- How to ``add value'' to existing query interfaces.
Entrez queries allow selection of complex values
but do not allow any pruning of fields. Allowing
such pruning significantly reduces amount of data
transmitted across the network and gives the user
exactly the fields he wanted.
- How to perform query optimization.
Optimization is very important in a distributed
environment due to latency and unreliability of
communication lines and varied capabilities of
data servers.
- How to handle update and propagate corrections.
Most databases contain errors. As they are used
as underlying sources of integrated databases,
their errors are propagated rapidly. If such an
error is discovered, how do we correct it and
propagate the correction?
