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A Status Report
on
Networked Information Retrieval: Tools and Groups
Draft version 3.1
24th March 1993
Produced by the Joint IETF/RARE/CNI
Networked Information Retrieval - Working Group (NIR-WG)
Editors:
Jill Foster Jill.Foster@newcastle.ac.uk
George Brett ghb@concert.net
Peter Deutsch peterd@bunyip.com
CONTENTS
1. Introduction.
2. How the information was collected.
3. What is covered?
4. Updating information.
5. Overview of the types of NIR Tool.
6. NIR Tools.
7. NIR Groups.
8. Appendix A: NIR Tool Template.
9. Appendix B: NIR Group Template.
10. Appendix C: Email Lists and Newsgroups.
11. Appendix D: Coming Attractions.
12. Appendix E: Extinct Critters (Tools).
13. Appendix F: Extinct Critters (Groups).
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 year and a half we have seen a wide spread
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 have recently begun
to focus 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" and to update it at least two to three times
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. Since the last report, much
work has been done on expanding some of the NIR tools to include
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).
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, ease of use (from the user's point
of view), how to make information available using it, documentation,
demonstration sites, etc. It was intended that the main part of this
should have been completed by the main individual responsible for the
tool. Sections of the template 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
NCSA Mosaic for X
Prospero
Veronica
WAIS
WHOIS
World Wide Web (not updated)
X.500 White Pages
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
Z39.50 Interoperability Testbed
CNIDR Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery
and Retrieval
IETF IDS
IIIR
NIR joint IETF/RARE WG
NISI
OSI-DS
URI
WNILS
OCLC USMARC
RARE ISUS
In addition, Appendix C contains a list of the relevant email lists.
4. Updating Information
Updates on, and additions to the information contained in this report
are welcomed by the editors. Send updates using the appropriate
template (from Appendix A or Appendix B of this report) to:
Jill Foster
Email RFC 822: Jill.Foster@newcastle.ac.uk
Email X.400: C=gb; ADMD= ; PRMD=uk.ac; O=newcastle; S=Foster; G=Jill;
The current templates and this report may be retrieved from the UK
Mailbase Server:
Via Email:
Mail to: mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk
Text of the message:
send nir tool.template
send nir group.template
send nir nir.status.report
Via anonymous ftp to:
mailbase.ac.uk
(use your email address as the password)
file: /pub/nir/tool.template
file: /pub/nir/group.template
file: /pub/nir/nir.status.report
5. Overview of the types of NIR Tool
****** This section to be supplied by Peter Deutsch - and will explain
briefly the taxonomy of NIR tools (indexing tools etc) with examples
of each. ***
For example:
Taxonomy of NIR Tools:
Resource Discovery
Class Discovery
Instance location (indexing)
Access
Information Management
6. NIR Tools
This section contains detailed information about the various NIR
Tools. It is ordered alphabetically.
It is intended that an "evaluation" exercise will be carried out for
the various NIR tools. This will be written up in a separate document
and will include reviews and user comments, the general pros and cons
of the particular NIR tool and its strengths and weaknesses.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
ALEX
Date template updated or checked: 19th March 1993
By: Name: Vincent Cate
Email address: vac@cs.cmu.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 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.
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: vac@cs.cmu.edu
Postal Address: School of Computer Science
5000 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh PA, 15213
Telephone: (412) 268-3077
Fax: (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".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists
Address: alex-users@cs.cmu.edu
Administration: alex-users-request@cs.cmu.edu
Address: alex-servers@cs.cmu.edu
Administration: alex-servers-request@cs.cmu.edu
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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: 3/19/93
By: Name: Vincent Cate
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact
Name: Vincent Cate
Email address: vac@cs.cmu.edu
Telephone: (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:
Send fixes!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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:
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
If you like Alex and want to use it regularly please find, or set up,
an Alex fileserver at/near your site.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: intro.ps
Location details:
Site: alex.sp.cs.cmu.edu
Full file name: doc/intro.ps
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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".
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
"Great idea!"
"I probably won't ever use FTP again."
"Thanks for a really useful tool."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
ARCHIE
Date template updated or checked: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address: peterd@bunyip.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 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. WAIS support
is provided in the most recent release and it is expected that
additional collections of information will be maintained and served
using WAIS tools for access in the near future.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Archie Group, Bunyip Information Systems Inc.
Email address: info@bunyip.com
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
Name: Archie Group, Bunyip Information Systems Inc.
Email address: info@bunyip.com
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:
Prospero, WAIS, WWW, Gopher.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
Bunyip Information Systems Inc.
Funded by licensing of archie software and
development contracts from sponsors. Donations
to help fund helpdesk and operation of free
servers gratefully accepted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: archie-people@bunyip.com
Administration: archie-people-request@bunyip.com
Description:
This mailing list is for people interested in the archie project and
its future developments. Announcments of upgrades, new services, etc
are made to this list.
Archive: none
-------------------
Address: archie-maint@bunyip.com
Administration: archie-maint-request@bunyip.com
Description:
This mailing list is for people who operate and maintain archie
servers. Announcments 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: iafa@bunyip.com
Administration: iafa-request@bunyip.com
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
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.
