Abstract: A method of operating a network includes initializing the network using documents signed by a rights manager using a root key; a digital certificate and a document including links to digital pages that are used to access the digital certificate. The digital certificate includes a public part of a network key, which a user uses to access the network. A first digital document including a list of servers is recorded, wherein one of the servers functions as a lookup server. A coefficient representing respective processing capability is assigned to each server. An address is looked up from the lookup server using a first digital document for error management and a second digital document including address parameters. A server is selected based on the address parameters, and digital objects are accessed from the server.

Abstract: A system includes a selection module, a file module, a storage cache, and an access module. The selection module organizes small files into groups according to a selection function, which organizes the small files based on at least one of related content of the small files, related filenames of the small files, and related access patterns of the small files. The file module uses a predetermined block size and stores, for each group, a large file containing all the small files of the group. The access module receives an access request for one of the small files from a client device and determines a large file corresponding to the one of the small files based on input from the selection module. The access module selectively reads the corresponding large file from the file module into the storage cache, and accesses the one of the small files from the large file.

Abstract: A multimedia data publishing system including a server connected to a computer network and a plurality of host terminals connected to the computer network, where the server includes a database in which digital files are saved containing descriptors of multimedia pages, and a program for management of the database and of the exchanges with the host terminals, the host terminals being equipped with a random access memory for temporarily saving digital files downloaded from the database of the server, and navigation software for the visual representation of the pages relating to the descriptors of a downloaded file, wherein at least some digital files include descriptors of at least two visual representations of a given digital file.

Abstract: An electronic multimedia data publishing system including a server connected to a computer network and a number of host terminals connected to the computer network, the server including a database wherein are stored digital files containing descriptors of multimedia pages and a software program which manages the database and the exchanges with the host terminals, the host terminals being equipped with a random access memory to temporarily store digital files downloaded from the server database and a consultation program to visually display files in accordance with descriptors of a downloaded page, wherein selected digital files include descriptors with at least two visual display modes.