Network Working Group J. Foster, Editor
Request for Comments: 1689 University of Newcastle upon Tyne
RARE Technical Report: 13 August 1994
FYI: 25
Category: Informational
A Status Report
on
Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups
Produced as a collaborative effort by the Joint IETF/RARE/CNI
Networked Information Retrieval - Working Group (NIR-WG)
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo
does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
this memo is unlimited.
Abstract
The purpose of this report is to increase the awareness of Networked
Information Retrieval by bringing together in one place information
about the various networked information retrieval tools, their
developers, interested organisations, and other activities that
relate to the production, dissemination, and support of NIR tools.
NIR Tools covered include Archie, WAIS, gopher and World Wide Web.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction .............................................. 2
2. How the information was collected ......................... 3
3. What is covered? .......................................... 3
4. Updating information ...................................... 5
5. Overview of the types of NIR Tool ......................... 5
6. NIR Tools ................................................. 9
7. NIR Groups ................................................ 123
8. Security Considerations ................................... 180
9. Acknowledgements .......................................... 180
10. Author's Address .......................................... 180
11. Appendix A: NIR Tool Template ............................. 181
12. Appendix B: NIR Group Template ............................ 188
13. Appendix C: Email Lists and Newsgroups .................... 192
14. Appendix D: Coming Attractions ............................ 207
15. Appendix E: Extinct Critters (Tools) ...................... 222
16. Appendix F: Extinct Critters (Groups) ..................... 222
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1. Introduction
As the network has grown, along with it there has been an increase in
the number of software tools and applications to navigate the network
and make use of the many, varied resources which are part of the
network. Within the past two and a half years we have seen a
widespread adoption of tools such as the archie servers, the Wide
Area Information Servers (WAIS), the Internet gopher, and the
Worldwide Web (WWW). In addition to the acceptance of these tools
there are also diverse efforts to enhance and customise these tools
to meet the needs of particular network communities.
There are many organisations and associations that are focusing on
the proliferating resources and tools for networked information
retrieval (NIR). The Networked Information Retrieval Group is a
cooperative effort of three major players in the field of NIR: The
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the Association of European
Research Networks (RARE) and the Coalition for Networked Information
(CNI), specifically tasked to collect and disseminate information
about the tools and to discuss and encourage cooperative development
of current and future tools.
The purpose of this report is to increase the awareness of NIR by
bringing together in one place information about the various
networked information retrieval tools, their developers, interested
organisations, and other activities that relate to the production,
dissemination, and support of NIR tools. The intention is to make
this a "living document". It will be held on-line so that each
section may be updated separately as appropriate. In addition, it is
intended that the full document will be updated once a year so that
it provides a "snapshot" report on activities in this area.
Whilst the NIR tools in this report are being used on a wide variety
of information sources including files and databases there remains
much that is currently not accessible by these means. On the other
hand, the majority of the NIR Tools described here are freely
available to the networked Research and Education community. Tools
for accessing specialised datasets are often only available at a
cost.
It should be noted that in many ways networked information retrieval
is in its infancy compared with traditional information retrieval
systems. Thesaurus construction, boolean searching and
classification control are issues which are under discussion for the
popular NIR Tools but as yet are not in widespread use. However it
should be said that, with the vast amount of effort that is currently
going into the NIR field, rapid progress is being made. Much work is
currently being done on expanding some of the NIR tools to include
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handling of multimedia information services. Progress has also been
made in the discussions on classifying and cataloguing electronic
information resources.
2. How the information was collected
The information contained in this report was collected over the
network from the contacts for each NIR Tool or Group using two
templates:
- the NIR Tool Template, included in Appendix A;
- the NIR Group Template, included in Appendix B.
The contents of these templates were discussed by the NIR WG in
Boston (July, 1992) and subsequently on the email list. (See the
Section on the NIR-WG for details of how to join this mailing list.)
The initial draft report was discussed at the NIR Working Group in
Washington (November, 1992) and updated and added to at subsequent WG
meetings. Before the final submission as an RFC the individual
templates were reviewed by independent reviewers from around the
world. Their efforts are acknowledged in Section 9.
The NIR Tool template was used to collect the information necessary
to identify and track the development of networked information
retrieval tools. This template asked for information such as how and
where to get the software for each NIR Tool, documentation,
demonstration sites, etc. The main part of the template has been
completed by the main individual responsible for the tool. Sections
of the template (e.g., on clients) may have required completion by
others.
The NIR Group template requested information on the aim and purpose
of the group, the current tasks being undertaken, mailing lists,
document archives, etc.
3. What is covered?
In the current report you will find information on the following NIR
tools:
Alex
archie
gopher
Hytelnet
Netfind
Prospero
Veronica
WAIS (including freeWAIS)
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WHOIS
World Wide Web (including MOSAIC)
X.500 White Pages
Appendix D covers "Forthcoming Attractions":
Hyper-G
Soft Pages
WHOIS++
and the following NIR Groups:
CNI Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Architectures and Standards
Directories and Resource Information Services
TopNode for Networked Information Resources,
Services and Tools
CNIDR Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery
and Retrieval
IETF Integrated Directory Services (IDS)
Integration of Internet Information Resources (IIIR)
Networked Information Retrieval (NIR)
joint IETF/RARE WG
Network Information Services Infrastructure (NISI)
OSI-Directory Service (OSI-DS)
Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI)
Whois and Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS)
IRTF Internet Research Task Force Research Group on
Resource Discovery and Directory Service (IRTF-RD)
NISO Z39.50 Implementors Group
RARE Information Services and User Support Working Group
(ISUS)
USMARC/OCLC USMARC Advisory Group; OCLC Internet Resources
Cataloging Experiment (USMARC/OCLC)
Appendix C contains a list of the relevant email lists and Appendix D
contains information on "Coming Attractions" which are NIR tools not
yet in widespread use.
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4. Updating Information
Updates on and additions to the information contained in this report
are welcome. CNIDR have agreed to host the report and to accept
updates to individual templates from the template maintainers. Send
updates using the appropriate template (from Appendix A or Appendix B
of this report) to:
[email protected]
The current templates and this report may be retrieved from the UK
Mailbase Server:
Via anonymous ftp (use your email address as the password):
URL:
ftp://mailbase.ac.uk/pub/lists/nir/files/tool.template
URL:
ftp://mailbase.ac.uk/pub/lists/nir/files/group.template
URL:
ftp://mailbase.ac.uk/pub/lists/nir/files/nir.status.report
or via gopher or World Wide Web to mailbase.ac.uk
or via email:
Mail to:
[email protected]
Text of the message:
send nir tool.template
send nir group.template
send nir nir.status.report
5. Overview of the types of NIR Tools
The following is an overview of major networked information retrieval
(NIR) tools available on the Internet. There are many excellent
books which discuss the Internet and NIR Tools in detail. Such books
include "The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog" by Ed Krol and
published by O'Reilly and Associates, Inc and "The Internet Guide for
New Users" by Daniel Dearn and published by Meckler.
The number of these NIR tools is large and growing quickly. Certain
techniques reappear regularly and seemingly different tools may
perform similar tasks, allowing a simple classification of projects
encompassing most of the existing tools and services.
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The classification presented here is only one possible ordering. The
goal is to define in broad outlines what can be done with particular
tools, realizing that users will always find novel unanticipated ways
of applying them.
Interactive Information Delivery Services (Gopher, World Wide Web)
Basic Internet services such as electronic mail and anonymous FTP
can be used to share information across the Internet, but neither
allows simple browsing and neither is particularly easy for the
newcomer to learn to use. Gopher and the World Wide Web (W3) are
two recent developments that attempt to make it easier to
distribute information over the Internet. Both allow the user to
browse information across the network without the necessity of
logging in or knowing in advance where to look for information.
The Gopher project was first developed at the University of
Minnesota to provide a simple campus-wide on-line information
system. Gopher represents information as a simple hierarchy of
menus and files. It has limited capability to recognize different
types of files, allowing, for example, the display of selected
types of image files. Gateways to other services are provided
(usually in a manner that is transparent to the user). The
underlying Gopher protocol is simple, and has facilitated the
creation of freely available clients for use on a variety of
hardware platforms and operating systems. The more recent Gopher+
protocol adds the ability to provide documents in alternate forms
(PDF, PostScript, RTF, Word). These features and the ease of
installing and administering gopher servers has led to an
explosive growth of gopher sites since its initial deployment. As
of November 1993, there were over 2200 known servers.
World Wide Web relies on hypertext; formatted documents are
displayed, and hypertext links within the document can be selected
to travel from the current document to another. W3 allows a user
to annotate documents (using hypertext links), provides gateways
to other services, and has multimedia support (for example, on
appropriate hardware platforms it can intermix text and images in
a displayed document). There is a range of free W3 clients,
supporting many environments. World Wide Web was originally
developed at CERN for the High Energy Physics Community.
Gopher and WWW share a maintenance problem in that there is no
automated way to update links to other documents when those
documents are moved or removed.
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Directory Services (WHOIS, X.500)
Directory Service tools are intended to provide a lookup service
for locating information about users (often referred to as White
Pages), or services and service providers (Yellow Pages). For
example, a White Pages service might be used to locate an
electronic mail address, given a name and organization, while a
Yellow Pages service could be used to locate an online library
catalog or file archive site.
One of the first directory services deployed on the Internet was
WHOIS, a simple White Pages service created to track key network
contacts for the early DARPA-sponsored incarnation of the
Internet. A number of sites currently operate WHOIS servers,
based on a range of extensions and enhancements to the original
model. WHOIS enjoys the advantages of simplicity and the presence
of WHOIS client software on a preponderance of Internet-connected
hosts. Work is underway on a more powerful protocol, known as
WHOIS++, which is backwards-compatible with WHOIS.
The X.500 Directory Service is a much more ambitious Directory
project that has been under development for a number of years
under the aegis of ISO/OSI. Implementations, concerned primarily
with White pages services, are available in the public domain and
from commercial sources. There are LDAP based X.500 clients
available for most major platforms, as well as a LDAP based gopher
gateway to X.500.
Despite years of effort, there is still no single White Pages
Directory Service for the entire Internet; Yellow Pages services
remain even less well developed and deployed. The cost of setting
up the service is one obstacle; maintaining the required databases
is even more daunting.
Indexing Services (archie, Veronica, online library catalogs)
There are several Internet-based projects that build indexed
catalogs of information to facilitate searching and retrieval.
The first such services provided network access to library card
catalogs, with more recent projects indexing network-based
information.
archie:
The archie service began as a simple project to catalog the
contents of hundreds of ftp-accessible online file archives. The
archie service gathers location information, name, and other
details describing such files and creates an index database.
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Users can contact an archie server and search this database for
files they require.
The archie service is accessible through a range of access
methods, including telnet, stand-alone client programs running on
a user's own machine, gopher, WWW, or via electronic mail. The
initial implementation of archie tracks over 2,100,000 filenames
on over 1,200 sites around the world (as of November 1993). There
are about 30 (geographically distributed) archie servers. Both
commercial and freely available versions of the archie client
software are available.
Work continues on extending the archie service to provide
additional types of information. The latest version is being used
to provide a prototype Yellow Pages service and directories of
online library catalogs and electronic mailing lists.
Veronica:
Veronica arose as an attempt to do for the world of Gopher what
archie did for the world of ftp. A central server periodically
scans the complete menu hierarchies of Gopher servers appearing on
an ever-expanding list (over 2000 sites as of November 1993). The
resulting index is provided by a veronica server and can be
accessed by any gopher client.
Online library catalogs:
A large number of libraries make their computerized library
catalogs available over the Internet. Most are available through
telnet sessions in which the user connects to a specific address
and logs in using a specific login name. Some are also available
through other tools, such as Gopher.
Text-based Indexing Services (WAIS)
WAIS:
Wide Area Information Servers (WAIS) is a system for indexing and
serving information in a network-based environment. It is
distinct from indexing tools such as archie and veronica in that
it is used to index text-based target documents on a server, as
well as descriptions of the contents of a server.
A WAIS server allows the administrator to set up an index of the
documents (or resources) to be published. The user employs a WAIS
client to attach to a particular WAIS server, and specifies a
search pattern which is matched against the server's index. In
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early WAIS clients, searches are specified as simple natural-
language queries; common ("stop") words are removed, and Boolean
"ORs" are implicitly added between the remaining list of words.
Matching documents are rank-ordered according to a simple
statistical weighting scheme which attempts to indicate likely
relevance. The user may choose to view selected documents, or
further refine the search. The results of one search may be used
to successively refine future searches ("relevance feedback").
Gopher clients can also access WAIS servers via a transparent
gateway.
Both freely available and commercial versions of WAIS servers and
clients are available. Current work is attempting to add Boolean
expressions and proximity and field specifications to queries.
There are currently (as of November 1993) some 500 registered WAIS
databases with an estimated 2000 additional databases that are not
yet registered. There are approximately another 100 commercial
WAIS databases.
6. NIR Tools
This section contains detailed information about the various NIR
Tools. It is ordered alphabetically.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
ALEX
Date template updated or checked: 19th March, 1994
By: Name: Vincent Cate
Email address:
[email protected]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: Alex
Brief Description of Tool:
OVERVIEW:
The Alex filesystem provides users and applications transparent
read access to files in anonymous FTP sites on the Internet.
Today there are thousands of anonymous FTP sites with a total of a
few millions of files and roughly a terabyte of data. The
standard approach to accessing these files involves logging in to
the remote machine. This means that an application can not access
remote files like local files. This also means that users do not
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have any of their aliases or local tools available. Users who
want to use an application on a remote file first have to manually
make a local copy of the file. There is no mechanism for
automatically updating this local copy when the remote file
changes. The users must keep track of where they get their files
from and check to see if there are updates, and then fetch these.
In this approach many different users at the same site may have
made copies of the same remote file each using up disk space for
the same data.
Alex addresses the problems with the existing approach while
remaining within the existing FTP protocol so that the large
collection of currently available files can be used. To get
reasonable performance long term file caching is used. Thus
consistency is an issue. Traditional solutions to the cache
consistency problem do not work in the Internet FTP domain:
callbacks are not an option as the FTP protocol has no provisions
for this and polling over the Internet is slow. Therefore, Alex
relaxes file cache consistency semantics, on a per file basis, and
uses special caching algorithms that take into account the
properties of the files and of the network to allow a simple
stateless filesystem to scale to the size of the Internet.
USER'S VIEW:
To a user or application, Alex is just a normal filesystem. Any
command that works on local files will work on Alex files. Since
Alex is a real filesystem, nothing needs to be recompiled and no
libraries are changed. Thus, users can apply all of their
existing skills and tools for using files.
The user sees a filesystem with a hierarchical name space. At the
top level (/alex) there are top-level Internet domains like "edu",
"com", "uk", and "jp". Each component of the hostname becomes a
directory name. Then the remote path is added at the end. If the
user does a "ls /alex/edu/berkeley" he sees some machine names
such as "ucbvax" and "sprite" and some directories on
berkeley.edu. From the "ls" it is not clear what is where. The
user may or may not be aware of host boundaries.
INFORMATION PROVIDER'S VIEW:
Alex is implemented as a user level NFS server. NFS was chosen
because it makes it easy to add Alex to a wide range of machines.
Most machines can simply use the mount command.
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The model of usage is that there is one Alex server running at
each institution (though this is not required in any way). Users
mount the local server which caches files for users at that site.
Any information put into any anonymous FTP site becomes available
via Alex.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Vincent Cate
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: School of Computer Science
5000 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh PA, 15213
Telephone: +1-412-268-3077
Fax: +1-412-681-1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
At this time Alex is a one person project (Vince).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
Maybe the FTP working group.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organization / Funding source:
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Information Science and
Technology Office, under the title "Research on Parallel Computing,"
ARPA Order No. 7330. Work furnished in connection with this research
is provided under prime contract MDA972-90-C-0035 issued by DARPA/CMO
to Carnegie Mellon University. Vincent Cate is supported by an "Intel
foundation graduate fellowship".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: alex-servers is for people setting up an Alex
fileserver.
Archive: alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.209.13)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
None.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: Any machine that can NFS mount a fileserver.
What it runs over: Unix machine and FTP
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Uses FTP sites.
WAIS can be used to index files in Alex
(this was done for ftpable-readmes and cs-techreports WAIS servers)
New versions of archie can output Alex paths.
Future plans: Graduate from CMU.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 19 March 1994
By: Name: Vincent Cate
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact:
Name: Vincent Cate
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Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-412-268-3077
Server software available from: alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu
Location of more information:
No other place to go to.
Latest version number:
New versions all the time.
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This software is known to still contain bugs.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
200.
General comments:
You can use lpr, make, grep, more, etc. on files around the world.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
You just do an NFS mount of the server. No client software
is needed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
Site name: alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu
Access details - do the following as root:
mkdir /alex
mount -o timeo=30,retrans=300,soft,intr alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu:/ /alex
Example use:
ln -s /alex/edu/cs/cmu/sp/alex/links alexlinks
cd alexlinks
ls
cd cs-tr
cd ls
cd purdue
ls
lpr TR758.PS
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If you like Alex and want to use it regularly please find, or set up,
an Alex fileserver at/near your site.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
ftp://alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu/www/alex.html
ftp://alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu/doc/intro.ps
ftp://alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu/doc/NIR.Tool
ftp://alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu/doc/alex.post
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
@InProceedings{cate:alex,
author = "Vincent Cate",
title = "Alex - a Global Filesystem",
booktitle = "Proceedings of the Usenix File Systems Workshop",
year = 1992,
pages = "1--11",
month = may,
place = "Ann Arbor, MI",
keyword = "distributed file system, wide-area file system"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
FTP to alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu and "cd to doc". Get the "README" or
anything else there. A current version of this document may be there
and called "NIR.Tool". In Alex this file is named
"/alex/edu/cmu/cs/sp/alex/doc/NIR.Tool".
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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ARCHIE
Date template updated or checked: 1 March, 1994
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: archie
Brief Description of Tool:
The archie system is a tool for gathering, indexing and serving
information from around the Internet. The current version serves a
collection of filenames found at anonymous FTP sites, as well as a
smaller collection of text descriptions for software, data and other
information found at anonymous FTP archives. Additional databases
are under development.
User's View:
Users run a client program to connect to an archie server and
issue search commands to find information in an archie database.
In the case of an anonymous FTP filename, this information can
then be used to fetch the file directly from the archive site
using the `ftp' command. To the user, archie could be seen as a
`secondary source' of information which, because of the high cost
of locating and serving, would not otherwise be available.
The user searches the archie databases through either a telnet
session to a machine running an archie server, or by using a
stand-alone client program (which uses the Prospero protocol for
sending and receiving requests). There is also an email interface
which allows users to send and receive search requests via
electronic mail.
Freely available archie clients exist for most operating systems
and can be fetched using anonymous FTP from most of the current
archie servers. There are also gateways to the archie system from
many other NIR tools, including Gopher, WAIS and WWW. An X.500
interface to archie is currently under development.
Information Provider's View:
There are two types of information providers who would be
interested in archie. Primary information providers are
interested in having a summary of the information provided by
their service tracked by an archie server. Secondary service
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providers, or those sites wishing to provide a "value-added"
service for the Internet can elect to run an archie server at
their site to provide a useful service to users, to raise the
profile of their institution on the Internet, or to provide market
differentiation (for commercial service providers).
The archie system is of particular utility serving information
where there are many sites to be searched and/or where the cost of
searching each site is high.
For example, there are currently over 1,200 anonymous FTP sites on
the Internet, and the number continues to grow. Searching for a
specific filename at a single site may involve scanning hundreds,
or even thousands of filenames. Thus, most operators of anonymous
FTP archives welcome the fact that archie indexes and serves the
names of all files available from each site tracked.
Information Types Supported:
The archie system allows the gathering and serving of arbitrary
information types, although the current system serves only
freeform text and a dedicated text format for filename listings.
Internally, the archie system now supports a WAIS search engine
and frontends for Gopher, WWW and WHOIS++ for accessing archie
information through Gopher clients is now being tested.
Additional collections of information to be served by the archie
software will be announced.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Archie Group, Bunyip Information Systems Inc.
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Bunyip Information Systems Inc.,
310 St-Catherine St. West, suite 202,
Montreal, QC
CANADA H2X 2A1
Telephone: +1-514-875-8611
Fax: +1-514-875-8134
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line: for archie server system and telnet client
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Name: Archie Group, Bunyip Information Systems Inc.
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-514-875-8611
Level of support offered:
o commercial support for server
(primarily for systems maintainers)
o voluntary helpdesk support for freeware clients
o volunteer helpdesk support for Internet information
gathering tools in general
Hours available: - server system:
email: 24 hour support
phone support: 9-5 EST
- helpdesk consultation: as time permits
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
IETF, IIIR, WNILS, URI.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
Bunyip Information Systems Inc.
Funded by licensing of archie software and development contracts from
sponsors. Additional information services based upon this software
are now being tested.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description:
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This mailing list is for people interested in the archie project and
its future developments. Announcements of upgrades, new services,
etc. are made to this list.
Archive: none
-------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description:
This mailing list is for people who operate and maintain archie
servers. Announcements of bug fixes, new releases and discussion of
new features are carried out on this list.
Archive:
"archives.cc.mcgill.ca:/pub/mailing-lists/archie-maint"
-------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description:
This mailing list is for people who are involved in the Internet
Anonymous FTP Archives Working Group of the IETF. This group was
involved in standardizing the encoding of information at anonymous
FTP archives and thus is of interest to operators and users of the
archie system. It came to completion in November, 1992 and produced
two documents which have been presented to the IETF as informational
RFCs.
Archive: "archives.cc.mcgill.ca:/pub/mailing-lists/iafa"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
Name: comp.archives.admin
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Description:
This newsgroup is for operators and maintainers of Internet archives.
Announcements and discussions of issues related to archie are
presented here, as well as discussions of more general issues
relating to archiving and Internet services.
Archive: not known
-------------------
Name: alt.internet.services
Description:
This newsgroup is for people interested in Internet-related services,
with a focus at the user level. Announcements and discussions of
issues related to archie are presented here, as well as discussions
of more general issues relating to Internet services.
Archive: not known
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported:
The current archie system clients use the Prospero protocol for
communication with the search engine on the archie server. Freely
available clients are available which include source to perform
this communication for those wishing to implement additional
clients.
The archie server is capable of building arbitrary databases,
using arbitrary search and access engines and the current release
ships with the public domain implementation of WAIS. We expect
future archie servers to serve information using this protocol.
The current server system assumes the TCP/IP protocol suite is
available, and in particular the ftp protocol for data gathering.
The archie system can be accessed through systems operating the
Gopher, WAIS and WWW (HDDL) protocols. A gateway from the X.500
system is under development.
Foster [Page 19]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
What it runs over:
The Prospero protocol implementation runs over its own
implementation of a reliable datagram protocol based upon UDP.
Data gathering runs over the TCP/IP protocol suite.
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Prospero, Gopher, WAIS, WWW.
Future plans:
The archie system became a commercial product in October, 1992,
marketed by Bunyip Information Systems Inc. The company plans to
market additional data gathering modules to allow the server code
to build additional types of databases. Work is also underway to
integrate extensions to WHOIS to allow the building and
maintaining of White Pages (names) directories. The company is
also working on other Internet information tools that will work
with the archie system.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 1 November, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Sun SPARC running SunOS 4.1 or later.
IBM RS6000 running AIX version 3.2 or later.
for additional UNIX platforms, contact
Bunyip Information Systems details.
Primary Contact:
Name: Alan Emtage
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-514-398-8611
Server software available from:
Bunyip Information Systems Inc.
email:
[email protected]
Location of more information:
Additional information on the archie product line is available from
the anonymous ftp archives on the various archie server sites. Try
"archie.ans.net", "archie.sura.net", "archie.au", etc.
Foster [Page 20]
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Latest version number: archie 3.1
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This is the commercial inmplementation of the archie system,
replacing a version done as a Masters project at McGill University
during the period 1990-1992. It comes with an archie telnet client
that offers a number of minor improvements over earlier versions.
