Modern database systems have to support complex data objects, which appear in advanced data models such as object-oriented data models and nested relational data models. Set-valued objects are basic constructs to build complex structures in those models. Therefore, efficient processing of set-valued object retrieval (simply, set retrieval) is an important feature required of advanced database systems. Our previous work proposed a basic scheme to apply superimposed coded signature files to set retrieval and showed its potential advantages over the B-tree index based approach using a performance analysis model. Retrieval with signature files is always accompanied by mismatches called false drops, and proper control of the false drops is indispensable in the signature file design. This study intensively analyzes the false drops in set retrieval with signature files. First, schemes to use signature files are presented to process set retrieval involving "has-subset," "is-subset," "has-intersection," and "is-equal" predicates, and generic formulas estimating the false drops are derived. Then, three sets of concrete formulas are derived in three ways to estimate the false drops in the four types of set retrieval. Finally, their estimates are validated with computer simulations, and advantages and disadvantages of each set of the false drop estimation formulas are discussed. The analysis shows that proper choice of estimation formulas gives quite accurate estimates of the false drops in set retrieval with signature files.

Our objective is to resolve three types of heterogeneity - data model,database system, and semantic - in heterogeneous databases. The basic framework which we propose for this objective is realized in an autonomous decentralized database system (i.e., an interoperable database system), called Jasmine/M. Users describe their relational or object-oriented data models and schemas locally using the model primitives which Jasmine/M provides as a scripting language. Description using such primitives or scripts constitutes viewports, which have a role to resolve heterogeneity in data models and database systems at local sites. At relational viewports, both relational and object-oriented schemas defined at other sites are translated via scripts and are viewed as relational schemas. Similarly at object-oriented viewports, any schema defined at other sites is viewed object-oriented schemas. Relational and object-oriented views are used to resolve semantic heterogeneity within viewports. This paper describes a step wise approach to resolving the three types of heterogeneity, using scripts, viewports, and views, and its implementation using active objects.

New multimedia applications have emerged on top of information infrastructures, such as on-demand services, digital libraries and museums, online shopping, information Q & A, concurrent engineering, document management, and desktop program production, which require new databases. That is, next-generation database systems must enable users to efficiently and flexibly develop and execute such advanced multimedia applications. Moreover, in some applications, there is no existent data; in others, there are databases or files to be integrated. This requires both top-down and bottom-up database development. To this end, we focus on development of a database system which enables flexible and efficient acquisition, storage, access and retrieval, and distribution and presentation of large amounts of heterogeneous media data. In particular, we propose a multimedia data model as an integration of structural, temporal, spatial, and control functionality. That is, we take an approach based on an object-oriented database, which is more suitable for description of media structures and operations than a traditional relational database. And we extend the object-oriented approach by providing temporal and spatial operators, and control of distributing computing and QOS (quality of service). In this paper, we describe a multimedia data model and its efficient implementation.