Abstract: A system and method for transmitting blocks of compressed data in an ATM network is disclosed. Compressed data blocks representing a movie are labeled prior to transmission with the amount of data in each block and information regarding the compression ratio of each block and the time into the movie at which the block displays. A server in the system first determines the size of the receiver buffer, and then the minimum number of consecutive blocks that would fit in the buffer. It then determines minimum rate in bits per second by dividing the buffer size by the number of blocks, times 8 bits/byte, times the duration of each block in seconds. The server further instructs the receiver to wait before decompressing and displaying data by an amount of time sufficient to receive the amount of data from the first blocks of compressed data that is equal to the amount of data in the largest compressed data block in the file.

Abstract: A system and method for transmitting blocks of compressed data in an ATM network is disclosed. Compressed data blocks representing a video are labeled prior to transmission with the amount of data in each block and information regarding the compression ratio of each block and the time into the video at which the block displays. A server in the system first determines the maximum amount of data that can be transmitted to the receiver's buffer and the channel between the server and receiver. Using the data block labels, the server transmits the maximum amount of data. Then, to keep the channel and buffer full of data as the receiver starts to display video, the server paces the transmission of the rest of the data. By using the label on each block of data, the server sends each block in the standard amount of time it takes to display the frame or frames represented by every block, but delayed by an amount proportional to the compression ratio for the particular block.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing access to object data stored in an object server in response to a database query. The method comprises the steps of receiving a database query comprising a relational operation with a data surrogate identifying object data stored in an object server, transforming the database query into relational database commands, transmitting the relational database commands to the relational database management system, receiving a response table from the relational database management system, compiling an answer set from the response table comprising an object locator responsive to the database query, and transmitting the answer set to the client.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing access to object data stored in an object server in response to a database query. The method comprises the steps of receiving a database query comprising a relational operation with a data surrogate identifying object data stored in an object server, transforming the database query into relational database commands, transmitting the relational database commands to the relational database management system, receiving a response table from the relational database management system, compiling an answer set from the response table comprising an object locator responsive to the database query, and transmitting the answer set to the client.