(p1y, p2y));
-                }
-            }
-
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                e.printStackTrace();
-            }
-        }
-
-        String rtreeStats = rtree.printStats();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(rtreeStats);
-        }
-
-        // disk-order scan
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("DISK-ORDER SCAN:");
-        }
-        TreeDiskOrderScanCursor diskOrderCursor = new TreeDiskOrderScanCursor(leafFrame);
-        indexAccessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderCursor);
-        try {
-            while (diskOrderCursor.hasNext()) {
-                diskOrderCursor.next();
-                ITupleReference frameTuple = diskOrderCursor.getTuple();
-                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, recDescSers);
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    LOGGER.info(rec);
-                }
-            }
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            e.printStackTrace();
-        } finally {
-            diskOrderCursor.close();
-        }
-
-        TreeIndexStatsGatherer statsGatherer = new TreeIndexStatsGatherer(bufferCache, freePageManager, fileId,
-                rtree.getRootPageId());
-        TreeIndexStats stats = statsGatherer.gatherStats(leafFrame, interiorFrame, metaFrame);
-        String string = stats.toString();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(string);
-        }
-
-        rtree.close();
-        bufferCache.closeFile(fileId);
-        bufferCache.close();
-
-    }
-
-    // create an R-tree of two dimensions
-    // fill the R-tree with random values using insertions
-    // and then delete all the tuples which result of an empty R-tree
-    @Test
-    public void test02() throws Exception {
-
-        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, NUM_PAGES, MAX_OPEN_FILES);
-        IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
-        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
-        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-        bufferCache.createFile(file);
-        int fileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
-        bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
-
-        // declare keys
-        int keyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
-
-        // declare tuple fields
-        int fieldCount = 7;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[2] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[3] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[4] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[5] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[6] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-
-        // create value providers
-        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
-
-        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
-
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame = metaFrameFactory.createFrame();
-
-        IRTreeFrame interiorFrame = (IRTreeFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IRTreeFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
-
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
-        rtree.create(fileId);
-        rtree.open(fileId);
-
-        ByteBuffer hyracksFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-        FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        DataOutput dos = tb.getDataOutput();
-
-        @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] recDescSers = { DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = new RecordDescriptor(recDescSers);
-        IFrameTupleAccessor accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), recDesc);
-        accessor.reset(hyracksFrame);
-        FrameTupleReference tuple = new FrameTupleReference();
-
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = rtree.createAccessor();
-
-        Random rnd = new Random();
-        rnd.setSeed(50);
-
-        for (int i = 0; i < 5000; i++) {
-
-            double p1x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p1y = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2y = rnd.nextDouble();
-
-            double pk1 = rnd.nextDouble();
-            int pk2 = rnd.nextInt();
-            double pk3 = rnd.nextDouble();
-
-            tb.reset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk1, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk2, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk3, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-
-            appender.reset(hyracksFrame, true);
-            appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize());
-
-            tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
-
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("INSERTING " + i + " " + Math.min(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.min(p1y, p2y) + " "
-                            + Math.max(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.max(p1y, p2y));
-                }
-            }
-
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                e.printStackTrace();
-            }
-        }
-
-        String rtreeStats = rtree.printStats();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(rtreeStats);
-        }
-
-        rnd.setSeed(50);
-        for (int i = 0; i < 5000; i++) {
-
-            double p1x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p1y = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2y = rnd.nextDouble();
-
-            double pk1 = rnd.nextDouble();
-            int pk2 = rnd.nextInt();
-            double pk3 = rnd.nextDouble();
-
-            tb.reset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk1, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk2, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk3, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-
-            appender.reset(hyracksFrame, true);
-            appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize());
-
-            tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
-
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("DELETING " + i + " " + Math.min(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.min(p1y, p2y) + " "
-                            + Math.max(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.max(p1y, p2y));
-                }
-            }
-
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.delete(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                e.printStackTrace();
-            }
-        }
-
-        TreeIndexStatsGatherer statsGatherer = new TreeIndexStatsGatherer(bufferCache, freePageManager, fileId,
-                rtree.getRootPageId());
-        TreeIndexStats stats = statsGatherer.gatherStats(leafFrame, interiorFrame, metaFrame);
-        String string = stats.toString();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(string);
-        }
-
-        rtree.close();
-        bufferCache.closeFile(fileId);
-        bufferCache.close();
-
-    }
-
-    // create an R-tree of three dimensions
-    // fill the R-tree with random values using insertions
-    // perform ordered scan
-    @Test
-    public void test03() throws Exception {
-
-        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, NUM_PAGES, MAX_OPEN_FILES);
-        IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
-        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
-        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-        bufferCache.createFile(file);
-        int fileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
-        bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
-
-        // declare keys
-        int keyFieldCount = 6;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[4] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[5] = cmps[0];
-
-        // declare tuple fields
-        int fieldCount = 9;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[2] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[3] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[4] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[5] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[6] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[7] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[8] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-
-        // create value providers
-        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
-
-        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
-
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame = metaFrameFactory.createFrame();
-
-        IRTreeFrame interiorFrame = (IRTreeFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IRTreeFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
-
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
-        rtree.create(fileId);
-        rtree.open(fileId);
-
-        ByteBuffer hyracksFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-        FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        DataOutput dos = tb.getDataOutput();
-
-        @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] recDescSers = { DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = new RecordDescriptor(recDescSers);
-        IFrameTupleAccessor accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), recDesc);
-        accessor.reset(hyracksFrame);
-        FrameTupleReference tuple = new FrameTupleReference();
-
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = rtree.createAccessor();
-
-        Random rnd = new Random();
-        rnd.setSeed(50);
-
-        for (int i = 0; i < 5000; i++) {
-
-            double p1x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p1y = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p1z = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2y = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2z = rnd.nextDouble();
-
-            double pk1 = rnd.nextDouble();
-            int pk2 = rnd.nextInt();
-            double pk3 = rnd.nextDouble();
-
-            tb.reset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1z, p2z), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1z, p2z), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk1, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk2, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk3, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-
-            appender.reset(hyracksFrame, true);
-            appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize());
-
-            tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
-
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("INSERTING " + i + " " + Math.min(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.min(p1y, p2y) + " "
-                            + Math.min(p1z, p2z) + " " + " " + Math.max(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.max(p1y, p2y) + " "
-                            + Math.max(p1z, p2z));
-                }
-            }
-
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                e.printStackTrace();
-            }
-        }
-
-        String rtreeStats = rtree.printStats();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(rtreeStats);
-        }
-
-        // disk-order scan
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("DISK-ORDER SCAN:");
-        }
-        TreeDiskOrderScanCursor diskOrderCursor = new TreeDiskOrderScanCursor(leafFrame);
-        indexAccessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderCursor);
-        try {
-            while (diskOrderCursor.hasNext()) {
-                diskOrderCursor.next();
-                ITupleReference frameTuple = diskOrderCursor.getTuple();
-                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, recDescSers);
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    LOGGER.info(rec);
-                }
-            }
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            e.printStackTrace();
-        } finally {
-            diskOrderCursor.close();
-        }
-
-        TreeIndexStatsGatherer statsGatherer = new TreeIndexStatsGatherer(bufferCache, freePageManager, fileId,
-                rtree.getRootPageId());
-        TreeIndexStats stats = statsGatherer.gatherStats(leafFrame, interiorFrame, metaFrame);
-        String string = stats.toString();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(string);
-        }
-
-        rtree.close();
-        bufferCache.closeFile(fileId);
-        bufferCache.close();
-
-    }
-
-    // create an R-tree of two dimensions
-    // fill the R-tree with random integer key values using insertions
-    // perform ordered scan
-    @Test
-    public void test04() throws Exception {
-
-        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, NUM_PAGES, MAX_OPEN_FILES);
-        IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
-        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
-        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-        bufferCache.createFile(file);
-        int fileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
-        bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
-
-        // declare keys
-        int keyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
-
-        // declare tuple fields
-        int fieldCount = 7;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[3] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[4] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[5] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[6] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-
-        // create value providers
-        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
-
-        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
-
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame = metaFrameFactory.createFrame();
-
-        IRTreeFrame interiorFrame = (IRTreeFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IRTreeFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
-
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
-        rtree.create(fileId);
-        rtree.open(fileId);
-
-        ByteBuffer hyracksFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-        FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        DataOutput dos = tb.getDataOutput();
-
-        @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] recDescSers = { IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = new RecordDescriptor(recDescSers);
-        IFrameTupleAccessor accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), recDesc);
-        accessor.reset(hyracksFrame);
-        FrameTupleReference tuple = new FrameTupleReference();
-
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = rtree.createAccessor();
-
-        Random rnd = new Random();
-        rnd.setSeed(50);
-
-        Random rnd2 = new Random();
-        rnd2.setSeed(50);
-        for (int i = 0; i < 5000; i++) {
-
-            int p1x = rnd.nextInt();