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
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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address: peterd@bunyip.com
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: bajan@bunyip.com
Telephone: 1 (514) 398-8611
Server software available from:
Bunyip Information Systems Inc.
email: info@bunyip.com
Location of more information:
Additional information on the archie product line is available from the
anonymous ftp archive on "archie.ans.net"..
Latest version number: archie 3.0
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This is the first 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 20 (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. Additional client functionality has been incorporated into the
server and will be available once the next version of the Prospero
protocol is frozen and the features become incorporated into the
clients in the next few months. Check out the archie directory on
"bunyip.com" or the banner message when logging into any of the archie
telnet clients for more details.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address: peterd@bunyip.com
Platform: command line shell, written in C. Works with
both UNIX and MSDOS/OS2 shells.
Primary Contact:
Name: Brendan Kehoe
Email address: brendan@cygnus.com
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
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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address: peterd@bunyip.com
Platform: command line shell, written in Perl. Works
with both UNIX and MSDOS/OS2 shells.
Primary Contact:
Name: Khun Yee Fung
Email address: clipper@csd.uwo.ca
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 notbe 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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address: peterd@bunyip.com
Platform: archie client program for VMS systems.
Primary Contact:
Name: Brendan Kehoe
Email address: brendan@cygnus.com
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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address: peterd@bunyip.com
Platform: Xwindows client (X11R4)
Primary Contact:
Name: George Ferguson
Email address: ferguson@cs.rochester.edu
Telephone: not known
Client software available from: cs.rochester.edu, most archie server hosts
and major Internet archives. 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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address: peterd@bunyip.com
Platform: NeXTStep client.
Primary Contact:
Name: Scott Stark
Email address: me@superc.che.udel.edu
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Access details:
- telnet to any of the above sites
- login as user `archie'
- type `help' at the prompt to get started.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: What is archie
Location details: anonymous FTP from archie.ans.net
Site: bunyip.com
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: bunyip.com
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.
Document Title: What's New in 3.0
Location details: anonymous FTP from archie.ans.net
Site: bunyip.com
Full file name: "pub/archie/doc/whats.new"
Description: Description of the changes to archie for the
first commercial release
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
To come after some deliberation...
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
GOPHER
Date template updated or checked: 22 March 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: Gopher
Brief Description of Tool:
The internet Gopher protocol is a client/distributed-server document
search and retrieval protocol 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, 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 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 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.
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address: gopher@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Postal Address: Microcomputer & Workstation Networks Center
152 Shepherd Labs
100 Union Street SE.
University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN 55455
Telephone: USA (612) 625-1300
Fax: USA (612) 625-6817
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (for major center as well as each client)
Name: Microcomputer HelpLine;
ask for The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address: gopher@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Telephone: USA (612) MA MICRO
Helpline is for general support at the U of M.
Level of support offered:
o 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:
gopher-news@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Administration:
gopher-news-request@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Description:
News and views of all things gopher.
Archive:
Via Gopher: University of Minnesota Gopher
Information About Gopher
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
Name: comp.infosystems.gopher
Description:
Discussion of all things gopher.
Archive: [Not archived]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 (and archie for gopherspace)
NNTP via NNTP gateway
Finger (subset of gopher)
X.500 via X.500 gateway
Future plans:
Gopher+ protocol extensions implementations are now in beta-test
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: UNIX.
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address: gopher@micro.umn.edu
Telephone: USA (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: (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.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Over 1100.
General comments:
The defacto standard workhorse Gopher server.
Paul Lindner is the architect and keeper of this server.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: Macintosh.
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address: gopher@micro.umn.edu
Telephone: USA (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:
Basic Macintosh Gopher Server and tools.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Current estimates between 50 and 100.
General comments:
Runs on any Macintosh with 1MB memory or more.
Requires MacTCP. Being revised/rewritten to support Gopher+.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: PC-DOS.
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address: gopher@micro.umn.edu
Telephone: USA (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: 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.
General comments:
Written by Chris McNeil <cmcneil@mta.ca>,
based on Phil Karns net package. The U of M
Gopher team forwards difficult problems to Chris.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: VMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Mark Van Overbeke
Email address: mark@ummvxm.mrs.umn.edu
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: (please check software distribution)
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Basic VMS Server, shares some code with UNIX server.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
Current estimates between 50 and 75.
General comments:
The VMS server was written and is maintained by Mark Van Overbeke.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: VM/CMS
Primary Contact:
Name: Rick Troth
Email address: TROTH@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU
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: (please check software distribution)
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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: VM/CMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Gerhard Gonter
Email address: Gerhard.Gonter@WU-Wien.ac.at
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: (please check software distribution)
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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: MVS
Primary Contact:
Name: Steve Bacher
Email address: seb@draper.com
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: (please check software distribution)
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.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: Unix veronica server
Primary Contact:
Name: Steve Foster and Fred Barrie
Email address: gophadm@futique.scs.unr.edu
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 and Fred Barrie at the University
of Nevada.
Future plans:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: Macintosh
Primary Contact
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address: gopher@micro.umn.edu
Telephone: USA (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:
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.