Additional releases, with a number of additional improvements, are
planned in the coming months.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Currently about 27 (not all are publicly available)
General comments:
Most users access archie through a freeware or public domain client
program. These are available from most archie servers via anonymous
FTP. Check out the archie directory on any of the publicly available
archie servers or the banner message when logging into any of the
archie telnet clients for more details.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 1 November, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: command line shell, written in C. Works
with both UNIX and MSDOS/OS2 shells.
Primary Contact:
Name: Brendan Kehoe
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: not known
Client software available from: most archie server hosts and major
Internet archives. Look for filename
"c-archie-1.3.2.tar.Z".
Location of more information: Packaged with software.
Latest version number: 1.3.2
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Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This program provides a simple command line interface to the archie
server system, using the Prospero protocol. Written in C, it has
been ported to MSDOS and OS2.
General comments:
This program should not be confused with the archie system telnet
interface, which is a program that runs on the archie server itself.
Future plans: Not known
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 1 November, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: command line shell, written in Perl.
Works with both UNIX and MSDOS/OS2
shells.
Primary Contact:
Name: Khun Yee Fung
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: not known
Client software available from: most archie server hosts and major
Internet archives. Look for filename
"perl-archie-3.8.tar.Z".
Location of more information: Packaged with software.
Latest version number: 3.8
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This program provides a simple command line interface to the archie
server system, using the Prospero protocol. Written in Perl.
General comments:
This program should not be confused with the archie system telnet
interface, which is a program that runs on the archie server itself.
Future plans: Not known
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-------------------
Date completed or updated: 1 November, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: archie client program for VMS systems.
Primary Contact:
Name: Brendan Kehoe
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: not known
Client software available from: most archie server hosts and major
Internet archives. Look for filename
"archie-vms.com".
Location of more information: Packaged with software.
Latest version number: not known.
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This program provides a simple command line interface to the archie
server system for users of VMS.
General comments:
This program should not be confused with the archie system telnet
interface, which is a program that runs on the archie server itself.
Future plans: Not known
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 1 November, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Xwindows client (X11R4)
Primary Contact:
Name: George Ferguson
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: not known
Client software available from: cs.rochester.edu, most archie server
hosts and major Internet archives.
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Look for file "xarchie-1.3.tar.Z".
Location of more information: Packaged with software.
Latest version number: xarchie-1.3
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This program provides an Xwindows client that allows users to search
the archie anonymous FTP database. Also included is the capability of
fetching files (using ftp).
General comments: none.
Future plans: Not known
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 1 November, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: NeXTStep client.
Primary Contact:
Name: Scott Stark
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: not known
Client software available from: most archie server hosts and major
Internet archives. Look for file
"NeXTArchie.tar.Z".
Location of more information: Packaged with software.
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This program provides a NeXTStep client that allows users to search
the archie anonymous FTP database. Also included is the capability
of fetching files (using ftp).
General comments: none.
Future plans: Not known
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Demonstration sites:
Site name: any one of:
archie.rutgers.edu 128.6.18.15 (Rutgers University)
archie.unl.edu 129.93.1.14 (University of Nebraska in
Lincoln)
archie.sura.net 128.167.254.179 (SURAnet archie server)
archie.ans.net 147.225.1.2 (ANS archie server)
archie.au 139.130.4.6 (Australian server)
archie.funet.fi 128.214.6.100 (European server in Finland)
archie.doc.ic.ac.uk 146.169.11.3 (UK/England server)
archie.cs.huji.ac.il 132.65.6.15 (Israel server)
archie.wide.ad.jp 133.4.3.6 (Japanese server)
Client software should be supported at all of these sites.
Additional sites are available. Use the "sites" command in the archie
telnet interface at any of the above sites for a more complete lists.
Access details:
- telnet to any of the above sites
- login as user `archie' (no password is required)
- type `help' at the prompt to get started.
Note: Some people forget and use ftp in place of telnet. This will
not work. The hint that this is being done is that they claim
that a password is needed, not that the site can't be found.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: What is archie
Location details: anonymous FTP from archie.ans.net
Site: archie.ans.net
Full file name: "pub/archie/doc/whatis.archie"
Description: Brief overview of the archie system.
Document Title: archie man pages
Location details: anonymous FTP from archie.ans.net
Site: archie.ans.net
Full file name: "pub/archie/doc/archie.man.*"
Description: Manual pages for the archie system telnet
interface in various formats (raw ASCII,
nroff, compressed, etc.). This document also
explains the various search options and other
features, so is of use to users of the other
archie client programs.
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Document Title: What's New in 3.0
Location details: anonymous FTP from archie.ans.net
Site: archie.ans.net
Full file name: "pub/archie/doc/whats.new"
Description: Description of the changes to archie for the
first commercial release
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: none
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: none
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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GOPHER
Date template updated or checked: 14 March 1994
By: Name: Mark P. McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: Internet Gopher
Brief Description of Tool:
The Internet Gopher protocol is a client/distributed-server document
search and retrieval protocol originally developed at the University
of Minnesota. Gopher was originally created as a fast, simple,
distributed, campus-wide information search and retrieval system;
ease of use and implementation has made Gopher increasingly popular
on the Internet. Since its original release, many folks on the
Internet have contributed to its growth, submitting patches, servers,
clients, and linking their local servers into the worldwide network
of Gopher servers. Gateways exist to seamlessly access a variety of
non-Gopher services such as ftp, WAIS, USENET news, Archie, Z39.50
(1992 rev), X.500 directories, Sybase and Oracle SQL servers, etc.
In addition, an "archie for gopherspace" called Veronica (very easy
rodent-oriented net-wide index to computerized archives) has been
developed at the University of Nevada. Veronica makes it easy to
search for items in gopherspace by title.
The gopher protocol is often described as "fiercely simple"; it is
connectionless (stateless), and uses TCP reliable streams. A client
connects to a server using TCP, and sends a one-line text "selector
string". The server responds by returning the item (a file, a
directory listing, or a link to some other service) corresponding to
the selector string and immediately closing the connection. Items in
directory listings are returned as a series of lines terminated by
carriage-return line-feed. Each item (line) is defined by a one-
character tag to specify the item type, a display string or item-name
that the client should display to the user, and a number of tab
delimited fields to specify the selector string, host domain name and
port number. Because of its simple and connectionless nature, gopher
servers make very minimal demands on their host machines and gopher
clients are extremely easy to implement.
The users view the Gopher world as a series of networked hierarchical
directories much like a familiar filesystem. However, the links
define a graph rather than a simple rooted tree. Links in the Gopher
graph may define services other than simple files or directories;
these include cso (qi) servers, telnet sessions, links to other
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gopher servers, and links to gateway servers.
The information provider's simplest view is that files and
directories below a certain root directory on their machine are all
visible and available for retrieval by gopher clients. More features
like long names, item types, links, and gateway services are
available to the more sophisticated information provider.
Servers and clients run on most popular hardware, including Macs,
UNIX boxes, PC-DOS boxes. The Internet Gopher name is copyright (c)
1991-1992 by the University of Minnesota. The Internet Gopher
protocol is described in an informational RFC (1436) available at
better RFC archives everywhere. Extensions to the base gopher
protocol allow for associating meta-information with gopher items,
alternate views of documents (i.e., text, postscript, rtf, etc.) and
electronic forms. Collectively, these extensions are referred to as
Gopher+. Gopher+ is upward compatible with the orginal gopher
protocol. The gopher software may be retrieved from numerous Gopher
or FTP archive sites, including the University of Minnesota Gopher
server, the Info-Mac Archive Gopher server, and by anonymous FTP from
boombox.micro.umn.edu and sumex-aim.stanford.edu. As of December
1993, about 1/3 of the approximately 4800 Gopher servers on the
internet support Gopher+.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Microcomputer & Workstation Networks Center
152 Shepherd Labs
100 Union Street SE.
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Telephone: +1-612-625-1300
Fax: +1-612-625-6817
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Name: Microcomputer HelpLine;
ask for The Internet Gopher Development Team
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Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: USA: 612 MA MICRO (+1-612-626-4276)
Helpline is for general support at the U of M.
Level of support offered: all users
Hours available: Phone Helpline 9-4 weekdays.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: News and views of all things gopher. Tends to
be a high volume mailing list and technically
oriented.
Archive: Via Gopher: University of Minnesota Gopher
Information About Gopher
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: A low-volume mailing list of announcements of
new software and servers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
Name: comp.infosystems.gopher
Description: Discussion of all things gopher.
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Archive: Available via gopher client; connect to the
gopher server at gopher.tc.umn.edu port 70,
look in the "Information About Gopher" section.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: Internet Gopher
What it runs over: Anything you can run TCP/IP over.
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Z39.50 WAIS variant via WAIS gateway
FTP via FTP gateway
archie/Prospero via an archie gateway
veronica (an archie for gopherspace)
NNTP via NNTP gateway
Finger (subset of gopher)
X.500 via X.500 gateway
Z39.50 1992 revision variant via Z39.50 gateway
Oracle and Sybase SQL servers via SQL gateway
CSO (Ph/Qi) online phone books
Future plans: New user interace metaphor on PowerPC and
Pentium-based clients.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: UNIX.
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-612-625-1300
Server software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
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/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (things change fast;
please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Server, index server for WAIS based indices and for NeXT
native indexing, tools, gateway code. Supports Gopher+.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Over 3000.
General comments:
The defacto standard workhorse Gopher server.
Paul Lindner is the architect and keeper of this server.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Macintosh.
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-612-625-1300
Server software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Macintosh Gopher Server and tools,
supports Gopher+.
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Approximate number of such servers in use:
Current estimates between 300 and 400.
General comments:
Runs on any Macintosh with 1MB memory or more.
Requires MacTCP. Can be configured to use Apple Computer's AppleSearch
full-text search software as a Gopher-accessible search engine.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: PC-DOS.
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-612-625-1300
Additional contacts:
Name: Dennis Sherman
Email address:
[email protected]
Name: Foteos Macrides
Email address:
[email protected]
Server software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: 0.91b
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Basic Gopher server for PC-DOS boxes.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Current estimates between 25 and 75.
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General comments:
Written by Chris McNeil <
[email protected]>, based on Phil Karns net
package. The U of M Gopher team forwards difficult problems to
Chris.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: VMS
Primary Contact:
Name: J. Lance Wilkinson
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-814-865-1818
Server software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/VMS/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: 1.2 VMS-0
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Basic VMS Server, shares some code with UNIX server.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
35-40 servers in use.
General comments:
The VMS server was written and is maintained by J. Lance Wilkinson,
Foteos Macrides, Bruce Tanner and others on the
[email protected] mailing list.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: VM/CMS
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Primary Contact:
Name: Rick Troth
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Server software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu:/pub/gopher/
Brazos.IS.Rice.EDU:/pub/vmcms/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: 2.4
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Gopher server for IBM VM/CMS installations.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Unknown.
General comments:
This server was written and is maintained by Rick Troth.
This server is commonly referred to as the Rice VM/CMS server.
There is also another VM/CMS server: the Vienna VM/CMS server.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: VM/CMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Gerhard Gonter
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Server software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu:/pub/gopher/
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Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: 2.00.00
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Gopher server for IBM VM/CMS installations.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Unknown.
General comments:
This server was written and is maintained by Gerhard Gonter.
This server is commonly referred to as the Vienna VM/CMS server.
There is also another VM/CMS server: the Rice VM/CMS server.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: MVS
Primary Contact:
Name: Steve Bacher
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Server software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu:/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: 2.1
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Gopher server for IBM MVS installations.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Unknown.
General comments:
This server was written and is maintained by Steve Bacher.
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-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Unix veronica server
Primary Contact:
Name: Steve Foster
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Server software available from:
Via FTP: veronica.scs.unr.edu:/veronica
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
veronica server software
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Unknown.
General comments:
Written and maintained by Steve Foster at the
University of Nevada.
Future plans: Additional support for searching on Gopher+ attributes
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Macintosh
Primary Contact
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-612-625-1300
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Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
One of the many Macintosh Gopher clients. Requires MacTCP.
General comments:
Macintosh TurboGopher is as of this writing, the fastest
Gopher client available for the Mac. Written by the
Minnesota Gopher Development Team. Supports Gopher+.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Macintosh
Primary Contact:
Name: Don Gilbert, Biology, Indiana
University - Bloomington
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: Indiana University Gopher Server
IUBio Software+Data/GopherApp,
Mac Gopher client
Via FTP: ftp.bio.indiana.edu:/util/gopher/
gopherapp/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
One of the many Macintosh Gopher clients. Requires MacTCP.
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General comments:
Written and maintained by Don Gilbert. Supports Gopher+.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Macintosh
Primary Contact:
Name: "Jonzy"
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: gopher.cc.utah.edu in Testing directory
Via FTP: ftp.cc.utah.edu:/pub/gopher/Macintosh/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
One of the many Macintosh Gopher clients. Requires MacTCP.
Has a browser style interface.
Uses customized Telnet application.
General comments:
Written and maintained by "Jonzy".
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: UNIX (curses/EMACS based client)
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
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Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-612-625-1300
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
The UNIX curses-based client.
General comments:
Written and maintained by Paul Lindner. Supports Gopher+.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: UNIX (simple client does not use CURSES)
Primary Contact:
Name: Sean Fuller
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: 0.3
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
sgopher is a simple gopher client for inetd/batch/online; it does not
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require much of the terminal other than it be 80X24 characters. It
can be run stand alone or it can be launched from inetd. It doesn't
use termcap or curses. Sgopher outputs the \r\n pair at the end of
line and requires a <return> after each command to support more
terminal types.
General comments:
Runs on VMS, IRIX, Ultrix, AIX, Solaris 2.x, Solaris 1.x
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Xgopher: UNIX XWindows based client
Primary Contact:
Name: Allan Tuchman
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Makes use of the X interface.
General comments:
Written and maintained by Allan Tuchman.
Future plans: Gopher+ support planned for the future.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
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Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Xgopher: UNIX XWindows based client
Primary Contact:
Name: Andrew Scherpbier
Email address:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Makes use of the X interface... displays a way cool chewing gopher
icon while information is being downloaded.
General comments:
XView based gopher client.
Future plans: Gopher+ support.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: NeXT: NeXTstep client
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-612-625-1300
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Foster [Page 41]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Makes full use of the NeXT interface.
General comments:
Initial version written by Max Tardiveau.
Now maintained by Paul Lindner.
Future plans:
-------------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: DOS TurboVision w/Clarkson packet
drivers
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-612-625-1300
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Character-based graphics and windows under DOS. Uses either Clarkson
Packet drivers (CRWYN packet drivers) and a built-in TCP/IP protocol
stack or Ftp, Inc.'s protocol stack (PC/TCP).
Foster [Page 42]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
General comments:
Gopher+ support.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: VMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Mark Van Overbeke
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: 0.6
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
The VMS client was written and is maintained by Mark Van Overbeke.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: VMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-612-625-1300
Foster [Page 43]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: 1.12
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Identical to Unix gopher1.12. Works on a VMS 5.5-2 system running
MultiNet 3.1B. UCX and Wollongong are also supported.
General comments:
A port of the University of Minnesota Unix client to VMS.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: VM/CMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Rick Troth
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Foster [Page 44]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Gopher client for IBM VM/CMS installations.
General comments:
This client was written and is maintained by Rick Troth.
This client is commonly referred to as the Rice VM/CMS client.
There is also another VM/CMS client: the Vienna VM/CMS client.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: VM/CMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Gerhard Gonter
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Gopher client for IBM VM/CMS installations.
General comments:
This client was written and is maintained by Gerhard Gonter.
This client is commonly referred to as the Vienna VM/CMS client.
There is also another VM/CMS client: the Rice VM/CMS client.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Foster [Page 45]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: DOS with PC/TCP.
Primary Contact:
Name: Steven E. Newton
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via FTP: oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu:/public/dos/misc/
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Gopher client for DOS with PC/TCP
General comments:
Written and maintained by Steven E. Newton
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: DOS with PC-NFS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Stan Barber
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via FTP: bcm.tmc.edu:/nfs/gopher.exe
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Gopher client for DOS with PC-NFS
Foster [Page 46]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
General comments:
Written and maintained by Stan Barber
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: DOS Novell LWP Gopher Client
Primary Contact:
Name: Jeremy T. James
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via FTP: lennon.itn.med.umich.edu:pub/gopher
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
DOS Novell LWP Gopher Client
General comments:
Written and maintained by Jeremy T. James.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Windows 3.1 with Winsock or PC/NFS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Martyn Hampson
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Foster [Page 47]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: lister.cc.ic.ac.uk
/pub/wingopher
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Gopher client for Windows; uses either Winsock DLL or PC/NFS network
interface.
General comments:
Written and maintained by Martyn Hampson. Gopher+ support.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Windows with Winsock and ToolBook.
Primary Contact:
Name: Kevin Gamiel
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: sunsite.unc.edu
/pub/micro/pc-stuff/ms-windows/winsock/gophbook.zip
Location of more information:
As above.
Latest version number: 1.0
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Gopher client for Windows; uses Asymetrix's ToolBook to paint the
screen and speaks to the network via a Winsock DLL.
Foster [Page 48]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
General comments:
Written and maintained by Kevin Gamiel
Future plans:
------------------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Air Gopher commercial client for windows
Primary Contact:
Name: David Pool, Spry Software, Inc.
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-206-447-0300
Client software available from:
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General Comments:
Future plans:
Gopher+ support planned.
------------------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Win Gopher
Primary Contact:
Name: Bill Easton, Notis, Inc.
Telephone: +1-708-866-0159
Client software available from:
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Foster [Page 49]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General Comments:
Requires Winsock. Supports gopher.
Future plans:
Gopher+ support planned.
------------------------------
Date completed or updated: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: GINA
Primary Contact:
Name: Mark Resmer, California Technology
Project
Email address:
[email protected]
Client software available from:
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General Comments:
Macintosh and windows clients include netnews, email.
Future plans:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
List of sites which are willing to act as demonstration
sites for this application.
site name ip address login as serving area
----------------------------------------------------------------
consultant.micro.umn.edu 134.84.132.4 gopher North America
gopher.uiuc.edu 128.174.33.160 gopher North America
panda.uiowa.edu 128.255.40.201 panda North America
info.anu.edu.au 150.203.84.20 info Australia
Foster [Page 50]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
gopher.chalmers.se 129.16.221.40 gopher Sweden
tolten.puc.cl 146.155.1.16 gopher South America
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Title: (1) Gopher Protocol and
(2) Gopher+ Proposed Extensions
Location details:
Via Gopher: U of M Gopher
Information About Gopher
Gopher Software Distribution
Via FTP: boombox.micro.umn.edu
/pub/gopher/
Title: RFC 1436 The Internet Gopher Protocol
(a distributed document search and retrieval
protocol)
Via FTP: nic.ddn.mil
/rfc/rfc1436.txt
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
The Whole Internet, Ed Kroll, O'Reilly, 1992
The Internet Gopher, "ConneXions", July 1992, Interop.
Exploring Internet GopherSpace "The Internet Society News", v1n2 1992
The Internet Gopher Protocol, Proceedings of the Twenty-Third
IETF, CNRI, Section 5.3
Internet Gopher, Proceedings of Canadian Networking '92
The Internet Gopher, INTERNET: Getting Started, SRI
International, Section 10.5.5
Tools help Internet users discover on-line treasures, Computerworld,
July 20, 1992
TCP/IP Network Administration, O'Reilly.
Balakrishan, B. (Oct 1992) "SPIGopher: Making SPIRES databases
accessible through the Gopher protocol". SPIRES Fall '92
Workshop, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Foster [Page 51]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 52]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
HYTELNET
Date template updated or checked: 28 February, 1994
By: Name: Peter Scott
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: HYTELNET
Brief Description of Tool:
HYTELNET is a terminate-and-stay-resident hypertext browser, which
gives a user full instructions for logging into telnet-accessible
sites on the Internet i.e., library catalogs, campus-wide information
systems, bulletin boards, directory services, gophers, etc. The
browser does not make remote connections. A Unix/VMS version, which
does make remote connections, has been written by Earl Fogel,
Computing Services, University of Saskatchewan. Macintosh and Amiga
versions are also available (see ftp site information below).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Peter Scott
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: 324 8th Street East
Saskatoon, Sask, Canada S7H 0P5
Telephone: +1-306-966-5920
Fax: +1-306-966-6040
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Name: Peter Scott
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-306-966-5920
Level of support offered:
o volunteer
Foster [Page 53]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Hours available: 8:00 a.m - 3:30 p.m CST
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists: HYTELNET Updates Distribution
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: By listowner Peter Scott
[email protected]
Description:
To inform members of new versions of the software, and to keep users
informed of new/changed/defunct Telnet-accessible sites
To subscribe send e-mail message to
[email protected] with
no subject, and sub hytel-l firstname lastname as the body of the
message.
Archive: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: bit.listserv.hytel-l
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported:
What it runs over:
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Foster [Page 54]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Future plans: Possible translation into gopher format
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 21 December, 1993
By: Name: Peter Scott
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: DOS
Primary Contact
Name: Peter Scott
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-306-966-5920
Client software available from:
ftp.usask.ca in
pub/hytelnet/pc as hytelnXX.zip, where XX = latest version number.
pub/hytelnet/{amiga,unix,vms,mac}/* for respective versions
Location of more information: finger
[email protected]
Latest version number: 6.6 (Issued October 23, 1993)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
To contine to produce updated versions in current form.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
The Unix/VMS version can be accessed via telnet to access.usask.ca
(login: hytelnet)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 55]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Documentation: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
HYTELNET as software for accessing the Internet: a personal
perspective on the development of HYTELNET.
Electronic Networking, Vol. 2, No. 1 Spring 1992 pp 38-44
Hypertext...Information at your fingertips.
In: Designing Information: new roles for librarians.
Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1993
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 56]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
NETFIND
Date template updated or checked: 1 March, 1994
By: Name: Mike Schwartz
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: Netfind
Brief Description of Tool:
Given the name of a person on the Internet and a rough description of
where the person works, Netfind attempts to locate information about
the person. People can be specified by first, last, or login name.
Their place of work can be described by name and/or the
city/state/country.
Netfind provides textual information about people, when it is able to
locate such information. It is not a directory in the usual sense of
the word. Rather, it searches for people using a number of Internet
services and heuristics about how to locate user information.
Because of the techniques it uses, Netfind can locate information
about more people than any other Internet user directory - over 5
million people in over 9,000 domains worldwide when last measured.
You can use the University of Colorado Netfind server by telnet to
bruno.cs.colorado.edu: login as "netfind" (with no password). Help
screens providing more detailed instructions and technical
information are available there. There is currently no way for non-
Internet users to access Netfind (e.g., using an email interface).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Mike Schwartz
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Department of Computer Science
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0430
Telephone: Declined. (Note: Netfind is currently a
volunteer service. We do not have staff
resources to support telephone inquiries.)
Foster [Page 57]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Fax: Declined.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
There are an increasing number of Netfind servers being set up at
various Network Information Centers (including the U.S. Internic).
However, since Netfind is provided as a volunteer service at this
time, there is no help line.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
Gopher, NIR, IIIR, IRTF-RD.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
None. Netfind was originally a research prototype. It is offered
as-is, on an unsupported basis. From time to time the original
developers make improvements, but it is not currently funded.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: mailing list for user changes and updates.
Archive: None.
----------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: mailing list for sites running Netfind servers.
Archive: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 58]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
News groups:
None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: NVT ASCII. At present no formal protocol is
used. We are currently implementing a client/
server protocol, which will allow better clients
and more efficient servers.
What it runs over: TCP/IP.
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Finger, Gopher, PH, SMTP, USENET news, UUCP
maps, Various NIC databases, Various service
logs, WAIS, WHOIS, X.500, DNS
Future plans:
Many. Telnet to the server and see the "Future Directions" menu
under the "Frequently Asked Questions" help menu.
