diff --git a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/pom.xml b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/pom.xml
index a95d17e..e0930b2 100644
--- a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/pom.xml
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree</groupId>
   <artifactId>btreeclient</artifactId>
-  <version>0.2.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
-
   <parent>
     <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples</groupId>
     <artifactId>btree-example</artifactId>
diff --git a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/InsertPipelineExample.java b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/InsertPipelineExample.java
index 4711e9e..5a6d8cd 100644
--- a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/InsertPipelineExample.java
+++ b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/InsertPipelineExample.java
@@ -18,21 +18,21 @@
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksRMIConnection;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.PartitionConstraintHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTrait;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.TypeTrait;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.comparators.IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.comparators.UTF8StringBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.hash.UTF8StringBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.UTF8StringPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@
         public String host;
 
         @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
-        public int port = 1099;
+        public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
         public String app;
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@
         CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(options);
         parser.parseArgument(args);
 
-        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksRMIConnection(options.host, options.port);
+        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksConnection(options.host, options.port);
 
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
@@ -134,16 +134,16 @@
         // prepare insertion into primary index
         // tuples to be put into B-Tree shall have 4 fields
         int primaryFieldCount = 4;
-        ITypeTrait[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTrait[primaryFieldCount];
-        primaryTypeTraits[0] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        primaryTypeTraits[1] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
-        primaryTypeTraits[2] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        primaryTypeTraits[3] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
+        ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
+        primaryTypeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        primaryTypeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        primaryTypeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        primaryTypeTraits[3] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         // comparator factories for primary index
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[1];
-        primaryComparatorFactories[0] = IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        
+        primaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
         // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
@@ -168,15 +168,15 @@
         // prepare insertion into secondary index
         // tuples to be put into B-Tree shall have 2 fields
         int secondaryFieldCount = 2;
-        ITypeTrait[] secondaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTrait[secondaryFieldCount];
-        secondaryTypeTraits[0] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
-        secondaryTypeTraits[1] = new TypeTrait(4);
+        ITypeTraits[] secondaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[secondaryFieldCount];
+        secondaryTypeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        secondaryTypeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         // comparator factories for secondary index
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] secondaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[2];
-        secondaryComparatorFactories[0] = UTF8StringBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        secondaryComparatorFactories[1] = IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        
+        secondaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
+        secondaryComparatorFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
         // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory secondaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(secondaryTypeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@
         // distribute the records from the datagen via hashing to the bulk load
         // ops
         IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFactories = new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[1];
-        hashFactories[0] = UTF8StringBinaryHashFunctionFactory.INSTANCE;
+        hashFactories[0] = PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
         IConnectorDescriptor hashConn = new MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(spec,
                 new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(new int[] { 0 }, hashFactories));
 
diff --git a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
index 9790496..0b1cd6c 100644
--- a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
+++ b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
@@ -17,20 +17,21 @@
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksRMIConnection;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.constraints.PartitionConstraintHelper;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.IConnectorDescriptor;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTrait;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.TypeTrait;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.comparators.IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.hash.UTF8StringBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.UTF8StringPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.partition.FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory;
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@
         public String host;
 
         @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
-        public int port = 1099;
+        public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
         public String app;
@@ -83,7 +84,7 @@
         CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(options);
         parser.parseArgument(args);
 
-        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksRMIConnection(options.host, options.port);
+        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksConnection(options.host, options.port);
 
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
@@ -130,18 +131,18 @@
         int[] sortFields = { 2 };
         // comparators for sort fields
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[1];
-        comparatorFactories[0] = IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
+        comparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
         ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor sorter = new ExternalSortOperatorDescriptor(spec, options.sbSize, sortFields,
                 comparatorFactories, recDesc);
         JobHelper.createPartitionConstraint(spec, sorter, splitNCs);
 
         // tuples to be put into B-Tree shall have 4 fields
         int fieldCount = 4;
-        ITypeTrait[] typeTraits = new ITypeTrait[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        typeTraits[1] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
-        typeTraits[2] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        typeTraits[3] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[3] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         // create factories and providers for B-Tree
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
@@ -165,7 +166,7 @@
         // distribute the records from the datagen via hashing to the bulk load
         // ops
         IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[] hashFactories = new IBinaryHashFunctionFactory[1];
-        hashFactories[0] = UTF8StringBinaryHashFunctionFactory.INSTANCE;
+        hashFactories[0] = PointableBinaryHashFunctionFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
         IConnectorDescriptor hashConn = new MToNPartitioningConnectorDescriptor(spec,
                 new FieldHashPartitionComputerFactory(new int[] { 0 }, hashFactories));
 
diff --git a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexSearchExample.java b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexSearchExample.java
index 4929243..aa73a62 100644
--- a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexSearchExample.java
+++ b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/PrimaryIndexSearchExample.java
@@ -19,18 +19,19 @@
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksRMIConnection;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTrait;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.TypeTrait;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.UTF8StringPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.comparators.IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.OneToOneConnectorDescriptor;
@@ -59,7 +60,7 @@
         public String host;
 