Future plans:
Gopher+ support bversion now in beta test.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: Macintosh
Primary Contact:
Name: Don Gilbert, Biology, Indiana University
- Bloomington
Email address: Software@Bio.Indiana.Edu
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.
General comments:
Written and maintained by Don Gilbert.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: Macintosh
Primary Contact:
Name: "Jonzy"
Email address: JONZY@CC.UTAH.EDU
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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: UNIX (curses/EMACS based client)
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address: gopher@micro.umn.edu
Telephone: USA (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.
Future plans:
Version with Gopher+ capablilty now in beta test.
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: Xgopher: UNIX XWindows based client
Primary Contact:
Name: Allan Tuchman
Email address: tuchman@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu
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:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: NeXT: NeXTstep client
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address: gopher@micro.umn.edu
Telephone: USA (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:
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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: DOS TurboVision w/Clarkson packet drivers.
Primary Contact:
Name: The Internet Gopher Development Team
Email address: gopher@micro.umn.edu
Telephone: USA (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.
General comments:
Written and maintained by Daniel Torrey.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: VMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Mark Van Overbeke
Email address: mark@ummvxm.mrs.umn.edu
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:
General comments:
The VMS client was written and is maintained by Mark Van Overbeke.
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: VM/CMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Rick Troth
Email address: TROTH@RICEVM1.RICE.EDU
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 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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: VM/CMS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Gerhard Gonter
Email address: Gerhard.Gonter@WU-Wien.ac.at
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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: DOS with PC/TCP.
Primary Contact:
Name: Steven E. Newton
Email address: snewton@oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu
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: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: DOS with PC-NFS.
Primary Contact:
Name: Stan Barber
Email address: sob@TMC.EDU
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
General comments:
Written and maintained by Stan Barber
Future plans:
-------------------
Date completed or updated: 22 March, 1993
By: Name: Mark McCahill
Email address: mpm@boombox.micro.umn.edu
Platform: DOS Novell LWP Gopher Client
Primary Contact:
Name: Jeremy T. James
Email address: blackp@med.umich.edu
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:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
HYTELNET
Date template updated or checked: 13th March, 1993
By: Name: Peter Scott
Email address: aa375@freenet.carleton.ca
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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. Write
fogel@skyfox.usask.ca for details.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Peter Scott
Email address: aa375@freenet.carleton.ca
Postal Address: 324 8th Street East
Saskatoon, Sask, Canada S7H 0P5
Telephone: 306-966-5920
Fax: 306-966-6040
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Name: Peter Scott
Email address: aa375@freenet.carleton.ca
Telephone: 306-966-5920
Level of support offered:
o volunteer
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: hytel-l@kentvm.kent.edu
Administration: By listowner Peter Scott aa375@freenet.carleton.ca
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 listserv@kentvm.kent.edu with
no subject, and sub hytel-l firstname lastname as the body of the
message.
Archive: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
None
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported:
What it runs over: DOS
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Future plans: Possible translation into gopher format
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
None.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 13rd March, 1993
By: Name: Peter Scott
Email address: aa375@freenet.carleton.ca
Platform: DOS
Primary Contact
Name: Peter Scott
Email address: aa375@freenet.carleton.ca
Telephone: 306-966-5920
Client software available from:
access.usask.ca in
pub/hytelnet/pc as hytelnXX.zip, where XX = latest version number.
Location of more information: finger scottp@jester.usask.ca
Latest version number: 6.4
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)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
NETFIND
Date template updated or checked: 13th March, 1993
By: Name: Mike Schwartz
Email address: schwartz@cs.colorado.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: schwartz@cs.colorado.edu
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 any telephone inquiries.)
Fax:
Declined.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (for major center as well as each client):
There are an increasing number of Netfind servers being set up at
various Network Information Centers. 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: netfind-users@cs.colorado.edu
Administration: netfind-users-request@cs.colorado.edu
Description: mailing list for user changes and updates.
Archive: None.
Address: netfind-servers@cs.colorado.edu
Administration: schwartz@cs.colorado.edu
Description: mailing list for sites running Netfind servers.
Archive: None.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups : None.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: NVT ASCII. At present no formal protocol is used.
What it runs over: TCP/IP.
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
DNS, SMTP, finger, Gopher
Future plans:
Many. Telnet to the server and see the "Future Directions" menu under
the "Frequently Asked Questions" help menu.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: March 13, 1993
By: Name: Mike Schwartz
Email address: [If different from that of the Primary
contact listed below]
Platform: SunOS 4.1 or more recent
Primary Contact:
Name: See above.
Email address: See above.
Telephone: See above.
Server software available from: ftp.cs.colorado.edu, in the
directory pub/cs/distribs/netfind.
Location of more information: in above directory.
Latest version number: 3.35.
Brief Scope and Characteristics: This version of Netfind
incorporates a number of improvements to the search
algorithm and data presented to the user, as well as the
available documentation.
Approximate number of such servers in use: 5-10.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
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.oc.com (OpenConnect Systems, Dallas, Texas)
redmont.cis.uab.edu (University of Alabama at Birmingham)
nic.uakom.cs (Academy of Sciences, Slovakia)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
There are two primary sets of information available about Netfind.