-            int p1y = rnd.nextInt();
-            int p2x = rnd.nextInt();
-            int p2y = rnd.nextInt();
-
-            double pk1 = rnd2.nextDouble();
-            int pk2 = rnd2.nextInt();
-            double pk3 = rnd2.nextDouble();
-
-            tb.reset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk1, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk2, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk3, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-
-            appender.reset(hyracksFrame, true);
-            appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize());
-
-            tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
-
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("INSERTING " + i + " " + Math.min(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.min(p1y, p2y) + " "
-                            + Math.max(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.max(p1y, p2y));
-                }
-            }
-
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                e.printStackTrace();
-            }
-        }
-
-        String rtreeStats = rtree.printStats();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(rtreeStats);
-        }
-
-        // disk-order scan
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info("DISK-ORDER SCAN:");
-        }
-        TreeDiskOrderScanCursor diskOrderCursor = new TreeDiskOrderScanCursor(leafFrame);
-        indexAccessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderCursor);
-        try {
-            while (diskOrderCursor.hasNext()) {
-                diskOrderCursor.next();
-                ITupleReference frameTuple = diskOrderCursor.getTuple();
-                String rec = TupleUtils.printTuple(frameTuple, recDescSers);
-                if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                    LOGGER.info(rec);
-                }
-            }
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            e.printStackTrace();
-        } finally {
-            diskOrderCursor.close();
-        }
-
-        TreeIndexStatsGatherer statsGatherer = new TreeIndexStatsGatherer(bufferCache, freePageManager, fileId,
-                rtree.getRootPageId());
-        TreeIndexStats stats = statsGatherer.gatherStats(leafFrame, interiorFrame, metaFrame);
-        String string = stats.toString();
-        if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-            LOGGER.info(string);
-        }
-
-        rtree.close();
-        bufferCache.closeFile(fileId);
-        bufferCache.close();
-
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/SearchCursorTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/SearchCursorTest.java
deleted file mode 100644
index a232e37..0000000
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/SearchCursorTest.java
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,252 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
- * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
- * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
- * you may obtain a copy of the License from
- * 
- *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- * 
- * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
- * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
- * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
- * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
- * limitations under the License.
- */
-
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree;
-
-import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
-import java.io.DataInput;
-import java.io.DataInputStream;
-import java.io.DataOutput;
-import java.io.File;
-import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
-import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Random;
-import java.util.logging.Level;
-
-import org.junit.Test;
-
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm.IFrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.DoublePointable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.FrameTupleAppender;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.FrameTupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.DoubleSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexAccessor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.frames.LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.freepage.LinkedListFreePageManager;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeInteriorFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.api.IRTreeLeafFrame;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.frames.RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTreeSearchCursor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.SearchPredicate;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.tuples.RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapProvider;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
-
-public class SearchCursorTest extends AbstractRTreeTest {
-    private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 256;
-    private static final int NUM_PAGES = 10;
-    private static final int MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
-    private static final int HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = 128;
-    private IHyracksTaskContext ctx = TestUtils.create(HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE);
-
-    // create an R-tree of two dimensions
-    // fill the R-tree with random values using insertions
-    // and then perform range search
-    @Test
-    public void searchCursorTest() throws Exception {
-
-        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, NUM_PAGES, MAX_OPEN_FILES);
-        IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
-        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
-        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-        bufferCache.createFile(file);
-        int fileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
-        bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
-
-        // declare keys
-        int keyFieldCount = 4;
-        IBinaryComparator[] cmps = new IBinaryComparator[keyFieldCount];
-        cmps[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(DoublePointable.FACTORY).createBinaryComparator();
-        cmps[1] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[2] = cmps[0];
-        cmps[3] = cmps[0];
-
-        // declare tuple fields
-        int fieldCount = 5;
-        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[1] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[2] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[3] = DoublePointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-        typeTraits[4] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
-
-        // create value providers
-        IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories = RTreeUtils.createPrimitiveValueProviderFactories(
-                cmps.length, DoublePointable.FACTORY);
-
-        MultiComparator cmp = new MultiComparator(cmps);
-
-        RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new RTreeTypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
-
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexFrameFactory leafFrameFactory = new RTreeNSMLeafFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory,
-                valueProviderFactories);
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrameFactory metaFrameFactory = new LIFOMetaDataFrameFactory();
-        ITreeIndexMetaDataFrame metaFrame = metaFrameFactory.createFrame();
-
-        IRTreeInteriorFrame interiorFrame = (IRTreeInteriorFrame) interiorFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IRTreeLeafFrame leafFrame = (IRTreeLeafFrame) leafFrameFactory.createFrame();
-        IFreePageManager freePageManager = new LinkedListFreePageManager(bufferCache, fileId, 0, metaFrameFactory);
-
-        RTree rtree = new RTree(bufferCache, fieldCount, cmp, freePageManager, interiorFrameFactory, leafFrameFactory);
-        rtree.create(fileId);
-        rtree.open(fileId);
-
-        ByteBuffer hyracksFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
-        FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
-        ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(fieldCount);
-        DataOutput dos = tb.getDataOutput();
-
-        @SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
-        ISerializerDeserializer[] recDescSers = { DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE,
-                DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE };
-        RecordDescriptor recDesc = new RecordDescriptor(recDescSers);
-        IFrameTupleAccessor accessor = new FrameTupleAccessor(ctx.getFrameSize(), recDesc);
-        accessor.reset(hyracksFrame);
-        FrameTupleReference tuple = new FrameTupleReference();
-
-        ITreeIndexAccessor indexAccessor = rtree.createAccessor();
-
-        Random rnd = new Random();
-        rnd.setSeed(50);
-        for (int i = 0; i < 5000; i++) {
-
-            double p1x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p1y = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2y = rnd.nextDouble();
-
-            int pk = rnd.nextInt();
-
-            tb.reset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-
-            appender.reset(hyracksFrame, true);
-            appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize());
-
-            tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
-
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                if (i % 1000 == 0) {
-                    LOGGER.info("INSERTING " + i + " " + Math.min(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.min(p1y, p2y) + " "
-                            + Math.max(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.max(p1y, p2y));
-                }
-            }
-
-            try {
-                indexAccessor.insert(tuple);
-            } catch (TreeIndexException e) {
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                e.printStackTrace();
-            }
-        }
-
-        for (int i = 0; i < 50; i++) {
-            double p1x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p1y = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2x = rnd.nextDouble();
-            double p2y = rnd.nextDouble();
-
-            int pk = rnd.nextInt();
-
-            tb.reset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.min(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1x, p2x), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            DoubleSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(Math.max(p1y, p2y), dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-            IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.serialize(pk, dos);
-            tb.addFieldEndOffset();
-
-            appender.reset(hyracksFrame, true);
-            appender.append(tb.getFieldEndOffsets(), tb.getByteArray(), 0, tb.getSize());
-
-            tuple.reset(accessor, 0);
-
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                LOGGER.info(i + " Searching for: " + Math.min(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.min(p1y, p2y) + " "
-                        + Math.max(p1x, p2x) + " " + Math.max(p1y, p2y));
-            }
-
-            ITreeIndexCursor searchCursor = new RTreeSearchCursor(interiorFrame, leafFrame);
-            SearchPredicate searchPredicate = new SearchPredicate(tuple, cmp);
-
-            indexAccessor.search(searchCursor, searchPredicate);
-
-            ArrayList<Integer> results = new ArrayList<Integer>();
-            try {
-                while (searchCursor.hasNext()) {
-                    searchCursor.next();
-                    ITupleReference frameTuple = searchCursor.getTuple();
-                    ByteArrayInputStream inStream = new ByteArrayInputStream(frameTuple.getFieldData(4),
-                            frameTuple.getFieldStart(4), frameTuple.getFieldLength(4));
-                    DataInput dataIn = new DataInputStream(inStream);
-                    Integer res = IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE.deserialize(dataIn);
-                    results.add(res);
-                }
-            } catch (Exception e) {
-                e.printStackTrace();
-            } finally {
-                searchCursor.close();
-            }
-            if (LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.INFO)) {
-                LOGGER.info("There are " + results.size() + " objects that satisfy the query");
-            }
-        }
-
-        rtree.close();
-        bufferCache.closeFile(fileId);
-        bufferCache.close();
-    }
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeMultiThreadTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeMultiThreadTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7520793
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeMultiThreadTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.multithread;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestWorkloadConf;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.TreeIndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.AbstractRTreeMultiThreadTest;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils.RTreeTestHarness;
+
+public class RTreeMultiThreadTest extends AbstractRTreeMultiThreadTest {
+
+    private RTreeTestHarness harness = new RTreeTestHarness();
+
+    private RTreeTestWorkerFactory workerFactory = new RTreeTestWorkerFactory();
+
+    @Override
+    protected void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ITreeIndex createTreeIndex(ITypeTraits[] typeTraits, IBinaryComparatorFactory[] rtreeCmpFactories,
+            IBinaryComparatorFactory[] btreeCmpFactories, IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories)
+            throws TreeIndexException {
+        return RTreeUtils.createRTree(harness.getBufferCache(), typeTraits,
+                valueProviderFactories, rtreeCmpFactories);
+
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory getWorkerFactory() {
+        return workerFactory;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf> getTestWorkloadConf() {
+        ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf> workloadConfs = new ArrayList<TestWorkloadConf>();
+
+        // Insert only workload.
+        TestOperation[] insertOnlyOps = new TestOperation[] { TestOperation.INSERT };
+        workloadConfs.add(new TestWorkloadConf(insertOnlyOps, getUniformOpProbs(insertOnlyOps)));
+
+        // Inserts mixed with scans.
+        TestOperation[] insertSearchOnlyOps = new TestOperation[] { TestOperation.INSERT, TestOperation.SCAN,
+                TestOperation.DISKORDER_SCAN };
+        workloadConfs.add(new TestWorkloadConf(insertSearchOnlyOps, getUniformOpProbs(insertSearchOnlyOps)));
+
+        // Inserts and deletes.
+        TestOperation[] insertDeleteOps = new TestOperation[] { TestOperation.INSERT, TestOperation.DELETE };