In addition to the above list, we are currently exploring
possibilities to integrate the Netfind seed database gathering
mechanisms into the Fremont framework, to make the process more
scalable, and to support other types of information (e.g., to help
with mapping the Internet).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: October 12, 1993
By: Name: Mike Schwartz
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: SunOS 4.1 or more recent. Uncertain
whether Netfind will run on Solaris.
Primary Contact:
Name: Mike Schwartz
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: (not supplied)
Server software available from: ftp.cs.colorado.edu, in the
Foster [Page 59]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
directory pub/cs/distribs/netfind.
Location of more information: in above directory.
Latest version number: 4.4.
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This version of Netfind incorporates the ability for sites to
register a set of URLs in their DNS server, pointing Netfind to a
variety of different sources for information. Netfind can now tap
information from X.500, WHOIS, and PH, in addition to the previous
sources it used (finger, etc.). For more information see
ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/cs/distribs/netfind/Netfind.WP.URLs
Approximate number of such servers in use:
17 public servers; hundreds or thousands of private stand-alone
clients.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
The Netfind client is available in the same release as the server.
See above.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
Site name: bruno.cs.colorado.edu
The current list is:
archie.au (AARNet, Melbourne, Australia)
bruno.cs.colorado.edu (University of Colorado, Boulder)
dino.conicit.ve (Nat. Council for Techn. & Scien. Research,
Venezuela)
ds.internic.net (InterNIC Directory and DB Services,
S. Plainfield, NJ)
eis.calstate.edu (California State University, Fullerton, CA)
lincoln.technet.sg (Technet Unit, Singapore)
malloco.ing.puc.cl (Catholic University of Chile, Santiago)
monolith.cc.ic.ac.uk (Imperial College, London, England)
mudhoney.micro.umn.edu (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis)
netfind.anu.edu.au (Australian National University, Canberra)
netfind.ee.mcgill.ca (McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada)
netfind.if.usp.br (University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil)
netfind.oc.com (OpenConnect Systems, Dallas, Texas)
netfind.vslib.cz (Liberec University of Technology, Czech Republic)
nic.nm.kr (Korea Network Information Center, Taejon, Korea)
Foster [Page 60]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
nic.uakom.sk (Academy of Sciences, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia)
redmont.cis.uab.edu (University of Alabama at Birmingham)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
There are three primary sets of information available about Netfind.
The first is a set of help information, available in the FTP
distribution as well as from the help screens available from any
Netfind server. This information includes a fairly complete set of
Frequently Asked Questions, as well as user help information and
pointers to other related information. The second is a
pre-publication version of a technical paper about Netfind, available
in
ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/PostScript/
Netfind.Gathering.ps.Z (compressed PostScript)
or
ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/ASCII/
Netfind.Gathering.txt.Z (compressed ASCII).
An earlier paper is also available in
ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/PostScript/
White.Pages.ps.Z
or
ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/ASCII/
White.Pages.txt.Z,
containing some of the original ideas in Netfind and measurements of
the system. The Netfind.Gathering paper contains an up-to-date
description of the data gathering and integration algorithms.
The third source of information focuses particularly on the URL-based
remote site customization mechanism, and is available in
ftp://ftp.cs.colorado.edu/pub/cs/distribs/netfind/Netfind.WP.URLs
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Netfind is one prototype developed by the Networked Resource Discovery
Project, at the University of Colorado - Boulder. A bibliography and
set of project papers is available by anonymous FTP from
Foster [Page 61]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
ftp.cs.colorado.edu, in pub/cs/techreports/schwartz. This directory
contains a file called "README" that contains a project overview and
bibliography. The files in this directory are also available via an
electronic mail interface. For more information, send a mail message
to
[email protected], containing the message body (not
subject line) "send HELP" (without quotes).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 62]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
PROSPERO
Date template updated or checked: 1 March, 1994
By: Name: Steven Augart
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: Prospero
Brief Description of Tool:
The Prospero directory service supports a user centered view of files
scattered across the Internet. It can be used to organize references
to files as if they were on your local system, without the need to
physically move them.
Prospero provides access to existing directories and indices that can
be used to find files of interest that are available from Internet
archive sites. Among the indices available is the archie database
and a gateway to all Gopher menus, files, and searches. We hope to
have WAIS indices and World Wide Web documents online in the near
future.
Prospero also provides a mechanism to make directories and indices
available to end-users and applications in a format that allows
information from different sources to be integrated into a coherent
whole.
Prospero does not interpret the data that it organizes. It does
provide mechanisms to retrieve the data, but the display and use of
the data is up to the user's application. Prospero is intended to
serve as infrastructure that integrates information from a variety of
sources and supports a variety of user applications.
Prospero allows fine grained authorization of requests to all
objects, including directories and indices. Prospero supports the
authentication of clients through four mechanisms: (a) simple client
assertion of the user's identity; (b) a trusted port mechanism
similar to that used by the Berkeley UNIX R commands; (c) a simple
cleartext passwording mechanism; (d) Kerberos (version 5). The
maintainer of an ACL chooses which of these mechanisms he or she
wishes to accept as proof of the client's identity.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Foster [Page 63]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Name: Info Prospero (preferred contact address)
Email address:
[email protected]
--------------------------
Name: Clifford Neuman
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: U.S.C. Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695
U.S.A.
Telephone: +1-310-822-1511
------------------------
Name: Steven Augart
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: U.S.C. Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695
U.S.A.
Telephone: +1-310-822-1511
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Name: Info Prospero
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
IETF IAFA WG
IETF IIIR WG
IETF URI WG
IETF NIR WG
IRTF Resource Discovery WG
Foster [Page 64]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California
The design and implementation was supported in part by the National
Science Foundation (Grant No. CCR-8619663), the Washington Technology
Center, Digital Equipment Corporation, and the Advanced Research
Projects Agency under NASA Cooperative Agreement NCC-2-539.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: This mailing list is really two one-way mailing
lists. Send mail to INFO-PROSPERO to obtain
information about Prospero, papers, or the
release. Mail to INFO-PROSPERO will not be
passed on to subscribers. INFO-PROSPERO is also
the list to which we will send status updates
and information on how to obtain new releases.
Archive: Via anonymous FTP to PROSPERO.ISI.EDU as
/pub/prospero/mail/info-prospero.arc
Via Prospero in the "#/INET/EDU/ISI/GUEST/prototype" virtual
system as /sites/isi.edu/pub/prospero/mail/info-prospero.arc
--------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: This mailing list is for general discussion of
Prospero, for announcements of new sites that
have come on board, and for announcements of
directories that people have created to organize
the information already accessible.
Archive: Via anonymous FTP to PROSPERO.ISI.EDU as
/pub/prospero/mail/prospero.arc
Foster [Page 65]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Via Prospero in the "#/INET/EDU/ISI/GUEST/prototype" virtual
system as /sites/isi.edu/pub/prospero/mail/prospero.arc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
NONE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported:
Prospero directory service requests are formatted
according to the Prospero protocol.
Prospero does not have its own file retrieval
protocol. Files may be automatically retrieved using
FTP, NFS, AFS, and GOPHER. Loginable services may also be
accessed via TELNET.
What it runs over:
Directory service requests are layered on top of
UDP, with our own (included) reliable message delivery
layer.
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Archie, Gopher, Wais, WWW
Future plans:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 1 November, 1993
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact:
Name: Clifford Neuman and Steven Augart
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-310-822-1511
Server software available from:
Via anonymous FTP: PROSPERO.ISI.EDU, /pub/prospero/prospero.tar.Z
Foster [Page 66]
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Via Prospero: /releases/prospero/prospero.tar.Z, in the
"#/INET/EDU/ISI/GUEST/prototype" virtual system.
Note that the name prospero.tar.Z refers to the most stable release
(currently Beta version 5.1). If you want the latest version of
the server (which includes the Gopher gateway), you should retrieve
it by version number; the name for the latest version is
prospero-alpha.5.2.tar.Z
Location of more information:
Contained within the release.
Latest version number:
Alpha Version 5.3
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
The server allows the maintainer to make directory information
available about selected portions of the server's filesystem, such as
anonymously FTPable files. The server also is used to publish
information from other databases, such as Archie. The server also
allows users and maintainers to store their own customized organizing
views of the namespace. Release Alpha.5.2 of the server includes a
gateway feature which treats all Gopher servers as a Prospero
database.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
50
General comments:
Future plans:
We have a prototype NFS server that makes Prospero queries, but it is
not yet ready to release. We plan to develop a gateway similar to
the existing Gopher gateway feature for World Wide Web. There is
also active work being done on exporting WAIS indices through
Prospero in a way similar to the way the archie database is exported.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 1st November, 1993
Platform: UNIX
Foster [Page 67]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Primary Contact
Name: Clifford Neuman and Steven Augart
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-310-822-1511
Client software available from:
Via anonymous FTP: PROSPERO.ISI.EDU, /pub/prospero/prospero.tar.Z
Via Prospero: /releases/prospero/prospero.tar.Z, in the
"#/INET/EDU/ISI/swa" virtual system.
Note that the name prospero.tar.Z refers to the most stable release
(currently Beta version 5.1). If you want the latest version of
the clients (which includes the Prospero menu browser), you should
retrieve it by version number; the name for the latest version is
prospero-alpha.5.2.tar.Z
Latest Version number:
Alpha Version 5.2
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
We provide two client interfaces. The older one is a command-line
client, which can be configured to use the same syntax to navigate
through the Prospero namespace that a user uses to navigate through
the UNIX filesystem. ("cd", "ls", etc.) The newer one is a menu-
based file and directory browser similar to the UNIX Gopher client.
General comments:
Archie clients also make queries in the Prospero namespace, so all
Archie clients are Prospero clients too. They are better described
in the Archie report.
Future plans:
We are working on enhancing the menu browser client to allow users to
remotely customize and update virtual systems. We plan to develop a
Prospero hypertext browser.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
A guest virtual system is available on PROSPERO.ISI.EDU. However, to
use it, you must compile the Prospero command-line client on your own
machine. Instructions for using it come with the Prospero
distribution.
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
All of these papers are available via anonymous FTP from
PROSPERO.ISI.EDU. They may additionally be obtained through
Prospero itself by preceding the 'Full file name:' given below with
'/sites/isi.edu' and looking in the '#/INET/EDU/ISI/GUEST/prototype'
virtual system.
Document Title: The Prospero Protocol, version 5
Location details:
Site: PROSPERO.ISI.EDU
Full file name: /pub/prospero/doc/prospero-protocol.PS.Z
Document Title: Prospero User's Manual
Location details:
Site: PROSPERO.ISI.EDU
Full file name: /pub/prospero/doc/prospero-user-manual.PS.Z
Document Title: Prospero Library Manual
Location details:
Site: PROSPERO.ISI.EDU
Full file name: /pub/prospero/doc/prospero-library-manual.PS.Z
Document Title: Prospero Menu-based Browser API Manual
Location details:
Site: PROSPERO.ISI.EDU
Full file name: /pub/prospero/doc/prospero-menu-api.PS.Z
Document Title: Description of Prospero Documents and Papers
Location details:
Site: PROSPERO.ISI.EDU
Full file name: /pub/prospero/papers/README-prospero-documents
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
A bibliography listing all publicly available Prospero documents and
papers is available via anonymous FTP from PROSPERO.ISI.EDU as
/pub/prospero/README-prospero-documents The following papers are also
available via anonymous FTP from PROSPERO.ISI.EDU:
Prospero:/papers/subjects/operating-systems/prospero/prospero-bii.ps.Z
Anonymous FTP: /pub/papers/prospero/prospero-bii.ps.Z
(POSTSCRIPT)
@INPROCEEDINGS{prosperobii,
Foster [Page 69]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
AUTHOR = "Neuman, B. Clifford and Augart, Steven Seger",
TITLE = "Prospero: A Base for Building Information
Infrastructure",
BOOKTITLE = "Proceedings of INET'93",
YEAR = 1993,
MONTH = "August"}
For the readers of this report, this is the first paper you probably
want to read about Prospero. This paper describes how Prospero can
be used to integrate internet information services, including
Gopher, WAIS, Archie, and World Wide Web. The paper was
presented at INET'93 in August.
Prospero:/papers/subjects/operating-systems/prospero/prospero-oir.ps.Z
Anonymous FTP: /pub/prospero/papers/prospero-oir.ps.Z
(POSTSCRIPT)
@ARTICLE{oir,
AUTHOR = "Neuman, B. Clifford",
TITLE = "Prospero: A Tool for Organizing {I}nternet Resources",
JOURNAL = "Electronic Networking: Research, Applications and
Policy",
MONTH = "Spring",
YEAR = 1992,
VOLUME = 2,
NUMBER = 1}
This is the first paper we give to more general computer science
audiences to read. It's also a good first paper to look at. It
gives a good overview of Prospero and what it does. It also
describes a bit about the Virtual System model, of which Prospero is
a prototype implementation. Describes what Prospero does, not how
it does it.
Anonymous FTP: /pub/prospero/papers/prospero-gfsvsm.ps.Z
(POSTSCRIPT)
@INPROCEEDINGS{gfsvsm,
AUTHOR = "Neuman, B. Clifford",
TITLE = "The {P}rospero {F}ile {S}ystem: A Global File System
based on the {V}irtual {S}ystem {M}odel",
BOOKTITLE = "Proceedings of the Workshop on File Systems",
YEAR = 1992,
MONTH = "May"}
This is a good third paper to read about Prospero. This one is
targeted more toward system implementors. It provides more
implementation details than the paper on organizing Internet
resources, but less of the vision of how Prospero can be used together
with other systems.
Foster [Page 70]
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Prospero:
/papers/subjects/operating-systems/prospero/prospero-smlic.ps.Z
Anonymous FTP: /pub/papers/prospero/prospero-smlic.ps.Z
(POSTSCRIPT)
@INPROCEEDINGS{prosperosmlic,
AUTHOR = "Neuman, B. Clifford and Augart, Steven Seger and
Upasani, Shantaprasad",
TITLE = "Using Prospero to Support Integrated
Location-Independent Computing",
BOOKTITLE = "Proceedings of the Usenix Symposium on Mobile and
Location-Independent Computing",
YEAR = 1993,
MONTH = "August"}
This paper describes how the Prospero Directory Service can be used to
solve the server selection problem and the user location problem. The
paper was presented in August at the Usenix Symposium on Mobile
and Location-Independent Computing.
Anonymous FTP: /pub/prospero/papers/UW-CS-89-01-07.PS.Z
(POSTSCRIPT)
@TECHREPORT{vsmldos,
AUTHOR = "Neuman, B. Clifford",
TITLE = "The {V}irtual {S}ystem {M}odel for Large Distributed
Operating Systems",
INSTITUTION = "Department of Computer Science, University of
Washington",
YEAR = 1989,
MONTH = "April",
NUMBER = "89-01-07"}
This describes the initial vision for the Virtual System
Model, the model on which Prospero is based. Much of the material in
this paper appears in greater detail in other papers.
Anonymous FTP: /pub/prospero/papers/UW-CSE-90-05-01.PS.Z
(POSTSCRIPT)
@TECHREPORT{vsmtp,
AUTHOR = "Neuman, B. Clifford",
TITLE = "The {V}irtual {S}ystem {M}odel: A Scalable Approach
to Organizing Large Systems (A Thesis Proposal)",
INSTITUTION = "Department of Computer Science and Engineering,
University of Washington",
YEAR = 1990,
MONTH = "May",
NUMBER = "90-05-01"}
for a long time this was the best description of Prospero, but
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
all the information in this document appears in more recent papers and
the dissertation itself.
Anonymous FTP: /pub/prospero/papers/prospero-closure.ps.Z
(POSTSCRIPT)
@ARTICLE{nfclosure,
AUTHOR = "Neuman, B. Clifford",
TITLE = "The Need for Closure in Large Distributed Systems",
JOURNAL = "Operating Systems Review",
MONTH = "October",
YEAR = 1989,
VOLUME = 23,
NUMBER = 4,
PAGES = "28--30"}
This paper describes the reasons that operating systems need to
support closure, that is they need to make it clear which name space
is to be used when resolving names. While closure is one of the
important features of Prospero, the concept should be applied in other
operating systems too.
Prospero:
/papers/subjects/operating-systems/prospero/prospero-neuman-thesis.ps.Z
Anonymous FTP: /pub/prospero/papers/prospero-neuman-thesis.ps.Z
(POSTSCRIPT)
@PHDTHESIS{phdneuman,
AUTHOR = "Neuman, B. Clifford",
TITLE = "The {V}irtual {S}ystem {M}odel: A Scalable Approach
to Organizing Large Systems",
SCHOOL = "University of Washington",
MONTH = "June",
YEAR = 1992,
NOTE = "Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Technical Report 92-06-04"}
This is Clifford Neuman's Ph.D. Dissertation. It is currently the
definitive work on Prospero and the Virtual System Model. Includes
an obsolete version of the Prospero User's Manual and of the Prospero
Protocol Specification.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
We provide three documented library interfaces to Prospero in order to
make client writing easy.
Foster [Page 72]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
The PFS and PCOMPAT libraries are documented in the library reference
manual. The PFS library allows one to directly make Prospero requests
and parse the results and to manipulate Prospero objects as
abstractions. The PCOMPAT library is an interface to the PFS library
which uses the same interface as the UNIX filesystem; one can link
many existing programs with the PCOMPAT library in order to get it to
resolve names in the Prospero namespace. It is not as portable as the
PFS library and does not provide as much functionality.
The third library interface is the menu-browser API library. It is
documented in the menu-based browser API manual and is used by our
menu-based browser.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 73]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
VERONICA
Date template updated or checked: 28 February, 1994
By: Name: Steven Foster
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: veronica
Brief Description of Tool:
veronica: Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized
Archives.
veronica is the comprehensive title-index of the world's gopher
servers. Because of veronica, the Gopher web is a search-and-
retrieval system as well as a browsing system. veronica is popular
because the ubiquitous Gopher client can both access the search
server, and provide immediate access to the discovered resources.
Taking advantage of Gopher's linked menus, and of the policy of open
access at most gopher sites, veronica finds and indexes almost all
items on publicly-accessible gopher servers.
As of February, 1994, veronica holds indexes to more than 3200 gopher
servers on approximately 2500 internet hosts. In February 1994 the
public-access veronica sites served an estimated 1,200,000 queries.
Most queries are resolved in less than twenty seconds. Eight server
sites offer searches to the internet community, and several other
institutions run servers for internal access.
veronica is easily accessed via any Gopher client. It offers various
types of searches, ranging from single-keyword searches to boolean
queries of indefinite complexity.
A veronica search originates with a user's request for a search,
submitted from a gopher client. The searches may include boolean
operators ( AND, OR, NOT, and parentheses ) and several options to
control the number of items returned, and to restrict the search to
certain gopher types. The result of a veronica search is a set of
gopher-type data items, which is returned to the gopher client as a
gopher menu. Each item on this menu contains the user's desired
keyword or keywords in the item title.
The user can access any of the gopher items by selecting from the
returned menu. Items on this menu may be drawn from many gopher
servers. Because veronica is accessed through gopher clients, it
provides immediate access to all types of data supported by the
Foster [Page 74]
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gopher protocol and the client implementation.
The veronica service comprises two functions:
1) Harvesting menu data from gopher servers, and preparing it for
use;
2) Offering searches of that database to gopher clients.
These two functions are not necessarily provided by the same host
computer. Currently collection and preparation of data are done at
University of Nevada, and datasets are distributed to the other
veronica servers.
The veronica service infrastructure has been fairly stable since
July, 1993, with eight server sites offering searches for the
internet community (March 1994). These servers are supported by the
participating institutions: NYSERNET, PSI, SERRA, CNIDR, University
of Koeln, SUNET, University of Bergen and the University of Nevada
System Computing Services. Several additional servers offer searches
with access limited to internal users; in this class are servers at
MSU, SUNET, and the Australian University system.
An auxiliary tool to build a locally held menu of Public available
has been created. Called "maltshop", it has been distributed since
January, 1994. It appears that maltshop is rapidly being accepted,
but its long-term effect on loading of the servers may be
problematic.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: veronica development team
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: VERONICA development team
SCS Computer Center Building mailstop 270
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno,
NV 89557-0023
Telephone: +1-702-784-4292 or +1-702-784-6557
Fax: +1-702-784-1108
Name: Fred Barrie
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: SCS Computer Center Building mailstop 270
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno,
NV 89557-0023
Foster [Page 75]
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Telephone: +1-702-784-4292 or +1-702-784-6557
Fax: +1-702-784-1108
Name: Steven Foster
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: SCS Computer Center Building mailstop 270
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno,
NV 89557-0023
Telephone: +1-702-784-4292 or +1-702-784-6557
Fax: +1-702-784-1108
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Name: veronica development team
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: no telephone support available
Level of support offered: all users
Hours available: irregular response latencies to email queries,
based on schedule of developers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups: GOPHER, FACETS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
University and Community College System of Nevada Computer Services,
and University of Nevada, Reno. Additional support has been
provided by CNIDR, Pandora Systems, Inc., and Pacific Bell Co.
Server hosts have been provided by the sites listed above in
the Description section.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Address:
[email protected]
Foster [Page 76]
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
Name: veronica discussion happens on comp.infosystems.gopher
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: Gopher protocol, Gopher+ protocol
What it runs over: TCP
Other NIR tools this interworks with: Gopher, WAIS, ftp
Future plans: Implement extensions with Gopher+.
Support for URN/URL standards.
Per-site updates of indexes.
Subject-area-specific indexes.
Indexes for USENET news and LISTSERV articles.
Automated server load-levelling.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: February 28, 1994
By: Name: Steven Foster
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact:
Name: veronica development team
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-702-784-4292 or +1-702-784-6557
Server software available from:
Via ftp: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica-code/
veronica-data/
veronica-data.tar.Z
Location of more information:
Via Gopher: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica/
Foster [Page 77]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
veronica-faq
how-to-compose-veronica-queries
Via Gopher: gopher.cnidr.org
veronica
veronica-faq
how-to-compose-veronica-queries
Via ftp: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica-code/
veronica-docs/
Latest version number: 0.6.5
Next planned version: 0.7b (March 1994)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Two modules: a data-collection module and a data-server module.
1. Data-collector runs on any Unix computer that does TCP
and compiles perl. This has not been distributed yet.
Data collection, data preparation, and indexing are being
done at veronica.scs.unr.edu. The harvester "walks" all
advertised gopher servers, and any newly-discovered servers.
Almost all redundant links are removed, leaving the
( hopefully ) canonical reference for each item.
Indexes are built at Nevada, and the indexed dataset is
distributed to server sites.
2. Server module.
Servers run on unix computers and answer to gopher-type-7
requests. Boolean keyword logic is implemented. See file
"how-to-compose-veronica-queries". Several options allow
retrieval of items with specified gopher-types, retrieval
of a file of links containing the search results, and
override for the default limit on number of results returned,
which is 200 items.
Server software runs on most flavors of unix, requires dbm
and perl, and requires about 1.4 GB of data on disk, with
considerable /tmp space available.
Server software is available to any site which wants to run
a server. Server sites are encouraged to offer the service
to the net at large.
Foster [Page 78]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Approximate number of such servers in use: twelve.
Auxiliary tool: Maltshop v. 0.2d
Maltshop builds a menu of Public Gopher Servers for the local
gopher menu.
Maltshop software available from:
Via ftp: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica-code/
menu-builder-0.2d
Via Gopher: veronica.scs.unr.edu, port 70
11/Search ALL of Gopherspace
12/Script to automate your local
Veronica menu
General comments:
Basic veronica service has been fairly stable since July 1993.
Indexing is quite efficient, and most queries are resolved in ten
seconds or quicker. More than 1,000,000 queries were resolved in
February, 1994.
Though veronica is well-accepted at this level of service, we are
undertaking significant upgrade efforts during Winter 93-94.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: October 19, 1993
By: Name: Steven Foster
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: veronica is accessed through any of the
gopher clients.