         @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
-        public int port = 1099;
+        public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
         public String app;
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@
         CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(options);
         parser.parseArgument(args);
 
-        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksRMIConnection(options.host, options.port);
+        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksConnection(options.host, options.port);
 
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
@@ -95,16 +96,16 @@
         String[] splitNCs = options.ncs.split(",");
 
         int fieldCount = 4;
-        ITypeTrait[] typeTraits = new ITypeTrait[fieldCount];
-        typeTraits[0] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        typeTraits[1] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
-        typeTraits[2] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        typeTraits[3] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
+        ITypeTraits[] typeTraits = new ITypeTraits[fieldCount];
+        typeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        typeTraits[3] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         // comparators for btree
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[1];
-        comparatorFactories[0] = IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        
+        comparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
         // create factories and providers for B-Tree
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory tupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(typeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory interiorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(tupleWriterFactory);
diff --git a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
index d77eb01..ad9ad3a 100644
--- a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
+++ b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexBulkLoadExample.java
@@ -17,17 +17,17 @@
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksRMIConnection;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTrait;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.TypeTrait;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.comparators.IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.comparators.UTF8StringBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.UTF8StringPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.OneToOneConnectorDescriptor;
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
         public String host;
 
         @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
-        public int port = 1099;
+        public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
         public String app;
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@
         CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(options);
         parser.parseArgument(args);
 
-        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksRMIConnection(options.host, options.port);
+        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksConnection(options.host, options.port);
 
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
@@ -111,17 +111,17 @@
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
         int primaryFieldCount = 4;
-        ITypeTrait[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTrait[primaryFieldCount];
-        primaryTypeTraits[0] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        primaryTypeTraits[1] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
-        primaryTypeTraits[2] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        primaryTypeTraits[3] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
+        ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
+        primaryTypeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        primaryTypeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        primaryTypeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        primaryTypeTraits[3] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         // comparators for sort fields and BTree fields
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] comparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[2];
-        comparatorFactories[0] = UTF8StringBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        comparatorFactories[1] = IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        
+        comparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
+        comparatorFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
         // create factories and providers for primary B-Tree
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory primaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(primaryTupleWriterFactory);
@@ -144,9 +144,9 @@
 
         // tuples to be put into B-Tree shall have 2 fields
         int secondaryFieldCount = 2;
-        ITypeTrait[] secondaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTrait[secondaryFieldCount];
-        secondaryTypeTraits[0] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
-        secondaryTypeTraits[1] = new TypeTrait(4);
+        ITypeTraits[] secondaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[secondaryFieldCount];
+        secondaryTypeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        secondaryTypeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory secondaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(secondaryTypeTraits);
diff --git a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexSearchExample.java b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexSearchExample.java
index 3a79df6..2719397 100644
--- a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexSearchExample.java
+++ b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreeclient/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/client/SecondaryIndexSearchExample.java
@@ -19,19 +19,19 @@
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.CmdLineParser;
 import org.kohsuke.args4j.Option;
 
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksRMIConnection;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.HyracksConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.client.IHyracksClientConnection;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.IBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ISerializerDeserializer;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTrait;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.ITypeTraits;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.RecordDescriptor;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.dataflow.value.TypeTrait;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.exceptions.HyracksDataException;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobId;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.api.job.JobSpecification;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.accessors.PointableBinaryComparatorFactory;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.IntegerPointable;
+import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.data.std.primitive.UTF8StringPointable;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.comm.io.ArrayTupleBuilder;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.comparators.IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory;
-import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.comparators.UTF8StringBinaryComparatorFactory;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.IntegerSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.common.data.marshalling.UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer;
 import edu.uci.ics.hyracks.dataflow.std.connectors.OneToOneConnectorDescriptor;
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@
         public String host;
 
         @Option(name = "-port", usage = "Hyracks Cluster Controller Port (default: 1099)")
-        public int port = 1099;
+        public int port = 1098;
 
         @Option(name = "-app", usage = "Hyracks Application name", required = true)
         public String app;
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@
         CmdLineParser parser = new CmdLineParser(options);
         parser.parseArgument(args);
 
-        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksRMIConnection(options.host, options.port);
+        IHyracksClientConnection hcc = new HyracksConnection(options.host, options.port);
 
         JobSpecification job = createJob(options);
 