The first is a set of help information, available in the anonymous FTP
distribution as well as from the help screens available from any
Netfind server. This information includes a rather 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
by anonymous FTP and e-mail from ftp.cs.colorado.edu in the file
pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/PostScript/White.Pages.ps.Z (compressed
PostScript) or in the file
pub/cs/techreports/schwartz/ASCII/White.Pages.txt.Z (compressed
ASCII).
The technical paper is currently somewhat dated, as we have made a
number of improvements to Netfind since it was published. We plan to
write a more up-to-date technical paper about Netfind by Summer 1993.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
Discovery Project, at the University of Colorado - Boulder.
A bibliography and set of project papers is available by
anonymous FTP from ftp.cs.colorado.edu, in
pub/cs/techreports/schwartz. This directory contains a file
called "README.MFS" 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
infosrv@ftp.cs.colorado.edu, containing the message body
(not subject line) "send HELP" (without quotes).
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
NCSA MOSAIC for X
Date template updated or checked: 17 March, 1993
By: Name: Marc Andreessen
Software Development Group
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
Email address: marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: XMOSAIC
Brief Description of Tool:
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, 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Marc Andreessen
Email address: marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu
Postal Address: National Center for Supercomputing Applications
605 E. Springfield
Champaign, IL 61820
Telephone: 217 244 0765
Fax: n/a
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Name: Marc Andreessen
Email address: marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu
Telephone: 217 244 0765
Level of support offered:
o volunteer (currently)
Hours available:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Currently Mosaic falls under the umbrella of www-talk@info.cern.ch.
Administration: None
Archive: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
None
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported:
Natively, Mosaic talks HTTP, Gopher, FTP, NNTP, NCSA DTM, and
directly to local filesystems. Through public gateways Mosaic
talks to WAIS, Hytelnet, Archie, Techinfo, X.500, and others.
What it runs over:
TCP/IP
Other NIR tools this interworks with:
Practically all of them.
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.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated:
By: Name:
Email address:
Platform:
Primary Contact:
Name:
Email address:
Telephone:
Server software available from:
The NCSA Mosaic client, as described above, can access
information on a wide variety of servers and gateways. There is
no "Mosaic server", yet. People interested in setting up servers
specifically for use with Mosaic may be interested in the World
Wide Web server software at info.cern.ch.
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Approximate number of such servers in use:
General comments:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 17th March, 1993
By: Name: Marc Andreessen
Email address: marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu
Platform:
X Window System (Unix) -- Sun, DEC, IBM, SGI, HP, others.
Primary Contact:
Name: Marc Andreessen
Email address: marca@ncsa.uiuc.edu
Telephone: 217 244 0765
Client software available from:
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in /Web/xmosaic.
Location of more information:
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu in /Web/xmosaic, and online, within Mosaic.
http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu:80/mosaic-docs/help-about.html
Latest version number: 0.10
Brief Scope and Characteristics: As described above.
General comments:
Beta 0.10 release was March 13. New versions are generally
released every 7-14 days, until 1.0, which is targeted for early
April.
Future plans:
As described above.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites :
None, as this is an X client and we even distribute binaries.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
o current overview
http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu:80/mosaic-docs/help-about.html
o instructions to information providers
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Provider/Overview.html
o Frequently Asked Questions
http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu:80/mosaic-docs/mosaic-faq.html
o user manuals
http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu:80/mosaic-docs/mosaic-docs.html
o training materials
- tutorials
- canned demos
- sample session (screen dumps)
- videos
- etc.
http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu:80/mosaic-docs/mosaic-docs.html
o miscellaneous documents
http://hoohoo.ncsa.uiuc.edu:80/mosaic-docs/help-about.html
Document Title:
Location details:
Site:
Full file name:
Given above.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None, yet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
We welcome, and appreciate, all kinds of feedback.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
PROSPERO
Date template updated or checked: 21st April, 1993
By: Name: Steven Augart
Email address: info-prospero@isi.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
We hope to have WAIS indices and Gopher directories 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 integrated into a coherent
whole. Prospero supports the authentication of clients and allows
fine grained authorization of requests to directories and indices.
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 users application. Prospero is intended to serve as
infrastructure that integrates information from a variety of sources and
supports a variety of user applications
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Info Prospero (preferred contact address)
Email address: info-prospero@isi.edu
Name: Clifford Neuman
Email address: bcn@isi.edu
Postal Address:
U.S.C. Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695
U.S.A.
Telephone: (310) 822-1511
Name: Steven Augart
Email address: swa@isi.edu
Postal Address:
U.S.C. Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina del Rey, CA 90292-6695
U.S.A.
Telephone: (310) 822-1511
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (for major center as well as each client)
Name: Info Prospero
Email address: info-prospero@isi.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
IETF IAFA WG
IETF URL WG
IETF URI WG
IETF NIR-WG
IRTF Resource Discovery WG
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: info-prospero@ISI.EDU
Administration: info-prospero-request@ISI.EDU
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: There has not yet been any demand to make the
archive publicly accessible, but we will do so upon request.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address: prospero@ISI.EDU
Administration: prospero-request@ISI.EDU
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: There has not yet been any demand to make the
archive publicly accessible, but we will do so upon request.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
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.