+        workloadConfs.add(new TestWorkloadConf(insertDeleteOps, getUniformOpProbs(insertDeleteOps)));
+
+        // All operations mixed.
+        TestOperation[] allOps = new TestOperation[] { TestOperation.INSERT, TestOperation.DELETE, TestOperation.SCAN,
+                TestOperation.DISKORDER_SCAN };
+        workloadConfs.add(new TestWorkloadConf(allOps, getUniformOpProbs(allOps)));
+
+        return workloadConfs;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected int getFileId() {
+        return harness.getTreeFileId();
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    protected String getIndexTypeName() {
+        return "RTree";
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorker.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorker.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f5867e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorker.java
@@ -0,0 +1,115 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.multithread;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.accessors.ITupleReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector.TestOperation;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndexCursor;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IndexException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ophelpers.MultiComparator;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.SearchPredicate;
+
+public class RTreeTestWorker extends AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker {
+
+    private final RTree rtree;
+    private final int numFields;
+    private final ArrayTupleReference rearrangedTuple = new ArrayTupleReference();
+    private final ArrayTupleBuilder rearrangedTb;
+
+    public RTreeTestWorker(DataGenThread dataGen, TestOperationSelector opSelector, ITreeIndex index, int numBatches) {
+        super(dataGen, opSelector, index, numBatches);
+        rtree = (RTree) index;
+        numFields = rtree.getFieldCount();
+        rearrangedTb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(numFields);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void performOp(ITupleReference tuple, TestOperation op) throws HyracksDataException, IndexException {
+        RTree.RTreeAccessor accessor = (RTree.RTreeAccessor) indexAccessor;
+        IIndexCursor searchCursor = accessor.createSearchCursor();
+        ITreeIndexCursor diskOrderScanCursor = accessor.createDiskOrderScanCursor();
+        MultiComparator cmp = accessor.getOpContext().cmp;
+        SearchPredicate rangePred = new SearchPredicate(tuple, cmp);
+
+        switch (op) {
+            case INSERT:
+                rearrangeTuple(tuple, cmp);
+                accessor.insert(rearrangedTuple);
+                break;
+
+            case DELETE:
+                rearrangeTuple(tuple, cmp);
+                accessor.delete(rearrangedTuple);
+                break;
+
+            case SCAN:
+                searchCursor.reset();
+                rangePred.setSearchKey(null);
+                accessor.search(searchCursor, rangePred);
+                consumeCursorTuples(searchCursor);
+                break;
+
+            case DISKORDER_SCAN:
+                diskOrderScanCursor.reset();
+                accessor.diskOrderScan(diskOrderScanCursor);
+                consumeCursorTuples(diskOrderScanCursor);
+                break;
+
+            default:
+                throw new HyracksDataException("Op " + op.toString() + " not supported.");
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void rearrangeTuple(ITupleReference tuple, MultiComparator cmp) throws HyracksDataException {
+        // Create a tuple with rearranged key values to make sure lower points
+        // have larger coordinates than high points.
+        rearrangedTb.reset();
+        int maxFieldPos = cmp.getKeyFieldCount() / 2;
+        for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
+            int j = maxFieldPos + i;
+            int c = cmp.getComparators()[i].compare(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
+                    tuple.getFieldLength(i), tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j), tuple.getFieldLength(j));
+            if (c > 0) {
+                rearrangedTb.addField(tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j), tuple.getFieldLength(j));
+            } else {
+                rearrangedTb.addField(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+            }
+        }
+        for (int i = 0; i < maxFieldPos; i++) {
+            int j = maxFieldPos + i;
+            int c = cmp.getComparators()[i].compare(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i),
+                    tuple.getFieldLength(i), tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j), tuple.getFieldLength(j));
+            if (c > 0) {
+                rearrangedTb.addField(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+            } else {
+                rearrangedTb.addField(tuple.getFieldData(j), tuple.getFieldStart(j), tuple.getFieldLength(j));
+            }
+        }
+        for (int i = cmp.getKeyFieldCount(); i < numFields; i++) {
+            rearrangedTb.addField(tuple.getFieldData(i), tuple.getFieldStart(i), tuple.getFieldLength(i));
+        }
+        rearrangedTuple.reset(rearrangedTb.getFieldEndOffsets(), rearrangedTb.getByteArray());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorkerFactory.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorkerFactory.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d4f14ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/multithread/RTreeTestWorkerFactory.java
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.multithread;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.TestOperationSelector;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.datagen.DataGenThread;
+
+public class RTreeTestWorkerFactory implements ITreeIndexTestWorkerFactory {
+    @Override
+    public AbstractTreeIndexTestWorker create(DataGenThread dataGen, TestOperationSelector opSelector,
+            ITreeIndex index, int numBatches) {
+        return new RTreeTestWorker(dataGen, opSelector, index, numBatches);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/utils/AbstractRTreeTest.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/utils/AbstractRTreeTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fccb29c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/utils/AbstractRTreeTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils;
+
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
+
+import org.junit.After;
+import org.junit.Before;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+
+public abstract class AbstractRTreeTest {
+    protected final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(RTreeTestHarness.class.getName());
+    protected final RTreeTestHarness harness;
+
+    public AbstractRTreeTest() {
+        harness = new RTreeTestHarness();
+    }
+
+    public AbstractRTreeTest(int pageSize, int numPages, int maxOpenFiles, int hyracksFrameSize) {
+        harness = new RTreeTestHarness(pageSize, numPages, maxOpenFiles, hyracksFrameSize);
+    }
+
+    @Before
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.setUp();
+    }
+
+    @After
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        harness.tearDown();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/utils/RTreeTestContext.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/utils/RTreeTestContext.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..039fb0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/utils/RTreeTestContext.java
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.util.SerdeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api.ITreeIndex;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.AbstractRTreeTestContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.impls.RTree;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.util.RTreeUtils;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
+
+@SuppressWarnings("rawtypes")
+public class RTreeTestContext extends AbstractRTreeTestContext {
+
+    public RTreeTestContext(ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, ITreeIndex treeIndex) {
+        super(fieldSerdes, treeIndex);
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public int getKeyFieldCount() {
+        RTree rtree = (RTree) treeIndex;
+        return rtree.getComparatorFactories().length;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public IBinaryComparatorFactory[] getComparatorFactories() {
+        RTree rtree = (RTree) treeIndex;
+        return rtree.getComparatorFactories();
+    }
+
+    public static RTreeTestContext create(IBufferCache bufferCache, int rtreeFileId,
+            ISerializerDeserializer[] fieldSerdes, IPrimitiveValueProviderFactory[] valueProviderFactories,
+            int numKeyFields) throws Exception {
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = SerdeUtils.serdesToTypeTraits(fieldSerdes);
+        IBinaryComparatorFactory[] cmpFactories = SerdeUtils.serdesToComparatorFactories(fieldSerdes, numKeyFields);
+        RTree rtree = RTreeUtils
+                .createRTree(bufferCache, typeTraits, valueProviderFactories, cmpFactories);
+        rtree.create(rtreeFileId);
+        rtree.open(rtreeFileId);
+        RTreeTestContext testCtx = new RTreeTestContext(fieldSerdes, rtree);
+        return testCtx;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/utils/RTreeTestHarness.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/utils/RTreeTestHarness.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c0cec35
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-am-rtree-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/rtree/utils/RTreeTestHarness.java
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.rtree.utils;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
+import java.util.Date;
+import java.util.Random;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.buffercache.IBufferCache;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.common.file.IFileMapProvider;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestStorageManagerComponentHolder;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
+
+public class RTreeTestHarness {
+
+    private static final long RANDOM_SEED = 50;
+    private static final int DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE = 256;
+    private static final int DEFAULT_NUM_PAGES = 1000;
+    private static final int DEFAULT_MAX_OPEN_FILES = 10;
+    private static final int DEFAULT_HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = 128;
+
+    protected final int pageSize;
+    protected final int numPages;
+    protected final int maxOpenFiles;
+    protected final int hyracksFrameSize;
+
+    protected IHyracksTaskContext ctx;
+    protected IBufferCache bufferCache;
+    protected int treeFileId;
+
+    protected final Random rnd = new Random();
+    protected final SimpleDateFormat simpleDateFormat = new SimpleDateFormat("ddMMyy-hhmmssSS");
+    protected final String tmpDir = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");
+    protected final String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
+    protected String fileName;
+
+    public RTreeTestHarness() {
+        this.pageSize = DEFAULT_PAGE_SIZE;
+        this.numPages = DEFAULT_NUM_PAGES;
+        this.maxOpenFiles = DEFAULT_MAX_OPEN_FILES;
+        this.hyracksFrameSize = DEFAULT_HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE;
+    }
+
+    public RTreeTestHarness(int pageSize, int numPages, int maxOpenFiles, int hyracksFrameSize) {
+        this.pageSize = pageSize;
+        this.numPages = numPages;
+        this.maxOpenFiles = maxOpenFiles;
+        this.hyracksFrameSize = hyracksFrameSize;
+    }
+
+    public void setUp() throws HyracksDataException {
+        fileName = tmpDir + sep + simpleDateFormat.format(new Date());
+        ctx = TestUtils.create(getHyracksFrameSize());
+        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(pageSize, numPages, maxOpenFiles);
+        bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
+        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
+        FileReference file = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
+        bufferCache.createFile(file);
+        treeFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(file);
+        bufferCache.openFile(treeFileId);
+        rnd.setSeed(RANDOM_SEED);
+    }
+
+    public void tearDown() throws HyracksDataException {
+        bufferCache.closeFile(treeFileId);
+        bufferCache.close();
+        File f = new File(fileName);
+        f.deleteOnExit();
+    }
+
+    public IHyracksTaskContext getHyracksTaskContext() {
+        return ctx;
+    }
+
+    public IBufferCache getBufferCache() {
+        return bufferCache;
+    }
+
+    public int getTreeFileId() {
+        return treeFileId;
+    }
+
+    public String getFileName() {
+        return fileName;
+    }
+
+    public Random getRandom() {
+        return rnd;
+    }
+
+    public int getPageSize() {
+        return pageSize;
+    }
+
+    public int getNumPages() {
+        return numPages;
+    }
+
+    public int getHyracksFrameSize() {
+        return hyracksFrameSize;
+    }
+
+    public int getMaxOpenFiles() {
+        return maxOpenFiles;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-common-test/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-common-test/pom.xml
index 6c25b9b..fe652c8 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-common-test/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-common-test/pom.xml
@@ -33,12 +33,6 @@
   	</dependency>
   	<dependency>
   		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
-  		<artifactId>hyracks-control-nc</artifactId>
-  		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
-  		<scope>compile</scope>
-  	</dependency>
-  	<dependency>
-  		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
   		<artifactId>hyracks-storage-common</artifactId>
   		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   		<scope>compile</scope>
@@ -48,7 +42,7 @@
   		<artifactId>hyracks-test-support</artifactId>
   		<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   		<type>jar</type>
-  		<scope>test</scope>
+  		<scope>compile</scope>
   	</dependency>
   </dependencies>
 </project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-common-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/BufferCacheRegressionTests.java b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-common-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/BufferCacheRegressionTests.java
index fff9e31..a649aa7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-common-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/BufferCacheRegressionTests.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-tests/hyracks-storage-common-test/src/test/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/common/BufferCacheRegressionTests.java
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@
 
