Abstract: A database management system is disclosed. One example provides request handler modules through which users interface with the database management system. A master control module assigns database servers to databases. A request handler module receives a database request from a client and sends a database identifier to the master control module, which determines an assigned database server and returns its location to the request handler module. The request handler module then sends the database request to the assigned database server, which handles the database request. The database management system facilitates the addition of database servers without requiring substantial system reconfiguration. It also facilitates migration of database assignments for improved efficiency or other reasons.

Abstract: A database management system is disclosed. One example provides request handler modules through which users interface with the database management system. A master control module assigns database servers to databases. A request handler module receives a database request from a client and sends a database identifier to the master control module, which determines an assigned database server and returns its location to the request handler module. The request handler module then sends the database request to the assigned database server, which handles the database request. The database management system facilitates the addition of database servers without requiring substantial system reconfiguration. It also facilitates migration of database assignments for improved efficiency or other reasons.

Abstract: A system for editing and representing multimedia compositions in which the representation of a composition enables a composition to be an arbitrarily deep nesting of assemblies of components. In this representation, relationships between synchronous components may be represented, by an array or list. Components which are related sequentially in time are represented by a sequence component, which may be implemented as a tree. For the purpose of improving searching within the tree, a sequence component is implemented as a balanced binary, or 2-3-tree. By using such a representation, searching for a component based on its position in time in the sequence may be performed in logarithmic rather than linear time. Each node in the tree has a corresponding duration, which represents the sum of the durations of any subnodes. Media data for a composition is excluded from the representational structures and is merely referred to by such structures. Thus, compositions may be stored separately from the media data.

Abstract: A system for editing and representing multimedia compositions in which the representation of a composition enables a composition to be an arbitrarily deep nesting of assemblies of components. In this representation, relationships between synchronous components may be represented, by an array or list. Components which are related sequentially in time are represented by a sequence component, which may be implemented as a tree. For the purpose of improving searching within the tree, a sequence component is implemented as a balanced binary, or 2-3-tree. By using such a representation, searching for a component based on its position in time in the sequence may be performed in logarithmic rather than linear time. Each node in the tree has a corresponding duration, which represents the sum of the durations of any subnodes. Media data for a composition is excluded from the representational structures and is merely referred to by such structures. Thus, compositions may be stored separately from the media data.

Abstract: A system for editing and representing multimedia compositions in which the representation of a composition enables a composition to be an arbitrarily deep nesting of assemblies of components. In this representation, relationships between synchronous components may be represented, by an array or list. Components which are related sequentially in time are represented by a sequence component, which may be implemented as a tree. For the purpose of improving searching within the tree, a sequence component is implemented as a balanced binary, or 2-3-tree. By using such a representation, searching for a component based on its position in time in the sequence may be performed in logarithmic rather than linear time. Each node in the tree has a corresponding duration, which represents the sum of the durations of any subnodes. Media data for a composition is excluded from the representational structures and is merely referred to by such structures. Thus, compositions may be stored separately from the media data.