Future plans:
We are working on a gateway to allow prospero clients
to make directory queries to Gopher and WAIS servers
which do not speak the Prospero protocol.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 2nd April, 1992
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact:
Name: Clifford Neuman and Steven Augart
Email address: info-prospero@isi.edu
Telephone: (310) 822-1511
Server 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.
Location of more information:
Contained within the release.
Latest version number:
Alpha Version 5.0b
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.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
50
General comments:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 21st October, 1992
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact
Name: Clifford Neuman and Steven Augart
Email address: info-prospero@isi.edu
Telephone: (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.
Latest Version number:
Alpha Version 5.0b.
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
This is a command-line client, which uses the same
syntax to navigate through the Prospero namespace
that a user uses to navigate through the UNIX
filesystem. ("cd", "ls", etc.)
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 developing a client based on the popular Gopher
menu browser. This client will allow users to
remotely customize and update virtual systems.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: The Prospero Protocol, version 5
Location details:
Site: PROSPERO.ISI.EDU
Full file name: /pub/prospero/doc/prospero-protocol-v5.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: 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-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 a useful first paper to read. 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 second 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.
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
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
the Prospero User's Manual.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
VERONICA
Date template updated or checked: 18 March, 1993
By: Name: Steven Foster
Email address: foster@futique.scs.unr.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: veronica
Brief Description of Tool:
veronica: Very Easy Rodent-Oriented Net-wide Index to Computerized
Archives.
veronica is a service that maintains an index of titles of gopher
items, and provides keyword searches of those titles. A veronica
search originates with a user's request for a search, submitted via a
gopher client. The result of a veronica search is a set of
gopher-type data items, which is returned to the gopher client as a
gopher-compliant menu, customized by the user's keyword specification.
The user can access any of the resultant data items by selecting from
the returned menu. Items on this menu may be drawn from many gopher
servers. These are functional gopher items, immediately accessible
via the gopher client. Because veronica is accessed via gopher
clients, it provides access to all types of data supported by the
gopher protocol and the client implementation.
A veronica server typically searches the menus of hundreds of gopher
servers, perhaps all the gopher servers that are announced to the
Internet. Currently ( 3-18-93 ), veronica provides an index to 1126
gopher servers.
At present, there are no "veronica clients" per se; veronica is
accessed through normal gopher clients. veronica is tightly
integrated with the gopher protocol.
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.
Notice that these are NOT full-text searches of data at gopher-server
sites, just as archie does not index the contents of ftp sites, but
only the names of files at those sites. veronica indexes the TITLES
on all levels of the menus, for most gopher sites in the Internet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: veronica development team
Email address: veronica@veronica.scs.unr.edu
Postal Address: Computer Center Building mailstop 270
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno,
NV 89557-0023
Telephone: USA (702) 784-4292 or (702) 784-6557
Fax: USA (702) 784-1108
Name: Fred Barrie
Email address: barrie@cs.unr.edu
Postal Address: Computer Center Building mailstop 270
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno,
NV 89557-0023
Telephone: USA (702) 784-4292 or (702) 784-6557
Fax: USA (702) 784-1108
Name: Steven Foster
Email address: foster@cs.unr.edu
Postal Address: Computer Center Building mailstop 270
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno,
NV 89557-0023
Telephone: USA (702) 784-4292 or (702) 784-6557
Fax: USA (702) 784-1108
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Name: veronica development team
Email address: veronica@veronica.scs.unr.edu
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
University and Community College System of Nevada Computer Services,
and University of Nevada, Reno.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: veronica discussion happens on
gopher-news@boombox.micro.umn.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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+.
Adopt unique document-ID standards.
Enhanced boolean keyword features.
Distribute the database more widely.
Subject-area-specific indexes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: March 18, 1993
By: Name: Steven Foster
Email address: foster@cs.unr.edu
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact:
Name: veronica development team
Email address: veronica@veronica.scs.unr.edu
Telephone: USA (702) 784-4292 or (702) 784-6557
Server software available from:
Via ftp: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica/
Location of more information:
Via Gopher: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica
Via Gopher: gopher.cnidr.org
veronica
Via ftp: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica/
Latest version number: 0.2
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Two modules: a data-collection module and a data-server module.
Data-collector runs on any Unix computer that
does TCP and compiles perl.
Server module in two flavors:
a. NeXT-based (NeXTStep 3.0) indexing.
b. WAIS-based indexing runs on any Unix box that
will compile WAIS.
Server answers gopher query-type at a not-well-known
port.
Approximate number of such servers in use: four.
General comments: Server architecture is changing rapidly; see
the announcements posted ( as above ) for updates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: March 18, 1993
By: Name: Steven Foster
Email address: foster@cs.unr.edu
Platform: veronica is accessed through any of the gopher
clients.
Primary Contact: As for gopher clients.
Name:
Email address:
Telephone:
Client software available from: As for gopher clients.
Location of more information:
Via Gopher: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica
Via Gopher: gopher.cnidr.org
veronica
Via ftp: veronica.scs.unr.edu
veronica/
Future plans: veronica will interoperate with Gopher+ clients.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites :
Site name: University of Minnesota Gopher server
Access details: gopher to gopher.micro.umn.edu, port 70.