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.context.IHyracksTaskContext;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.FileReference;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IFileHandle;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager.FileReadWriteMode;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.io.IIOManager.FileSyncMode;
@@ -23,158 +23,149 @@
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.test.support.TestUtils;
 
 public class BufferCacheRegressionTests {
-	protected static final String tmpDir = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");
-	protected static final String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
+    protected static final String tmpDir = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");
+    protected static final String sep = System.getProperty("file.separator");
 
-	protected String fileName = tmpDir + sep + "flushTestFile";
+    protected String fileName = tmpDir + sep + "flushTestFile";
 
-	private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 256;
-	private static final int HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = PAGE_SIZE;
-	private IHyracksTaskContext ctx = TestUtils.create(HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE);
+    private static final int PAGE_SIZE = 256;
+    private static final int HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE = PAGE_SIZE;
+    private IHyracksTaskContext ctx = TestUtils.create(HYRACKS_FRAME_SIZE);
 
-	// We want to test the following behavior when reclaiming a file slot in the
-	// buffer cache:
-	// 1. If the file being evicted was deleted, then its dirty pages should be
-	// invalidated, but most not be flushed.
-	// 2. If the file was not deleted, then we must flush its dirty pages.
-	@Test
-	public void testFlushBehaviorOnFileEviction() throws IOException {
-		File f = new File(fileName);
-		if (f.exists()) {
-			f.delete();
-		}
-		flushBehaviorTest(true);
-		flushBehaviorTest(false);
-	}
+    // We want to test the following behavior when reclaiming a file slot in the
+    // buffer cache:
+    // 1. If the file being evicted was deleted, then its dirty pages should be
+    // invalidated, but most not be flushed.
+    // 2. If the file was not deleted, then we must flush its dirty pages.
+    @Test
+    public void testFlushBehaviorOnFileEviction() throws IOException {
+        File f = new File(fileName);
+        if (f.exists()) {
+            f.delete();
+        }
+        flushBehaviorTest(true);
+        flushBehaviorTest(false);
+    }
 
-	private void flushBehaviorTest(boolean deleteFile) throws IOException {
-		TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, 10, 1);
+    private void flushBehaviorTest(boolean deleteFile) throws IOException {
+        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, 10, 1);
 
-		IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder
-				.getBufferCache(ctx);
-		IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder
-				.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
+        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
 
-		FileReference firstFileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-		bufferCache.createFile(firstFileRef);
-		int firstFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(firstFileRef);
-		bufferCache.openFile(firstFileId);
+        FileReference firstFileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
+        bufferCache.createFile(firstFileRef);
+        int firstFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(firstFileRef);
+        bufferCache.openFile(firstFileId);
 
-		// Fill the first page with known data and make it dirty by write
-		// latching it.
-		ICachedPage writePage = bufferCache.pin(
-				BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(firstFileId, 0), true);
-		writePage.acquireWriteLatch();
-		try {
-			ByteBuffer buf = writePage.getBuffer();
-			for (int i = 0; i < buf.capacity(); i++) {
-				buf.put(Byte.MAX_VALUE);
-			}
-		} finally {
-			writePage.releaseWriteLatch();
-			bufferCache.unpin(writePage);
-		}
-		bufferCache.closeFile(firstFileId);
-		if (deleteFile) {
-			bufferCache.deleteFile(firstFileId, false);
-		}
+        // Fill the first page with known data and make it dirty by write
+        // latching it.
+        ICachedPage writePage = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(firstFileId, 0), true);
+        writePage.acquireWriteLatch();
+        try {
+            ByteBuffer buf = writePage.getBuffer();
+            for (int i = 0; i < buf.capacity(); i++) {
+                buf.put(Byte.MAX_VALUE);
+            }
+        } finally {
+            writePage.releaseWriteLatch();
+            bufferCache.unpin(writePage);
+        }
+        bufferCache.closeFile(firstFileId);
+        if (deleteFile) {
+            bufferCache.deleteFile(firstFileId, false);
+        }
 
-		// Create a file with the same name.
-		FileReference secondFileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-		bufferCache.createFile(secondFileRef);
-		int secondFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(secondFileRef);
+        // Create a file with the same name.
+        FileReference secondFileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
+        bufferCache.createFile(secondFileRef);
+        int secondFileId = fmp.lookupFileId(secondFileRef);
 
-		// This open will replace the firstFileRef's slot in the BufferCache,
-		// causing it's pages to be cleaned up. We want to make sure that those
-		// dirty pages are not flushed to the disk, because the file was
-		// declared as deleted, and
-		// somebody might be already using the same filename again (having been
-		// assigned a different fileId).
-		bufferCache.openFile(secondFileId);
+        // This open will replace the firstFileRef's slot in the BufferCache,
+        // causing it's pages to be cleaned up. We want to make sure that those
+        // dirty pages are not flushed to the disk, because the file was
+        // declared as deleted, and
+        // somebody might be already using the same filename again (having been
+        // assigned a different fileId).
+        bufferCache.openFile(secondFileId);
 
