Dynamo: a model for a distributed multi-media information processing environment

Dynamo is an object-oriented information model that underlies the Dynamo system, a general-purpose system for information management in a shared, distributed environment. The aim of the Dynamo system is to serve as a software platform for supporting a broad range of multimedia information processing activities than can be undertaken on a technical workstation. The Dynamo model synthesizes concepts from object-oriented programming languages and databases, hypermedia, CAD, (computer-aided design), and simulation. The core of the model consists of a very simple notion of active objects of which virtual time is an integral element. Objects are defined incrementally using cloning and delegation, and realize hypertextlike nodes and links with more expressive power than the usual passive links of hypertext. Virtual time provides the basis for a uniform approach to synchronization, versioning, and configuration control.<>