Primary Contact: As for gopher clients.
Client software available from: As for gopher clients.
Location of more information:
Via Gopher: gopher.tc.umn.edu, port 70
1/Information About Gopher
Future plans: veronica will interoperate with Gopher+
Foster [Page 79]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
clients, allowing queries to be
composed by ASK blocks.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
Site name: UCCSN veronica server
Access details: gopher to veronica.scs.unr.edu, port 70.
Open "veronica" folder; choose one of
the search types available.
Site name: University of Minnesota Gopher server
Access details: gopher to gopher.tc.umn.edu, port 70.
Other Gopher and Information Servers
Search Gopherspace with veronica.
choose one of the search types available.
Site name: NYSERNET veronica server
Access details: gopher to nysernet.org, port 70.
Open "Search the Internet" folder;
choose one of veronica searches.
Site name: SERRA veronica server
Access details: gopher to gopher.unipi.it, port 70.
Open "University of Pisa - Services" folder;
choose the veronica search.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: veronica FAQ: Common Questions and answers
about veronica, a title search and retrieval
system for use with the internet gopher.
Location details:
Via Gopher:
Site: veronica.scs.unr.edu, port 70.
veronica
veronica FAQ
Full file name: veronica-faq
Site: gopher.micro.umn.edu, port 70.
Other Gopher and Information services
Search Gopherspace with veronica
veronica FAQ
Full file name: veronica-faq
Foster [Page 80]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Site: gopher.cnidr.org, port 70.
veronica
veronica FAQ
Full file name: veronica-faq
Via anonymous ftp:
Site: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica-docs/veronica-faq
Document Title: How to Compose veronica Search Queries.
Location details:
Via Gopher:
Site: veronica.scs.unr.edu, port 70.
veronica
How to Compose veronica Search Queries.
Full file name: how-to-query-veronica
Site: gopher.cnidr.org, port 70.
veronica
How to Compose veronica Search Queries.
Full file name: how-to-query-veronica
Via anonymous ftp:
Site: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica-docs/how-to-query-veronica
Document Title: About veronica.
Location details:
Via Gopher:
Site: veronica.scs.unr.edu, port 70.
veronica
About veronica
Full file name: veronica-about
Site: gopher.micro.umn.edu, port 70.
Other Gopher and Information services
Search Gopherspace with veronica
About veronica
Full file name: veronica-about
Site: gopher.cnidr.org, port 70.
veronica
About veronica
Full file name: veronica-about
Foster [Page 81]
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: none
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 82]
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WAIS (WAIS, Inc.)
Date template updated or checked: 1 March 1994
By: Name: Nathaniel Lee
Email address:
[email protected]
freeWAIS (CNIDR)
Date template updated or checked: 1 March 1994
By: Name: Jane Smith and Jim Fullton
Email address:
[email protected] and
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: WAIS
Brief Description of Tool:
WAIS - The Wide Area Information Servers system - is an electronic
publishing software set which allows you to search out and retrieve
multimedia information from databases anywhere in the world. WAIS
databases may be accessed by WAIS, gopher, and WWW clients (such as
Mosaic), and via online services such as Delphi and America OnLine.
WAIS software includes user interfaces for most platforms, and server
software that provides automatic indexing of databases.
WAIS was developed by Thinking Machines Corporation of Cambridge,
Massachusetts in collaboration with Apple Computer, Inc., Dow Jones &
Company, and KPMG Peat Marwick. With over 100 databases and 5,000
users worldwide, WAIS is rapidly becoming a standard for information
distribution within the Internet environment.
WAIS is a client-server application. Most of the clients remain
freely available with a few exceptions. WAIS, Inc. develops and
sells commercial versions of WAIS and the Clearinghouse for Networked
Information Discovery and Retrieval (CNIDR) develops freeWAIS, a
version free for distribution and use. A few freely distributable
versions remain available from Thinking Machines, Inc. and other
organizations.
What does WAIS do?
WAIS allows multimedia information to be stored anywhere on any
platform. Using your interface of choice, WAIS enables you to
find personal, corporate and public information. The information
is accessible regardless of format: text, formatted documents,
pictures, spreadsheets, graphics, sound, or video.
Foster [Page 83]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
WAIS recognizes natural language queries. The search and retrieval
of relevant information is made using your native language. To
date, we have used English, French, Italian, and Latin! The most
relevant documents, regardless of size, can be sent back to the
server in their entirety to further refine your search (telling
the server, "Find me more like this document.") Proven searches
can be automatically repeated, monitoring and alerting you to new
information as it becomes available.
How does WAIS work?
WAIS uses a single computer-to-computer protocol (NISO Z39.50-
1988). Each WAIS server reads your question and based on its
words, searches the full text of the database for the most
relevant documents, and ranks them using automatic word weighting.
Servers need not fully understand your query; the retrieval
process is based on a search method called relevance feedback.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s) (WAIS, Inc.):
Name: Than Lee
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: 1040 Noel Drive, Suite 102, Menlo Park CA 94025
(USA)
Telephone: +1-415-617-0444
Fax: +1-415-327-6513
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s) (CNIDR):
Name: George Brett
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: 3021 Cornwallis Rd., Research Triangle Park
NC 27709 (USA)
Telephone: +1-919-248-1499
Fax: +1-919-248-1101
Foster [Page 84]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (WAIS, Inc.):
Name:
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Level of support offered: commercial customers only
Hours available: anytime
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (CNIDR):
Name: Kevin Gamiel
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-919-248-1499
Level of support offered: developers only
Hours available: 9-5 EST
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups (WAIS, Inc.):
Z39.50 protocol group
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups (CNIDR):
NISO: Z39.50 Implementor's Group (ZIG)
IETF: IIIR (Integrating Internet Information Resources) Working Group
URI (Uniform Resource Identifiers) Working Group
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source (WAIS, Inc.):
WAIS, Inc.
Foster [Page 85]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source (CNIDR):
National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement MCNC University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill Other U.S. Government agencies
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists (WAIS, Inc. and CNIDR):
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Moderated, digested biweekly posting about WAIS
and Electronic publishing subjects. Please
submit interesting material.
Archive: /pub/mail-archives/wais-discussion/issue-*@wais.com
and wais-discussion-archive WAIS server
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists (WAIS, Inc. and CNIDR):
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Implementors forum on WAIS/freeWAIS. This is
for talking about nitty gritty details of
protocols and implementations.
Archive: /pub/mail-archives/
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups (WAIS, Inc. and CNIDR):
Name: comp.infosystems.wais
Description: Variable quality information on WAIS/freeWAIS.
Archive: wais-talk-archive WAIS server
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 86]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Protocols (WAIS, Inc. and CNIDR):
What is supported: z39.50-1988
What it runs over:
The freeware runs over tcp/ip. Production versions have worked
over x.25 and modems as well.
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Gopher and WWW have been used as front ends to WAIS.
Future plans:
freeWAIS: Z39.50-1992 compliance, search engine independence
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers (WAIS, Inc.): Connection Machine WAIS server
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Connection Machine Model 2
Primary Contact:
Name: Ottavia Bassetti
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-617-234-1000
Server software available from: Thinking Machines Corp.
245 First Street
Cambridge, MA 02145 Location of more
information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Software that runs on CM2 Connection Machines to make them into WAIS
servers.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
10
General comments: Requires CM2 super computer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers (CNIDR): freeware for most UNIX platforms
Foster [Page 87]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Most Unix variations
Primary Contact:
Name: George Brett
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-919-248-1499
Server software available from:
ftp://pub/NIDR.tools/freewais @ftp.cnidr.org
gopher://gopher.cnidr.org
http://cnidr.org
Location of more information:
[email protected]
Latest version number: freeWAIS 0.202
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
server and client code for freeWAIS.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Unknown. ~568 databases are registered and freely accessible.
General comments:
Source code freely available for use and modification. Internet
community contributes to the software development, CNIDR incorporates
these developments into the freeWAIS releases.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients (CNIDR): many varied for most platforms
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: varied
Primary Contact:
Name: Kevin Gamiel
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-919-248-1499
Client software available from:
URL:
ftp://pub/NIDR.tools/freewais @ftp.cnidr.org
Foster [Page 88]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Location of more information:
phone or e-mail CNIDR
Latest version number: N/A
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Many clients of varying capability available for most popular
computing platforms
General comments:
Clients developed and updated regularly; check mailing lists or ftp
sites for latest information
Future plans:
New clients when freeWAIS 1.0 (Z39.50-1992 version) is released
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: NeXT
Primary Contact:
Name: Paul Burchard
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/pub/freeware/
[email protected] via anonymous FTP
Location of more information:
Latest version number: WAIStation-NeXT-1.9.6
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments: NeXT client and server
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Foster [Page 89]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: EIWAIS 1.55
Primary Contact:
Name: Kevin Gourley
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/pub/freeware/
[email protected] via anonymous FTP
/einet/
[email protected] via anonymous FTP
Location of more information:
Latest version number: Version 1.55
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
WAIS client for Windows and Windows Sockets
General comments: Windows WAIS Client for Windows Sockets
- supporting multiple source queries
- advanced program/viewer launching
- embedded (any file size) text viewer
- auto-keyword highlighting
- graphics viewers included
- auto-browse mode for redirected source queries
- auto-parsing of WAIS catalogs returned by servers
- runs on wide range of winsock TCP/IP stacks
Future plans:
--------------------------
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: telnet access (vt100)
Primary Contact:
Name: John Curran
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/pub/freeware/unix-src/wais-8-b5.1-swais-patches @wais.com
Foster [Page 90]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Location of more information:
telnet to quake.think.com log in as wais.
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: MacWAIS 1.28
Primary Contact:
Name: John Hardin
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/pub/freeware/
[email protected] via anonymous FTP
Location of more information:
Latest version number: 1.28
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Mac Hypercard
Primary Contact:
Name: Francois Schiettecatte
Email address:
[email protected]
Foster [Page 91]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/pub/freeware/mac/HyperWais* @wais.com
Location of more information: contact author
Latest version number: 1.9
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
HyperWais is a hypercard implementation of a WAIS client.
Its main characteristic is that it allows the user to remodel
the interface completely to their liking.
General comments: Requires approximately 1.7Mb to run
(including Hypercard).
Requires system 7.0 or greater.
Requires Hypercard 2.1
Requires Mac TCP
Future plans: None at present
------------------
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: VMS
Primary Contact:
Name: Jim Fullton
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Foster [Page 92]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: DOS
Primary Contact:
Name: Jim Fullton
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from: /pub/freeware/dos/pc.wais @wais.com
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: DOS
(Clarkson packet driver and Erick Englke's WATT/TCP)
Primary Contact:
Name: Faeiz Hindi
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/pub/tcpip/
[email protected]
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Foster [Page 93]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: AVS
Primary Contact:
Name: Steve Thorpe
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
avs_modules/data_input/awais/* @avs.ncsc.org
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 13th December, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: RS6000
Primary Contact:
Name: Dennis Shiao
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/pub/freeware/rs6000/
[email protected]
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Foster [Page 94]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments: client and server
"The details are correct, but I must point out that this
version of WAIS is most outdated. I'd suggest replacing it
with AIX ports of the wais-8-b5 or freeWAIS packages, if
anyone's done those (I haven't) .."
-Dennis.
Future plans:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
List of sites which are willing to act as demonstration sites for this
application.
Site name: quake.think.com
Access details: telnet quake.think.com
login as wais.
Site name: cnidr.org
Access details: telnet cnidr.org
login as demo
select #2 (Demos of NIDR software)
select #2 (WAIS)
(this is the worst of all possible interfaces since it is just a
dumb terminal interface)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
o current overview
- "WAIS Server, WAIS Workstation, and WAIS Forwarder for UNIX
Technical Description", Release 1.1, December, 1993.
Available via anonymous ftp:
/pub/wais-inc-doc/msWord/Tech-description -1.1.sit.hqx @ftp.wais.com
- "Interfaces for Distributed Systems of Information Servers",
Brewster Kahle, Harry Morris, Jonathan Goldman (Thinking Machines
Corporation), Thomas Erickson (Apple Computer), John Curran (NSF
Network Service Center), March, 1992. (formally named "Interfaces
for Wide Area Information Servers")
Foster [Page 95]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Available via anonymous ftp:
/pub/wais-inc-doc/txt/
[email protected]
or WAIS server wais-discussion-archives.src
o instructions to information providers
See the documentation in the release:
/pub/freeware/unix-src/
[email protected]
or the wais-docs.src WAIS server.
o user manuals
The Mac interface WAIStation has a user manual. The unix
commands have man pages.
o training materials
- tutorials
- canned demos
- Macintosh demostration screen-movie: Steve Cisler of Apple put
together a short screen-recorder movie for seeing some of what
WAIStation does.
Available via anonymous FTP:
/pub/wais-doc/
[email protected]
- sample session (screen dumps)
- "WAIStation, A User Interface for WAIS", February 1991, Thinking
Machines technical report TMC-203.
User interface documentation with screen shots.
- videos
Available in special circumstances. Contact
[email protected].
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
- "WAIS Bibliography", WAIS Inc, (last update) September 1993.
Available via anonymous ftp:
/pub/wais-inc-doc/txt/WAIS-bibliography.txt @wais.com or WAIS server
wais-discussion-archive.src
Foster [Page 96]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
Check for current information about freeWAIS on CNIDR's gopher and WWW
servers: gopher.cnidr.org and www.cnidr.org
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 97]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
WHOIS
Date template updated or checked: 17 March, 1994
By: Name: Joan Gargano
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: Whois
Brief Description of Tool:
As currently defined, NICNAME/WHOIS services is a TCP transaction
based query/response server, running on a few specific central
machines, that provides netwide directory service to internet users.
Since the WHOIS service was defined in 1985, it has evolved into a
distributed service.
The InterNIC Registration Services is located at Network Solutions,
Inc., Herndon, VA, and is funded by a cooperative agreement from the
National Science Foundations to provide assistance in registering
networks, domains, asn's, and other entities to the Internet
community via telephone, electronic mail, and U.S. postal mail.
Databases and information servers of interest to network users are
provided, including the WHOIS registry of domains, networks, asn's
and their associated poc's. Gopher and Wais interfaces are also
available for retrieving information and accessing whois. Online
documents maintained at registration services include registration
related rfc's, registration templates, and various netinfo files.
Many of the online files are available through our automatic mail
service,
[email protected]. Whois queries can also be
directed to rs.internic.net. From a host, use the TELNET program to
connect to host RS.INTERNIC.NET. When greeted by the Registration
host, type "WHOIS" and press RETURN.
[email protected] is an automated service provided by InterNIC
Registration Services. It allows access to documents and information
via ordinary electronic mail. This is especially useful for users
who do not have access to the NIC via a direct Internet link, such as
users of BITNET, CSNET and UUCP sites.
To use the mail service, send a mail message to
[email protected]. In the SUBJECT field, request the type of
service you wish followed by any needed arguments. The message body
is normally ignored. Large files will be broken into smaller
separate messages. The information you request will be sent back to
you as soon as possible.
Foster [Page 98]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
WHOIS xxx Returns information about xxx from the WHOIS service.
Use "WHOIS HELP" for information on how to use WHOIS.
The MILNET Network Information Center, maintains the central NICNAME
database and server, providing online look-up of individuals, network
organizations, MILNET nodes, and other information of interest to
those involved in management of the Internet. Whois queries can be
sent to nic.ddn.mil.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s): Network Solutions, Inc.
Name: Hostmaster
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Network Solutions
AttN: InterNIC Registration Services
505 Huntmar Park Drive
Herndon, VA 22070
Telephone: +1-703-742-4777
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
(for major center as well as each client)
Name: Hostmaster
Help information available via gopher,
gopher.internic.net
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-703-742-4777
Level of support offered:
o funded
o all users
Hours available: 24 hours/day, 7 days per week.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
Whois and Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS)
Foster [Page 99]
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
National Science Foundations
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: ietf-wnils-request
Description: This mailing list is used by the IETF Whois and
Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS)
working group which is defining enhancements
to whois.
Archive: ftp.ucdavis.edu:/archive/wnils-archive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: TCP/whois
What it runs over: TCP/IP networks
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Future plans: Enhancements through Whois++
Enhancements through Referral Whois.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 4 March, 1994
By: Name: Joan Gargano
Platform: Unix
Primary Contact: Network Solutions, Inc.
Foster [Page 100]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Name: Hostmaster
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-703-742-4777
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Clients are available from the source listed for server software. VMS
clients are available from TVG/Multinet Most TCP/IP networking
packages for personal computers include a whois client.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
Site name: rs.internic.net
Access details: Using a whois client,
whois -h rs.internic.net "name"
where "name" is the name of a person.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: RFC 954
Location details:
Site: nic.ddn.mil:/rfc
Full file name: rfc954.txt
Document Title: Specifications for WHOIS Services
Location details:
Site: ftp.ucdavis.edu
Full file name: /archive/ietf-wnils/Discussion.Paper
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
RFC 954
Internet Drafts:
draft-ietf-wnils-whois-01.txt
draft-ietf-wnils-whois-02.txt
draft-ietf-wnils-whois-lookup-00.txt
draft-huitema-solo-00.txt
Foster [Page 101]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Please check the 1id-abstracts.txt listing contained in the
internet-drafts Shadow Directories on nic.ddn.mil,
nnsc.nsf.net, nic.nordu.net, ftp.isi.edu, or munnari.oz.au
to learn the current status of any Internet Draft.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 102]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
World-Wide Web
Date template updated or checked: 28th January, 1994
By: Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: World-Wide Web
Brief Description of Tool:
The WWW project merges the techniques of networked information and
hypertext to make an easy but powerful global information system. W3
uses the concept of a seamless information space (the "web"), in
which all objects including those accessed by earlier protocols
(wais, gopher, ftp, etc.) exist.
The project allows information sharing within internationally
dispersed teams, and the dissemination of information by support
groups. Originally aimed at the High Energy Physics community, it
has spread to other areas and attracted much interest in user
support, resource discovery and collaborative work areas. It is
currently the most advanced information system deployed on the
Internet.
READER VIEW
The WWW world consists of documents, and links. Indexes are
special documents which, rather than being read, may be searched.
The result of such a search is another ("virtual") document
containing links to the documents found. A simple protocol ("
HTTP ") is used to allow a browser program to request a keyword
search by a remote information server.
The web contains documents in many formats. Those documents which
are hypertext, (real or virtual) contain links to other documents,
or places within documents. All documents, whether real, virtual
or indexes, look similar to the reader and are contained within
the same addressing scheme.
To follow a link, a reader clicks with a mouse (or types in a
number if he or she has no mouse). To search and index, a reader
gives keywords (or other search criteria). These are the only
operations necessary to access the entire world of data.
Foster [Page 103]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
INFORMATION PROVIDER VIEW
The WWW browsers can access many existing data systems via
existing protocols (FTP, NNTP) or via HTTP and a gateway. In this
way, the critical mass of data is quickly exceeded, and the
increasing use of the system by readers and information suppliers
encourage each other.
Providing information is as simple as running the W3 server and
pointing it at an existing directory structure. The server
automatically generates the hypertext view of your files to guide
the user around.
To personalize it, you can write a few SGML hypertext files to
give an even more friendly view. Also, any file available by
anonymous FTP, or any internet newsgroup can be immediately linked
into the web. The very small start-up effort is designed to allow
small contributions. At the other end of the scale, large
information providers may provide an HTTP server with full text or
keyword indexing. This may allow access to a large existing
database without changing the way that database is managed. Such
gateways have already been made into Oracle(tm), WAIS, and
Digital's VMS/Help systems, to name but a few.
The WWW model gets over the frustrating incompatibilities of data
format between suppliers and reader by allowing negotiation of
format between a smart browser and a smart server. This should
provide a basis for extension into multimedia, and allow those who
share application standards to make full use of them across the
web.
This summary does not describe the many exciting possibilities
opened up by the WWW project, such as efficient document caching.
The reduction of redundant out-of-date copies, and the use of
knowledge daemons. There is more information in the online
project documentation, including some background on hypertext and
many technical notes.
GETTING STARTED
You can bootstrap yourself into the web by telnetting to
info.cern.ch (no user or password). You can try a full screen
interface "Lynx" by telnetting to ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu, login in
as "www". You can also find out more about WWW in this way.
These are the least sophisticated browsers -- remember that the
window-oriented ones are much smarter! It is much more efficient
to install a browser on your own machine, and you have many more
facilities.
Foster [Page 104]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
If you have an X-windows based workstation, PC or Mac just FTP to
FTP.NCSA.UIUC.EDU and get the binary of NCSA's "Mosaic" browser in
directory /Web/Mosaic-binaries. Download it, uncompress it, set it
executable, and run it. It will tell you all you need to know.
Mosaic is now available for PCs and Apple Macs.
If you have an MSDOS machine with Windows, you could try the
"Cello" browser from FATTY.LAW.CORNELL.EDU in directory
/pub/LII/Cello.
The line mode browser is currently available in source form by
anonymous FTP from node info.cern.ch [currently 128.141.201.74] if
you take both files
/pub/www/src/WWWLibrary_v.vv.tar.Z.
/pub/www/src/WWWLineMode_v.vv.tar.Z.
(v.vv is the version number - take the latest.)
Also available is a hypertext editor for the NeXT (in
/pub/www/bin/next), the MidasWWW and ViolaWWW browsers for X11, an
alpha-test Mac browser, and and a basic server
(/pub/www/src/WWWDaemon_v.vv.tar.Z). Documentation, including the
latest list of software available , is readable using www. A plain
text version of the installation instructions is included in the tar
file!
Printable (postscript) documentation and articles are in /pub/www/doc
on info.cern.ch.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland
Telephone: +41-22-767-3755
Fax: +41-22-767-7155
Name: Robert Cailliau
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland
Telephone: +41-22-767-5005
Fax: +41-22-767-7155
Foster [Page 105]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
(for www technical or political issues, to report bugs, to register
new servers, or new software)
Name: www support
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: none.
Telnet: info.cern.ch for information.
Level of support offered:
o funded for High-Energy Physics users
o volunteer for others who have read the online
information already.
While CERN collaborates with all NIR and W3 development anywhere, CERN
cannot provide user support for non-HEP end users.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups: NIR, URI, IIIR
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisations / Funding source: NO FUNDING SOURCE
Bodies providing development effort include
HEP labs (CERN, CH; SLAC, CA, USA; FNAL, IL, USA; NIKHEF, NL; etc.),
National Center for SuperComputer Applications (NCSA, IL, USA),
O'Reilly Associates, (ORA, CA, USA),
Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval
(CNIDR, NC, USA),
BSD Inc (BSD, CA, USA) and many others too numerous to mention.
Other sources welcomed!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroup:
Name: comp.infosystems.www
Description: General technical discussion, announcements
of new software, etc.
Foster [Page 106]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Please mail new server announcements to
[email protected].
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
1. Address:
[email protected] for CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY
Administration:
[email protected] (robot)
[email protected] (human)
Description: Technical discussion, W3 related.
Experts to experts. General questions to
comp.infosystems.www, please.
Archive: Not currently served, but kept.
-------------------
2. Address:
[email protected]
NOT FOR GENERAL USE - serious low-volume
announcements only
Administration:
[email protected] (robot)
[email protected] (human)
Description: Low volume summary announcemements
of product releases, etc.
Archive: Not currently public
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: HTTP
FTP
anonymous FTP
Gopher
NNTP
WAIS (compile time option)
Local mounted file access
Telnet sessions
Rlogin sessions
What it runs over: TCP/IP
DECnet option.
Foster [Page 107]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Other NIR servers W3 clients interworks with:
Techinfo, Hyper-G and X.500 via gateways.
Built-in capability in clients for others above
Archie access via WWW "WARCHIE" archie server
with direct hypertext pointers to FTP sites.