-		// Manually open the file and inspect it's contents. We cannot simply
-		// ask the BufferCache to pin the page, because it would return the same
-		// physical memory again, and for performance reasons pages are never
-		// reset with 0's.
-		IIOManager ioManager = ctx.getIOManager();
-		FileReference testFileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-		FileHandle testFileHandle = new FileHandle(testFileRef);
-		testFileHandle.open(FileReadWriteMode.READ_ONLY,
-				FileSyncMode.METADATA_SYNC_DATA_SYNC);
-		ByteBuffer testBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(PAGE_SIZE);
-		ioManager.syncRead(testFileHandle, 0, testBuffer);
-		for (int i = 0; i < testBuffer.capacity(); i++) {
-			if (deleteFile) {
-				// We deleted the file. We expect to see a clean buffer.
-				if (testBuffer.get(i) == Byte.MAX_VALUE) {
-					fail("Page 0 of deleted file was fazily flushed in openFile(), "
-							+ "corrupting the data of a newly created file with the same name.");
-				}
-			} else {
-				// We didn't delete the file. We expect to see a buffer full of
-				// Byte.MAX_VALUE.
-				if (testBuffer.get(i) != Byte.MAX_VALUE) {
-					fail("Page 0 of closed file was not flushed when properly, when reclaiming the file slot of fileId 0 in the BufferCache.");
-				}
-			}
-		}
-		testFileHandle.close();
-		bufferCache.closeFile(secondFileId);
-		if (deleteFile) {
-			bufferCache.deleteFile(secondFileId, false);
-		}
-		bufferCache.close();
-	}
+        // Manually open the file and inspect it's contents. We cannot simply
+        // ask the BufferCache to pin the page, because it would return the same
+        // physical memory again, and for performance reasons pages are never
+        // reset with 0's.
+        IIOManager ioManager = ctx.getIOManager();
+        FileReference testFileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
+        IFileHandle testFileHandle = ioManager.open(testFileRef, FileReadWriteMode.READ_ONLY,
+                FileSyncMode.METADATA_SYNC_DATA_SYNC);
+        ByteBuffer testBuffer = ByteBuffer.allocate(PAGE_SIZE);
+        ioManager.syncRead(testFileHandle, 0, testBuffer);
+        for (int i = 0; i < testBuffer.capacity(); i++) {
+            if (deleteFile) {
+                // We deleted the file. We expect to see a clean buffer.
+                if (testBuffer.get(i) == Byte.MAX_VALUE) {
+                    fail("Page 0 of deleted file was fazily flushed in openFile(), "
+                            + "corrupting the data of a newly created file with the same name.");
+                }
+            } else {
+                // We didn't delete the file. We expect to see a buffer full of
+                // Byte.MAX_VALUE.
+                if (testBuffer.get(i) != Byte.MAX_VALUE) {
+                    fail("Page 0 of closed file was not flushed when properly, when reclaiming the file slot of fileId 0 in the BufferCache.");
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        ioManager.close(testFileHandle);
+        bufferCache.closeFile(secondFileId);
+        if (deleteFile) {
+            bufferCache.deleteFile(secondFileId, false);
+        }
+        bufferCache.close();
+    }
 
-	// Tests the behavior of the BufferCache when more than all pages are
-	// pinned. We expect an exception.
-	@Test
-	public void testPinningAllPages() throws HyracksDataException {
-		int numPages = 10;
-		TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, numPages, 1);
+    // Tests the behavior of the BufferCache when more than all pages are
+    // pinned. We expect an exception.
+    @Test
+    public void testPinningAllPages() throws HyracksDataException {
+        int numPages = 10;
+        TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.init(PAGE_SIZE, numPages, 1);
 
-		IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder
-				.getBufferCache(ctx);
-		IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder
-				.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
+        IBufferCache bufferCache = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getBufferCache(ctx);
+        IFileMapProvider fmp = TestStorageManagerComponentHolder.getFileMapProvider(ctx);
 
-		FileReference firstFileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
-		bufferCache.createFile(firstFileRef);
-		int fileId = fmp.lookupFileId(firstFileRef);
-		bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
+        FileReference firstFileRef = new FileReference(new File(fileName));
+        bufferCache.createFile(firstFileRef);
+        int fileId = fmp.lookupFileId(firstFileRef);
+        bufferCache.openFile(fileId);
 
-		// Pin all pages.
-		ICachedPage[] pages = new ICachedPage[numPages];
-		for (int i = 0; i < numPages; ++i) {
-			pages[i] = bufferCache.pin(
-					BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, i), true);
-		}
+        // Pin all pages.
+        ICachedPage[] pages = new ICachedPage[numPages];
+        for (int i = 0; i < numPages; ++i) {
+            pages[i] = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, i), true);
+        }
 
