Internet Client Search Freeware (fwd)

[Peter Scott]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 1995 06:28:04 -0500
From: Eliot Christian <echristi at usgs.gov>
To: Multiple recipients of list Z3950IW <Z3950IW at nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu>
Subject: Internet Client Search Freeware

After resolving the correct wording in the copyright notice, we are back
online with the alpha release of freeware intended to handle World Wide Web
client searching. This software uses the standard search protocol known in
the U.S. as ANSI Z39.50, version 3, and internationally as ISO 10163. This
initial freeware is constructed as an add-on to the Netscape WWW browser
(version 1.1N) in Windows (Windows 3.11, Windows95, and Windows NT). It also
works with Netscape 2.0B1 under Windows95.

Using Microsoft's OLE (object linking and embedding), this software is
invoked within the WWW browser in response to a URL that starts with
"search". The software uses the computer to computer Z39.50 protocol to
actually conduct the search, but it produces a user interface by
constructing HTML forms on the local disk drive.

Please bear in mind that this software is not yet a fully developed product.
The primary developer is Jeff Gelbard <jgelbard at cs.umass.edu>, subcontracted
through the University of Massachusettes, Center for Intelligent Information
Retrieval (CIIR), which has a development contract with the U.S. Defense
Technical Information Center (DTIC).

The Z39.50 protocol stack code is the property of Ameritech but is being
made available in this product for individual use at no charge. (If you wish
to license the Z39.50 protocol stack code for use in a commerial product,
contact David Nicosia <nicosia at als.ameritech.com>.) Except for the Z39.50
protocol software, all source code is being placed in the public domain.

You can fetch the executable software (search.zip), readme.tx, and source
files (srch_src.zip) by anonymous FTP to host www.usgs.gov, in the directory
/pub/gils/ciir/dtic_a02.

Eliot Christian, US Geological Survey, 802 National Center, Reston VA 22092
echristi at usgs.gov  Office 703-648-7245  FAX 703-648-7069  Home 703-476-6134