Resource indexing: Many browsable and searchable indexes of
available information, by subject (virtual
libraries), and by position (geographical list of
servers). Many of these point to any form of
data, HTTP or other server. A list of such
indexes is at
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/DataSources/
bySubject/Virtual_libraries/Overview.html
Future plans: Collaborative work features,
Hypertext editors for information organisation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
HTTP Servers: CERN httpd
Platform: unix, VMS, VM/XA, VM/CMS
Primary Contact:
[email protected]
Server software available from:
ftp://info.cern.ch/pub/www/src
Location of more information:
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Daemon/User/Guide.html
Latest version number: 2.14
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
* Fast stateless file server runs over TCP/IP.
* Suitable for rapid documentation navigation.
* Multimedia server allows multiple file formats to be used.
* File format selected for transmission based on client
capabilities.
* Add special functions using scripts. Standard CGI interface.
* Logging
Approximate number of such servers in use: 600
Foster [Page 108]
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General comments:
Some servers serve many databases.
Many tools available for serving different sorts
of information
Gnu info
teX
SGML
man pages
etc., as hypertext.
--------------------------------
Other servers:
For more information use WWW to access
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Daemon/Overview.html
Servers include:
NCSA server Similar feature set to CERN's httpd, support from
NCSA.
Plexus Written in Perl -- many features. Unix.
MacHTTPD Server for the Macintosh
REXX for VM A server consisting of a small C program which
passes control to a server written in REXX.
---------------------------
Mail Server:
Platform: unix
Primary Contact:
[email protected]
Server software available from:
ftp://info.cern.ch/pub/www/src/WWWMailRobot_*.tar.Z
Location of more information:
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/MailRobot/Overview.html
Latest version number: 1.0
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Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Mailing list subscription/unsubscription handling (crude)
Return of documents given URL
Restricts length of data returned.
Allows access to ANY document by URL unless restrictions
are imposed (FTP, news, etc., included). Quite generic.
When hypertext messages are retrieved, the links are
numbered like [1] and a list of URLs of referenced documents
is appended to the document.
Send message containing HELP to
[email protected] for
details.
Approximate number of such servers in use: 1 (-3?)
General comments
Extends potential readership of W3 information to anyone
with email, so an important step for universal readership.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: A full list of client software is kept in
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Clients.html
and is not repeated here, as the list is constantly
changing. Around 20 different clients. Telnet to info.cern.ch
to see the list. Only the Line Mode Browser, lynx and
Mosaic are covered here.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Client: Line Mode Browser
Date completed or updated: 28th January, 1994
By: Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Anything. Even a hard copy terminal.
Written in portable C.
Primary Contact:
Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address:
[email protected]
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Client software available from:
ftp://info.cern.ch/pub/www/src
Location of more information:
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/LineMode/Browser.html
and linked documents
Latest version number: 2.14
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
The LineMode Browser is suitable for use on dumb terminals, requiring
no control sequences except for carriage return and line feed. It is
also of course useable from terminal emulators in workstation windows.
It can also be used as a text formatter, as part of a mail server,
and as a general information retrieval tool.
History list, Back/Next/Previous/Home navigation, ability to print or
save documents (or pipe to shell commands on unix).
General comments:
Very stable product which has many uses apart from interactive use.
Generates C .h files from hypertext marked files, etc.
Source release requires W3 library product.
Public Domain.
Future plans:
Future enhancements to include tracing of many links.
Demonstration sites:
telnet info.cern.ch or telnet 128.141.201.74 (SWITZERLAND)
telnet vms.huji.ac.il or telnet 128.139.4.3 (www) (ISRAEL)
-----------------------------------
Client: Lynx
Date completed or updated: 11 February 1994
By: Name: Lou Montulli
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Unix + VMS
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Lou Montulli, Michael Grobe
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Email address:
[email protected],
[email protected]
Postal Address: Computer Center, University of Kansas,
Lawrence KS, 66045
Telephone: +1-913-864-0436 (Lou)
+1-913-864-0452 (Michael)
Fax: +1-913-864-0485
Client software available from:
ftp2.cc.ukans.edu in directory /pub/lynx.
Location of more information: ftp2.cc.ukans.edu
Latest version number: 2.2
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Lynx clients provide a user-friendly hypertext interface to
all of the major internet protocols for character cell (vt100)
terminal users on UNIX and VMS platforms. Lynx natively
understands Gopher, HTTP, WAIS, FTP, NNTP (USENET NEWS) and
CSO protocols and can transparently retrieve information using
any of them. Lynx can also launch telnet and tn3270 sessions
and has support to run executable programs on the local machine
so that it can be used as a menuing system. Lynx is a part of
the World Wide Web (WWW) project and has all of the features
of a WWW client including HTML support and HTML+ forms support.
Additional resource types such as Archie Techinfo, X.500, and
Hytelnet may be also accessed through HTTP and Gopher gateway
functions.
Future plans:
Development of a DOS (non windows) version.
Help Line:
Name: Lou Montulli
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +1-913-864-0436
Level of support offered: volunteer
Hours available: 11-5pm M-F CST
Demonstration sites:
Site name: ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu
Access details: telnet ukanaix.cc.ukanse.du
login as "www"
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Documentation:
o current overview
http://www.cc.ukans.edu/about_lynx/about_lynx/about_lynx.html
o user manuals
http://www.cc.ukans.edu/lynx_help/lynx_help_main.html
o miscellaneous documents
tar file of all documentation:
ftp://ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/lynx/lynx_help_files.tar.Z
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
Academic Computing Services
University of Kansas
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------
Client: NCSA MOSAIC for X
Date completed or updated: 16th December, 1993
By: Name: Marc Andreessen
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: X Window System (Unix)
-- Sun, DEC, IBM, SGI, HP, others.
Primary Contact:
Name: Marc Andreessen
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: National Center for Supercomputing
Applications
605 E. Springfield
Champaign, IL 61820
Telephone: +1-217-244-0765
Client software available from:
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in /Web/Mosaic.
Location of more information:
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in /Web/mosaic, and online, within Mosaic.
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/help-about.html
Foster [Page 113]
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o Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/mosaic-faq.html
o user manuals
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/mosaic-docs.html
Latest version number: 1.1
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
NCSA Mosaic for the X Window System is a client interface to a wide
variety of networked information systems, including World Wide Web,
Gopher, WAIS, FTP, Usenet News, Archie, Techinfo, X.500, Hytelnet,
Telnet, NCSA Data Management Facility, CSO ph/qi and others. It
offers a Motif-based point-and-click X interface with support for
plaintext, formatted text, and embedded images; hyperlinks can also
refer to images, video sequences, audio clips, PostScript files, etc.
Mosaic also offers substantial interaction and collaboration
facilities, including global history tracking, text and voice
annotations, group/community-wide annotations, and more.
General comments:
Sponsoring Organisation:
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Future plans:
Enhancement of the NCSA Mosaic environment to support advanced
networked information systems and collaboration capabilities;
development of clients on other architectures; research and
development into intelligent agent-style user assistance mechanisms
and novel navigation and representation strategies for dense, dynamic
distributed information spaces. (This is all dependent upon funding,
of course.) Beta-test versions of Mac and Microsoft Windows 3.1
were released in the fall of 1993.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
See individual sections on clients.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Documentation:
All the W3 documentation available is in the web. Some is also dumped
off into postscript. Here are the URLs of entry points into the web
for the subjects requested:
** To retrieve any document by URL, use WWW (www <url> for example) or
** send mail containing the command "send " followed by the URL to
**
[email protected]
o current overview
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html
see also
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/Docs/help-about.html
o executive summary
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/Summary.html
o instructions to information providers
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/Provider/Overview.html
o Frequently Asked Questions
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/FAQ/List.html
o user manuals
See under individual products.
ftp://info.cern.ch/pub/www/doc/*.txt
o training materials
Illustrated talk on WWW including transparencies: see
ftp://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Talks/General/html
see also
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/demoweb/demo.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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[General WWW bibliography]
Bibliography:
o For latest list, see:
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/Bibliography.html
Bibliography for the World Wide Web
WORLD-WIDE WEB BIBLIOGRAPHY
This lists papers and articles about the W3 initiative and related
matters which you may want to pick up for background reading or quote
as references. You can of course also quote any page you read with
W3 by its document address. The FTP server info.cern.ch has some of
these in /pub/www/doc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
All WWW working notes and specs are on the web. If it is not there
somewhere, it may not be anywhere.
Seek and ye shall find. And if ye don't, mail someone to fix it.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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X.500 White Pages
Date completed or updated: 10 March, 1994
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: X.500
Brief Description of Tool:
X.500 is an international standard designed to provide a distributed
global directory service. It is primarily used today to provide
'White Pages' services, although other types of services which have
directory components (automated mail aliasing, for example) are
beginning to be run over X.500. In addition to information about
people and organizations, the Directory also contains a pilot K-12
Directory, pilot Information Resource information, and some other
non-White Pages information. X.500 contains a number of security
features, which are implemented on different paradigms in the various
servers.
User's View:
Users (either human or electronic) run a client program to connect
to a local X.500 server. Since X.500 is distributed, it appears
that the entire global X.500 directory is available from the local
server. From this server connection, the user can add, delete, or
modify information held by the Directory, or issue powerful search
commands to locate individuals or other information.
The first solid version of the X.500 protocol was released in
1988, and has been the subject of much research in the past 5
years. Consequently, there are a large number of clients, for
almost every platform, and a healthy number of servers. There are
mail interfaces to some parts of the X.500 directory, and there is
a X.500 to Gopher gateway. An X.500 interface to archie is
currently under development, as well as an X.500 to WWW interface.
Information Provider's View:
X.500 provides a set of mechanisms to allow distributed location
of, maintenance of, and access to a large set of data. However,
current servers force a hierarchical view on the location of the
data, so it may not be suitable for all applications. Also, the
X.500 directory is today unable to provide access to information
at a rate which would allow 'real-time' applications (such as
Foster [Page 117]
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keeping routing information in the directory).
Also, there is a great effort underway to reduce the startup costs
of X.500 access by providing a lightweight X.500 access protocol
for client-server applications. This work is detailed in RFC
1487:
"Lightweight Directory Access Protocol", by Yeong, Howes, and
Kille. This protocol is expected to make the cost of entry for a
service provider much less that it has been.
Information Types Supported:
X.500 allows information to be served in an attribute:value
paradigm, with related attributes grouped into 'objects'. Each
entry in the directory can be described by multiple objects.
Attributes can have values which are text strings, dereferenceable
file names, or text-encoded photographs, and experimentation is
underway to keep digitally encoded sounds in the directory.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: The PARADISE Project
Email address:
[email protected]
Name: The White Pages Pilot Project
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
X.500 encompasses a great number of clients and as a distributed
system does not have a central help line. Please see the
Documentation section for pointers to servers, clients, and associated
help lines.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
IETF's OSI-DS (OSI Directory Services)
IETF's IDS (Integrated Directory Services)
Foster [Page 118]
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OSI Implementor's Workshop's DS-SIG (Directory Services-SIG)
RARE's WG-NAP (Network Application Support)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
Not Applicable
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Mail list for OSI-DS working group.
-------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Mail list for IDS working group.
Archive: Anonymous FTP, merit.edu in directory
/pub/ietf-ids-archive.
-------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Mail list for OIW DS-SIG group
-------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Mail list for RARE working group WG-NAP
Archive: Anonymous FTP, ftp.rare.nl, directory
/rare/working-groups/wg-nap/mail/current
Foster [Page 119]
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: X.500
What it runs over: Applications run on full ISO stack down to
transport over TCP/IP + RFC1006, CONS, CLNS, or
X.25(80)
Other NIR tools this interworks with: Gateways to Gopher and WWW.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
A full list of servers and clients is available in FYI 11, RFC 1292,
"A guide to available X.500 Implementations". See the Documentation
section for the location of this document. However, the most widely
deployed server is listed here for convenience.
QUIPU
Date completed or updated: 21 October, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Platform: BSD 4.2, 4.3; AT&T System V; SunOS; AIX
Primary Contact:
Name: Steve Kille
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Telephone: +44-81-332-9091
Fax: +44-81-332-9019
Location of more information:
RFC 1292
Latest Version Number: 8.0 (public domain)
IC R1 (ISODE consortium version)
Approximate number of such servers in use: 400
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
Site name: paradise.ulcc.ac.uk
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Access details: telnet to paradise.ulcc.ac.uk
login as dua
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: FYI 11, RFC 1292, "Catalog of Available X.500
Implementations", R. Lang, R. Wright.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: RFC-1292.txt
An update of this document is in preparation:
Document Title: "A Revised Catalog of Available X.500
Implementations", A. Getchell, S. Sataluri.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: draft-ietf-ids-catalog-00.txt
Document Title: FYI 13, RFC 1308, "Executive Introduction to directory
services using the X.500 protocol", C. Weider, J. K. Reynolds
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: RFC-1308.txt
Document Title: FYI 14, RFC 1309, "Technical Overview of Directory
Services using the X.500 protocol", C. Weider, J. K. Reynolds,
S. Heker.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: RFC-1309.txt
Document Title: RFC 1430, "A Strategic Plan for Deploying an Internet
X.500 Directory Service",
S. Kille, E. Huizer, V. Cerf, R. Hobby, S. Kent.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: RFC-1430.txt
Document Title: FYI 21, RFC 1491, "A Survey of Advanced Usages of
X.500", C. Weider, R. Wright.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: RFC-1491.txt
Document Title: RFC 1487, "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol",
W. Yeong, T. Howes, and S. Hardcastle-Kille
Foster [Page 121]
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Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: RFC-1487.txt
Document Title: RFC 1588, "WHITE PAGES MEETING REPORT",
J. Postel, C. Anderson
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: RFC-1588.txt
These documents contain pointers to the rest of the literature.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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7. NIR Groups
This section contains information about the various groups working in
the area of networked information retrieval. The groups are listed
alphabetically within their overall groupings (CNI, IETF, RARE,
etc.). See Section 3.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
CNI Groups
Date template updated or checked: 1st March, 1994
By: Name: Craig A. Summerhill
Email address:
[email protected]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Sponsoring Organisation: Association of Research Libraries
(ARL), CAUSE, and EDUCOM
Working subgroups:
Name of subgroup: Modernization of Scholarly Publishing
Transformation of Scholarly Communication
Directories and Information Resource Services
Architecture and Standards
Legislation, Codes, Policies and Practices
Access to Public Information
Teaching and Learning
Management and Professional and User Education
Mailinglist-Address:
[email protected]
Description of main group:
The Coalition for Networked Information was founded in March 1990 to
help realize the promise of high performance networks and computers
for the advancement of scholarship and the enrichment of intellectual
productivity. The Coalition is a partnership of the Association of
Research Libraries (ARL), CAUSE, and EDUCOM. ARL is dedicated to
equitable access to, and effective use of, recorded knowlege in
support of teaching, research, scholarship, and community service,
and CAUSE and EDUCOM are dedicated to different aspects of the
introduction, use, and management of information technology and
related resources in research and education in general and higher
education in particular. The Coalition pursues its mission with the
Foster [Page 123]
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assistance of a task force that provides a common vehicle by which
more than 190 institutions and organizations are exploring a shared
vision of how information management must change in the 1990s to meet
the social and economic opportunities and challenges of the 21st
century. Members of the Coalition Task Force include, among others,
higher education institutions, publishers, network service providers,
computer hardware, software, and systems companies, library networks
and organizations, and public and state libraries. A truly diverse
collaboration of institutions and organizations.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Paul Evan Peters
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Coalition for Networked Information
21 Dupont Circle, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
USA
Telephone: +1-202-296-5098
Fax: +1-202-872-0884
---------------------
Name: Joan K. Lippincott
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Coalition for Networked Information
21 Dupont Circle, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
USA
Telephone: +1-202-296-5098
Fax: +1-202-872-0884
---------------------
Name: Craig A. Summerhill
Email address:
[email protected]
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Postal Address: Coalition for Networked Information
21 Dupont Circle, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
USA
Telephone: +1-202-296-5098
Fax: +1-202-872-0884
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-announce <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI News and Announcements
---------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-architecture <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI Architecture and Standards Working Group Forum
--------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-bigideas <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI Big Ideas Project Forum
----------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-copyright <lastname> <firstname>
Description: Copyright and Intellectual Property Forum
------------------------
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Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-directories <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI Directories and Information Resource Services
Working Group Forum
------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-legislation <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI Legislation, Codes, Policies, and Practices
Working Group Forum
------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-management <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI Management & Professional & User Education
Working Group Forum
-------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-modernization <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI Modernization of Scholarly Publication
Working Group Forum
-------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-pubinfo <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI Access to Public Information Working Group
Forum
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--------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-teaching <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI Teaching and Learning Working Group Forum
---------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe cni-transformation <lastname> <firstname>
Description: CNI Transformation of Scholarly Communication
Working Group Forum
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
URL:
ftp://ftp.cni.org/CNI/*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications:
None. The Coalition relies on the publication programs of its parent
organizations (ARL, CAUSE, and EDUCOM) to disseminate printed
information on the Coalition's projects and programs. Information on
the Coalition's program is also disseminated via electronic mailing
lists on the network.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
URL:
gopher://gopher.cni.org 70/CNI Working Group Forums/*
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BRS/SEARCH full-text telnet a.cni.org
information retrieval
system: login: brsuser
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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Date template updated or checked: 1st March, 1994
By: Name: Craig A. Summerhill
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Architecture and Standards Working Group
Sponsoring Organisation: Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Working subgroups
Name of subgroup: Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed
Mailinglist-Address:
Description of main group:
Program priorities are 1) to facilitate a consistent and complete
mechanism for linking bibliographic, abstracting, and indexing files
to files of their associated source materials; 2) a single standard
for the transmission of bitmapped image files; 3) protocols for
handling networked requests for delivery of source materials; 4)
mechanisms for interorganizational authentication, accounting, and
billing; and 5) to integrate lessons drawn from the experience of
pilot projects that exercise networked printing utilities and 6) to
provide an "interoperability workshop" to specify, implement, and
test advanced functions of Z39.50 to accelerate the pace and to
ensure the quality of standardization efforts in this area.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Clifford Lynch
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Office of the President
University of California
300 Lakeside Dr., 8th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612-3350
USA
Telephone: +1-415-987-0522
Fax: +1-415-839-3573
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
SUB cni-architecture Lastname Firstname
Archive:
URL:
ftp://ftp.cni.org/CNI/forums/cni-architecture/*
URL:gopher//gopher.cni.org 70/CNI Working Group Forums/
cni-architecture/*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: None
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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Date template updated or checked: 1st March, 1994
By: Name: Craig A. Summerhill
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Directories and Information Resource
Services Working Group
Sponsoring Organisation: Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Working subgroups:
Name of subgroup: TopNode Management Team
Mailinglist-Address:
[email protected]
Description of main group:
This group recognizes the need for open systems, standards, and
therefore, interoperable products and services based upon a
distributed architecture of servers that draw upon a common or at
least comparable set of data elements. It is creating a (printed
and networked) directory of directories and resource information
services that provide qualitative (consumer) as well as descriptive
information. The group supports the Library of Congress effort to
enhance the MARC formats to account for the cataloging requirements of
networked resources and services, and the National Science Foundation
effort to procure a new NSFNet Network Information Center.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: George Brett
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address:
Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval
Center for Communications at MCNC
PO Box 12889, 3021 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2889
USA
Telephone: +1-919-248-1499
Fax: +1-919-248-1101
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---------------------
Name: Peggy Seiden
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Scribner Library
Skidmore College
North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Telephone: +1-518-584-5000 ext. 2126
Fax:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
SUB cni-directories Lastname Firstname
Archive:
URL:
ftp://ftp.cni.org/CNI/forums/cni-directories/*
URL:gopher//gopher.cni.org 70/Coalition Working Groups /
WG E-mail Forums/CNI-directories/*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details
Site: ftp.cni.org
Directory: /CNI/forums/cni-directories/*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 132]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Bibliography: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: None
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 133]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Date template updated or checked: 1st March, 1994
By: Name: Craig A. Summerhill
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: TopNode for Networked Information Resources,
Services, and Tools
Sponsoring Organisation: Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Directories and Information Resource
Services Working Group
Working subgroups:
Name of subgroup:
Mailinglist-Address:
Description of main group:
(from ARL Newsletter #164 -- September 9, 1992)
The Coalition's TopNode Project is creating a directory of
directories, catalogs and aids of networked information resources,
services and tools. The project is intended to facilitate the
network navigational duties, responsibilities and tasks of staff
in libraries, computer centers, networking offices and other
similar operations. The primary product of the TopNode project
will be a set of records describing these networked information
resources, records that can be loaded into a wide range of
database management systems.
Based on their response to a Call for Statements of Interest and
Experience, Indiana University and Merit Network, Inc. were
chosen to lead the development effort on the Coalition TopNode
project. Pete Percival, Manager, Academic Information Environment
at Indiana University and Craig Summerhill, Coalition Systems
Coordinator, have completed the design for the database structure
which is being built on the Coalition's Internet fileserver using
BRS/SEARCH. Based on earlier work of the leaders of the
Directories and Resource Information Services Working Group,
George Brett II of the University of North Carolina General
Administration and Peggy Seiden of Skidmore College Library,
Percival and Summerhill have developed a data structure that they
believe to be both flexible and responsive to the needs of the
many interested parties who have been consulted.
Under the direction of Gary Charbonneau of the Indiana University
Libraries, records are being created and prepared for loading. A
Foster [Page 134]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
thesaurus of added descriptor terms is being maintained. As of
mid-August 1992, close to 200 records had been verified and had
received descriptive cataloging.
When the database is complete, libraries will be alerted and
encouraged to mount the TopNode records into their online
catalogs. Records will be available from the Coalition. In
addition, MERIT will use the TopNode database in an experiment to
test the viability of the X.500 directory format standard for
providing yellow pages-type services (e.g., with subject access).
After its initial release, the database will be maintained by
Indiana University libraries on the Coalition server; BRS has
assisted in the development of procedures for online data entry.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Pete Percival
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Indiana State University
Telephone: +1-812-855-9146
Fax: +1-812-855-0299
------------------
Name: Craig Summerhill
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Coalition for Networked Information
21 Dupont Cricle, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
USA
Telephone: +1-202-296-5098
Fax: +1-202-872-0884
------------------
Name: Gary Charbonneau
Email address:
[email protected]
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Postal Address: Indiana University
Telephone:
Fax:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details
Site: ftp.cni.org
Directory: /CNI/projects/topnode/*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications:
Status Report - TopNode Directory of Directories. Pete Percival.
Presented at Coalition's 1992 Fall Task Force meeting, Landsdowne VA
site: gopher.cni.org/ Coalition FTP archives / Coalition Projects /
TopNode / *
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
The Coalition has an alpha implementation of Topnode setup using the
BRS/SEARCH full text information retrieval software. This database
was created during the data element definition portion of the project,
so the data may not be of production-level service quality.
URL:telnet://brsuser
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
CNIDR
Date template updated or checked: 1st March, 1994
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Clearinghouse for Networked Information
Discovery and Retrieval
Sponsoring Organisation: National Science Foundation,
Center for Communications at MCNC
Working subgroups:
Name of subgroup:
Mailinglist-Address:
Description of main group:
Several user-friendly client-server software tools have been
developed recently for locating and retrieving information
published on computer platforms reachable over wide-area data
communications networks like the Internet. Among them, freeWAIS
(freely available wide-area information system), the Internet
Gopher, archie, and the WorldWide Web (WWW) have become popular.
freeWAIS, archie, and Gopher indicate where information of
interest is likely to reside and then assist the user in locating
specific information. WWW permits a user to thread a path through
the network by selecting tagged hypertext items.
While focused on the evolution of wide-area information retrieval
systems, the Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery
and Retrieval (CNIDR) works closely with developers of other
tools toward providing compatibility, consistency, and, to the
extent possible, convergence of the tools.
