diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IStatementExecutor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IStatementExecutor.java
index 7783121..a1f3055 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IStatementExecutor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/IStatementExecutor.java
@@ -29,7 +29,6 @@
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.dataset.IHyracksDataset;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import org.json.JSONException;
 
 /**
  * An interface that takes care of executing a list of statements that are submitted through an Asterix API
@@ -39,19 +38,19 @@
     /**
      * Specifies result delivery of executed statements
      */
-    public enum ResultDelivery {
+    enum ResultDelivery {
         /**
-         * Wait for results to be read
+         * Results are returned with the first response
          */
-        SYNC,
+        IMMEDIATE,
         /**
-         * Flush out result handle beofre waiting for the result
+         * Results are produced completely, but only a result handle is returned
          */
-        ASYNC,
+        DEFERRED,
         /**
-         * Return result handle and don't wait for the result
+         * A result handle is returned before the resutlts are complete
          */
-        ASYNC_DEFERRED
+        ASYNC
     }
 
     public static class Stats {
@@ -116,17 +115,14 @@
      * @param dmlStatement
      *            The data modification statement when the query results in a modification to a dataset
      * @return the compiled {@code JobSpecification}
-     * @param returnQuery
-     *            In the case of dml, the user may run a query on affected data
      * @throws AsterixException
      * @throws RemoteException
      * @throws AlgebricksException
-     * @throws JSONException
      * @throws ACIDException
      */
     JobSpecification rewriteCompileQuery(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Query query,
             ICompiledDmlStatement dmlStatement)
-                    throws AsterixException, RemoteException, AlgebricksException, JSONException, ACIDException;
+                    throws AsterixException, RemoteException, AlgebricksException, ACIDException;
 
     /**
      * returns the active dataverse for an entity or a statement
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SessionConfig.java b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SessionConfig.java
index fc4f655..328f714 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SessionConfig.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-algebra/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/translator/SessionConfig.java
@@ -123,6 +123,8 @@
 
     private final ResultDecorator preResultDecorator;
     private final ResultDecorator postResultDecorator;
+    private final ResultDecorator preHandleDecorator;
+    private final ResultDecorator postHandleDecorator;
 
     // Flags.
     private final Map<String, Boolean> flags;
@@ -141,17 +143,19 @@
      *            Output format for execution output.
      */
     public SessionConfig(PrintWriter out, OutputFormat fmt) {
-        this(out, fmt, null, null, true, true, true);
+        this(out, fmt, null, null, null, null, true, true, true);
     }
 
     public SessionConfig(PrintWriter out, OutputFormat fmt, ResultDecorator preResultDecorator,
-            ResultDecorator postResultDecorator) {
-        this(out, fmt, preResultDecorator, postResultDecorator, true, true, true);
+            ResultDecorator postResultDecorator, ResultDecorator preHandleDecorator,
+            ResultDecorator postHandleDecorator) {
+        this(out, fmt, preResultDecorator, postResultDecorator, preHandleDecorator, postHandleDecorator, true, true,
+                true);
     }
 
     public SessionConfig(PrintWriter out, OutputFormat fmt, boolean optimize, boolean executeQuery,
             boolean generateJobSpec) {
-        this(out, fmt, null, null, optimize, executeQuery, generateJobSpec);
+        this(out, fmt, null, null, null, null, optimize, executeQuery, generateJobSpec);
     }
 
     /**
@@ -172,11 +176,14 @@
      *            false, job cannot be executed).
      */
     public SessionConfig(PrintWriter out, OutputFormat fmt, ResultDecorator preResultDecorator,
-            ResultDecorator postResultDecorator, boolean optimize, boolean executeQuery, boolean generateJobSpec) {
+            ResultDecorator postResultDecorator, ResultDecorator preHandleDecorator,
+            ResultDecorator postHandleDecorator, boolean optimize, boolean executeQuery, boolean generateJobSpec) {
         this.out = out;
         this.fmt = fmt;
         this.preResultDecorator = preResultDecorator;
         this.postResultDecorator = postResultDecorator;
+        this.preHandleDecorator = preHandleDecorator;
+        this.postHandleDecorator = postHandleDecorator;
         this.optimize = optimize;
         this.executeQuery = executeQuery;
         this.generateJobSpec = generateJobSpec;
@@ -199,12 +206,19 @@
 
     public AlgebricksAppendable resultPrefix(AlgebricksAppendable app) throws AlgebricksException {
         return this.preResultDecorator != null ? this.preResultDecorator.append(app) : app;
-    };
+    }
 
     public AlgebricksAppendable resultPostfix(AlgebricksAppendable app) throws AlgebricksException {
         return this.postResultDecorator != null ? this.postResultDecorator.append(app) : app;
-    };
+    }
 
