Patent ID: 7289716

Claim:
A method implemented in a computing system wherein streamed data is received and processed to create a backing store from which the streamed data can be accessed for subsequent utilization, and wherein one or more reader applications are capable of accessing the streamed data contained in the backing store, the method for separating the process of data capture when creating the backing store from the process of reading the backing store, and for enabling one or more reader applications to access the backing store, the method comprising: the step for writing streamed data in the backing store through a writer API that is comprised of a first set of primitive operations that are invoked when writing the streamed data to the backing store; the acts of defining and storing in the backing store state information for the streamed data as stored; the act of permitting one or more reader applications to access the state information for the streamed data as stored; and the act of permitting the one or more reader applications to access, independent of one another, and through a reader API that is comprised of a second set of primitive operations, the streamed data stored in the backing store, consistent with the state information obtained by a given reader application, and without having the first set of primitive operations of the writer API imposed when reading the streamed data from the backing store.