Other Gopher and Information Servers
Search Gopherspace with veronica.
choose one of the search types available.
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: CNIDR veronica server
Access details: gopher to gopher.cnidr.org, port 70.
Open "veronica" folder; choose one of the
search types available.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: 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
Site: gopher.cnidr.org, port 70.
veronica
veronica FAQ
Full file name: veronica-faq
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
A Student's Guide to Unix; Harley Hahn; McGraw-Hill; 1993.
Internet World; Daniel Dern; InterOp ; 1993.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
WAIS
Date template updated or checked: 23rd March, 1993
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: Brewster@think.com
[Editor's note. Brewster checked this - but with the new WAIS Inc. -
I believe the contact addresses might have changed to "@wais.com"
rather than "think.com"]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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. This
information can be drawn from data stored on your own desktop, in your
organization mainframe or in a supercomputer on another continent.
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. Much of the software is
currently available for free use.
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.
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). 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. Thinking Machines provides an
implementation of Z39.50 to help vendors develop interfaces and
servers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Barbara Brooks
Email address: Barbara@think.com
Postal Address: 1040 Noel Drive, Menlo Park CA 94025 (USA)
Telephone:
Fax:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
Name: George Brett
Email address: ghb@concert.net
Telephone: ?
Level of support offered: all users
Hours available: 9-5 EST
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
Z39.50 protocol group
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
NSF is funding the CNIDR (Geroge Brett)
DARPA is funding Thinking Machines
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: wais-discussion@think.com
Administration: wais-discussion-request@think.com
Description:
Moderated, digested biweekly posting about WAIS and Electronic
publishing subjects. Please submit interesting material.
Archive: /pub/wais/wais-discussion/issue-*@quake.think.com
and wais-discussion-archive WAIS server
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: wais-talk@think.com
Administration: wais-talk-request@think.com
Description:
Implementors forum on WAIS. This is for talking about nitty gritty
details of protocols and implementations.
Archive: wais-talk-archive WAIS server
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
Name: comp.infosystems.wais
Description: Variable quality information on WAIS.
Archive: wais-talk-archive WAIS server
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: z39.50
What it runs over:
The freeware just runs over tcp/ip, but product 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:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers: Freeware Unix
Date completed or updated: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: brewster@think.com
Platform: Most Unix variations
Primary Contact:
Name: Jonathan Goldman
Email address: jonathan@think.com
Telephone: 415-329-9300
Server software available from:
/wais/*@think.com via anonymous ftp
Location of more information:
Latest version number: 8-b5
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
server and client code for WAIS.
Approximate number of such servers in use:
70 with making 325 databases
General comments:
Give it a shot, but remember that it is freeware.
------------------
Servers: Connection Machine WAIS server
Date completed or updated: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: Brewster@think.com
Platform: Connection Machine Model 2
Primary Contact:
Name: Ottavia Bassetti
Email address: ottavia@think.com
Telephone: 617-234-1000
Server software available from:
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:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: brewster@think.com
Platform: NeXT
Primary Contact:
Name: Paul Burchard
Email address: burchard@math.utah.edu
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/wais/WAIStation-NeXT-1.9.tar.Z@think.com via anonymous FTP
Location of more information:
Latest version number: 1.9
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
new version due out early 93
------------------
Date completed or updated: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: Brewster@think.com
Platform: telnet access (vt100)
Primary Contact:
Name: John Curran
Email address: jcurran@nnsc.nsf.net
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/public/wais/wais-8-b*.tar.Z@think.com
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: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: Brewster@think.com
Platform: Mac Hypercard
Primary Contact:
Name: Francois Schiettecatte
Email address: francois@welchgate.welch.jhu.edu
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/incoming/HyperWais.sit.hqx@mendel.welch.jhu.edu
/incoming/HyperWais.src.sit.hqx@mendel.welch.jhu.edu
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: Brewster@think.com
Platform: VMS
Primary Contact:
Name: Jim Fullton
Email address: Fullton@mdewey.ga.unc.edu
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: Brewster@think.com
Platform: DOS
Primary Contact:
Name: Jim Fullton
Email address: Fullton@mdewey.ga.unc.edu
Telephone:
Client software available from:
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: Brewster@think.com
Platform: DOS
(Clarkson packet driver and Erick Englke's WATT/TCP)
Primary Contact:
Name: Faeiz Hindi
Email address: hindi@eniac.seas.upenn.edu
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/pub/tcpip/pcwais.zip@hilbert.wharton.upenn.edu
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: Brewster@think.com
Platform: AVS
Primary Contact:
Name: Steve Thorpe
Email address: thorpe@ncsc.org
Telephone:
Client software available from:
DATA/awais/*@avs.ncsc.org
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
Future plans:
------------------
Date completed or updated: 18th November, 1992
By: Name: Brewster Kahle
Email address: Brewster@think.com
Platform: RS6000
Primary Contact:
Name: Dennis Shiao
Email address: shiao@ans.net
Telephone:
Client software available from:
/pub/misc/wais-8-b3-dist.tar.Z@ftp.ans.net
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
General comments:
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.