+    public AlgebricksAppendable handlePrefix(AlgebricksAppendable app) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return this.preHandleDecorator != null ? this.preHandleDecorator.append(app) : app;
+    }
+
+    public AlgebricksAppendable handlePostfix(AlgebricksAppendable app) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return this.postHandleDecorator != null ? this.postHandleDecorator.append(app) : app;
+    }
     /**
      * Retrieve the value of the "execute query" flag.
      */
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/common/APIFramework.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/common/APIFramework.java
index e08b3db..0d8df9e 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/common/APIFramework.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/common/APIFramework.java
@@ -34,11 +34,11 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
 import org.apache.asterix.compiler.provider.ILangCompilationProvider;
 import org.apache.asterix.compiler.provider.IRuleSetFactory;
-import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.common.ExpressionTypeComputer;
 import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.common.AqlMergeAggregationExpressionFactory;
 import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.common.AqlMissableTypeComputer;
 import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.common.AqlPartialAggregationTypeComputer;
 import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.common.ConflictingTypeResolver;
+import org.apache.asterix.dataflow.data.common.ExpressionTypeComputer;
 import org.apache.asterix.formats.base.IDataFormat;
 import org.apache.asterix.jobgen.QueryLogicalExpressionJobGen;
 import org.apache.asterix.lang.common.base.IAstPrintVisitorFactory;
@@ -151,9 +151,9 @@
     }
 
     public JobSpecification compileQuery(List<FunctionDecl> declaredFunctions,
-            MetadataProvider queryMetadataProvider, Query rwQ, int varCounter, String outputDatasetName,
+            MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Query rwQ, int varCounter, String outputDatasetName,
             SessionConfig conf, ICompiledDmlStatement statement)
-            throws AlgebricksException, JSONException, RemoteException, ACIDException {
+            throws AlgebricksException, RemoteException, ACIDException {
 
         if (!conf.is(SessionConfig.FORMAT_ONLY_PHYSICAL_OPS) && conf.is(SessionConfig.OOB_REWRITTEN_EXPR_TREE)) {
             conf.out().println();
@@ -166,9 +166,9 @@
         }
 
         org.apache.asterix.common.transactions.JobId asterixJobId = JobIdFactory.generateJobId();
-        queryMetadataProvider.setJobId(asterixJobId);
+        metadataProvider.setJobId(asterixJobId);
         ILangExpressionToPlanTranslator t =
-                translatorFactory.createExpressionToPlanTranslator(queryMetadataProvider, varCounter);
+                translatorFactory.createExpressionToPlanTranslator(metadataProvider, varCounter);
 
         ILogicalPlan plan;
         // statement = null when it's a query
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@
         builder.setPhysicalOptimizationConfig(OptimizationConfUtil.getPhysicalOptimizationConfig());
         builder.setLogicalRewrites(ruleSetFactory.getLogicalRewrites());
         builder.setPhysicalRewrites(ruleSetFactory.getPhysicalRewrites());
-        IDataFormat format = queryMetadataProvider.getFormat();
+        IDataFormat format = metadataProvider.getFormat();
         ICompilerFactory compilerFactory = builder.create();
         builder.setExpressionEvalSizeComputer(format.getExpressionEvalSizeComputer());
         builder.setIMergeAggregationExpressionFactory(new AqlMergeAggregationExpressionFactory());
@@ -219,9 +219,9 @@
         builder.setExpressionTypeComputer(ExpressionTypeComputer.INSTANCE);
         builder.setMissableTypeComputer(AqlMissableTypeComputer.INSTANCE);
         builder.setConflictingTypeResolver(ConflictingTypeResolver.INSTANCE);
-        builder.setClusterLocations(queryMetadataProvider.getClusterLocations());
+        builder.setClusterLocations(metadataProvider.getClusterLocations());
 
-        ICompiler compiler = compilerFactory.createCompiler(plan, queryMetadataProvider, t.getVarCounter());
+        ICompiler compiler = compilerFactory.createCompiler(plan, metadataProvider, t.getVarCounter());
         if (conf.isOptimize()) {
             compiler.optimize();
             //plot optimized logical plan
@@ -247,7 +247,7 @@
             try {
                 LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor pvisitor = new LogicalOperatorPrettyPrintVisitor();
                 PlanPrettyPrinter.printPlan(plan, pvisitor, 0);
-                ResultUtil.displayResults(pvisitor.get().toString(), conf, new Stats(), null);
+                ResultUtil.printResults(pvisitor.get().toString(), conf, new Stats(), null);
                 return null;
             } catch (IOException e) {
                 throw new AlgebricksException(e);
@@ -291,13 +291,17 @@
         builder.setNormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider(format.getNormalizedKeyComputerFactoryProvider());
 
         JobEventListenerFactory jobEventListenerFactory =
-                new JobEventListenerFactory(asterixJobId, queryMetadataProvider.isWriteTransaction());
+                new JobEventListenerFactory(asterixJobId, metadataProvider.isWriteTransaction());
         JobSpecification spec = compiler.createJob(AsterixAppContextInfo.INSTANCE, jobEventListenerFactory);
 
