ISYS: a decentralized, component-based approach to the integration of heterogeneous bioinformatics resources.
BACKGROUND
Heterogeneity of databases and software resources continues to hamper the integration of biological information. Top-down solutions are not feasible for the full-scale problem of integration across biological species and data types. Bottom-up solutions so far have not integrated, in a maximally flexible way, dynamic and interactive graphical-user-interface components with data repositories and analysis tools.


RESULTS
We present a component-based approach that relies on a generalized platform for component integration. The platform enables independently-developed components to synchronize their behavior and exchange services, without direct knowledge of one another. An interface-based data model allows the exchange of information with minimal component interdependency. From these interactions an integrated system results, which we call ISYSf1.gif" BORDER="0">. By allowing services to be discovered dynamically based on selected objects, ISYS encourages a kind of exploratory navigation that we believe to be well-suited for applications in genomic research.
Siepel
A
A
National Center for Genome Resources, 2935 Rodeo Park Drive East, Santa Fe, NM 87505, USA. isys@ncgr.org
Farmer
A
A
Tolopko
A
A
Zhuang
M
M
Mendes
P
P
Beavis
W
W
Sobral
B
B
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics; D019295:Computational Biology; D016208:Databases, Factual; D018745:Genome, Plant; D019655:Quantitative Trait, Heritable; D012984:Software