System and method for enabling unified access to multiple types of data

摘要

A system and method for enabling unified access to multiple data types. The invention retrieves data regardless of data format. The system does not distinguish among data formats. The system determines a format for data to be retrieved and retrieves the data. An attribute for the data may also be retrieved. Preferably, the attribute is retrieved based on an attribute number. The system may store a value and syntax for the data retrieved identifying a format for the data.