Sequence retrieval and query tools address this issue. They allow to parse and index different databases from different data sources. The computational resources needed for storing and indexing is substantial and is not affordable by many of the research groups.
Therefore, there is a need to distribute data across the internet beyond the use of standard interactive browsers.
We have developed a CORBA server that distributes data from various biological databases, to third party applications such as viewers. The server is built on top of BioRS, which is a database integration, search and retrieval software package from Biomax Informatics AG.
The server identifies new databases added to the BioRS system dynamically and provides access to the same. It implements methods to search several databases by keywords or by specific field.
A typical example of its use can be seen in the custom web interface to the databases provided to the Helmholtz Network for Bioinformatics (HNB). The interface definitions, example clients and documentation is available for download. The idea of providing multiple databases across a single CORBA IDL is materialised in this work.