@@ -106,19 +106,19 @@
                 UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE });
 
         int secondaryFieldCount = 2;
-        ITypeTrait[] secondaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTrait[secondaryFieldCount];
-        secondaryTypeTraits[0] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
-        secondaryTypeTraits[1] = new TypeTrait(4);
+        ITypeTraits[] secondaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[secondaryFieldCount];
+        secondaryTypeTraits[0] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        secondaryTypeTraits[1] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         // comparators for sort fields and BTree fields
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] secondaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[2];
-        secondaryComparatorFactories[0] = UTF8StringBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        secondaryComparatorFactories[1] = IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        
+        secondaryComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
+        secondaryComparatorFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
         // comparators for primary index
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] primaryComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[1];
-        primaryComparatorFactories[1] = IntegerBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        
+        primaryComparatorFactories[1] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(IntegerPointable.FACTORY);
+
         // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory secondaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(secondaryTypeTraits);
         ITreeIndexFrameFactory secondaryInteriorFrameFactory = new BTreeNSMInteriorFrameFactory(
@@ -131,11 +131,11 @@
                 IntegerSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, UTF8StringSerializerDeserializer.INSTANCE, });
 
         int primaryFieldCount = 4;
-        ITypeTrait[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTrait[primaryFieldCount];
-        primaryTypeTraits[0] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        primaryTypeTraits[1] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
-        primaryTypeTraits[2] = new TypeTrait(4);
-        primaryTypeTraits[3] = new TypeTrait(ITypeTrait.VARIABLE_LENGTH);
+        ITypeTraits[] primaryTypeTraits = new ITypeTraits[primaryFieldCount];
+        primaryTypeTraits[0] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        primaryTypeTraits[1] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        primaryTypeTraits[2] = IntegerPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
+        primaryTypeTraits[3] = UTF8StringPointable.TYPE_TRAITS;
 
         // create factories and providers for secondary B-Tree
         TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory primaryTupleWriterFactory = new TypeAwareTupleWriterFactory(primaryTypeTraits);
@@ -147,13 +147,13 @@
         // i.e. we will have a range condition on the first field only (implying
         // [-infinity, +infinity] for the second field)
         IBinaryComparatorFactory[] searchComparatorFactories = new IBinaryComparatorFactory[1];
-        searchComparatorFactories[0] = UTF8StringBinaryComparatorFactory.INSTANCE;
-        
+        searchComparatorFactories[0] = PointableBinaryComparatorFactory.of(UTF8StringPointable.FACTORY);
+
         // build tuple containing low and high search keys
         ArrayTupleBuilder tb = new ArrayTupleBuilder(searchComparatorFactories.length * 2); // low
-                                                                                      // and
-                                                                                      // high
-                                                                                      // key
+        // and
+        // high
+        // key
         DataOutput dos = tb.getDataOutput();
 
         tb.reset();
diff --git a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/pom.xml b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/pom.xml
index 2615dc2..046d762 100644
--- a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/pom.xml
+++ b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/pom.xml
@@ -2,8 +2,6 @@
   <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
   <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples.btree</groupId>
   <artifactId>btreehelper</artifactId>
-  <version>0.2.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
-
   <parent>
     <groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks.examples</groupId>
     <artifactId>btree-example</artifactId>
@@ -29,6 +27,11 @@
   		<version>0.2.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
   		<scope>compile</scope>
   	</dependency>
+  	<dependency>
+  		<groupId>edu.uci.ics.hyracks</groupId>
+  		<artifactId>hyracks-data-std</artifactId>
+  		<version>0.2.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
+  	</dependency>
   </dependencies>
   <build>
     <plugins>
diff --git a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/helper/DataGenOperatorDescriptor.java b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/helper/DataGenOperatorDescriptor.java
index 35deb57..36e315d 100644
--- a/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/helper/DataGenOperatorDescriptor.java
+++ b/hyracks-examples/btree-example/btreehelper/src/main/java/edu/uci/ics/hyracks/examples/btree/helper/DataGenOperatorDescriptor.java
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@
     }
 
     @Override
-    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx, IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider,
-            int partition, int nPartitions) {
+    public IOperatorNodePushable createPushRuntime(IHyracksTaskContext ctx,
+            IRecordDescriptorProvider recordDescProvider, int partition, int nPartitions) {
 
         final ByteBuffer outputFrame = ctx.allocateFrame();
         final FrameTupleAppender appender = new FrameTupleAppender(ctx.getFrameSize());
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@
                     appender.reset(outputFrame, true);
                     for (int i = 0; i < numRecords; i++) {
                         tb.reset();
-                        for (int j = 0; j < recDesc.getFields().length; j++) {
+                        for (int j = 0; j < recDesc.getFieldCount(); j++) {
                             genField(tb, j);
                         }