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From: wilcox@hydra.unm.edu (Sherman Wilcox)
Newsgroups: comp.databases,comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Database question
Message-ID: <1990Nov30.154544.28317@ariel.unm.edu>
Date: 30 Nov 90 15:45:44 GMT
Sender: news@ariel.unm.edu (USENET News System)
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
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I am developing a multimedia project (an interactive videodisk-based
American Sign Language dictionary). We have known all along that the
project will have to have a database underlying it, but our first impulse
was to develop the application in an authoring language (Director, Author-
Ware, etc).

We are starting to rethink this decision and wonder whether the entire
project could be developed in a powerful database such as 4D or Omnis.
This is the basis of my question.

Does anyone know of any projects which have tied together databases and
interactive videodisks? If you are familiar with either Omnis or 4D, does
it sound feasible to do what I am suggesting?

Some specific questions: for the multimedia part, all we really have to
do is control the laserdisk (Pioneer LD-V4200), which means sending commands
out the serial port. Possible in 4D/Omnis? Second, we are displaying the
video on the RBG monitor by using a RasterOps 364 card. Control of the card
is accomplished via an XCMD -- possible to do this with 4D/Omnis?

Any suggestions, opinions, leads, etc will be most appreciated. Thanks
in advance!

Sherman Wilcox
Dept. of Linguistics
University of New Mexico