[1477] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
a correction to "Finding my WAIS...
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Eric Morgan)
Wed Oct 14 10:09:40 1992
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 1992 09:05:11 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
From: Eric Morgan <eric_morgan@library.lib.ncsu.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Paul Jones sent me a correction to my posting "Finding my WAIS through a Gopher
hole." It is listed below and concerns the WAIS indexing and searching. Since I
have visited Paul, seen his shop, and value his experience, then I believe his
assessment is correct.
Eric Morgan
=====================
I think you've managed to touch on the strengths and weaknesses of both
Gopher and of WAIS in a very readable and accessable manner. I do think
that the scaling issues for Gopher are still a problem, but that seems
minor and work on those issues is, I hear, well underway.
About the WAIS indexer. The indexer and the search engine are NOT WAIS.
WAIS is the protocol not the search engine or the search technique. The
indexer and search engine are simple workable and usable examples that are
distributed for free. Some one who manages a server and source can easily
tune the weights to meet the needs of their clients. Further, you can add
thesaurus searching, stemming, and spell correction without too much
trouble. In fact you can easily replace the entire searching and indexing
mechanism with, say, lqtext or an SQL search engine without altering WAIS
or the clients. You might want to customize a client to enhance your
users' ability to do speciality searches. And you can do that without
violating the WAIS protocol.
The thing to remember is that WAIS is not the client nor the server nor
the indexer nor the search engine, but simply the protocol. All the rest
can be rewritten, customized and enhanced to suit the needs of the users
and publishers (who are offering the information).
If you'd like to repost this message feel free.
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