-		// Try to pin another page. We expect a HyracksDataException.
-		ICachedPage errorPage = null;
-		try {
-			errorPage = bufferCache.pin(
-					BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, numPages), true);
-		} catch (HyracksDataException e) {
-			// This is the expected outcome.
-			// The BufferCache should still be able to function properly.
-			// Try unpinning all pages.
-			for (int i = 0; i < numPages; ++i) {
-				bufferCache.unpin(pages[i]);
-			}
-			// Now try pinning the page that failed above again.
-			errorPage = bufferCache.pin(
-					BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, numPages), true);
-			// Unpin it.
-			bufferCache.unpin(errorPage);
-			// Cleanup.
-			bufferCache.closeFile(fileId);
-			bufferCache.close();
-			return;
-		} catch (Exception e) {
-			fail("Expected a HyracksDataException when pinning more pages than available but got another exception: "
-					+ e.getMessage());
-		}
-		fail("Expected a HyracksDataException when pinning more pages than available.");
-	}
+        // Try to pin another page. We expect a HyracksDataException.
+        ICachedPage errorPage = null;
+        try {
+            errorPage = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, numPages), true);
+        } catch (HyracksDataException e) {
+            // This is the expected outcome.
+            // The BufferCache should still be able to function properly.
+            // Try unpinning all pages.
+            for (int i = 0; i < numPages; ++i) {
+                bufferCache.unpin(pages[i]);
+            }
+            // Now try pinning the page that failed above again.
+            errorPage = bufferCache.pin(BufferedFileHandle.getDiskPageId(fileId, numPages), true);
+            // Unpin it.
+            bufferCache.unpin(errorPage);
+            // Cleanup.
+            bufferCache.closeFile(fileId);
+            bufferCache.close();
+            return;
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            fail("Expected a HyracksDataException when pinning more pages than available but got another exception: "
+                    + e.getMessage());
+        }
+        fail("Expected a HyracksDataException when pinning more pages than available.");
+    }
 }
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e453a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,74 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+  <artifactId>hyracks-yarn-am</artifactId>
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hyracks-yarn</artifactId>
+    <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+
+  <build>
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>2.0.2</version>
+        <configuration>
+          <source>1.6</source>
+          <target>1.6</target>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
+        <artifactId>appassembler-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+        <executions>
+          <execution>
+            <configuration>
+              <programs>
+                <program>
+                  <mainClass>edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.HyracksYarnApplicationMaster</mainClass>
+                  <name>hyracks-yarn-am</name>
+                </program>
+              </programs>
+              <repositoryLayout>flat</repositoryLayout>
+              <repositoryName>lib</repositoryName>
+            </configuration>
+            <phase>package</phase>
+            <goals>
+              <goal>assemble</goal>
+            </goals>
+          </execution>
+        </executions>
+      </plugin>
+      <plugin>
+        <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>2.2-beta-5</version>
+        <executions>
+          <execution>
+            <configuration>
+              <descriptors>
+                <descriptor>src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml</descriptor>
+              </descriptors>
+            </configuration>
+            <phase>package</phase>
+            <goals>
+              <goal>attached</goal>
+            </goals>
+          </execution>
+        </executions>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+  <dependencies>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>args4j</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>args4j</artifactId>
+  	<version>2.0.16</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-yarn-common</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0500499
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+<assembly>
+  <id>binary-assembly</id>
+  <formats>
+    <format>zip</format>
+    <format>dir</format>
+  </formats>
+  <includeBaseDirectory>false</includeBaseDirectory>
+  <fileSets>
+    <fileSet>
+      <directory>target/appassembler/bin</directory>
+      <outputDirectory>bin</outputDirectory>
+      <fileMode>0755</fileMode>
+    </fileSet>
+    <fileSet>
+      <directory>target/appassembler/lib</directory>
+      <outputDirectory>lib</outputDirectory>
+    </fileSet>
+  </fileSets>
+</assembly>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/HyracksYarnApplicationMaster.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/HyracksYarnApplicationMaster.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a9c4520
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/HyracksYarnApplicationMaster.java
@@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.HashSet;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.Timer;
+import java.util.TimerTask;
+
+import org.apache.commons.io.FileUtils;
+import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.protocolrecords.AllocateRequest;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.protocolrecords.AllocateResponse;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.protocolrecords.RegisterApplicationMasterRequest;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.protocolrecords.RegisterApplicationMasterResponse;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.Container;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ContainerStatus;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.NodeId;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.Priority;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.Resource;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ResourceRequest;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.conf.YarnConfiguration;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.exceptions.YarnRemoteException;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.Records;
+import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest.AbstractProcess;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest.ContainerSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest.HyracksCluster;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest.ManifestParser;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest.NodeController;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.protocols.amrm.AMRMConnection;
+
+public class HyracksYarnApplicationMaster {
+    private final Options options;
+
+    private final Timer timer;
+
+    private final List<ResourceRequest> asks;
+
+    private final Map<Resource, Set<AskRecord>> resource2AskMap;
+
+    private final Map<AbstractProcess, AskRecord> proc2AskMap;
+
+    private YarnConfiguration config;
+
+    private AMRMConnection amrmc;
+
+    private RegisterApplicationMasterResponse registration;
+
+    private HyracksCluster hcManifest;
+
+    private HyracksYarnApplicationMaster(Options options) {
+        this.options = options;
+        timer = new Timer(true);
+        asks = new ArrayList<ResourceRequest>();
+        resource2AskMap = new HashMap<Resource, Set<AskRecord>>();
+        proc2AskMap = new HashMap<AbstractProcess, AskRecord>();
+    }
+
+    private void run() throws Exception {
+        Configuration conf = new Configuration();
+        config = new YarnConfiguration(conf);
+        amrmc = new AMRMConnection(config);
+
+        performRegistration();
+        setupHeartbeats();
+        parseManifest();
+        setupAsks();
+        while (true) {
+            Thread.sleep(1000);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private synchronized void setupAsks() {
+        setupAsk(hcManifest.getClusterController());
+        for (NodeController nc : hcManifest.getNodeControllers()) {
+            setupAsk(nc);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void setupAsk(AbstractProcess proc) {
+        ContainerSpecification cSpec = proc.getContainerSpecification();
+        ResourceRequest rsrcRequest = Records.newRecord(ResourceRequest.class);
+
+        rsrcRequest.setHostName(cSpec.getHostname());
+
+        Priority pri = Records.newRecord(Priority.class);
+        pri.setPriority(100);
+        rsrcRequest.setPriority(pri);
+
+        Resource capability = Records.newRecord(Resource.class);
+        capability.setMemory(cSpec.getMemory());
+        rsrcRequest.setCapability(capability);
+
+        rsrcRequest.setNumContainers(1);
+
+        AskRecord ar = new AskRecord();
+        ar.req = rsrcRequest;
+        ar.proc = proc;
+
+        Set<AskRecord> arSet = resource2AskMap.get(capability);
+        if (arSet == null) {
+            arSet = new HashSet<AskRecord>();
+            resource2AskMap.put(capability, arSet);
+        }
+        arSet.add(ar);
+        proc2AskMap.put(proc, ar);
+
+        System.err.println(proc + " -> " + rsrcRequest);
+
+        asks.add(rsrcRequest);
+    }
+
+    private void parseManifest() throws Exception {
+        String str = FileUtils.readFileToString(new File("manifest.xml"));
+        hcManifest = ManifestParser.parse(str);
+    }
+
+    private void setupHeartbeats() {
+        long heartbeatInterval = config.getLong(YarnConfiguration.RM_AM_EXPIRY_INTERVAL_MS,
+                YarnConfiguration.DEFAULT_RM_AM_EXPIRY_INTERVAL_MS);
+        System.err.println("Heartbeat interval: " + heartbeatInterval);
+        heartbeatInterval = Math.min(heartbeatInterval, 1000);
+        System.err.println("Heartbeat interval: " + heartbeatInterval);
+        timer.schedule(new TimerTask() {
+            @Override
+            public void run() {
+                AllocateRequest hb = Records.newRecord(AllocateRequest.class);
+                populateAllocateRequest(hb);
+                hb.setApplicationAttemptId(amrmc.getApplicationAttemptId());
+                hb.setProgress(0);
+                try {
+                    AllocateResponse allocateResponse = amrmc.getAMRMProtocol().allocate(hb);
+                    List<Container> allocatedContainers = allocateResponse.getAMResponse().getAllocatedContainers();
+                    List<ContainerStatus> completedContainers = allocateResponse.getAMResponse()
+                            .getCompletedContainersStatuses();
+                    processAllocation(allocatedContainers, completedContainers);
+                } catch (YarnRemoteException e) {
+                    e.printStackTrace();
+                }
+            }
+        }, 0, heartbeatInterval);
+    }
+
+    private synchronized void populateAllocateRequest(AllocateRequest hb) {
+        hb.addAllAsks(asks);
+        asks.clear();
+    }
+
+    private synchronized void processAllocation(List<Container> allocatedContainers,
+            List<ContainerStatus> completedContainers) {
+        for (Container c : allocatedContainers) {
+            System.err.println("Got container: " + c.getContainerStatus());
+            NodeId nodeId = c.getNodeId();
+            Resource resource = c.getResource();
+
+            Set<AskRecord> arSet = resource2AskMap.get(resource);
+            boolean found = false;
+            if (arSet != null) {
+                AskRecord wildcardMatch = null;
+                AskRecord nameMatch = null;
+                for (AskRecord ar : arSet) {
+                    ResourceRequest req = ar.req;
+                    if (ar.allocation == null) {
+                        if ("*".equals(req.getHostName()) && wildcardMatch == null) {
+                            wildcardMatch = ar;
+                        }
+                        if (req.getHostName().equals(nodeId.getHost()) && nameMatch == null) {
+                            nameMatch = ar;
+                            break;
+                        }
+                    }
+                }
+                if (nameMatch != null) {
+                    found = true;
+                    nameMatch.allocation = c;
+                } else if (wildcardMatch != null) {
+                    found = true;
+                    wildcardMatch.allocation = c;
+                }
+            }
+            if (!found) {
+                System.err.println("Unknown request satisfied: " + resource);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void performRegistration() throws YarnRemoteException {
+        RegisterApplicationMasterRequest appMasterRequest = Records.newRecord(RegisterApplicationMasterRequest.class);
+        appMasterRequest.setApplicationAttemptId(amrmc.getApplicationAttemptId());
+
+        registration = amrmc.getAMRMProtocol().registerApplicationMaster(appMasterRequest);
+    }
+
+    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
+        Options options = new Options();
+        CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(options);
+        try {
+            parser.parseArgument(args);
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            parser.printUsage(System.err);
+            return;
+        }
+        new HyracksYarnApplicationMaster(options).run();
+    }
+
+    private static class Options {
+    }
+
+    private static class AskRecord {
+        ResourceRequest req;
+        AbstractProcess proc;
+        Container allocation;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/AbstractProcess.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/AbstractProcess.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..be6e263
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/AbstractProcess.java
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest;
+
+public abstract class AbstractProcess {
+    protected ContainerSpecification cSpec;
+
+    protected String cmdLineArgs;
+
+    public void setContainerSpecification(ContainerSpecification cSpec) {
+        this.cSpec = cSpec;
+    }
+
+    public ContainerSpecification getContainerSpecification() {
+        return cSpec;
+    }
+
+    public void setCommandLineArguments(String cmdLineArgs) {
+        this.cmdLineArgs = cmdLineArgs;
+    }
+
+    public String getCommandLineArguments() {
+        return cmdLineArgs;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/IThingPartition.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/ClusterController.java
similarity index 84%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/IThingPartition.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/ClusterController.java
index cb79b6f..b230ada 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/things/IThingPartition.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/ClusterController.java
@@ -12,8 +12,7 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.things;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest;
 
-public interface IThingPartition {
-    public ISliver createSliver();
+public class ClusterController extends AbstractProcess {    
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/ContainerSpecification.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/ContainerSpecification.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..07f12c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/ContainerSpecification.java
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest;
+
+public class ContainerSpecification {
+    private String hostname;
+
+    private int memory;
+
+    public ContainerSpecification() {
+        hostname = "*";
+    }
+
+    public void setHostname(String hostname) {
+        this.hostname = hostname;
+    }
+
+    public String getHostname() {
+        return hostname;
+    }
+
+    public void setMemory(int memory) {
+        this.memory = memory;
+    }
+
+    public int getMemory() {
+        return memory;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/HyracksCluster.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/HyracksCluster.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a66ed6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/HyracksCluster.java
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+public class HyracksCluster {
+    private String name;
+
+    private ClusterController cc;
+
+    private List<NodeController> ncs;
+
+    public HyracksCluster() {
+        ncs = new ArrayList<NodeController>();
+    }
+
+    public void setName(String name) {
+        this.name = name;
+    }
+
+    public String getName() {
+        return name;
+    }
+
+    public void setClusterController(ClusterController cc) {
+        this.cc = cc;
+    }
+
+    public ClusterController getClusterController() {
+        return cc;
+    }
+
+    public void addNodeController(NodeController nc) {
+        ncs.add(nc);
+    }
+
+    public List<NodeController> getNodeControllers() {
+        return ncs;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/ManifestParser.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/ManifestParser.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bc5ebae
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/ManifestParser.java
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest;
+
+import java.io.StringReader;
+
+import org.apache.commons.digester.Digester;
+
+public class ManifestParser {
+    public static HyracksCluster parse(String mXML) throws Exception {
+        Digester d = createDigester();
+        return (HyracksCluster) d.parse(new StringReader(mXML));
+    }
+
+    private static Digester createDigester() {
+        Digester d = new Digester();
+        d.setValidating(false);
+
+        d.addObjectCreate("hyracks-cluster", HyracksCluster.class);
+        d.addSetProperties("hyracks-cluster");
+
+        d.addObjectCreate("hyracks-cluster/cluster-controller", ClusterController.class);
+        d.addSetProperties("hyracks-cluster/cluster-controller");
+        d.addSetNext("hyracks-cluster/cluster-controller", "setClusterController");
+
+        d.addObjectCreate("hyracks-cluster/node-controllers/node-controller", NodeController.class);
+        d.addSetProperties("hyracks-cluster/node-controllers/node-controller");
+        d.addSetNext("hyracks-cluster/node-controllers/node-controller", "addNodeController");
+
+        d.addObjectCreate("*/container-specification", ContainerSpecification.class);
+        d.addSetProperties("*/container-specification");
+        d.addSetNext("*/container-specification", "setContainerSpecification");
+        return d;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/NodeController.java
similarity index 72%
rename from hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java
rename to hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/NodeController.java
index 98c083e..f46eb7f 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-api/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/api/comm/IReceiverEventListener.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-am/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/am/manifest/NodeController.java
@@ -12,10 +12,16 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.comm;
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.am.manifest;
 