(this is the worst of all possible interfaces since it is just a
dumb terminal interface)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
o current overview
- "Wide Area Information Servers", (overview sheet) Brewster Kahle,
Thinking Machines. Also in NSF Network News, Number 11, March 1992.
One page overview of the Internet release of WAIS.
Available via anonymous ftp:
/pub/wais/wais-discussion/overview.txt@quake.think.com or
WAIS server wais-discussion-archive.src
o instructions to information providers
See the documentation in the release:
/wais/wais-8-*.tar.Z@think.com 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 put together
a short screen-recorder movie for seeing some of what WAIStation
does.
Available via anonymous FTP:
/wais/WAIStation-Canned-Demo.sit.hqx@think.com
- sample session (screen dumps)
- "WAIStation, A User Interface for WAIS", February 1991, Thinking
Machines technical report TMC-203.
User interface documentation with screen shots.
Available via anonymous ftp:
/pub/wais/doc/waistation_users_guide.txt@quake.think.com or WAIS
server wais-docs.src
- videos
Available in special circumstances. Contact Barbara@think.com.
- etc.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
- "WAIS Bibliography", Barbara Lincoln Brooks, Thinking Machines,
October, 1992. (This list).
Available via anonymous ftp:
/pub/wais/wais-discussion/bibliography.txt@quake.think.com or
WAIS server wais-discussion-archive.src
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
WHOIS
Date template updated or checked: 23 March 1993
By: Name: Joan Gargano
Email address: jcgargano@ucdavis.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 DDN Network Information Center, maintains the central NICNAME
database and server, providing online look-up of individuals, network
organizations, DDN nodes, and other information of interest to those
involved in management of the Internet. In addition, 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, search schemes, and
interface. In general, however, the whois servers provide ascii text
responses to queries which conform to the RFC 954 specifications.
A template and instructions for submitting information to the DDN
directory can be retrieved via anonymous ftp in:
nic.ddn.mil:templates/user-template.txt
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s): The DDN Network Information Center
Name: Hostmaster
Email address: hostmaster@nic.ddn.mil
Postal Address: Government Systems, Inc.
14200 Park Meadow Dr., Suite 200
Chantilly, VA 22021
Telephone: (703)742-4777
Fax: (703)742-4811
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (for major center as well as each client):
Name: Hostmaster
Email address: hostmaster@nic.ddn.mil
Telephone: (703)742-4777
Level of support offered:
o funded
o all users
Hours available:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
Whois and Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
National Science Foundations
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: ietf-wnils@ucdavis.edu
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: ucdavis.edu:/archive/ietf-wnils
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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++
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 23 March 1993
By: Name: Joan Gargano
Platform: Unix
Primary Contact: DDN Network Information Center
Name: Hostmaster
Email address: hostmaster@nic.ddn.mil
Telephone: (703)742-4777
Server software available from:
nic.ddn.mil:netprog
-----------------
Date completed or updated: 23 March 1993
By: Name: Joan Gargano
Platform: 386BSD Unix
Primary Contact: Univ. of California, Berkeley
Name: Computer Science Research Group
Email address:
Telephone:
Server software available from:
agate.berkeley.edu:/pub/386BSD/386bsd-0.1/filesystem/usr/bin
-----------------
Date completed or updated: 23 March 1993
By: Name: Joan Gargano
Platform: IBM RS6000
Primary Contact:
Name:
Email address:
Telephone:
Server software available from:
uvaarpa.virginia.edu:/pub/rs6000
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Clients are available from the sources 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: nic.ddn.mil
Access details:
Using a whois client,
whois -h nic.ddn.mil "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: gopher.ucdavis.edu
Full file name: /pub/IETF/WNILS/Discussion.Paper
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
RFC 954
Specifications for WHOIS Services, a working paper presented
to the IETF Whois Birds of a Feather. Available via
anonymous ftp gopher.ucdavis.edu:/pub/IETF/WNILS/Discussion.Paper
and gopher to gopher.ucdavis.edu:/IETF/WNILS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
World-Wide Web
Date template updated or checked: 28th October, 1992
By: Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address: timbl@info.cern.ch
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: World-Wide Web
Brief Description of Tool:
The WWW project merges the techniques of information retrieval and hypertext
to make an easy but powerful global information system.
The project is based on the philosophy that much academic information should
be freely available to anyone. It aims to allow 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.
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.
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.
Making a web is as simple as writing a few SGML files which point to your
existing data. Making it public involves running the FTP or HTTP daemon ,
and making at least one link into your web from another. In fact, any file
available by anonymous FTP can be immediately linked into a 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 Digital's VMS/Help, Technical Univerity
of Graz's "Hyper-G", and Thinking Machine's "W.A.I.S." systems.
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address: timbl@info.cern.ch
Postal Address: CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland
Telephone: +41(22)767 3755
Fax: +41(22)767 7155
Name: Robert Cailliau
Email address: cailliau@cernnext.cern.ch
Postal Address: CERN, 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland
Telephone: +41(22)767 5005
Fax: +41(22)767 7155
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (for major center as well as each client):
Name: www support
Email address: www-bug@info.cern.ch
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, we
cannot provide user support for non-HEP users.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups: NIR, URL
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisations / Funding source: CERN
Also other HEP labs (SLAC, FNAL, NIKHEF, etc),
O'Reilly Associates,
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Other sources welcomed!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
1. Address: www-talk@info.cern.ch for CONTRIBUTIONS ONLY
Administration: listserv@info.cern.ch (robot)
www-talk-request@info.cern.ch (human)
Description: Technical discussion, W3 related
Archive: Not currently served, but kept.
