1. A system for referencing attributes from a stream of tuples, comprising: a plurality of processing elements capable of receiving the stream of tuples; the stream of tuples having at least a first tuple and a second tuple; a stream manager communicatively coupled with the processing elements for tracking the tuples and having a capability of selecting attributes in tuples, wherein one or more selected attributes are chosen from a group of candidate attributes; a first stream operator communicatively coupled with the stream manager and capable of receiving the stream of tuples, wherein the first stream operator selects the selected attribute of the first tuple and assigns a first identifier to the selected attribute; a second stream operator communicatively coupled with the stream manager and capable of receiving the stream of tuples, and capable of replacing the selected attribute in the second tuple with a second identifier provided by the first stream operator; an identifier table communicatively coupled with the stream manager and the first and second stream operator, wherein the identifier table includes identifiers for selected tuples.