-public interface IReceiverEventListener {
-    public void notifySenderAvailability(int sender);
+public class NodeController extends AbstractProcess {
+    private String id;
 
-    public void notifySenderCount(int senderCount);
+    public void setId(String id) {
+        this.id = id;
+    }
+
+    public String getId() {
+        return id;
+    }
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..08935a7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+  <artifactId>hyracks-yarn-client</artifactId>
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hyracks-yarn</artifactId>
+    <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+
+  <build>
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>2.0.2</version>
+        <configuration>
+          <source>1.6</source>
+          <target>1.6</target>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
+        <artifactId>appassembler-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+        <executions>
+          <execution>
+            <configuration>
+              <programs>
+                <program>
+                  <mainClass>edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.client.LaunchHyracksApplication</mainClass>
+                  <name>launch-hyracks-application</name>
+                </program>
+                <program>
+                  <mainClass>edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.client.KillHyracksApplication</mainClass>
+                  <name>kill-hyracks-application</name>
+                </program>
+              </programs>
+              <repositoryLayout>flat</repositoryLayout>
+              <repositoryName>lib</repositoryName>
+            </configuration>
+            <phase>package</phase>
+            <goals>
+              <goal>assemble</goal>
+            </goals>
+          </execution>
+        </executions>
+      </plugin>
+      <plugin>
+        <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>2.2-beta-5</version>
+        <executions>
+          <execution>
+            <configuration>
+              <descriptors>
+                <descriptor>src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml</descriptor>
+              </descriptors>
+            </configuration>
+            <phase>package</phase>
+            <goals>
+              <goal>attached</goal>
+            </goals>
+          </execution>
+        </executions>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+  <dependencies>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>args4j</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>args4j</artifactId>
+  	<version>2.0.16</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-yarn-common</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hyracks-yarn-am</artifactId>
+  	<version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+    <type>zip</type>
+    <classifier>binary-assembly</classifier>
+  </dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b4fa339
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/src/main/assembly/binary-assembly.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+<assembly>
+  <id>binary-assembly</id>
+  <formats>
+    <format>zip</format>
+    <format>dir</format>
+  </formats>
+  <includeBaseDirectory>false</includeBaseDirectory>
+  <fileSets>
+    <fileSet>
+      <directory>target/appassembler/bin</directory>
+      <outputDirectory>bin</outputDirectory>
+      <fileMode>0755</fileMode>
+    </fileSet>
+    <fileSet>
+      <directory>target/appassembler/lib</directory>
+      <outputDirectory>lib</outputDirectory>
+    </fileSet>
+  </fileSets>
+    <dependencySets>
+    <dependencySet>
+      <outputDirectory>hyracks-yarn-am</outputDirectory>
+      <includes>
+        <include>hyracks-yarn-am*</include>
+      </includes>
+      <unpack>false</unpack>
+      <outputFileNameMapping>${artifact.artifactId}.${artifact.extension}</outputFileNameMapping>
+      <useTransitiveDependencies>false</useTransitiveDependencies>
+    </dependencySet>
+  </dependencySets>
+</assembly>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/client/KillHyracksApplication.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/client/KillHyracksApplication.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4789160
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/client/KillHyracksApplication.java
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.client;
+
+import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.conf.YarnConfiguration;
+import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
+import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.protocols.clientrm.YarnClientRMConnection;
+
+public class KillHyracksApplication {
+    private final Options options;
+
+    private KillHyracksApplication(Options options) {
+        this.options = options;
+    }
+
+    private void run() throws Exception {
+        Configuration conf = new Configuration();
+        YarnConfiguration yconf = new YarnConfiguration(conf);
+        YarnClientRMConnection crmc = new YarnClientRMConnection(yconf);
+        crmc.killApplication(options.appId);
+    }
+
+    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
+        Options options = new Options();
+        CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(options);
+        try {
+            parser.parseArgument(args);
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            parser.printUsage(System.err);
+            return;
+        }
+        new KillHyracksApplication(options).run();
+    }
+
+    private static class Options {
+        @Option(name = "-application-id", required = true, usage = "Application Id")
+        String appId;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/client/LaunchHyracksApplication.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/client/LaunchHyracksApplication.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e12891e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-client/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/client/LaunchHyracksApplication.java
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.client;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.HashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.ApplicationConstants;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ContainerLaunchContext;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.LocalResource;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.conf.YarnConfiguration;
+import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
+import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
+
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.protocols.clientrm.YarnApplication;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.protocols.clientrm.YarnClientRMConnection;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.resources.LocalResourceHelper;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.resources.ResourceHelper;
+
+public class LaunchHyracksApplication {
+    private final Options options;
+
+    private LaunchHyracksApplication(Options options) {
+        this.options = options;
+    }
+
+    private void run() throws Exception {
+        Configuration conf = new Configuration();
+        YarnConfiguration yconf = new YarnConfiguration(conf);
+        YarnClientRMConnection crmc = new YarnClientRMConnection(yconf);
+
+        YarnApplication app = crmc.createApplication(options.appName);
+
+        ContainerLaunchContext clCtx = app.getContainerLaunchContext();
+
+        Map<String, LocalResource> localResources = new HashMap<String, LocalResource>();
+
+        File amZipFile = new File(System.getProperty("basedir") + "/hyracks-yarn-am/hyracks-yarn-am.zip");
+        localResources.put("archive", LocalResourceHelper.createArchiveResource(conf, amZipFile));
+        localResources.put("manifest.xml", LocalResourceHelper.createFileResource(conf, options.hcManifest));
+        clCtx.setLocalResources(localResources);
+
+        String command = "./archive/bin/hyracks-yarn-am 1>" + ApplicationConstants.LOG_DIR_EXPANSION_VAR + "/stdout"
+                + " 2>" + ApplicationConstants.LOG_DIR_EXPANSION_VAR + "/stderr";
+
+        List<String> commands = new ArrayList<String>();
+        commands.add(command);
+        clCtx.setCommands(commands);
+
+        clCtx.setResource(ResourceHelper.createMemoryCapability(options.amMemory));
+
+        app.submit();
+    }
+
+    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
+        Options options = new Options();
+        CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(options);
+        try {
+            parser.parseArgument(args);
+        } catch (Exception e) {
+            parser.printUsage(System.err);
+            return;
+        }
+        new LaunchHyracksApplication(options).run();
+    }
+
+    private static class Options {
+        @Option(name = "-application-name", required = true, usage = "Application Name")
+        String appName;
+
+        @Option(name = "-am-memory", required = false, usage = "Application Master memory requirements")
+        int amMemory = 128;
+
+        @Option(name = "-hyracks-cluster-manifest", required = true, usage = "Hyracks Cluster Manifest file")
+        File hcManifest;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3aaf4a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+  <artifactId>hyracks-yarn-common</artifactId>
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hyracks-yarn</artifactId>
+    <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+
+  <build>
+    <plugins>
+      <plugin>
+        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <version>2.0.2</version>
+        <configuration>
+          <source>1.6</source>
+          <target>1.6</target>
+        </configuration>
+      </plugin>
+    </plugins>
+  </build>
+  <dependencies>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>org.apache.hadoop</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hadoop-yarn-api</artifactId>
+  	<version>2.0.0-alpha</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>org.apache.hadoop</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hadoop-yarn-common</artifactId>
+  	<version>2.0.0-alpha</version>
+  </dependency>
+  <dependency>
+  	<groupId>org.apache.hadoop</groupId>
+  	<artifactId>hadoop-common</artifactId>
+  	<version>2.0.0-alpha</version>
+  </dependency>
+  </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/protocols/amrm/AMRMConnection.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/protocols/amrm/AMRMConnection.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7181bc3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/protocols/amrm/AMRMConnection.java
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.protocols.amrm;
+
+import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.apache.hadoop.net.NetUtils;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.AMRMProtocol;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.ApplicationConstants;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ApplicationAttemptId;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ContainerId;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.conf.YarnConfiguration;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.ipc.YarnRPC;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.ConverterUtils;
+
+public class AMRMConnection {
+    private final YarnConfiguration config;
+
+    private final ApplicationAttemptId appAttemptId;
+
+    private final AMRMProtocol amrmp;
+
+    public AMRMConnection(YarnConfiguration config) {
+        this.config = config;
+        Map<String, String> envs = System.getenv();
+        String containerIdString = envs.get(ApplicationConstants.AM_CONTAINER_ID_ENV);
+        if (containerIdString == null) {
+            throw new IllegalArgumentException("ContainerId not set in the environment");
+        }
+        ContainerId containerId = ConverterUtils.toContainerId(containerIdString);
+        appAttemptId = containerId.getApplicationAttemptId();
+        InetSocketAddress rmAddress = NetUtils.createSocketAddr(config.get(YarnConfiguration.RM_SCHEDULER_ADDRESS,
+                YarnConfiguration.DEFAULT_RM_SCHEDULER_ADDRESS));
+        YarnRPC rpc = YarnRPC.create(config);
+
+        amrmp = (AMRMProtocol) rpc.getProxy(AMRMProtocol.class, rmAddress, config);
+    }
+
+    public ApplicationAttemptId getApplicationAttemptId() {
+        return appAttemptId;
+    }
+
+    public AMRMProtocol getAMRMProtocol() {
+        return amrmp;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/protocols/clientrm/YarnApplication.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/protocols/clientrm/YarnApplication.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ca099aa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/protocols/clientrm/YarnApplication.java
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.protocols.clientrm;
+
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.protocolrecords.GetNewApplicationRequest;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.protocolrecords.GetNewApplicationResponse;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.protocolrecords.SubmitApplicationRequest;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ApplicationId;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ApplicationSubmissionContext;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ContainerLaunchContext;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.exceptions.YarnRemoteException;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.Records;
+
+public class YarnApplication {
+    private final YarnClientRMConnection crmc;
+
+    private ApplicationSubmissionContext appCtx;
+
+    private ContainerLaunchContext clCtx;
+
+    YarnApplication(YarnClientRMConnection crmc, String appName) throws YarnRemoteException {
+        this.crmc = crmc;
+        appCtx = Records.newRecord(ApplicationSubmissionContext.class);
+        appCtx.setApplicationId(getNewApplicationId(crmc));
+        appCtx.setApplicationName(appName);
+        clCtx = Records.newRecord(ContainerLaunchContext.class);
+    }
+
+    public ContainerLaunchContext getContainerLaunchContext() {
+        return clCtx;
+    }
+
+    public void submit() throws YarnRemoteException {
+        appCtx.setAMContainerSpec(clCtx);
+        SubmitApplicationRequest appRequest = Records.newRecord(SubmitApplicationRequest.class);
+        appRequest.setApplicationSubmissionContext(appCtx);
+        crmc.getClientRMProtocol().submitApplication(appRequest);
+    }
+
+    private static ApplicationId getNewApplicationId(YarnClientRMConnection crmc) throws YarnRemoteException {
+        GetNewApplicationRequest request = Records.newRecord(GetNewApplicationRequest.class);
+        GetNewApplicationResponse response = crmc.getClientRMProtocol().getNewApplication(request);
+
+        return response.getApplicationId();
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/protocols/clientrm/YarnClientRMConnection.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/protocols/clientrm/YarnClientRMConnection.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb42fab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/protocols/clientrm/YarnClientRMConnection.java
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.protocols.clientrm;
+
+import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
+
+import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
+import org.apache.hadoop.net.NetUtils;
+import org.apache.hadoop.security.SecurityInfo;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.ClientRMProtocol;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.protocolrecords.KillApplicationRequest;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.ApplicationId;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.conf.YarnConfiguration;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.exceptions.YarnRemoteException;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.ipc.YarnRPC;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.security.client.ClientRMSecurityInfo;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.Records;
+
+public class YarnClientRMConnection {
+    private final YarnConfiguration config;
+
+    private final ClientRMProtocol crmp;
+
+    public YarnClientRMConnection(YarnConfiguration config) {
+        this.config = config;
+        InetSocketAddress remoteAddress = NetUtils.createSocketAddr(config.get(YarnConfiguration.RM_ADDRESS,
+                YarnConfiguration.DEFAULT_RM_ADDRESS));
+        Configuration appsManagerServerConf = new Configuration(config);
+        appsManagerServerConf.setClass(YarnConfiguration.YARN_SECURITY_SERVICE_AUTHORIZATION_CLIENT_RESOURCEMANAGER,
+                ClientRMSecurityInfo.class, SecurityInfo.class);
+        YarnRPC rpc = YarnRPC.create(appsManagerServerConf);
+        crmp = ((ClientRMProtocol) rpc.getProxy(ClientRMProtocol.class, remoteAddress, appsManagerServerConf));
+    }
+
+    public YarnApplication createApplication(String appName) throws YarnRemoteException {
+        return new YarnApplication(this, appName);
+    }
+
+    public ClientRMProtocol getClientRMProtocol() {
+        return crmp;
+    }
+
+    public void killApplication(String appId) throws Exception {
+        KillApplicationRequest killRequest = Records.newRecord(KillApplicationRequest.class);
+        ApplicationId aid = Records.newRecord(ApplicationId.class);
+        long ts = Long.parseLong(appId.substring(appId.indexOf('_') + 1, appId.lastIndexOf('_')));
+        aid.setClusterTimestamp(ts);
+        int id = Integer.parseInt(appId.substring(appId.lastIndexOf('_') + 1));
+        aid.setId(id);
+        killRequest.setApplicationId(aid);
+        crmp.forceKillApplication(killRequest);
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/resources/LocalResourceHelper.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/resources/LocalResourceHelper.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b30c4a1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/resources/LocalResourceHelper.java
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009-2010 by The Regents of the University of California
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * you may obtain a copy of the License from
+ * 
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ * 
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.resources;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+
+import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
+import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileContext;
+import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Path;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.LocalResource;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.LocalResourceType;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.LocalResourceVisibility;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.URL;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.ConverterUtils;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.Records;
+
+public class LocalResourceHelper {
+    private static LocalResource createLocalResourceFromPath(Configuration config, File path) throws IOException {
+        LocalResource lr = Records.newRecord(LocalResource.class);
+        URL url = ConverterUtils.getYarnUrlFromPath(FileContext.getFileContext().makeQualified(new Path(path.toURI())));
+        lr.setResource(url);
+        lr.setVisibility(LocalResourceVisibility.APPLICATION);
+        lr.setTimestamp(path.lastModified());
+        lr.setSize(path.length());
+        return lr;
+    }
+
+    public static LocalResource createFileResource(Configuration config, File path) throws IOException {
+        LocalResource lr = createLocalResourceFromPath(config, path);
+        lr.setType(LocalResourceType.FILE);
+        return lr;
+    }
+
+    public static LocalResource createArchiveResource(Configuration config, File path) throws IOException {
+        LocalResource lr = createLocalResourceFromPath(config, path);
+        lr.setType(LocalResourceType.ARCHIVE);
+        return lr;
+    }
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/PageAllocationException.java b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/resources/ResourceHelper.java
similarity index 63%
copy from hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/PageAllocationException.java
copy to hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/resources/ResourceHelper.java
index e6eec66..20267b7 100644
--- a/hyracks/hyracks-storage-am-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/storage/am/common/api/PageAllocationException.java
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/hyracks-yarn-common/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/yarn/common/resources/ResourceHelper.java
@@ -12,18 +12,15 @@
  * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
  * limitations under the License.
  */
+package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.yarn.common.resources;
 