         if (conf.is(SessionConfig.OOB_HYRACKS_JOB)) {
             printPlanPrefix(conf, "Hyracks job");
             if (rwQ != null) {
-                conf.out().println(spec.toJSON().toString(1));
+                try {
+                    conf.out().println(spec.toJSON().toString(1));
+                } catch (JSONException e) {
+                    throw new AlgebricksException(e);
+                }
                 conf.out().println(spec.getUserConstraints());
             }
             printPlanPostfix(conf);
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/APIServlet.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/APIServlet.java
index 4e9bb25..b693407 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/APIServlet.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/APIServlet.java
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@
                     statementExectorFactory.create(aqlStatements, sessionConfig, compilationProvider);
             double duration = 0;
             long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
-            translator.compileAndExecute(hcc, hds, IStatementExecutor.ResultDelivery.SYNC);
+            translator.compileAndExecute(hcc, hds, IStatementExecutor.ResultDelivery.IMMEDIATE);
             long endTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
             duration = (endTime - startTime) / 1000.00;
             out.println(HTML_STATEMENT_SEPARATOR);
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/QueryResultAPIServlet.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/QueryResultAPIServlet.java
index a572500..9994bc7 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/QueryResultAPIServlet.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/QueryResultAPIServlet.java
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.PrintWriter;
+import java.util.logging.Level;
+import java.util.logging.Logger;
 
 import javax.servlet.ServletContext;
 import javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet;
@@ -31,6 +33,7 @@
 
 import org.apache.asterix.app.result.ResultReader;
 import org.apache.asterix.app.result.ResultUtil;
+import org.apache.asterix.common.exceptions.AsterixException;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.IStatementExecutor.Stats;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.SessionConfig;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.client.HyracksConnection;
@@ -45,9 +48,12 @@
 public class QueryResultAPIServlet extends HttpServlet {
     private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
 
+    private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(QueryResultAPIServlet.class.getName());
+
     @Override
     public void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws IOException {
-        response.setContentType("text/html");
+        int respCode = HttpServletResponse.SC_OK;
+        response.setContentType("text/html"); // TODO this seems wrong ...
         response.setCharacterEncoding("utf-8");
         String strHandle = request.getParameter("handle");
         PrintWriter out = response.getWriter();
@@ -56,6 +62,10 @@
         IHyracksDataset hds;
 
         try {
+            if (strHandle == null || strHandle.isEmpty()) {
+                throw new AsterixException("Empty request, no handle provided");
+            }
+
             HyracksProperties hp = new HyracksProperties();
             String strIP = hp.getHyracksIPAddress();
             int port = hp.getHyracksPort();
@@ -88,11 +98,16 @@
             // originally determined there. Need to save this value on
             // some object that we can obtain here.
             SessionConfig sessionConfig = RESTAPIServlet.initResponse(request, response);
-            ResultUtil.displayResults(resultReader, sessionConfig, new Stats(), null);
+            ResultUtil.printResults(resultReader, sessionConfig, new Stats(), null);
 
         } catch (Exception e) {
+            respCode = HttpServletResponse.SC_BAD_REQUEST;
             out.println(e.getMessage());
-            e.printStackTrace(out);
+            LOGGER.log(Level.WARNING, "Error retrieving result", e);
+        }
+        response.setStatus(respCode);
+        if (out.checkError()) {
+            LOGGER.warning("Error flushing output writer");
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/QueryServiceServlet.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/QueryServiceServlet.java
index 941c7f7..9da518a 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/QueryServiceServlet.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/QueryServiceServlet.java
@@ -81,7 +81,8 @@
         STATEMENT("statement"),
         FORMAT("format"),
         CLIENT_ID("client_context_id"),
-        PRETTY("pretty");
+        PRETTY("pretty"),
+        MODE("mode");
 
         private final String str;
 
@@ -132,6 +133,7 @@
         TYPE("type"),
         STATUS("status"),
         RESULTS("results"),
+        HANDLE("handle"),
         ERRORS("errors"),
         METRICS("metrics");
 
@@ -229,6 +231,7 @@
         String format;
         boolean pretty;
         String clientContextID;
+        String mode;
 
         @Override
         public String toString() {
@@ -242,6 +245,7 @@
             sb.append("\", ");
             sb.append("\"format\": \"").append(format).append("\", ");
             sb.append("\"pretty\": ").append(pretty).append(", ");
+            sb.append("\"mode\": ").append(mode).append(", ");
             sb.append("\"clientContextID\": \"").append(clientContextID).append("\" ");
             sb.append('}');
             return sb;
@@ -279,7 +283,7 @@
                 return SessionConfig.OutputFormat.ADM;
             }
             if (format.startsWith(MediaType.JSON.str())) {
-                return Boolean.parseBoolean(getParameterValue(format, "lossless"))
+                return Boolean.parseBoolean(getParameterValue(format, Attribute.LOSSLESS.str()))
                         ? SessionConfig.OutputFormat.LOSSLESS_JSON : SessionConfig.OutputFormat.CLEAN_JSON;
             }
         }
@@ -302,19 +306,22 @@
             }
         };
 
-        SessionConfig.ResultDecorator resultPostfix = (AlgebricksAppendable app) -> {
-            app.append("\t,\n");
-            return app;
-        };
+        SessionConfig.ResultDecorator resultPostfix = (AlgebricksAppendable app) -> app.append("\t,\n");
+
+        SessionConfig.ResultDecorator handlePrefix = (AlgebricksAppendable app) -> app.append("\t\"").append
+                (ResultFields.HANDLE.str()).append("\": ");
+
+        SessionConfig.ResultDecorator handlePostfix = (AlgebricksAppendable app) -> app.append(",\n");
 
