Merlin Mediation System

Software · Tue Oct 16 00:00:00 EDT 2001

DOI:https://doi.org/10.11578/dc.20180705.6· OSTI ID:1230579 · Code ID:12899

Dean, Lynn

Merlin Mediation System (a.k.a., Merlin) is a set of reusable software components that provide seamless integration of information contained in multiple, heterogeneous data sources located across many computers. These software components utilize a combination of mediator and expert system technologies to provide intelligence for understanding and integrating data. Merlin provides a virtual database independent of operating systems, platforms, and user applications. Merlin in an implementation of "intelligent middleware" that solves data access and integration issues. Merlin resides between user applications and their independent data sources. a user application may be invoked via a Web browser or reside on an individual's workstation. The data sources can reside on multiple separate heterogeneous computer platforms and may be recorded in a variety of formats (e.g., relational databases, flat files, object-oriented databases). Merlin creates a "virtual object database" so that the user application sees the data retrieved from the various sources as though it were returned from a single, integrated database. In addition, Merlin provides advanced data instance integration capabilities such as object unification and fusion, abstraction, aggregation, and data and schema translations. It is important to note that Merlin is not bound to any single user application nor to any specific data source. Merlin's software components utilize a combination of mediator and expert system technologies to assure their adaptability for use by various disciplines. These software components accept domain-specific details (e.g., schema, mappings, expert system rules) as data from a "knowledge base". This enables the same software to be used for a variety of domains and user applications with no source code modifications or recompilations required.

• Short Name / Acronym: MERLIN
• Project Type: Closed Source
• Site Accession Number: 3445; LDRD-9511 and 4249
• Software Type: Scientific
• Research Organization: Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE-ID

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  Primary Award/Contract Number:

  AC07-99ID13727
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-99ID13727
• Code ID: 12899
• OSTI ID: 1230579
• Country of Origin: United States