-package edu.uci.ics.hyracks.storage.am.common.api;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.Resource;
+import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.Records;
 
-public class PageAllocationException extends Exception {
-
-	private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
-
-	public PageAllocationException(Throwable cause) {
-        super(cause);
+public class ResourceHelper {
+    public static Resource createMemoryCapability(int memory) {
+        Resource capability = Records.newRecord(Resource.class);
+        capability.setMemory(memory);
+        return capability;
     }
-    
-    public PageAllocationException(String message) {
-        super(message);
-    }
-}
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/pom.xml b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..af4b0b1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hyracks/hyracks-yarn/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
+  <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+  <artifactId>hyracks-yarn</artifactId>
+  <packaging>pom</packaging>
+
+  <parent>
+    <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+    <artifactId>hyracks</artifactId>
+    <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  </parent>
+
+  <modules>
+    <module>hyracks-yarn-common</module>
+    <module>hyracks-yarn-client</module>
+    <module>hyracks-yarn-am</module>
+  </modules>
+</project>
diff --git a/hyracks/pom.xml b/hyracks/pom.xml
index 9d5c851..77c32c4 100644
--- a/hyracks/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks/pom.xml
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+
 <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/maven-v4_0_0.xsd">
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
@@ -5,6 +6,25 @@
   <version>0.2.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
   <packaging>pom</packaging>
 
+  <properties>
+    <jvm.extraargs></jvm.extraargs>
+  </properties>
+
+  <profiles>
+    <profile>
+      <id>macosx</id>
+      <activation>
+        <os>
+          <name>mac os x</name>
+        </os>
+        <jdk>1.7</jdk>
+      </activation>
+      <properties>
+        <jvm.extraargs>-Djava.nio.channels.spi.SelectorProvider=sun.nio.ch.KQueueSelectorProvider</jvm.extraargs>
+      </properties>
+    </profile>
+  </profiles>
+
   <build>
     <plugins>
       <plugin>
@@ -25,7 +45,7 @@
         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
         <configuration>
             <forkMode>pertest</forkMode>
-            <argLine>-enableassertions -Djava.util.logging.config.file=${user.home}/logging.properties -Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,address=8000,suspend=n</argLine>
+            <argLine>-enableassertions -Djava.util.logging.config.file=${user.home}/logging.properties -Xdebug -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,address=8000,suspend=n ${jvm.extraargs}</argLine>
         </configuration>
       </plugin>
     </plugins>
@@ -100,5 +120,7 @@
     <module>hyracks-documentation</module>
     <module>hyracks-hadoop-compat</module>
     <module>hyracks-algebricks</module>
+    <!--module>hyracks-yarn</module-->
+    <module>hyracks-maven-plugins</module>
   </modules>
 </project>