A database query is specified by naming the entities and relationships along a path through the ERDB diagram ( Fig. 2) along with a list of the data items to be returned and a filter clause that limits the results to the desired data objects (e.g., a particular genome or identifier). The Sapling Server allows direct queries against the database; however, a set of common data requests is implemented as direct server functions. Sapling Server functions typically accept multiple input values within a single call, allowing a client to minimize the number of requests that must be made to the server. Additional input parameters allow a client to modify the query, for example, to request that the output be in FASTA format or to ask for protein rather than DNA sequences.