Towards efficient multi-feature queries in heterogeneous environments

Applications like multimedia databases or enterprise-wide information management systems have to meet the challenge of efficiently retrieving the best-matching objects from vast collections of data. We present a new algorithm, called Stream-Combine, for processing multi-feature queries on heterogeneous data sources. Stream-Combine is self-adapting to different data distributions and to the specific kind of the combining function. Furthermore, we present a new retrieval strategy that essentially speeds up the output of relevant objects.