ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The successful completion of this work has been largely possible because of the foresight and guidance of the omnipresent Dr. Judd. I will always be grateful to him, for teaching me by example and showing me that there are no shortcuts to good work. I am thankful to the members of my Thesis committee for showing great interest in this work and for being extremely co-operative at all times. This work has been possible due to ground-breaking work done by others at CASSI, Ohio University. Most prominent among them is Lizhong Huang, the developer of EQL which has been the role model for CQL. Viswanath Majeti helped me during the early days with my struggle with the UG API. Chandrasekhar Subramanian saved me hours of mindless work by convincing me to use Ib-'IEX. The staff at the Alden Library, Ohio University were extremely co-operative during the course of the literature search. Finally, for the people who have shaped my life at various stages to bring me where I am- rny teachers, I will always hold the utmost respect. Asato maa sad gamaya Tamaso maa jyotir gamay