         SessionConfig.OutputFormat format = getFormat(param.format);
-        SessionConfig sessionConfig = new SessionConfig(resultWriter, format, resultPrefix, resultPostfix);
+        SessionConfig sessionConfig = new SessionConfig(resultWriter, format, resultPrefix, resultPostfix,
+                handlePrefix, handlePostfix);
         sessionConfig.set(SessionConfig.FORMAT_WRAPPER_ARRAY, true);
         sessionConfig.set(SessionConfig.FORMAT_INDENT_JSON, param.pretty);
         sessionConfig.set(SessionConfig.FORMAT_QUOTE_RECORD,
                 format != SessionConfig.OutputFormat.CLEAN_JSON && format != SessionConfig.OutputFormat.LOSSLESS_JSON);
         sessionConfig.set(SessionConfig.FORMAT_CSV_HEADER, format == SessionConfig.OutputFormat.CSV
-                && "present".equals(getParameterValue(param.format, "header")));
+                && "present".equals(getParameterValue(param.format, Attribute.HEADER.str())));
         return sessionConfig;
     }
 
@@ -440,6 +447,7 @@
                 param.statement = jsonRequest.get(Parameter.STATEMENT.str()).asText();
                 param.format = toLower(getOptText(jsonRequest, Parameter.FORMAT.str()));
                 param.pretty = getOptBoolean(jsonRequest, Parameter.PRETTY.str(), false);
+                param.mode = toLower(getOptText(jsonRequest, Parameter.MODE.str()));
                 param.clientContextID = getOptText(jsonRequest, Parameter.CLIENT_ID.str());
             } catch (JsonParseException | JsonMappingException e) {
                 // if the JSON parsing fails, the statement is empty and we get an empty statement error
@@ -452,6 +460,7 @@
             }
             param.format = toLower(request.getParameter(Parameter.FORMAT.str()));
             param.pretty = Boolean.parseBoolean(request.getParameter(Parameter.PRETTY.str()));
+            param.mode = toLower(request.getParameter(Parameter.MODE.str()));
             param.clientContextID = request.getParameter(Parameter.CLIENT_ID.str());
         }
         return param;
@@ -463,12 +472,24 @@
         return sw.toString();
     }
 
+    private static QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery parseResultDelivery(String mode) {
+        if ("async".equals(mode)) {
+            return QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.ASYNC;
+        } else if ("deferred".equals(mode)) {
+            return QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.DEFERRED;
+        } else {
+            return QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.IMMEDIATE;
+        }
+    }
+
     private void handleRequest(RequestParameters param, HttpServletResponse response) throws IOException {
         LOGGER.info(param.toString());
         long elapsedStart = System.nanoTime();
         final StringWriter stringWriter = new StringWriter();
         final PrintWriter resultWriter = new PrintWriter(stringWriter);
 
+        QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery delivery = parseResultDelivery(param.mode);
+
         SessionConfig sessionConfig = createSessionConfig(param, resultWriter);
         response.setCharacterEncoding("utf-8");
         response.setContentType(MediaType.JSON.str());
@@ -504,12 +525,12 @@
                 }
             }
             IParser parser = compilationProvider.getParserFactory().createParser(param.statement);
-            List<Statement> aqlStatements = parser.parse();
+            List<Statement> statements = parser.parse();
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.init();
-            IStatementExecutor translator = statementExecutorFactory.create(aqlStatements, sessionConfig,
+            IStatementExecutor translator = statementExecutorFactory.create(statements, sessionConfig,
                     compilationProvider);
             execStart = System.nanoTime();
-            translator.compileAndExecute(hcc, hds, QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.SYNC, stats);
+            translator.compileAndExecute(hcc, hds, delivery, stats);
             execEnd = System.nanoTime();
             printStatus(resultWriter, ResultStatus.SUCCESS);
         } catch (AsterixException | TokenMgrError | org.apache.asterix.aqlplus.parser.TokenMgrError pe) {
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/RESTAPIServlet.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/RESTAPIServlet.java
index 558be35..4a06590 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/RESTAPIServlet.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/http/servlet/RESTAPIServlet.java
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.SessionConfig;
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.SessionConfig.OutputFormat;
 import org.apache.commons.io.IOUtils;
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.prettyprint.AlgebricksAppendable;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.dataset.IHyracksDataset;
 import org.apache.hyracks.client.dataset.HyracksDataset;
@@ -108,7 +109,12 @@
             format = OutputFormat.LOSSLESS_JSON;
         }
 
-        SessionConfig sessionConfig = new SessionConfig(response.getWriter(), format);
+        SessionConfig.ResultDecorator handlePrefix = (AlgebricksAppendable app) -> app.append("{ \"").append("handle")
+                .append("\": ");
+        SessionConfig.ResultDecorator handlePostfix = (AlgebricksAppendable app) -> app.append(" }");
+
+        SessionConfig sessionConfig = new SessionConfig(response.getWriter(), format, null, null, handlePrefix,
+                handlePostfix);
 