Specific activities are to provide a central focus and forum for
networked information discovery and retrieval (NIDR) tools and to
minimize the divergence of individual implementations by
providing a repository for the collection, evaluation, and
distribution of protocol-compliant releases and enhanced
versions.
CNIDR participates in standards and policy associations such as
the Internet Engineering Task Force and the Coalition for
Networked Information, with the goal of increasing consensus
among developers and exploring appropriate uses of networked
Foster [Page 137]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
information. CNIDR also actively promotes the use of networked
information discovery and retrieval tools at many national and
international conferences to inform and educate implementors and
end users.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: George Brett
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address:
Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval
(CNIDR)
Center for Communications at MCNC
PO Box 12889, 3021 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2889 USA
Telephone: +1-919-248-1886
Fax: +1-919-248-1101
------------------
Name: Jane Smith
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address:
Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval
(CNIDR)
Center for Communications at MCNC
PO Box 12889, 3021 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2889 USA
Telephone: +1-919-248-9213
Fax: +1-919-248-1101
------------------
Name: Jim Fullton
Email address:
[email protected]
Foster [Page 138]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Postal Address:
Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval
(CNIDR)
Center for Communications at MCNC
PO Box 12889, 3021 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2889 USA
Telephone: +1-919-248-9247
Fax: +1-919-248-1101
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: none.
Description: e-mail sent to this address will receive an
automated response containing more information
about current CNIDR activities.
Archive: none
-------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
[email protected]
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
sub zip Lastname Firstname
Description: Technical discussion of Z39.50-92 application
development. Subscribers receive brief overview
of project and information on how to access
archives.
Archive:
ftp://ftp.cnidr.org/NIDR.tools/zip
gopher://gopher.cnidr.org/NIDR Tools/Discussion/Online Discussion
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
Foster [Page 139]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive: ftp.cnidr.org
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
[email protected]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 140]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
IETF Groups
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is the protocol
engineering, development and standardisation arm of the Internet. It
has grown to be a large open international community of network
designers, operators, vendors and researchers concerned with the
evolution of the Internet protocol architecture and the smooth
operation of the Internet.
IETF Information including RFCs and Internet Drafts is available by
anonymous FTP from several sites.
East Coast (US) Address: ds.internic.net
West Coast (US) Address: ftp.isi.edu
Europe Address: nic.nordu.net
Pacific Rim Address: munnari.oz.au
(The Internet-Drafts on this machine are stored in Unix
compressed form (.Z).)
In addition the information is available via gopher from
cnri.reston.va.us under the menu item "Internet Society".
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
IDS
Date template updated or checked: 21 October, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Integrated Directory Services (IDS)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Working subgroups: NONE
Description of main group:
The Integrated Directory Services Working Group (IDS) is chartered to
facilitate the integration and interoperability of current and future
directory services into a unified directory service. This work will
unite directory services based on a heterogeneous set of directory
services protocols (X.500, WHOIS++, etc.). In addition to specifying
technical requirements for the integration, the IDS group will also
contribute to the administrative and maintenance issues of directory
service offerings by publishing guidelines on directory data
integrity, maintenance, security, and privacy and legal issues for
users and administrators of directories.
Membership is open, and is not limited to IETF attendees. A full
charter for this group is available for anonymous FTP from
ds.internic.net as ids-charter.txt in directory ietf/ids.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Chris Weider, Chair
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: 2001 South Huron Parkway 12
Ann Arbor
Michigan
48104, USA
Telephone: +1-313-971-2223
Fax: +1-313-971-2223
Foster [Page 142]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: Anonymous FTP to merit.edu, directory
/pub/ietf-ids/archive.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: ds.internic.net or any Internet Draft Server (see
sub-section entitled IETF groups)
Directory: internet-drafts. All IDS document file names start
with either draft-ietf-disi or draft-ietf-ids.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Document Title: FYI 11, RFC 1292, "Catalog of Available X.500
Implementations", R. Lang, R. Wright.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: RFC-1292.txt
An update of this document is in preparation:
Document Title: "A Revised Catalog of Available X.500
Implementations", A. Getchell, S. Sataluri.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: draft-ietf-ids-catalog-00.txt
Document Title: FYI 21, RFC 1491, "A Survey of Advanced Usages of
X.500", C. Weider, R. Wright.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from
Site: ds.internic.net
Full file name: RFC-1491.txt
Foster [Page 143]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Marine, A, X.500 Pilot Projects, June 1993. Available as
draft-ietf-ids-pilots-00.txt from any Internet Draft server.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 144]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
IIIR
Date template updated or checked: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Integration of Internet Information Resources (IIIR)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Engineering Task Forces (IETF)
Working subgroups: None
Description of main group:
The IIIR group was chartered in September 1992 to facilitate
interoperability between and integration of the various Internet
information services (Archie, Gopher, WAIS, etc.), just as the IETF
was founded to facilitate the integration of various LANs running
different protocols. It will develop, specify, and align protocols to
integrate the services into a single "virtually unified information
service" (VUIS).
Also, where necessary for interoperability, IIIR will create
technical documentation for protocols used for information services
in the internet.
Membership is open, and is not limited to IETF attendees. A full
charter for this group is available via anonymous FTP from
ds.internic.net as ietf/iiir/iiir-charter.txt
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Chris Weider, Chair
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: 2001 South Huron Parkway 12
Ann Arbor
Michigan
48104
USA
Telephone: +1-313-971-2223
Foster [Page 145]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Fax: +1-313-971-2223
-------------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: Anonymous FTP, iiir/archive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: ds.internic.net or any Internet Draft Server (see sub-section
entitled IETF groups).
Directory: internet-drafts
All IIIR document file names start with the string 'draft-ietf-iiir-'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Weider, Chris, and Peter Deutsch, 'A vision of an integrated Internet
information service', Internet Draft, March 1993. Available as
draft-ietf-iiir-vision-00.txt from any Internet Draft server.
Weider, Chris, 'Resource Transponders', Internet Draft, March 1993.
Available as draft-ietf-iiir-transponder-00.txt from any Internet
Draft server.
Ankelesaria, et al, 'The Internet Gopher Protocol', RFC 1436, March
1993. Available from any RFC repository.
Berners-Lee, Tim. 'Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)', Internet Draft,
March 1993. Available as draft-ietf-iiir-html-00.ps from any Internet
Draft server.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 146]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Other Information:
This is a new area, one with lots of interesting open problems and
the potential to help shape the future of information services on the
Internet. Even if you can't make the IETF meetings, you are
strongly encouraged to join the group and contribute.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 147]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
NIR
Date template updated or checked: 1st March, 1994
By: Name: Jill Foster
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Networked Information Retrieval Working Group (NIR-WG)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and
RARE (Association of European Research Networks)
Working subgroups: None
Description of main group:
There are many organizations and associations that have begun to
focus on the proliferating resources and tools for networked
information retrieval (NIR). The Networked Information Retrieval
Group will be a cooperative effort of three major players in the
field of NIR: IETF, RARE, and the Coalition for Networked Information
(CNI) specifically tasked to collect and disseminate information
about the tools and to discuss and encourage cooperative development
of current and future tools such as the archie servers, the Wide Area
Information Servers (WAIS), the Internet Gopher, and the WorldWide
Web (WWW).
The NIR Working Group intends to increase the useful base of
information about networked information retrieval (NIR) tools, their
developers, interested organizations, and other activities that
relate to the production, dissemination, and support of NIR tools.
Membership is open and is not limited to attendees of the quarterly
IETF meetings; the mailing list is open to all. The NIR-WG charter
is available via anonymous ftp from the various IETF repositories as
nir-charter.txt.
Goals:
To disseminate information about NIR tools and those groups working
on them. The information in the NIR Status report will be updated
and new entries added as appropriate once per year. This report will
be submitted as an RFC.
Current work includes discussing the criteria for evaluating the
major NIR tools available.
Foster [Page 148]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Jill Foster
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Computing Service
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
U.K.
Telephone: +44-91-222-8250
Fax: +44-91-222-8765
---------------------------------
Name: Kevin Gamiel
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address:
Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval
Center for Communications - MCNC
PO Box 12889 3021 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2889
U.S.A.
Telephone: +1-919-248-1886
Fax: +1-919-248-1101
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: Auto subscriptions to:
[email protected]
"subscribe nir firstname lastname"
Human admin to:
[email protected]
Description:
Foster [Page 149]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Archive:
ftp://mailbase.ac.uk/pub/lists/nir/files/*
or via gopher to mailbase.ac.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details
Site: mailbase.ac.uk
Directory: /pub/lists/nir/files
or from any Internet Draft Server (see sub-section entitled IETF
groups)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
This Working Group was formed jointly in the User Services and
Applications Areas of the Internet Engineering Task Force.
The RARE (Reseaux Associes pour la Recherche Europeenne) ISUS WG
(Information Services and User Support Working Group) is
represented by NIR-WG co-chair Jill Foster. NIR-WG information
is also posted to the mailing list for the ISUS WG at
"
[email protected]".
More information about CNI (Coalition for Networked Information) may
be obtained via anonymous ftp files from ftp.cni.org.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 150]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
NISI
Date template updated or checked: 1st March, 1994
By: Name: April Marine
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group name: Network Information Services Infrastructure (NISI)
Working Group
Sponsoring Organisation: IETF
Description of main group:
The NISI Working Group will explore the requirements for common,
shared Internet-wide network information services. The goal is to
develop an understanding for what is required to implement an
information services "infrastructure" for the Internet. Membership
is open. Charter is online in the various IETF repositories as
nisi-charter.txt.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: April Marine
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Network Applications and Information Center
NASA Ames Research Center
M/S 204-14
Moffett Field, CA 94035-1000
USA
Telephone: +1-415-604-0762
Fax: +1-415-604-0978
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Foster [Page 151]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: Internet-Drafts and FYI RFCs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
RFC 1302: Building a Network Information Services Infrastructure
RFC 1355: Privacy and Accuracy Issues in Network
Information Centre Databases
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 152]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
OSI-DS
Date template updated or checked: 24 February, 1994
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: OSI Directory Services (OSI-DS)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Engineering Task Forces (IETF)
Working subgroups: NONE
Description of main group:
The OSI-DS group's mission is to enable building a global Directory
Service based on X.500 and to facilitate its deployment on the
Internet. The primary focus is on developing agreements and
technical specifications needed to make this happen. The WG will not
be directly concerned with piloting and service activities, but will
liaise with such activities.
Membership is open, and is not limited to IETF attendees. A full
charter for this group is available for anonymous FTP from
ds.internic.net as ietf/osids/osids-charter.txt
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Steve Kille, Chair
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: ISODE Consortium
P.O. Box 505
SW11 1DX London
England
Telephone: +44-71-223-4062
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Foster [Page 153]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: Anonymous FTP, bells.cs.ucl.ac.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: bells.cs.ucl.ac.uk
Directory:/osi-ds
Site: ds.internic.net
Directory: /ietf/osids
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
The COSINE and Internet X.500 Schema, P. Barker, S. Kille, RFC-1274.
Replication and Distributed Operations Extensions to Provide an
Internet Directory Usign X.500, S. Hardcastle-Kille, RFC-1276
Requirements to provide an Internet Directory using X.500.
S. Hardcastle-Kille, RFC-1275
A Strategic Plan for Deploying an Internet X.500 Directory Service,
S. Hardcastle-Kille et al, RFC-1340
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 154]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
URI
Date template updated or checked: 14 March, 1994
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Uniform Resource Identifiers (uri)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Engineering Task Forces (IETF)
Working subgroups: NONE
Description of main group:
The Uniform Resource Identifiers Archives Working Group is chartered
to define a set of standards for the encoding of system independent
Resource Location and Identification information for the use of
Internet information services. There are three classes of
information being standardized in this group:
1) Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), which specify a standardized
method for encoding location and access information to
resources across multiple information systems,
2) Uniform Resource Names (URNs), which specify a standardized
method for encoding a unique resource identifier for a given
content, and
3) Uniform Resource Citations (URCs), which specify a
standardized method for encoding information about a given
instantiation of a content.
The URLs allow an information service to give a user access and
location information for a resource. The URN allows an information
service to determine if the contents of two information resources are
the same or not. The URC allows an information service to select
which of a number of different encodings of a resource are
appropriate for a given user's retrieval capabilities, and may
contain such things as file size and compression techniques.
Membership is open, and is not limited to IETF attendees. A full
charter for this group is available for anonymous FTP from
ds.internic.net as /ietf/uri/uri-charter.txt
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 155]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Jim Fullton, co-chair
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Center for Communications
P.O. Box 12889
3021 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park
North Carolina 27709-2889
Telephone: +1-919-248-1499
Fax: +1-919-248-1101
-----------------------------------
Name: Alan Emtage, co-chair
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Bunyip Information Systems, Inc.
266 Blvd. Neptune
Dorval QUEBEC H9S 2L4 CANADA
Telephone: +1-514-875-8611
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: archives.cc.mcgill.ca:~/pub/uri-archive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: ds.internic.net
Directory: internet-drafts. All documents will start with the
string draft-ietf-uri.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 156]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Official Publications: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Berners-Lee, Tim, 'Uniform Resource Locators', Internet Draft, March
1993.
Available as draft-ietf-uri-url-00.ps from any Internet Draft server.
Weider, Chris and Peter Deutsch, 'Uniform Resource Names', Internet
Draft, May 1993. Available as draft-ietf-uri-resource-names-00.txt
from any Internet Draft server.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 157]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
WNILS
Date template updated or checked: 28 February, 1994
By: Name: Joan Gargano
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Whois and Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Working subgroups:
Name of subgroup:
Mailinglist-Address:
[email protected]
Description of main group:
This description is the current WNILS-WG charter.
The Network Information Center (NIC) maintains the central NICNAME
database and server, defined in RFC 954, providing online look-up of
individuals, network organizations, key nodes, and other information
of interest to those who use the Internet. Other distributed
directory information servers and information retrieval tools have
been developed and it is anticipated more will be created. Many
sites now maintain local directory servers with information about
individuals, departments and services at that specific site.
Typically these directory servers are network accessible. Because
these servers are local, there are now wide variations in the type of
data stored, access methods, search schemes, and user interfaces.
The purpose of the Whois and Network Information Lookup Service
(WNILS) working group is to expand and define the standard for WHOIS
services, to resolve issues associated with the variations in access
and to promote a consistent and predictable service across the
network.
Goals and Milestones:
Done Review and approve the charter making any changes deemed
necessary. Examine the particular functional needs for
expanded whois directory service. Begin work on a framework
for recommendations. Assign writing assignments for first
draft of document.
12/1/93 Submit the Whois and Network Information Lookup Service
Recommendations document to the IESG as an Internet Draft.
Foster [Page 158]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
12/1/93 Submit the WHOIS++ protocol document to the IESG as an
Internet Draft.
12/1/93 Submit the "Architecture of the Whois++ Index Service"
document to the IESG as a revised Internet Draft.
12/1/93 Freeze all work on the Internet Drafts for 6 months for
software development.
Membership is open to attendees of the quarterly IETF meetings; the
mailing list is open to all. The WNILS-WG charter can be obtained via
anonymous ftp from the Document Archive sites listed in the Networked
Information Retrieval Working Group (WNILS-WG) template.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Joan Gargano
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Distributed Computing Analysis and Support (DCAS)
Information Technology
University of California, Davis
Davis, California 95616
U.S.A
Telephone: +1-916-752-2591
Fax: +1-916-752-9158
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description:
Archive:
ftp://ftp.ucdavis.edu:/pub/archive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None.
Foster [Page 159]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details: Gopher: gopher.ucdavis.edu 70
ftp://ftp.ucdavis.edu/archive/wnils-archive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
This Working Group formed jointly in the User Services and
Applications Areas of the Internet Engineering Task Force.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 160]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
IRTF-RD
Date template updated or checked: 1st March, 1994
By: Name: Mike Schwartz
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Internet Research Task Force Research Group on Resource
Discovery and Directory Service (IRTF-RD)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Society
Working subgroups: None
Description of main group:
The IRTF-RD group is focused on problems of scale that will arise in
resource discovery systems in the next 3-5 years. We divide these
scaling problems into three dimensions: volume of information, size of
the user base, and information diversity.
Our goal is to explore techniques for dealing with these problems
through a set of interrelated prototypes demonstrating advances in
each of these dimensions. Briefly, our current approaches are:
- deal with information diversity through a coordinated set
of techniques to gather, transform, and manage entropy of data
- deal with user scale through large scale replication
- deal with information volume using a combination of
views, space efficient indexing, and customization w.r.t.
vocabulary, search methods, and personal user history
We expect these approaches to evolve significantly over time.
Membership of this group is closed. We will consider new members,
with two constraints. First, the group must be kept small and focused
to make substantive progress - at most 4 or 5 members seems
appropriate at this time. Second, prospective members must be active
resource discovery researchers, who will bring clear strengths to the
group. Prospective members should send a vitae and a one page
position paper describing what they propose to do to advance the
group's efforts, addressed to the group chair.
The group currently consists of:
Mic Bowman (Transarc, Inc.)
Peter Danzig (University of Southern California)
Udi Manber (University of Arizona)
Mike Schwartz (University of Colorado - Boulder; chair)
Foster [Page 161]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Mike Schwartz
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Department of Computer Science
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0430
Telephone: +1-303-492-3902
Fax: Declined.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
The IRTF-RD group has no formal mailing list or archive.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
The IRTF-RD group has no news groups.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
The IRTF-RD group has no document archive, although our paper(s) and
prototype(s) are available from the members' FTP archives (see below).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications:
Occasional updates in the Internet Monthly Report.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
C. Mic Bowman, Peter B. Danzig and Michael F. Schwartz.
Research Problems for Scalable Internet Resource Discovery.
Technical Report CU-CS-643-93, Department of Computer Science,
Foster [Page 162]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
University of Colorado, Boulder, March 1993. To appear,
Proceedings of INET '93. Available by anonymous FTP from
ftp.cs.colorado.edu in the file
pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/PostScript/RD.ResearchProblems.ps.Z
(compressed PostScript) or in the file
pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/ASCII/RD.ResearchProblems.txt.Z
(compressed ASCII).
C. Mic Bowman, Peter B. Danzig, Udi Manber and Michael F.
Schwartz. Scalable Internet Resource Discovery: Research
Problems and Approaches. Technical Report CU- CS-679-93,
Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado, Boulder,
October 1993. To appear, Communications of the ACM, 1994. A
pre-publication version of this paper is available by anonymous
FTP and e-mail from ftp.cs.colorado.edu in the file
pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/PostScript/RD.ResearchProblems.Jour.ps.Z
(compressed PostScript) or in the file
pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/ASCII/RD.ResearchProblems.Jour.txt.Z
(compressed ASCII).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 163]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Z39.50 Implementors Group
Date template updated or checked: 28 February 1994
By: Name: Mark Needleman
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group name: Z39.50 Implementors Group
Description of main group:
The Z39.50 Implementors group (ZIG) is a volunteer organization
consisting of representatives of most of the organizations in the
United States and Canada that are actively engaged in implementing
the Z39.50 protocol. This includes the United States Library of
Congress, The National Library of Canada, the major bibliographic
utilities, many library automation vendors, and other information
service providers. The group is a volunteer effort whose meetings
are open at no charge to all. The group meets about 3 times a year
and conducts its activities extensively on its mailing list which is
also open to any interested party.
The group was originally formed to deal with interoperability issues
among the Z39.50 implementations that were beginning to emerge in
1989 and 1990 but the group has since expanded its role and has now
become the primary forum in which new features and versions of the
Z39.50 are developed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s): Z39.50 Implementors Group
Name: Mark Hinnebusch (Chair)
Email address:
[email protected] (Internet)
FCLMTH@NERVM (Bitnet)
Postal address: Florida Center For Library Automation
Suite 320
2002 NW 13th Street
Gainesville, FL 32609
Telephone: +1-904-392-9020
Fax: +1-904-392-9185
------------------------
Foster [Page 164]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Z39.50 Maintenance Agency
Name: Ray Denenberg
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal address: Library of Congress
Network Development and MARC Standards Office
Collections Services
Washington, DC 20540
Telephone: +1-202-707-5795
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Name: Z39.50 Implementors Group (ZIG)
Address:
[email protected]
Administration/Subscriptions:
[email protected]
(archives of the mailing list are also
available at this address.)
Archive:
gopher://sally.fcla.ufl.edu
ftp://sally.fcla.ufl.edu
gopher://marvel.loc.gov/11/services/z3950
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation and References for the Z39.50 Protocol
American National Standard Information Retrieval Application
Service Definition and Protocol Specification for Open Systems
Interconnection Version 2, National Information Standards
Organization, July 1992
Mark Hinnebusch "A Primer on Z39.50 Parts 1-8", Academic and
Library Computing Volume 9, Numbers 2-9, February-October 1992,
Meckler Corporation, Westport CN. (ISSN 1055-4769)
Mark Hinnebusch "The Z39.50 Explain Service", Campus Wide
Information Systems, Volume 10, Number 1, January/February 1993,
Meckler Corporation, Westport, CT. (ISSN 1065-0741)
Michael Buckland and Clifford Lynch. "THE LINKED SYSTEMS PROTOCOL
AND THE FUTURE OF BIBLIOGRAPHIC NETWORKS AND SYSTEMS,"
Foster [Page 165]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Information Technology and Libraries 6:2 (June 1987), pp. 83-88.
Michael Buckland and Clifford Lynch. "NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
IMPLICATIONS OF THE LINKED SYSTEMS PROTOCOL FOR ONLINE
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SYSTEMS," Cataloging and Classification Quarterly
8:3/4 (Spring 1988), pp. 15-33.
Clifford Lynch. "INTERSYSTEM LINKING AND DISTRIBUTED DATABASE
TECHNOLOGY: A COMPARISON OF TWO APPROACHES TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF
NETWORK-BASED INFORMATION UTILITIES," Proceedings of the Fourth
Integrated Online Library Systems Meeting, New York, New York,
May 10-11, 1989. (Medford, NJ: Learned Information, Inc., 1989),
pp. 107-112.
Clifford A. Lynch "LIBRARY AUTOMATION AND THE NATIONAL RESEARCH
NETWORK," EDUCOM Review (Fall 1989), pp. 21-28.
Clifford A. Lynch. "ACCESS TECHNOLOGY FOR NETWORK INFORMATION
RESOURCES," CAUSE/EFFECT (Summer 1990), pp. 15-20.
Clifford A. Lynch; Cecilia M. Preston. "INTERNET ACCESS TO
INFORMATION RESOURCES," Annual Review of Information Science and
Technology (ARIST) Volume 25. (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press,
1990), pp. 264-312.
Clifford A. Lynch. "THE CLIENT-SERVER MODEL IN INFORMATION
RETRIEVAL," Interfaces for Information Retrieval and Online
Systems: The State of the Art Martin Dillon, ed. (Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 1991); pp. 301-318.
Clifford A. Lynch. "INFORMATION RETRIEVAL AS A NETWORK
APPLICATION," Library Hi Tech 8:4, Issue 32 (1990), pp. 59-74.
Clifford A. Lynch. "THE Z39.50 INFORMATION RETRIEVAL PROTOCOL:
AN OVERVIEW AND STATUS REPORT," Computer Communications Review
21:1 (Sigcomm) (January 1991), pp. 58-70.
Clifford A. Lynch. THE Z39.50 PROTOCOL: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
Produced as a pamphlet by Data Research Associates (1991).
Dennis Lynch "Z39.50 Extended Services" Campus Wide Information
Systems Volume 10, Number 3 May/June 1993, Meckler Corporation,
Westport, CT (ISSN 1065 0741)
Mark H Needleman. "The Z39.50 Protocol: An Implementor's Perspective",
Resource Sharing and Information Networks Volume 8 Number 1, 1992, The
Haworth Press Inc, Binghamton, NY (ISSN 0737-7797)
Foster [Page 166]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Kunze, John A. "Nonbibliographic Applications of Z39.50." The
Public-Access Computer Systems Review 3, no. 5 (1992): 4-30.
