[1151] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Wais Protocols
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Public-Access Computer Systems For)
Fri Sep 4 11:03:39 1992
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 09:59:07 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
From: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
2 Messages, 57 Lines
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From: (Dirk Herr-Hoyman) <dhoyman@fammed.wisc.edu>
Subject: Re: Fully WAIS indexed speeches
> Would someone mind helping a rookie? What exactly is a WAIS protocol?
>(Even though I can't use it, running a humble antique Apple...)
You probably got bombarded, but let me add my 2 cents.
WAIS stands for Wide Area Information Systems. Basically, this means you
have a client/server lookup via wide area networks, like the Internet. So,
I run a WAIS client on my local computer and the query is sent out to some
other computer on the Internet.
Now, there's a little more to WAIS then just querying. WAIS is able to do
full text retrival and supports graphics/sound and other multimedia
formats. The WAIS protocol is currently become an "official" standard.
Right now it's called z39.50, but that number may change when it's
official. A company in Boston that specializes in large, parallel
processing computers, Thinking Machines, has been spearheading WAIS.
WAIS appears to have the critical mass needed to be useful. I have seen
lot's of interest in it of late.
If you want a more thorough discussion, Byte had a good article just about
a year ago (I can't recall the month).
Dirk Herr-Hoyman | Are we
University of Wisconsin-Madison | kinder and gentler
Dept. of Family Medicine and Practice | yet?
dhoyman@fammed.wisc.edu |
(608) 262-6368 voice |
(608) 263-5813 fax |
*-----
From: Paul Jones <pjones@mento.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: Fully WAIS indexed speeches
You may pick up WAIS clients for most any platform (unix, X, DOS,
MS-Windows, Macintosh, VMS--but not for VM or MVS) via anonymous ftp from
think.com or sunsite.unc.edu in the pub/wais directory at either site.
There you will find documentation and examples of wais sessions as well.
If your mac is on the Internet, you can WAIS directly from your mac. If
not you may have to connect to a host that is on the internet, such as a
unix host. If you want to try out a simple terminal window client, telnet
to bbs.oit.unc.edu and login as bbs and follow the instructions or telnet
quake.think.com and login as wais.
Welcome to the world of free text searching
Paul Jones
Office FOR Information Technology
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC
Paul_Jones@unc.edu
Self-determination for Kernow, Alba, Cymru, Eire, Mannin, and Breizh