         // If it's JSON or ADM, check for the "wrapper-array" flag. Default is
         // "true" for JSON and "false" for ADM. (Not applicable for CSV.)
@@ -228,13 +234,13 @@
     protected QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery whichResultDelivery(HttpServletRequest request) {
         String mode = request.getParameter("mode");
         if (mode != null) {
-            if (mode.equals("asynchronous")) {
+            if ("asynchronous".equals(mode) || "async".equals(mode)) {
                 return QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.ASYNC;
-            } else if (mode.equals("asynchronous-deferred")) {
-                return QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.ASYNC_DEFERRED;
+            } else if ("asynchronous-deferred".equals(mode) || "deferred".equals(mode)) {
+                return QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.DEFERRED;
             }
         }
-        return QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.SYNC;
+        return QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.IMMEDIATE;
     }
 
     protected abstract String getQueryParameter(HttpServletRequest request);
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/java/AsterixJavaClient.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/java/AsterixJavaClient.java
index fd9c6cd..3d240f8 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/java/AsterixJavaClient.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/api/java/AsterixJavaClient.java
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@
         }
 
         IStatementExecutor translator = statementExecutorFactory.create(statements, conf, compilationProvider);
-        translator.compileAndExecute(hcc, null, QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.SYNC);
+        translator.compileAndExecute(hcc, null, QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.IMMEDIATE);
         writer.flush();
     }
 
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/external/FeedWorkCollection.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/external/FeedWorkCollection.java
index 414585a..3bdf353 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/external/FeedWorkCollection.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/external/FeedWorkCollection.java
@@ -93,7 +93,7 @@
                     statements.add(subscribeStmt);
                     IStatementExecutor translator = qtFactory.create(statements, pc, compilationProvider);
                     translator.compileAndExecute(AsterixAppContextInfo.INSTANCE.getHcc(), null,
-                            QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.SYNC);
+                            QueryTranslator.ResultDelivery.IMMEDIATE);
                     if (LOGGER.isEnabledFor(Level.INFO)) {
                         LOGGER.info("Submitted connection requests for execution: " + request);
                     }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultHandle.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultHandle.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..05eb967
--- /dev/null
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultHandle.java
@@ -0,0 +1,39 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you 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 at
+ *
+ *   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 org.apache.asterix.app.result;
+
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.prettyprint.AlgebricksAppendable;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.dataset.ResultSetId;
+import org.apache.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
+
+public class ResultHandle {
+    private long jobId;
+    private long resultSetId;
+
+    public ResultHandle(JobId jobId, ResultSetId resultSetId) {
+        this.jobId = jobId.getId();
+        this.resultSetId = resultSetId.getId();
+    }
+
+    public AlgebricksAppendable append(AlgebricksAppendable app) throws AlgebricksException {
+        return app.append("[").append(String.valueOf(jobId)).append(", ").append(String.valueOf(resultSetId))
+                .append("]");
+    }
+}
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultPrinter.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultPrinter.java
index 22d2c23..22034c3 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultPrinter.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultPrinter.java
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@
         }
     }
 
-    private void displayRecord(String result) {
+    private void printRecord(String result) {
         String record = result;
         if (indentJSON) {
             // TODO(tillw): this is inefficient - do this during record generation
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@
         printPrefix();
         // TODO(tillw) evil hack
         quoteRecord = true;
-        displayRecord(record);
+        printRecord(record);
         printPostfix();
     }
 
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@
                     conf.out().print(", ");
                 }
                 notFirst = true;
-                displayRecord(result);
+                printRecord(result);
             }
             frameBuffer.clear();
         }
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultUtil.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultUtil.java
index f68f458..595c6ab 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultUtil.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/result/ResultUtil.java
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.translator.SessionConfig;
 import org.apache.http.ParseException;
 import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.common.exceptions.AlgebricksException;
+import org.apache.hyracks.algebricks.core.algebra.prettyprint.AlgebricksAppendable;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import org.apache.log4j.Logger;
 import org.json.JSONArray;
@@ -72,16 +73,27 @@
         return escaped;
     }
 
-    public static void displayResults(ResultReader resultReader, SessionConfig conf, Stats stats,
+    public static void printResults(ResultReader resultReader, SessionConfig conf, Stats stats,
             ARecordType recordType) throws HyracksDataException {
         new ResultPrinter(conf, stats, recordType).print(resultReader);
     }
 
-    public static void displayResults(String record, SessionConfig conf, Stats stats, ARecordType recordType)
+    public static void printResults(String record, SessionConfig conf, Stats stats, ARecordType recordType)
             throws HyracksDataException {
         new ResultPrinter(conf, stats, recordType).print(record);
     }
 
+    public static void printResultHandle(ResultHandle handle, SessionConfig conf) throws HyracksDataException {
+        try {
+            final AlgebricksAppendable app = new AlgebricksAppendable(conf.out());
+            conf.handlePrefix(app);
+            handle.append(app);
+            conf.handlePostfix(app);
+        } catch (AlgebricksException e) {
+            throw new HyracksDataException(e);
+        }
+    }
+
     public static JSONObject getErrorResponse(int errorCode, String errorMessage, String errorSummary,
             String errorStackTrace) {
         JSONObject errorResp = new JSONObject();
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java
index cf6e49d..d5d5e53 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-app/src/main/java/org/apache/asterix/app/translator/QueryTranslator.java
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@
 import org.apache.asterix.app.external.ExternalIndexingOperations;
 import org.apache.asterix.app.external.FeedJoint;
 import org.apache.asterix.app.external.FeedOperations;
+import org.apache.asterix.app.result.ResultHandle;
 import org.apache.asterix.app.result.ResultReader;
 import org.apache.asterix.app.result.ResultUtil;
 import org.apache.asterix.common.config.AsterixExternalProperties;
@@ -202,9 +203,6 @@
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import org.apache.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
 import org.apache.hyracks.storage.am.lsm.common.api.ILSMMergePolicyFactory;
-import org.json.JSONArray;
-import org.json.JSONException;
-import org.json.JSONObject;
 
 import com.google.common.collect.Lists;
 
