Within the next several years, worldwide information systems will deal with the collection interpretation of several gigabytes of data generated daily at thousands of individual sites. Locating data in such a heterogeneous distributed-database system, is tantamount to funding the proverbial needle in a worldwide haystack. To accomplish this endeavor, an appropriate data model based on an understanding of the type and magnitude of the data collected and on the type and relative frequency of the queries to be performed on the data are being developed. Algorithms for conducting parallel searches, indexing, and compression of the multi-faceted data are required. Also necessary are the protocols for communicating among the many nodes that constitute the entire search space. These protocols must allow for efficient, reliable, and secure distribution of queries and results among a variety of platforms. Multicomputer search engines at each data storage site are developed. A set of collaborators employs the prototype for evaluation and their feedback will be incorporated into the final implementation. The results obtained in this research may serve as a guideline for the development of worldwide both rigidly and loosely structured databases.
