--- name: icdt-submission description: Use when auditing an ICDT (International Conference on Database Theory) regular-paper submission for Microsoft CMT readiness, covering the two-step abstract-then-paper deadline in the correct submission cycle, the lipics-v2021 15-page limit excluding references, the clearly-marked appendix read at the PC's discretion, anonymous submission since 2024, the complete-proofs / full-version expectation, and which submission problems are unfixable after the AoE cutoff. --- # ICDT Submission Run this audit before uploading to **Microsoft CMT** for the International Conference on Database Theory. ICDT is a **pure database-theory** venue: reviewers read for a precise theorem, a correct proof, and a genuine advance in the foundations of data management, and they publish the result **open access in LIPIcs** (Schloss Dagstuhl). Every number below was read on 2026-07-09 from the ICDT 2026/2027 calls at `databasetheory.org` via search renderings (see `resources/official-source-map.md`); treat them as a one-cycle snapshot and reopen the live call first. ## Pick the right cycle first ICDT runs **two submission cycles per year**, and choosing the cycle is the first decision, not a detail: - **Cycle 1** closes in the (northern) spring and **offers a revision option** — a first decision can be Accept, **Revise-and-resubmit**, or Reject. - **Cycle 2** closes in the (northern) autumn; a paper **rejected in Cycle 1 may not be resubmitted to Cycle 2 unless the reviewers explicitly invited it.** Do not treat the two cycles as a free second attempt. For ICDT 2027 (Lille), Cycle 1 papers were due **10 March 2026** and Cycle 2 papers **10 September 2026** (AoE); confirm the live dates. If your proof might still move, the earlier cycle's revision round is worth more than a later raw submission. ## The two-step deadline Each cycle separates an **abstract deadline** from the **paper deadline**, both AoE and about a week apart (ICDT 2027 Cycle 1: abstracts 3 March 2026, papers 10 March 2026): - Register the abstract with the real title and abstract — it drives PC bidding and conflict handling. A placeholder abstract worsens your reviewer match. - Miss the abstract deadline and CMT will not accept the PDF later. ## Format and page budget - **`lipics-v2021` LIPIcs document class, unmodified.** This is the Dagstuhl LaTeX style, not `acmart` and not `IEEEtran` — do not carry a PODS/SIGMOD `acmart` habit across. - **At most 15 pages excluding references.** References do not count against the 15; nothing else escapes it except the appendix below. - **A clearly marked appendix is allowed but read at the PC's discretion.** The main 15 pages must contain everything needed to *assess* the contribution; the appendix holds the full proofs a referee may check. **Online/external appendices are not allowed** — everything reviewed lives in the single submitted PDF. ## Complete proofs and the full version ICDT expects **complete, checkable proofs**. A theorem stated without a proof a referee can verify is the classic desk-level weakness at a theory venue: - Put proof sketches and the main argument in the body; put the full details in the marked appendix so the paper is self-contained within one PDF. - Maintain a **full version** (typically on arXiv) that will carry the complete proofs after review; reference it in the camera-ready, not in an anonymized submission if the link deanonymizes you. ## Anonymous-submission sweep (since 2024) ICDT regular papers are **anonymous**: the PDF must not reveal authorship. ```bash # Mechanical pass on the submission PDF pdfinfo paper.pdf | grep -Ei 'author|creator|producer' pdftotext paper.pdf - | grep -nEi 'acknowledg|grant|funded by|our (previous|earlier) (work|paper)|\bwe .* in \[[0-9]+\]' | head ``` - Remove author names, affiliations, and **acknowledgments to funding sources and collaborators**. - Cite your own prior work in the third person ("Building on the construction of [17]…"), not "our earlier paper [17]." - If you post a full version, do not let an arXiv link or an identifying system name reintroduce your identity into the anonymous PDF. - Note the exception: the **Database Theory in Action** short-paper track is **not** anonymous — the anonymity rule is for the regular research track. ## Desk-risk triage | Finding at audit time | Severity | Real fix | |---|---|---| | Body over 15 pages (excl. refs) | Format-reject-grade | Move detail to the marked appendix; tighten the body — refs do not absorb it | | Class altered (margins, font, `\vspace` hacks) | Named format ground | Recompile clean `lipics-v2021`; recover space by editing, not by shrinking | | A theorem with no verifiable proof anywhere in the PDF | Fatal at a theory venue | Add the full proof to the appendix before upload | | Author identity leaks (names, acks, "our tool") | Anonymity violation | Re-anonymize; scrub PDF metadata; neutralize self-citations | | Abstract not registered by the earlier deadline | No paper slot exists | Nothing fixes this post-AoE — calendar it now | | Resubmitting a Cycle-1 reject into Cycle 2 uninvited | Against the cross-cycle rule | Do not; only resubmit if reviewers invited it | | Same result under review at PODS/a journal | Concurrent-submission exposure | Withdraw one; check the current dual-submission wording | ## Final-week order of operations 1. Freeze the theorem statements early; the exposition can churn, the results cannot. 2. Register the abstract in the correct cycle before the earlier deadline. 3. Confirm every claimed theorem has a complete proof in the body or the marked appendix. 4. Run the anonymity sweep on the *final* PDF, including self-citation phrasing. 5. Fill every CMT field — subject areas that match your result, conflicts for each coauthor's institution and recent collaborators — a day early. 6. Re-download the uploaded PDF and read it cold to confirm it is the file you meant. ## Reverify each cycle - The cycle dates, which cycle you are targeting, and the revision-window length. - The page limit and the required LIPIcs class revision. - The anonymous-submission wording and any generative-AI disclosure rule (**待核实**). - Whether the Database Theory in Action track runs and its separate rules. ## Output format ```text [ICDT submission status] ready / blocked / needs work [Cycle] 1 (revision-eligible) / 2 (no uninvited carry), abstract+paper registered? yes/no [Format] pages used (body/refs), lipics-v2021 compliance, appendix marked? [Proofs] every theorem has a checkable proof in-PDF? yes/no [Anonymity] clean / leaks: [Fix queue] ```