@@ -344,7 +342,7 @@
                         if (((InsertStatement) stmt).getReturnQuery() != null) {
                             metadataProvider.setResultSetId(new ResultSetId(resultSetIdCounter++));
                             metadataProvider.setResultAsyncMode(resultDelivery == ResultDelivery.ASYNC
-                                    || resultDelivery == ResultDelivery.ASYNC_DEFERRED);
+                                    || resultDelivery == ResultDelivery.DEFERRED);
                         }
                         handleInsertUpsertStatement(metadataProvider, stmt, hcc, hdc, resultDelivery, stats, false);
                         break;
@@ -376,7 +374,7 @@
                     case Statement.Kind.QUERY:
                         metadataProvider.setResultSetId(new ResultSetId(resultSetIdCounter++));
                         metadataProvider.setResultAsyncMode(resultDelivery == ResultDelivery.ASYNC
-                                || resultDelivery == ResultDelivery.ASYNC_DEFERRED);
+                                || resultDelivery == ResultDelivery.DEFERRED);
                         handleQuery(metadataProvider, (Query) stmt, hcc, hdc, resultDelivery, stats);
                         break;
                     case Statement.Kind.COMPACT:
@@ -1881,7 +1879,6 @@
 
         MetadataLockManager.INSTANCE.insertDeleteUpsertBegin(dataverseName,
                 dataverseName + "." + stmtInsertUpsert.getDatasetName(), query.getDataverses(), query.getDatasets());
-        JobSpecification compiled = null;
         try {
             metadataProvider.setWriteTransaction(true);
             CompiledInsertStatement clfrqs = null;
@@ -1899,19 +1896,19 @@
                 default:
                     throw new AlgebricksException("Unsupported statement type " + stmtInsertUpsert.getKind());
             }
-            compiled = rewriteCompileQuery(metadataProvider, query, clfrqs);
+            JobSpecification jobSpec = rewriteCompileQuery(metadataProvider, query, clfrqs);
 
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.commitTransaction(mdTxnCtx);
             bActiveTxn = false;
 
-            if (compiled != null && !compileOnly) {
+            if (jobSpec != null && !compileOnly) {
                 if (stmtInsertUpsert.getReturnQuery() != null) {
-                    handleQueryResult(metadataProvider, hcc, hdc, compiled, resultDelivery, stats);
+                    handleQueryResult(metadataProvider, hcc, hdc, jobSpec, resultDelivery, stats);
                 } else {
-                    JobUtils.runJob(hcc, compiled, true);
+                    JobUtils.runJob(hcc, jobSpec, true);
                 }
             }
-
+            return jobSpec;
         } catch (Exception e) {
             if (bActiveTxn) {
                 abort(e, e, mdTxnCtx);
@@ -1922,7 +1919,6 @@
                     dataverseName + "." + stmtInsertUpsert.getDatasetName(), query.getDataverses(),
                     query.getDatasets());
         }
-        return compiled;
     }
 
     public void handleDeleteStatement(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Statement stmt,
@@ -1942,13 +1938,13 @@
             CompiledDeleteStatement clfrqs = new CompiledDeleteStatement(stmtDelete.getVariableExpr(), dataverseName,
                     stmtDelete.getDatasetName().getValue(), stmtDelete.getCondition(), stmtDelete.getVarCounter(),
                     stmtDelete.getQuery());
-            JobSpecification compiled = rewriteCompileQuery(metadataProvider, clfrqs.getQuery(), clfrqs);
+            JobSpecification jobSpec = rewriteCompileQuery(metadataProvider, clfrqs.getQuery(), clfrqs);
 
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.commitTransaction(mdTxnCtx);
             bActiveTxn = false;
 
-            if (compiled != null) {
-                JobUtils.runJob(hcc, compiled, true);
+            if (jobSpec != null) {
+                JobUtils.runJob(hcc, jobSpec, true);
             }
 
         } catch (Exception e) {
@@ -1966,7 +1962,7 @@
     @Override
     public JobSpecification rewriteCompileQuery(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, Query query,
             ICompiledDmlStatement stmt)
-            throws AsterixException, RemoteException, AlgebricksException, JSONException, ACIDException {
+            throws AsterixException, RemoteException, AlgebricksException, ACIDException {
 
         // Query Rewriting (happens under the same ongoing metadata transaction)
         Pair<Query, Integer> reWrittenQuery = apiFramework.reWriteQuery(declaredFunctions, metadataProvider, query,
@@ -2421,7 +2417,7 @@
         metadataProvider.getConfig().put(FeedActivityDetails.COLLECT_LOCATIONS,
                 StringUtils.join(bfs.getLocations(), ','));
 