(Refereed Article.) To retrieve this article, send the following
e-mail message to LISTSERV@UHUPVM1 or
[email protected]:
GET KUNZE PRV3N5 F=MAIL.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
Brief Description of the Z39.50 Protocol
Z39.50 is a US ANSI standard protocol for information retrieval. It
uses a client server model that allows clients ( or origins in Z39.50
terminology) to search servers (targets in Z39.50 usage) and retrieve
records from remote databases. The type and format of the data
retrieved is not constrained by the protocol but is agreed to by the
origin and the target. There is a mechanism that allows popular
record syntax's to be registered and then referred to by well known
identifiers. Z39.50 is an OSI application layer protocol; that is,
it is designed to make use of the OSI presentation layer protocol.
It may be used with or without the presentation protocol, and below
that, it is irrelevant (to the Z39.50 protocol) what protocols are
used. Most implementations of Z39.50 currently run directly over
TCP/IP.
User's View:
Users (either human or electronic) run client software to connect
with servers to retrieve information using the Z39.50 protocol. Many
clients already exist at least in prototype version today and more
are being written. Most of the major library automation vendors have
announced that they will be supporting Z39.50 in either client or
server mode or both. Many of the major information vendors either
currently have or are working on implementations of Z39.50 for their
systems. There are also a couple of Z39.50 implementations that are
expected to be put in the public domain at some point. The recently
announced FREEWAIS software incorporates Z39.50 Version 2 into it
(the older version used a variant of the 1988 version 1 protocol).
The Library of Congress acts as the maintenance agency for Z39.50 and
can be contacted for a list of registered Implementors.
Z39.50 provides a protocol mechanism for accessing remote information
sources. It defines the model for the interaction between two sides,
a client and a server. It makes no assumptions or presumptions about
how the data is actually organized in the server, nor about how the
data is presented to the end user by the client.
Foster [Page 167]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
The model postulates one or more databases on the remote system that
can be searched using attributes from defined search attribute sets,
creating a result set. Records can be retrieved from the result set
using agreed upon record formats.
Information types supported:
The Z39.50 protocol was designed as a general purpose search and
retrieval mechanism that could be used with a wide variety of data
types. The MARC format (a format used for cataloging library
material among other things) and a search attribute set suitable for
bibliographic and similar types of data are registered within the
current version of the standard. It is assumed that, as the protocol
begins to be used by other communities and for other types of data,
other attribute sets and record syntaxes will be developed. This
process has already begun and a generic record syntax and attribute
set are already under development, as well as some others,
specifically those supporting chemical structures, general science
and technology, and business information. The design philosophy
behind Z39.50 is that it will be used with other standards such as
Postscript, SGML, ODIF (and others), to communicate a wide variety of
data types, including full text, images, and many others.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 168]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
RARE Groups
RARE (Reseaux Associes pour la Recherche Europeenne) is the
Association of European Networking Organizations and their users.
RARE's aim is to overcome national boundaries in research networking
by creating a harmonized computer communications infrastructure for
the European research community. At this point in time RARE has over
40 members, most of which are national networking organizations
providing networking services to their national research and education
community.
RARE's technical programme is carried out by volunteers working in a
number of Working Groups.
For further information on RARE contact:
RARE Secretariat
Singel 466-468
NL-1017 AW AMSTERDAM
Telephone number +31-20-639-1131
Fax number +31-20-639-3289
E-mail address RFC8222
[email protected]
E-mail address X.400
C=nl; ADMD=400net; PRMD=surf; O=rare; S=raresec;
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 169]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
RARE ISUS
Date template updated or checked: 28th February, 1994
By: Name: Jill Foster
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: RARE Information Services and User Support Working
Group
Sponsoring Organisation:
RARE (Reseaux Associes pour la Recherche Europeenne)
Working subgroups (of relevance to nir):
Name of subgroup: MMIS Task Force
Mailinglist-Address:
[email protected]
Name of subgroup: NIR Task Force
Mailinglist-Address:
[email protected]
Name of subgroup: UNITE Task Force
Mailinglist-Address:
[email protected]
Description of main group:
The Information Services and User Support (ISUS) Working Group has
been established by the RARE Technical Committee as one of the major
working groups in the RARE Technical Programme. ISUS is concerned
with all aspects of networked information services, group
communications and network user support. It is open to all those
involved in working in these areas and should include:
Network User Support Staff: National and European Support Staff
(whether RARE, RIPE, EARN, Eunet etc.)
Site Computing Centre Support Staff
Special subject related User Support Staff
Library Staff
Networked Information Providers
Networked Information Service Providers
Application Developers
The ISUS WG mailing list will act both as a forum for discussion
amongst experts in this field and as a means for disseminating
information to the wider community.
Foster [Page 170]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
The ISUS Working Group is chartered to have a very broad area of
interest which is broken down into several sub-areas:
Network User Support
Asynchronous Group Communication
Networked Information Retrieval and Services
Liaison
Current tasks being worked on in the area of NIR include:
o Coordination of NIR services in Europe
o Collection of information related to NIR tools and groups.
This is a joint effort with the IETF and CNI.
o Network Interface to everything (UNITE). This group is starting
to look at the user requirements for a single interface to the
network (network information services, email, bulletin boards,
etc.). (
[email protected])
o Multimedia Information Services task force (MMIS). This group is
a joint task force of the RARE ISUS Working Group and RARE
Interactive Multimedia Working Group (
[email protected]).
charter: anonymous ftp from mailbase.ac.uk
file: /pub/lists/wg-isus/files/isus.charter
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Jill Foster
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Computing Service
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
UK
Telephone: +44-91-222-8250
Fax: +44-91-222-8765
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Foster [Page 171]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: Auto subscriptions to:
[email protected]
"subscribe wg-isus <firstname> <lastname>"
Human admin to:
[email protected]
Description: General purpose mailing list for whole ISUS WG.
Archive: Not yet available
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details
Site: raredoc.rare.nl
Directory: /rare/working-groups
Location details
Site: mailbase.ac.uk
Directory: /pub/lists/wg-isus/files
/pub/lists/nir/files
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: RARE Technical Reports
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
RARE Technical Report 1: User Support and Information Services
in the RARE Community - a Status Report. Jill Foster
RARE Technical Report 5: A Survey of Distributed Multimedia -
Research, Standards and Products. Chris Adie
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
This group was formed in May 1992 and takes over and expands on the
work of the former RARE WG3 USIS Subgroup. The group conducts most
Foster [Page 172]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
of its business by email, but meets twice a year before the European
Networking Conferences.
The EARNinfo group has recently joined forces with RARE ISUS WG, they
will be working together in the areas of documentation and network
training.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 173]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
USMARC/OCLC
Date template updated or checked: 10 March 1994
By: Name: Rebecca Guenther
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Working Group or Organisation: USMARC/OCLC
Name of group: USMARC Advisory Group; OCLC Internet Resources
Cataloging Experiment
Sponsoring Organisations: OCLC, Library of Congress,
USMARC Advisory Group
Working subgroups: None
Description of main group:
OCLC and the Library of Congress have formed a working group to
consider how libraries can create cataloging records for online
information resources. The group initiated a cataloging experiment
designed to test and verify the applicability of the cataloging rules
and the USMARC format for computer files. Guidelines have been
written for cataloging Internet resources and were considered by the
American Library Association committee responsible for maintaining the
Anglo- American Cataloging Rules. Changes to the USMARC format were
initiated to accommodate a subset of these materials (electronic data
resources, such as software, electronic text, bibliographic and
nonbibliographic databases). USMARC format changes which were
approved included an identification of type of file and a field for
location and access of the resource (very much like a URL).
The group is continuing its work by looking at how online systems and
services can be accommodated in USMARC. This work will be done within
the USMARC Advisory Group of the American Library Association, which
considers changes to the USMARC formats. Data elements will be
defined with mapping to MARC fields; in some cases new fields will be
proposed. This will be accomplished in conjunction with efforts by
other working groups (e.g., Government Information Locator Service, or
GILS).
A proposal was presented and approved in February 1994 to the USMARC
Advisory Group to add data elements to the Electronic Location and
Access Field (USMARC field 856). Included among these was a subfield
for URL (Uniform Resource Locator). It is intended to be used instead
of or in addition to other data identifying location of and access to
Foster [Page 174]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
a networked information resource.
Membership is closed at this point.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s): Rebecca Guenther
[email protected]
Name: Rebecca Guenther
Email address:
[email protected];
[email protected]
Postal address: Network Development and MARC Standards Office,
Library of Congress,
Washington, DC 20540-4020
Telephone: +1-202-707-5092
Fax: +1-202-707-6269
-------------------------------
Name: Erik Jul
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal address: OCLC, Inc.
6565 Franz Rd.
Dublin OH 43017-0702
Telephone: +1-614-764-4364
Fax: +1-614-764-2344
----------------------------
Name: Priscilla Caplan
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: University of Chicago Library,
1100 E. 57th St.,
Chicago, IL 60637
Telephone: +1-312-702-5079
Fax: +1-312-702-6623
Foster [Page 175]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
----------------------------
Name: William W. Jones, Jr.
Email Address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: New York University/Elmer Holmes Bobst Library,
Technical and Automated Services Division,
70 Washington Square South,
New York, NY 10012
Telephone: +1-212-998-4070
Fax: +1-212-995-4070
---------------------------
Name: Nancy Olson
Email Address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Memorial Library,
Mankato State University,
Mankato, MN 56001
Telephone: +1-507-389-5062
Fax: +1-507-389-5488
----------------------------
Name: Glenn Patton
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal address: OCLC, Inc.
6565 Franz Rd.
Dublin OH 43017-0702
Telephone: +1-800-848-5878
Fax: +1-614-764-0155
--------------------------------
Name: Martin Dillon
Email address:
[email protected]
Foster [Page 176]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Postal address: OCLC, Inc.
6565 Franz Rd.
Dublin OH 43017-0702
Telephone: +1-614-764-6079
Fax: +1-614-764-2344
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Archives under USMARC listserv.
Documents available:
94-2.doc (Proposal 94-2: Addition of Subfields $g and $3 to Field 856
Electronic Location and Access) in the USMARC
Holdings/Bibliographic
Formats: Document)
94-2.cov (Cover sheet with status information)
94-3.doc (Proposal 94-3: Addition of Subfield $u (Uniform
Resource Locator) to Field 856 in the USMARC
Holdings/Bibliographic
Formats: Document)
94-3.cov (Cover sheet with status information)
93-4.doc (Proposal 93-4: Changes to the USMARC Bibliographic
Format (Computer Files) to Accommodate Online Information
Resources: Document)
93-4.cov (Proposal 93-4: Cover sheet with status information)
dp69.doc (Discussion Paper No. 69: Accommodating Online Systems
and Services within USMARC: Document)
dp69.cov (Discussion Paper No. 69: Cover sheet with status
information)
Location details
Telnet to: marvel.loc.gov
Login: marvel
Foster [Page 177]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Select: Services to Libraries and Publishers
Select: USMARC Standards
Select: USMARC Listserv
See list of documents
-or-
Site:
[email protected]
Send email message with
get usmarc 93-4.doc
get usmarc 93-4.cov
get usmarc dp69.doc
get usmarc dp69.cov
etc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications:
"Assessing Information on the Internet: Toward Providing Library
Services for Computer-Mediated Communication". Dublin, OH: OCLC
Online Computer Library Center, 1993. Available in print form
from OCLC, Inc. for $20 or electronically from:
ftp.rsch.oclc.org
/pub/internet_resources_project/report
Filenames: *.*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Proposal 94-2: Addition of Subfields $g and $3 to Field 856
Electronic Location and Access) in the USMARC Holdings/Bibliographic
Formats)
Proposal 94-3: Addition of Subfield $u (Uniform Resource Locator) to
Field 856 in the USMARC Holdings/Bibliographic Formats
Discussion Paper No. 69: Accommodating Online Systems and
Services in USMARC (Washington: Library of Congress, Network
Development and MARC Standards Office, Apr. 1993).
Proposal 93-4: Changes to the USMARC Bibligraphic Format
(Computer Files) to Accommodate Online Information Resources
(Washington: Library of Congress, Network Development and MARC
Foster [Page 178]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Standards Office, Nov. 1992 (rev. Mar. 1993).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: None.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 179]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
8. Security Considerations
Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
9. Acknowledgements
The report was very much a collaborative effort of the members of the
NIR WG and in particular Peter Deutsch (who contributed the mailing
list section and the basis for Section 5), April Marine, Rick
Rodgers, Lars-Gunnar Olsson, Farhad Anklesaria, Marsha Perrott, Kevin
Gamiel, George Brett, Barbara Thomas and all those who helped review
the document. Special thanks are due to all those contributors who
took the time to submit and update descriptions of their NIR tools
and groups; their names are included in the templates in Sections 6
and 7.
Before final submission of the report as an RFC, independent
reviewers from around the world took two or three templates each and
checked them out for accuracy and currency as best they could. They
liaised with the original template authors over the changes they
made. The volunteers were: Larry Masinter, Marilyn Martin, Sinha
Velu, Ton Verschuren, Shirley Browne, Alfred Vella, Bert Stals,
Yannis Corovesis, Gerard Egan, Robert Janz and Andy Linton. They
provided some very valuable input.
10. Author's Address
Jill Foster
Computing Service
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Claremont Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
UK
Phone: +44-91-222-8250
Fax: +44-91-222-8765
Email:
[email protected]
Foster [Page 180]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
APPENDIX A
NIR TOOL Template (last updated 22.12.93)
Purpose and scope:
This template is to be used to collect the information necessary to
identify and track the development of networked information retrieval
tools. It is intended that the main part of this will be completed by
the main individual responsible for the tool. Sections of the
template may require completion by others.
The NIR tools included are defined by enumeration. The IETF/RARE/CNI
NIR-WG welcome suggestions for others to be included.
NIR Tools:
Alex
archie
gopher
Hytelnet
Netfind
Prospero
Veronica
WAIS (including freeWAIS)
WHOIS
World Wide Web (including Mosaic)
X.500 White Pages
New entries: Please complete this template and return it to
[email protected] (NIR-WG co-chair). Receipt of your
message will be acknowledged.
Please imbed descriptive text by at least one more column than the
heading for that item:
For example:
Brief description of tool:
This is the best application ever seen. It makes finding information
very easy. This is the decription imbedded one more column.
Updates: updates to existing information on NIR Tools may be sent by
the appropriate contact person at any time to:
Foster [Page 181]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
[email protected]
The full report will be updated annually and will form the basis of a
"snapshot" report on the activities in the area of networked
information retrieval (NIR).
-------------------------x---- cut here ----x--------------------------
Date template updated or checked: (e.g., 02 November, 1992)
By: Name:
Email address:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name:
Brief Description of Tool:
Note: This should be a maximum of 100 line description which
should cover the following:
- overview of use, purpose, scope and characteristics
- user's view
- information provider's view
- information types supported (e.g., text, sound, etc.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
[Please duplicate this section for each separate contact]
Name:
[May be the name of a role e.g., nirtool-support or of an
individual]
Email address:
Postal Address:
Telephone:
Fax:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
[for major center as well as each client if available]
Name:
[May be the name of a role e.g., nirtool-support or of an
Foster [Page 182]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
individual]
Email address:
Telephone:
Level of support offered: [delete as appropriate]
o volunteer
o funded
o for experts only
o all users
Hours available:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
[Name only]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
[Name only]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
[Duplicate this section for each list]
Address: [Email Address to send contributions]
Administration: [<listname>-request etc.]
Description:
[This is optional - if the group has only one mailing list]
Archive: [Location of message archive for this list]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
[Duplicate this section for each news group]
Name:
Description:
[This is optional - if the group has only one news group]
Foster [Page 183]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Archive: [Location of message archive for this news group]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: [e.g., Z39.50]
What it runs over:
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Future plans:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
[Duplicate the following for each platform
e.g., Unix, VMS, VM/CMS,....]
[The main contact for this NIR tool should complete at least
"platform" and "contact" for each server known to them.]
Date completed or updated:
By: Name:
Email address: [If different from that of the Primary
contact listed below]
Platform:
Primary Contact:
Name:
Email address:
Telephone:
Server software available from:
Location of more information:
[Such as installation instructions
copyright statements,
warnings & bug reports etc.
Eventually this will be the Unique Resource
Identifiers of the documents]
Latest version number:
Foster [Page 184]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Approximate number of such servers in use:
General comments:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
[Duplicate the following for each platform
e.g., MS-DOS PC, MAC, vt100,...]
[The main contact for this NIR tool should complete
"platform" and "contact" for each server known to them.]
Date completed or updated:
By: Name:
Email address: [If different from that of the Primary
contact listed below]
Platform:
Primary Contact:
Name:
Email address:
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Location of more information:
[Such as installation instructions
copyright statements,
warnings & bug reports etc.
Eventually this will be the Unique Resource
Identifiers of the documents]
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
Items included here could include
- optional items to come.
- plans for moving to international standards
- plans for interoperating with other NIR tools
- other functionality to be supported
Foster [Page 185]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
List of sites which are willing to act as demonstration
sites for this application.
[Duplicate for each site]
Site name:
Access details:
[e.g.,
telnet archie.sura.net
login as archie ]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
The following is a list of suggested items to be found in a
document archive. Note that the location pointers below could be
replaced in the future by the "Uniform Resource Name".
o current overview
o instructions to information providers
o Frequently Asked Questions
o user manuals
o training materials
- tutorials
- canned demos
- sample session (screen dumps)
- videos
- etc.
o miscellaneous documents
[Duplicate the following for each existing document as
necessary]
Document Title:
Location details:
Site:
Full file name:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
[A list of a maximum of 10 key papers, books etc. on this NIR tool.
Optionally a pointer to a fuller bibliography could be given.]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Other Information:
[Feel free to add other information that you feel is relevant.
This will be considered for inclusion in the report.]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
APPENDIX B
NIR Group Template (last updated 22.12.93)
Purpose and scope:
This template is to be used to collect the information necessary to
identify and track major groups that are working to promote or develop
networked information retrieval. It is intended that this will be
completed by the group representative.
The groups included are defined by enumeration. The IETF/RARE/CNI
NIR-WG welcome suggestions for other groups to be included.
Groups:
CNI Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Architectures and Standards
Directories and Resource Information Services
TopNode for Networked Information Resources, Services,
and Tools
CNIDR Clearing House for Networked Information Discovery
and Retrieval
IETF Integrated Directory Services (IDS)
Integration of Internet Information Resources (IIIR)
Networked Information Retrieval (NIR) joint IETF/RARE WG
Network Information Services Infrastructure (NISI)
OSI-Directory Service (OSI-DS)
Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI)
Whois and Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS)
IRTF Internet Research Task Force Research Group on
Resource Discovery and Directory Service (IRTF-RD)
NISO Z39.50 Implementors Group
RARE Information Services and User Support Working Group
(ISUS)
USMARC/OCLC USMARC Advisory Group; OCLC Internet Resources
Cataloging Experiment (USMARC/OCLC)
New Entries: Please complete this template for your group or
organisation and return it to
[email protected] (NIR-WG
co-chair). Receipt of your message will be acknowledged.
Foster [Page 188]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Please imbed descriptive text by at least one more column than the
heading for that item:
For example:
Description of main group:
This is the most active NIR group. This is the decription imbedded
one more column.
Updates: updates to existing information on NIR Groups may be sent by
the appropriate contact person at any time to:
[email protected]
The full report will be updated annually and will form the basis of a
"snapshot" report on the activities in the area of networked
information retrieval (NIR).
-----------------------x---- cut here ----x----------------------------
Date template updated or checked: (e.g., 02 November, 1992)
By: Name:
Email address:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name:
Sponsoring Organisation:
Working subgroups:
Name of subgroup:
Mailinglist-Address:
Description of main group:
[Description of the scope and purpose of the group and the
current tasks being worked on. (Recommended maximum of
100 lines.) Please indicate whether membership is open or
closed. Include a pointer to an on-line charter if
appropriate]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
[Please duplicate this section for each separate contact]
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Name:
[May be the name of a role e.g., group-secretariat or of an
individual]
Email address:
Postal Address:
Telephone:
Fax:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
[Duplicate this section for each list]
Address: [Email Address to send contributions]
Administration: [<listname>-request etc.]
Description:
[This is optional - if the group has only one mailing list]
Archive: [Location of message archive for this list]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
[Duplicate this section for each news group]
Name:
Description:
[This is optional - if the group has only one news group]
Archive: [Location of message archive for this news group]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
[Duplicate if necessary]
Location details:
Site:
Directory:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 190]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Official Publications:
[for example: Journal, Newsletter, Report Series]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
[A list of a maximum of 10 key papers, books etc. produced by
this group on their NIR work].
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
[Feel free to add other information that you feel is relevant.
This will be considered for inclusion in the report.]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 191]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
APPENDIX C
/* A summary of email lists and newsgroups dealing with */
/* various issues in resource discovery and networked */
/* information retrieval. */
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Created-By: Peter Deutsch
Email Address:
[email protected]
Last Updated: 16 December 1993
Comments: Please send comments, corrections and
additions to the author at the above address.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
/* The following mailing lists are in IAFA format. NIR Groups and */
/* Tool developers are encouraged to make such descriptions */
/* available for their lists. */
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Alex
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: alex-servers is for people setting up an Alex
fileserver. alex-users is for people who just
want to use Alex.
Archive: alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.209.13)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Archie
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: This mailing list is for people who operate and
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
maintain archie servers. Announcements of bug
fixes, new releases and discussion of new
features are carried out on this list.
Archive: archives.cc.mcgill.ca:/pub/mailing-lists/archie-maint
----------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: The archie People Mailing List
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: This mailing list is for people interested in
the archie project and its future developments.
Announcements of upgrades, new services, etc.
are made to this list.
Archive: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name Gopher
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: News and views of all things gopher.
Archive: Via gopher: University of Minnesota Gopher
Information About Gopher
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: HYTELNET Updates Distribution
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: By listowner Peter Scott
[email protected]
Description: To inform members of new version of the
software, and to keep users informed of
new/changed/defunct Telnet-accessible sites.
To subscribe send email message to
[email protected] with no subject, and
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
sub hytel-l firstname lastname as the body of
the message.
Archive: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Netfind
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Mailing list for user changes and updates.
Archive: None.
---------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Mailing list for sites running Netfind servers.
Archive: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Prospero
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: This mailing list is really two one-way mailing
lists. Send mail to INFO-PROSPERO to obtain
information about Prospero, papers or the
release. Mail to INFO-PROSPERO will not be
passed on to subscribers. INFO-PROSPERO is
also the list to which we will send status
updates and information on how to obtain new
releases.
Archive: Via anonymous FTP to PROSPERO.ISI.EDU as
/pub/prospero/mail/info-prospero.arc
Foster [Page 194]
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Via prospero in the "#/INET/EDU/ISI/GUEST/prototype"
virtual system as
/sites/isi.edu/pub/prospero/mail/info-prospero.arc.
-----------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: This mailing list is for general discussion of
Prospero, for announcements of new sites that
have come on board, and for announcments of
directories that people have created to
organize the information already accessible.
Archive: Via anonymous FTP to PROSPERO.ISI.EDU as
/pub/prospero/mail/prospero.arc
Via Prospero in the "#/INET/EDU/ISI/GUEST/prototype"
virtual system as
/sites/isi.edu/pub/prospero/mail/prospero.arc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Veronica
Address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: WAIS
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Moderated, digested biweekly posting about WAIS
and Electronic publishing subjects. Please
submit interesting materials.
Archive:
/pub/wais/mail-archives/wais-discussion/issue-*@wais.com
and wais-discussion-archive WAIS server
-----------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
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Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Implementors forum on WAIS. This is for
talking about nitty gritty details of protocols
and implementations.
Archive: /pub/wais/mail-archives/
[email protected]
-----------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: freeWAIS
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: not applicable
Description: Mailing list for reporting bugs in freeWAIS.
