A mediated approach to open, large-scale information management

The explosive expansion of the communications infrastructure, both within and among computing organizations, poses new challenges to the design of distributed information systems. Software systems are required that are open, that can be scaled to extremely large sizes, and that can be constructed and used effectively. The huge amount of information being made available through network technology is still incomprehensible and inconsistent. Previous attempts to address this problem of information management led to local solutions that were not maintainable or scalable, and were limited to retrieving, and not updating, data. We propose a mediator-based approach that supports interoperation of information resources, applications, and interfaces. Unlike previous approaches, mediator-based or otherwise, our solution embodies techniques that specially enable it to exploit modularity, abstraction, and adaptation. This solution enables open, large-scale information management, and emphasizes updates as well as retrievals