-        JobSpecification compiled = rewriteCompileQuery(metadataProvider, bfs.getQuery(), csfs);
+        JobSpecification jobSpec = rewriteCompileQuery(metadataProvider, bfs.getQuery(), csfs);
         FeedConnectionId feedConnectionId = new FeedConnectionId(bfs.getSubscriptionRequest().getReceivingFeedId(),
                 bfs.getSubscriptionRequest().getTargetDataset());
         String dataverse = feedConnectionId.getFeedId().getDataverse();
@@ -2429,7 +2425,7 @@
         MetadataLockManager.INSTANCE.subscribeFeedBegin(dataverse, dataverse + "." + dataset,
                 dataverse + "." + feedConnectionId.getFeedId().getEntityName());
         try {
-            JobSpecification alteredJobSpec = FeedMetadataUtil.alterJobSpecificationForFeed(compiled, feedConnectionId,
+            JobSpecification alteredJobSpec = FeedMetadataUtil.alterJobSpecificationForFeed(jobSpec, feedConnectionId,
                     bfs.getSubscriptionRequest().getPolicyParameters());
             FeedPolicyEntity policy = metadataProvider.findFeedPolicy(dataverse, bfs.getPolicy());
             if (policy == null) {
@@ -2441,7 +2437,7 @@
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.commitTransaction(mdTxnCtx);
             bActiveTxn = false;
 
-            if (compiled != null) {
+            if (jobSpec != null) {
                 FeedEventsListener listener = (FeedEventsListener) ActiveJobNotificationHandler.INSTANCE
                         .getActiveEntityListener(bfs.getSubscriptionRequest().getReceivingFeedId());
                 FeedConnectJobInfo activeJob = new FeedConnectJobInfo(bfs.getSubscriptionRequest().getReceivingFeedId(),
@@ -2563,19 +2559,19 @@
         boolean bActiveTxn = true;
         metadataProvider.setMetadataTxnContext(mdTxnCtx);
         MetadataLockManager.INSTANCE.queryBegin(activeDefaultDataverse, query.getDataverses(), query.getDatasets());
-        JobSpecification compiled;
         try {
-            compiled = rewriteCompileQuery(metadataProvider, query, null);
+            JobSpecification jobSpec = rewriteCompileQuery(metadataProvider, query, null);
 
             MetadataManager.INSTANCE.commitTransaction(mdTxnCtx);
             bActiveTxn = false;
 
             if (query.isExplain()) {
                 sessionConfig.out().flush();
-                return compiled;
-            } else if (sessionConfig.isExecuteQuery() && compiled != null) {
-                handleQueryResult(metadataProvider, hcc, hdc, compiled, resultDelivery, stats);
+                return jobSpec;
+            } else if (sessionConfig.isExecuteQuery() && jobSpec != null) {
+                handleQueryResult(metadataProvider, hcc, hdc, jobSpec, resultDelivery, stats);
             }
+            return jobSpec;
         } catch (Exception e) {
             LOGGER.log(Level.INFO, e.getMessage(), e);
             if (bActiveTxn) {
@@ -2587,46 +2583,33 @@
             // release external datasets' locks acquired during compilation of the query
             ExternalDatasetsRegistry.INSTANCE.releaseAcquiredLocks(metadataProvider);
         }
-        return compiled;
     }
 
     private void handleQueryResult(MetadataProvider metadataProvider, IHyracksClientConnection hcc,
-            IHyracksDataset hdc, JobSpecification compiled, ResultDelivery resultDelivery, Stats stats)
+            IHyracksDataset hdc, JobSpecification jobSpec, ResultDelivery resultDelivery, Stats stats)
             throws Exception {
         if (GlobalConfig.ASTERIX_LOGGER.isLoggable(Level.FINE)) {
-            GlobalConfig.ASTERIX_LOGGER.fine(compiled.toJSON().toString(1));
+            GlobalConfig.ASTERIX_LOGGER.fine(jobSpec.toJSON().toString(1));
         }
-        JobId jobId = JobUtils.runJob(hcc, compiled, false);
+        JobId jobId = JobUtils.runJob(hcc, jobSpec, false);
 
-        JSONObject response = new JSONObject();
         switch (resultDelivery) {
             case ASYNC:
-                JSONArray handle = new JSONArray();
-                handle.put(jobId.getId());
-                handle.put(metadataProvider.getResultSetId().getId());
-                response.put("handle", handle);
-                sessionConfig.out().print(response);
-                sessionConfig.out().flush();
+                ResultUtil.printResultHandle(new ResultHandle(jobId, metadataProvider.getResultSetId()), sessionConfig);
                 hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
                 break;
-            case SYNC:
+            case IMMEDIATE:
                 hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
                 ResultReader resultReader = new ResultReader(hdc);
                 resultReader.open(jobId, metadataProvider.getResultSetId());
-                ResultUtil.displayResults(resultReader, sessionConfig, stats, metadataProvider.findOutputRecordType());
+                ResultUtil.printResults(resultReader, sessionConfig, stats, metadataProvider.findOutputRecordType());
                 break;
-            case ASYNC_DEFERRED:
-                handle = new JSONArray();
-                handle.put(jobId.getId());
-                handle.put(metadataProvider.getResultSetId().getId());
-                response.put("handle", handle);
+            case DEFERRED:
                 hcc.waitForCompletion(jobId);
-                sessionConfig.out().print(response);
-                sessionConfig.out().flush();
+                ResultUtil.printResultHandle(new ResultHandle(jobId, metadataProvider.getResultSetId()), sessionConfig);
                 break;
             default:
                 break;
-
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/aql/ResultExtractor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/aql/ResultExtractor.java
index d99602f..662888e 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/aql/ResultExtractor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/aql/ResultExtractor.java
@@ -39,7 +39,8 @@
     private static final Logger LOGGER = Logger.getLogger(ResultExtractor.class.getName());
 
     public static InputStream extract(InputStream resultStream) throws Exception {
-        String result = IOUtils.toString(resultStream, Charset.forName("UTF-8"));
+        final Charset utf8 = Charset.forName("UTF-8");
+        String result = IOUtils.toString(resultStream, utf8);
 