Archive: None.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: WWW
Address:
[email protected] for CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY
Administration:
[email protected] (robot)
[email protected] (human)
Description: Technical discussions, W3 related. Experts to
experts. General questions to
comp.infosystems.www please.
Archive: Not currently served, but kept.
---------------------------
Address:
[email protected]
NOT FOR GENERAL USE - serious low-volume
announcements only
Administration:
[email protected] (robot)
[email protected] (human)
Description: Low volume summary announcements of product
releases, etc.
Archive: Not currently public.
Foster [Page 196]
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: X.500
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Mail list for OIW DS-SIG group.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: CNI Groups
All of the CNI lists are managed with the Unix-Listprocessor software.
To join any of them mail to:
[email protected]
sub cni-<groupname> Firstname Lastname
All CNI list archives are available as:
URL:
ftp://ftp.cni.org/CNI/forums/cni-<groupname>
URL:gopher//gopher.cni.org 70/CNI Working Group Forums/
cni-<groupname>
--------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: CNI News and Announcements
Address:
[email protected]
--------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Architecture and Standards Working Group
Address:
[email protected]
--------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Copyright and Intellectual Property
Forum
Address:
[email protected]
-------------------------------
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Mailinglist-Name: Directories and Information Resource Services
Working Group
Address:
[email protected]
--------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: CNI Legislation, Codes, Policies and
Practices Working Group Forum
Address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: CNI Management & Professional & User
Education Working Group Forum
Address:
[email protected]
---------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: CNI Modernization of Scholarly
Publication Working Group Forum
Address:
[email protected]
--------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: CNI Access to Public Information
Working Group Forum
Address:
[email protected]
-------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: CNI Teaching and Learning Working Group
Forum
Address:
[email protected]
-------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: CNI Transformation of Scholarly
Communication Working Group Forum
Address:
[email protected]
Foster [Page 198]
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-------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: TopNode for Networked Information Resources,
Services and Tools
Address:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
SUB cni-directories Lastname Firstname
Archive: ftp.cni.org:/CNI/forums/cni-directories/*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: CNIDR
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: none
Description: Email sent to this address will receive an
automatic response containing more information
about current CNIDR activities.
Archive: none
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name:
[email protected]
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
sub zip Lastname Firstname
Description: Technical discussion of Z39.50-92 application
development. Subscribers receive brief
overview of project and information on how to
access archives.
Archive:
ftp://ftp.cnidr.org/NIDR.tools/zip
gopher://gopher.cnidr.org/NIDR Tools/Discussion/Online Discussion
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: IDS: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) WG
Foster [Page 199]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
on Integrated Directory Services
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: Anonymous FTP to merit.edu, ids/archive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: IIIR: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) WG
on Integration of Internet Information Resources
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: Anonymous FTP, iiir/archive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: NIR: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) WG
on Network Information Retrieval
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: Auto subscriptions to:
[email protected]
"subscribe nir firstname lastname"
Human admin to:
[email protected]
Description: This mailing list is intended to act as a
clearing-house for discussions of Networked
Information Retrieval and the active research
projects in this field (eg WAIS, WWW, Gopher).
Keywords: IETF, URIs, UDIs, URLs, UDLs, resource
discovery, Internet, Gopher, WAIS, WWW, X.500,
archie
Archive:
ftp://mailbase.ac.uk/pub/lists/files/nir/*
or via gopher to mailbase.ac.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: NISI: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) WG
on Network Information Services Infrastructure
Address:
[email protected]
Foster [Page 200]
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Administration:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: OSI-DS: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
WG on OSI Directory Services
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: Anonymous FTP, bells.cs.ucl.ac.uk
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: URI: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) WG
on Uniform Resource Identifiers
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: archives.cc.mcgill.ca:~/pub/uri-archive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: WNILS: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Whois and Network Information Lookup Service
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
subscribe ietf-wnils Firstname Lastname
Description: This mailing list is used by the IETF Whois and
Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS)
working group which is defining enhancements to
whois.
Archive: ucdavis.edu:/pub/archive
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Z39.50 Implementors Group (ZIG)
Address:
[email protected] (Internet)
Z3950IW@NERVM (Bitnet)
Foster [Page 201]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Administration/
[email protected] (Internet)
Subscriptions: LISTSERV@NERVM (Bitnet)
Archive: Anonymous FTP and/or Gopher: sally.fcla.ufl.edu
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: RARE Information Services and User Support WG
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: Auto subscriptions to:
[email protected]
"subscribe wg-isus <firstname> <lastname>
Human admin to:
[email protected]
Description: General purpose mailing list for whole ISUS WG.
Document Archive: Site: raredoc.rare.nl
Directory: /rare
------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: MMIS: RARE Multimedia Information Services
Task Force
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: Autosubscriptions to:
[email protected]
"subscribe mmis firstname lastname
Human admin to:
[email protected]
Archive:
ftp://mailbase.ac.uk/pub/lists/files/mmis/*
or via gopher to mailbase.ac.uk
------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: UNITE: RARE Task Force on "User Network
Interface To Everything"
Address:
[email protected]
Administration: Autosubscriptions to:
[email protected]
"subscribe unite firstname lastname
Human admin to:
[email protected]
Archive:
ftp://mailbase.ac.uk/pub/lists/files/unite/*
or via gopher to mailbase.ac.uk
Foster [Page 202]
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Hyper-G
Address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Soft Pages
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Technical discussion related to representation
of network information in the directory and its
usage is carried out in this group.
Archive: Not (yet) available via anonymous FTP.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: WHOIS++
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: pub/archive/
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: IAFA: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Internet Anonymous FTP Archive working group
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: This mailing list is for people who are
involved in the Internet Anonymous FTP Archives
Working Group of the IETF. This group was
involved in standardizing the encoding of
information at anonymous FTP archives and thus
is of interest to operators and users of the
archie system. It came to completion in
November, 1992 and produced two documents which
have been presented to the IETF as informational
Foster [Page 203]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
RFCs.
Archive: archives.cc.mcgill.ca:/pub/mailing-lists/iafa
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
/* The following Usenet newsgroups discuss various issues in */
/* resource discovery or specific NIR projects. */
Newsgroup-Name: comp.archives.admin
Mailinglist-Gate: <unknown>
Description: This group discusses problems in administering
Internet archives. It has also been used as an
informal source of announcements for project
releases, a place for new-comers to ask
questions, etc.
Keywords: anonymous FTP, archives, Internet, archie
Archive: <unknown>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroup-Name: comp.infosystems.wais
Mailinglist-Gate: <unknown>
Description: This group was created to host discussions
about the Wide Area Information Server
Also included are information and help with the
public domain release available from Thinking
Machine Corp. and setting up your own WAIS
server.
Keywords: WAIS, resource discovery, indexing, Internet
Archive: <unknown>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroup-Name: alt.wais
Mailinglist-Gate: <unknown>
Description: This alt. group was created to host discussions
about the Wide Area Information Service. It has
Foster [Page 204]
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been superceeded by the group
"comp.infosystems.wais" and its use is
discouraged.
Keywords: WAIS, resource discovery, indexing, Internet
Archive: <unknown>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroup-Name: comp.infosystems.www
Mailinglist-Gate: <unknown>
Description: This group was created to host discussions
about the World Wide Web distributed hypertext
information services project based at CERN in
Switzerland, including discussion of the many
public domain implementations of WWW clients
and servers available.
Keywords: World Wide Web, campus-wide information
systems, resource discovery, indexing, Internet
Archive: <unknown>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroup-Name: alt.gopher
Mailinglist-Gate: <unknown>
Description: This group was created to host discussions
about the Gopher distributed information
project, based at University of Minnesota,
including discussion of the many public domain
implementations of Gopher clients and servers
available. It has been superceeded by the
group "comp.infosystems.gopher" and its use is
discouraged.
Keywords: Gopher, campus-wide information systems,
resource discovery, indexing, Internet
Archive: <unknown>
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 205]
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Newsgroup-Name: alt.internet.services
Description: This newsgroup is for people interested in
Internet-related services, with a focus at the
user level. Announcements and discussions of
issues related to archie are presented here, as
well as discussions of more general issues
relating to Internet services.
Archive: not known
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroup-Name: bit.listserv.hytel-l
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 206]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
APPENDIX D
COMING ATTRACTIONS
This section will be used to keep a note of NIR Tools which are
considered by the NIR Group to be sufficiently well developed to
include here, but that are not yet in widespread use.
Items currently included here are:
Hyper-G
Soft Pages
Whois++
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
HYPER-G
Date template updated or checked: 19th October, 1993
By: Name: Frank Kappe
Email address:
[email protected]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: Hyper-G
Brief Description of Tool:
Hyper-G is the name of an ambitious hypermedia project currently being
developed as a joint effort by a number of institutes of the IIG
(Institutes for Information-Processing Graz) and the Computing and
Information Services Center of the Graz University of Technology and
the Austrian Computer Society.
Hyper-G is designed as a general-purpose, large-scale, multi-user,
distributed hypermedia information system. As such, it combines
concepts of hypermedia, information retrieval systems, documentation
systems with aspects of communication and collaboration, and computer
supported teaching and learning. It also provides seamless
integration of other systems (e.g., World-Wide Web, Gopher, WAIS) that
also operate under the client/server paradigm and allows remote logins
to interactive services.
In addition to hypertext links, Hyper-G allows navigation through
hierarchies, queries (including full text), guided tours, and is
multilingual.
Foster [Page 207]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Hyper-G is currently operated at some 10 locations throughout the
world, including a University Information System at the Graz Technical
University. Clients and the server are available without fee for
educational institutions, and are distributed as binaries for a number
of platforms.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Frank Kappe
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Schieszstattg. 4a, A-8010 Graz, AUSTRIA
Telephone: +43-316-832551-22
Fax: +43-316-824394
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Sorry no help line
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
Austrian Ministry of Science
European Space Agency
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Protocols:
What is supported: RPC
What it runs over: TCP/IP
Other NIR tools this interworks with: gopher, WAIS, World Wide Web
Future plans: Too numerous to mention.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 12th October, 1993
By: Name: Gerald Pani
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact:
Name: Gerald Pani
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +43-316-832551-34
Server software available from: anon-ftp from iicm.tu-graz.ac.at,
in directory pub/Hyper-G/Server
Location of more information: see README in above directory
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Approximate number of such servers in use: 13
General comments:
Currently available as binary distribution for SUN, DEC, HP,
and SGI workstations.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
UNIX curses client (a.k.a. VT100 Client)
Date completed or updated: 19th October, 1993
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RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
By: Name: Frank Kappe
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact:
Name: Frank Kappe
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +43-316-832551-22
Client software available from:
anonymous ftp: iicm.tu-graz.ac.at:/pub/Hyper-G/UnixClient
Location of more information:
Latest version number: 1.41
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Fairly sophisticated terminal viewer with ~50 commands, multi-
language user interface, history, authoring capabilities (text
documents and links) and the ability to speak to gopher,
World-Wide-Web, WAIS and to start telnet sessions.
General comments:
Future plans:
The terminal viewer will probably remain rather stable in the future.
Our main effort now goes into the development of clients for
X-Windows and MS-Windows.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
MS-Windows Client
Date completed or updated: 10th October, 1993
By: Name: Thomas Dietinger
Email address:
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact:
Name: Thomas Dietinger, Frank Kappe
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +43-316-832551-22
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Client software available from:
anonymous ftp: iicm.tu-graz.ac.at:/pub/Hyper-G/pc-client
Location of more information:
Latest version number: 1.37
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Preliminary version of a Hyper-G client for MS-Windows 3.1 and Windows
NT. Currently mostly identical to the UNIX curses client. An
exception is its ability to elegantly import and export RTF text files
to/from Hyper-G, and its multimedia capabilities.
General comments:
Future plans:
Will become more fancy (menus, icons, buttons...) in the near future.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
List of sites which are willing to act as demonstration
sites for this application.
Site name: hyperg.tu-graz.ac.at
Access details: 'rlogin hyperg.tu-graz.ac.at' or
'telnet hyperg.tu-graz.ac.at', login 'info'
(rlogin has the advantage that the terminal size
of xterms is handled correctly (can even be
changed in the middle of a session)
Note: The same information is available through Gopher and WWW
gateways.
Gopher: host gopher.tu-graz.ac.at, port 70
WWW: URL=
http://www.tu-graz.ac.at:80/ROOT
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: Most of the documentation is available on-line in the
Graz server. The server distribution include man-pages
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of the additional authoring tools and utilities that
are supplied with the server. The ideas behind Hyper-G
are described in a number of research papers (see
Bibliography).
Location details:
Site: iicm.tu-graz.ac.at
Full file name: look in directory /pub/Hyper-G/doc
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Kappe F.: Aspects of a Modern Multi-Media Information System. IIG
Report 308, IIG, Graz University of Technology, Austria, June 1991.
Available by anonymous ftp from
iicm.tu-graz.ac.at:/pub/Hyper-G/doc/report308.ps.Z
Kappe F., Maurer H., Sherbakov N.: Hyper-G - A Universal Hypermedia
System. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, Vol. 2,
No. 1, pp. 39-66 (1993). Also available by anonymous ftp from
iicm.tu-graz.ac.at:/pub/Hyper-G/doc/report333.txt.Z
Kappe F., Pani G., Schnabel F.: The Architecture of a Massively
Distributed Hypermedia System. Internet Research: Electronic
Networking Applications and Policy, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 10-24; Meckler
(Spring 1993)
Kappe F., Maurer H.: Hyper-G: A Large Universal Hypermedia System and
Some Spin-Offs; ACM Computer Graphics, experimental special online
issue; available by anonymous ftp from siggraph.org in directory
publications/May_93_online/Kappe.Maurer (May 1993)
Kappe F.: Hyper-G: A Distributed Hypermedia System; Proc. INET '93,
San Francisco, California, pp. DCC-1 - DCC-9 (Aug. 1993).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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SOFT PAGES
Date template updated or checked: 4th November, 1993
By: Name: Glenn Mansfield
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: SoftPages
Brief Description of Tool:
A tool to aid users in the efficient retrieval of documents, s/w, and
the like from servers ( anonymous FTP, FTAM, .. ) connected to the
network. In principle, it uses the X.500 Directory framework to store
information about the network. This includes the network
configuration, the properties of the links that connect the network
elements, location of servers and their contents. When a user looks
for a particular document or s/w the above information is used to
search for the object starting from the server that is
"nearest" (cheapest) to the user.
The X.500 directory services is used in several stages
get list of file-servers
get path to file servers
get attributes for computing cost of paths
search for file that is being sought
However, under present circumstances, due to lack of deployment of
network information in the directory, when information is unavailable
from X.500, alternate sources/methods are used. [Static-lists of
file-servers, or lists of file servers from other clients (e.g.,
archie); Paths and/or costs are obtained from static lists or derived
by other direct means (e.g., ping, traceroute); file information is
sought from other servers (e.g., archie).]
User's View:
A "single window" view of the public archives connected to the
network. It locates the server that contains the sought object and is
near(/cheap/fast) server.
Query of files based on incomplete name is supported. The system also
supports queries based on keywords.
Information Provider's View:
The information about the server contents have to be updated
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at a single place- namely, the local Directory Service Agent.
The Directory Service Agent makes the information globally
accessible.
It is not necessary to carry out periodic updates on one or
more information servers.
- information types supported (e.g., text, sound, etc.)
Since the system supports query on name and keywords (not on
contents) all kinds of information may be supported.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Manager, SoftPages Project
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: AIC Sytsems Lab.
Minami Yoshinari 6-6-3
Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi 989-32, Japan
Telephone: +81-22-279-3310
Fax: +81-22-279-3640
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Name: SoftPages Project Support Group
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +81-22-279-3310
Level of support offered:
o volunteer
o all users yes
Hours available: Regular working hours
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
The SoftPages Project Working Group
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
The project is supported by:
AIC Systems Lab., Sendai, Japan
Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Foster [Page 214]
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The WIDE Project, Japan
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Technical discussion related to representation
of network information in the directory and its
usage is carried out in this group.
Archive: Not (yet) available via anonymous FTP.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: X.500 DAP
What it runs over: LDAP over IP
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Future plans:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 4th November, 1993
By: Name: Glenn Mansfield
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Unix
Primary Contact:
Name: Manager, SoftPages Project
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +81-22-279-3310
Server software available from:
Any standard X.500 package will do.
We are using the QUIPU package that is included
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in the ISODE system
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Approximate number of such servers in use:
General comments:
some new oids need to be assigned for
SoftPages related objects.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 4th November, 1993
By: Name: Glenn Mansfield
Email address:
[email protected]
Platform: Unix.
Primary Contact:
Name: Manager, SoftPages Project
Email address:
[email protected]
Telephone: +81-22-279-3310
Client software available from:
will be announced on the mailing list in the
near future
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
The Prototype is under development and testing.
It is not (yet) available for public use.
Future plans:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
Foster [Page 216]
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: README
Location details:
Site: ftp.tohoku.ac.jp
Full file name:pub/spp/README
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
"The Soft Pages Project", Th. Johannsen, G.Mansfield,
OSI-DS-39, February 1993.
Location details:
Site: cs.ucl.ac.uk
Full file name:osi-ds/osi-ds-39-00.{txt, ps}
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
"Optimized Document Retrieval - Soft Pages Project", Th. Johannsen,
G.Mansfield, S.Noguchi, Booklet of Abstracts,
The Network Services Conference '92, Pisa, November 1992.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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WHOIS++
Date template updated or checked: 21 October, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: whois++ and the whois++ index service
Brief Description of Tool:
whois++ and the whois++ index service are extensions of the WHOIS
protocol. They are designed to a) subsume in a standardized fashion
the many enhancements which have been added to individual WHOIS
servers; b) extend the flexibility of WHOIS by enriching the query
syntax, and c) provide a distributed indexing system to tie the
various whois++ servers into a distributed information lookup service.
The protocols describe two logically distinct types of servers that an
information provider can set up. The first type is the base-level
whois++ server. This contains primary information, such as entries
for individual people or entries describing resources available
locally. For example, if one wished to provide a campus directory
through whois++, one would set up a base-level whois++ server that
contained entries for each student. In addition, this base-level
server must be able to generate 'forward knowledge' for the
information it contains. The second type of server collects the
'forward knowledge' generated by a number of base-level servers, and
can take a query sent to it and determine which of the base-level
servers it indexes might contain information relevant for the query.
A single physical server may contain both primary information and
'forward knowledge' for a number of other servers, and an index server
can also index 'forward knowledge' for a number of other index
servers, allowing a hierarchical mesh of index servers to be built.
For more details on the information provider's point of view, see the
'Documentation' section of this template.
The basic information model is centered on the concept of 'templates'.
A template is a collection of attribute:value pairs, where the
allowable attributes are specified by the template type. The whois++
templates are based on the templates defined by the IAFA working group
of the IETF. The values associated with given attributes are not
necessarily limited to text, they can be digitized sound clips, etc.
Depending on the client she uses, the user will see a connection to
the local whois++ base-level server. The user can ask the server for
a list of templates supported by that server, and can then call up a
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blank version of the template so that she can fill in values for the
attributes she knows. Once she has filled in the template as much as
she wants, she issues a query to the server to find all the entries
which have these attribute:value pairs. If she is not satisfied with
the responses, she can then start traversing the index service to
locate a server which can adequately answer her query. In addition,
if a user makes frequent use of the index service, she can set
'bookmarks' which can be used later to directly contact servers she's
found useful in the past, without having to traverse the index service
again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Chris Weider
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: 2001 South Huron Parkway 12
Ann Arbor
Michigan
48104, USA
Telephone: +1-313-971-2223
Fax: +1-313-971-2223
----------------------------
Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal Address: Bunyip Information Systems, Inc.
266 Blvd. Neptune
Dorval QUEBEC H9S 2L4
CANADA
Telephone: +1-514-875-8611
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Not yet deployed.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
Foster [Page 219]
RFC 1689 Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups August 1994
Whois Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS) Working Group of the
Internet Engineering Task Forces (IETF)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Archive: pub/archive/
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
NONE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: WHOIS, whois++
What it runs over: TCP/IP
Other NIR tools this interworks with: None yet.
Future plans: Providing resource location services and URN/URL
mappings for GOPHER, ARCHIE, WAIS, and WWW.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Only beta versions available at this time (21 October, 1993). Please
contact
[email protected] (Chris Weider) for more information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Foster [Page 220]
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Only beta versions available at this time (21 October, 1993). Please
contact
[email protected] (Chris Weider) for more information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites:
NONE at this time (21 October, 1993)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: Architecture of the Whois++ Index Service
Location details:
Site: gopher.ucdavis.edu
Full file name: /pub/IETF/WNILS/Architecture.Index.Service
Document Title: Architecture of the WHOIS++ Service
Location details:
Site: gopher.ucdavis.edu
Full file name: /pub/IETF/WNILS/Architecture.Overview
Document Title: Specifications for WHOIS Services
Location details:
Site: gopher.ucdavis.edu
Full file name: /pub/IETF/WNILS/Discussion.Paper
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
See the documentation section of this template.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
As this is a coming attraction, we encourage people to get in on the
ground floor. The authors of this protocol see it as potentially
being a key player in any integrated Internet information
architecture, and we can always use more volunteers who want to
beta-test code for us.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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APPENDIX E
Extinct Critters (Tools)
This section will contain information on Tools moved from the main
body of the report as the Tool falls out of common usage.
There are no items currently in this section.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
APPENDIX F
Extinct Critters (Groups)
This section will be used as a historical record of groups which were
once in the main body of the report, but which have since been closed.
Items in this section:
IAFA
Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
IAFA
Date template updated or checked: 8th July 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email Address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Internet Anonymous File Archive Working Group
Sponsoring Organisation: IETF
Working subgroups: none.
Description of main group:
This working group came to completion during the IETF meeting in
November, 1992 and two Internet drafts are are now circulating. The
archive for this mailing list is currently available on
"archives.cc.mcgill.ca" via anonymous ftp in the file
"pub/mailing-lists/iafa".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Primary Contact(s):
Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal address: Bunyip Information Systems
266 Blvd Neptune
Dorval, Quebec H9S 2L4
CANADA
Telephone: +1-514-398-3709
Fax: +1-514-398-6876
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Discussion list for the IAFA Working Group
concerning the administration of anonymous FTP
archive sites.
Keywords: IETF, IAFA, anonymous, FTP, archive, Internet,
archie
Archive: The archive for this mailing list is currently
available on "archives.cc.mcgill.ca" via
anonymous FTP in the file
"pub/mailing-lists/iafa".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: archives.cc.mcgill.ca
Directory: pub/mailing-lists/iafa
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Foster [Page 223]
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Official Publications:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 224]
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Z39.50
Date template updated or checked: 8th July 1993
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email Address:
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed
Sponsoring Organisation: Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Architectures and Standards Program
Working subgroups:
Name of subgroup:
Mailinglist-Address:
Description of main group:
Program priorities are 1) to facilitate a consistent and complete
mechanism for linking bibliographic, abstracting, and indexing files
to files of their associated source materials; 2) a single standard
for the transmission of bitmapped image files; 3) protocols for
handing networked requests for delivery of source materials; 4)
mechanisms for interorganizational authentication, accounting, and
billing; and 5) to integrate lessons drawn from the experience of
pilot projects that exercise networked printing utilities and 6) to
provide an "interoperability workshop" to specify, implement, and test
advanced functions of Z39.50 to accelerate the pace and to ensure the
quality of standardization efforts in this area.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Clifford Lynch
Email address:
[email protected]
Postal address: Off. of the President
Unv. of California
300 Lakeside Dr.,
8th Flr. Oakland, CA 94612-3350 USA
Telephone: +1-415-987-0522
Fax: +1-415-839-3573
Foster [Page 225]
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
[email protected]
Administration:
[email protected]
Description: Implementors' list for low level discussions
of protocol details.
Archive:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: ftp.cni.org
Directory: /CNI/projects/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: None
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Foster [Page 226]
