A multi-paradigm querying approach for a generic multimedia database management system

Abstract

To truly meet the requirements of multimedia database (MMDB) management, an integrated framework for modeling, managing and retrieving various kinds of media data in a uniform way is necessary. MediaLand is an experimental MMDB platform being developed at Microsoft Research Asia for users with different levels of experiences and expertise to manage and search multimedia repositories easily, efficiently, and cooperatively. Key features of MediaLand include a uniform data model for describing all kinds of media objects and their relationships, and a 4-tier architecture based on this data model. In this paper, a multi-paradigm querying approach of MediaLand is presented, in which multimedia queries are processed based on a seamless integration of various existing search approaches. In doing so, MediaLand also offers the feature of "media independence" which is analogous to the notion of "data independence" from the classic ANSI SPARC standard. By incorporating a rich set of facilities and techniques, MediaLand lays down a good foundation for addressing further research issues, such as multimedia query rewriting, optimization, and presentation.