         LOGGER.fine("+++++++\n" + result + "\n+++++++\n");
 
@@ -78,7 +79,17 @@
         if (! "success".equals(status)) {
             throw new Exception("Unexpected status: '" + status + "'");
         }
-        return IOUtils.toInputStream(results);
+        return IOUtils.toInputStream(results, utf8);
+    }
+
+    public static String extractHandle(InputStream resultStream) throws Exception {
+        final Charset utf8 = Charset.forName("UTF-8");
+        String result = IOUtils.toString(resultStream, utf8);
+        JSONObject parsed = new JSONObject(result);
+        JSONArray handle = parsed.getJSONArray("handle");
+        JSONObject res = new JSONObject();
+        res.put("handle", handle);
+        return res.toString();
     }
 
     private static String getFieldName(JSONTokener tokener) throws JSONException {
diff --git a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/aql/TestExecutor.java b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/aql/TestExecutor.java
index 2da57e3..bfe0e33 100644
--- a/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/aql/TestExecutor.java
+++ b/asterixdb/asterix-common/src/test/java/org/apache/asterix/test/aql/TestExecutor.java
@@ -430,7 +430,7 @@
 
     public InputStream executeQueryService(String str, OutputFormat fmt, String url,
             List<CompilationUnit.Parameter> params, boolean jsonEncoded) throws Exception {
-        setFormatParam(params, fmt);
+        setParam(params, "format", fmt.mimeType());
         HttpUriRequest method = jsonEncoded ? constructPostMethodJson(str, url, "statement", params)
                 : constructPostMethodUrl(str, url, "statement", params);
         // Set accepted output response type
@@ -439,16 +439,24 @@
         return response.getEntity().getContent();
     }
 
-    protected void setFormatParam(List<CompilationUnit.Parameter> params, OutputFormat fmt) {
+    public InputStream executeQueryService(String statement, OutputFormat fmt, String url,
+            List<CompilationUnit.Parameter> params, boolean jsonEncoded, String deferred) throws Exception {
+        setParam(params, "mode", deferred);
+        InputStream resultStream = executeQueryService(statement, fmt, url, params, jsonEncoded);
+        String handle = ResultExtractor.extractHandle(resultStream);
+        return getHandleResult(handle, fmt);
+    }
+
+    protected void setParam(List<CompilationUnit.Parameter> params, String name, String value) {
         for (CompilationUnit.Parameter param : params) {
-            if ("format".equals(param.getName())) {
-                param.setValue(fmt.mimeType());
+            if (name.equals(param.getName())) {
+                param.setValue(value);
                 return;
             }
         }
         CompilationUnit.Parameter formatParam = new CompilationUnit.Parameter();
-        formatParam.setName("format");
-        formatParam.setValue(fmt.mimeType());
+        formatParam.setName(name);
+        formatParam.setValue(value);
         params.add(formatParam);
     }
 
@@ -781,14 +789,16 @@
                         resultStream = executeAnyAQLAsync(statement, true, fmt, getEndpoint(Servlets.AQL));
                     }
                 } else {
-                    if (ctx.getType().equalsIgnoreCase("query")) {
-                        resultStream = executeQueryService(statement, fmt, getEndpoint(Servlets.QUERY_SERVICE),
-                                cUnit.getParameter(), true);
+                    final String reqType = ctx.getType();
+                    final String url = getEndpoint(Servlets.QUERY_SERVICE);
+                    final List<CompilationUnit.Parameter> params = cUnit.getParameter();
+                    if (reqType.equalsIgnoreCase("query")) {
+                        resultStream = executeQueryService(statement, fmt, url, params, true);
                         resultStream = ResultExtractor.extract(resultStream);
-                    } else if (ctx.getType().equalsIgnoreCase("async")) {
-                        resultStream = executeAnyAQLAsync(statement, false, fmt, getEndpoint(Servlets.SQLPP));
-                    } else if (ctx.getType().equalsIgnoreCase("asyncdefer")) {
-                        resultStream = executeAnyAQLAsync(statement, true, fmt, getEndpoint(Servlets.SQLPP));
+                    } else if (reqType.equalsIgnoreCase("async")) {
+                        resultStream = executeQueryService(statement, fmt, url, params, true, "async");
+                    } else if (reqType.equalsIgnoreCase("asyncdefer")) {
+                        resultStream = executeQueryService(statement, fmt, url, params, true, "deferred");
                     }
                 }
                 if (queryCount.intValue() >= expectedResultFileCtxs.size()) {