A new type of information managment system is being developed which emphasizes relationships as primary entities. Even a modest database contains a vast number of relationships which are of possible interest, most of which are inaccessible when using conventional database management systems. The number of such relationships between data in different databases is far vaster, it's staggering. The challenge is to build a rigorous and effective system which provides access to such data, yet is easily understood by users.

This report summarizes progress of the fedora project which is currently alpha- or beta-testing 16 database services. Servers in three fields of knowledge are demonstrated here: Traditional Chinese medicine, allopathic pharmacology, and protein-ligand interactions. These non-trivial data sets illustrate the power and limitations of such an information system. The discussion covers strategy, design, implementation and actual deployment.

This MUG'01 presentation also serves as an annoucement of a demo system available on online.daylight.com via the internet (also fedora.daylight.com at MUG'01).