-------------------
2. Address: www-announce@info.cern.ch
NOT FOR GENERAL USE - serious low-volume
announcements only
Administration: listserv@info.cern.ch (robot)
www-announce-request@info.cern.ch (human)
Description: Low volume summary announcemements
of product releases, etc.
Archive: Not currently public
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: cern.www.talk, cern.www.announce
(limited distribution, gatewayed from
mail lists)
(May move into comp.inforsystems)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: HTTP
WAIS*
FTP
anonymous FTP
Gopher
NNTP
Local mounted file access
Telnet sessions
Rlogin sessions
What it runs over: TCP/IP
DECnet option.
Other NIR servers W3 clients interworks with:
*WAIS via gateway.
Built-in capability in clients for others above
Archie access via WAIS archie server
with direct link to FTP sites.
Future plans:
HTTP: format negotiation (prototype runs now).
Graphics, TeX etc presentation
Custom application data formats
Built-in WAIS handling
Hypertext editors for information organisation
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HTTP Servers:
Platform: unix, VMS, VM/XA, VM/CMS
Primary Contact www-bug@info.cern.ch
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: 0.4
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Fast stateless file server runs over TCP/IP.
Suitable for rapind documentation navigation.
Approximate number of such servers in use: 40
General comments:
Some servers serve many databases.
Version 0.5 will allow directories to be exported as
hypertext automatically, and shell scripts for
indexing and providing virtual hypertext spaces
to be embedded in the information space.
Many tools available for serving different sorts
of information
Gnu info
teX
SGML
man pages
etc as hypertext.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mail Server:
Platform: unix
Primary Contact www-bug@info.cern.ch
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
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Mailing list subscription/unsubscription handling
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 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Client: Viola
Date completed or updated: 29th October, 1992
By: Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address: timbl@info.cern.ch
Platform: X (sun4, sgi, rs6000, decstation, etc)
Primary Contact:
Name: Pei Y Wei, O'Reilly Associates,
Sebastopol, CA, USA
Email address: wei@xcf.berkeley.edu
Client software available from:
ftp://info.crn.ch/pub/www/src
ftp://xcf.berkeley.edu/pub/local
Location of more information:
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Status.html
and linked documents
Latest version number: 90730
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
A browser based on the "Viola" hypertext system. Multifont, neat
buttons. One text window with "clone" facility. Bookmarks. History
list.
General comments:
Requires X but not Motif. Some quirky behaviour worth tolerating for
an oterwise excelent product
Future plans:
Future enhancements to include graphics and general SGML support (not
yet released but in prototype).
Demonstration sites :
xcf.berkely.edu used to. Ask Pei.
It is rather slow to remotely demo X applications.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Client: Erise Browser
Date completed or updated: 29th October, 1992
By: Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address: timbl@info.cern.ch
Platform: X (sun4, decstation)
Primary Contact
Name: Ari Lemmke, HUT, Finland
Email address: arl@cs.hut.fi
Client software available from:
ftp://nic.funet.fi/ @@@ check this when its not busy
ftp://info.cern.ch/pub/www/bin/*/erwise
Location of more information:
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Status.html
Latest version number: -
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
A browser based on Motif. Multifont. Multiple text windows.
General comments:
A few quirks (difficulty of launching) and lack of current support
make this a less practical choice.
Future plans:
None as far as I know.
Demonstration sites :
None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Client: MidasWWW
Date completed or updated: 29th October, 1992
By: Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address: timbl@info.cern.ch
Platform: X (sun4, sgi, rs6000, decstation, etc)
Primary Contact:
Name: Tony Johnson, Boston Univ
Email address: TONYJ@scs.slac.stanford.edu
Phone +1 (415) 926 2278
Client software available:
"within a day or two (29-Oct-92 10:41)".
Location of more information:
http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/Status.html
and linked documents
Latest version number: -
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
A browser based on the "Midas" object oriented Motif widget system.
Multifont, neat buttons, Motif look and feel. One text window with
"clone" facility. Bookmarks. History list.
General comments:
Requires Motif. Looks extremely interesting. In use at SLAC since a
few months ago, but not on general release quite yet. Ported already
to several X platforms.
Future plans:
Future enhancements to include graphics and document creation and
editing.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Client: Line Mode Browser
Date completed or updated: 29th October, 1992
By: Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address: timbl@info.cern.ch
Platform: X (sun4, sgi, rs6000, decstation, etc)
Primary Contact:
By: Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address: timbl@info.cern.ch
Client software available from:
ftp://info.crn.ch/pub/www/src
Location of more information:
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/LineMode/Browser.html
and linked documents
Latest version number: 90730
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.
Source release requires W3 library product.
Future plans:
Future enhancements to include tracing of many links. Curses
full-screen operation not yet released.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites :
telnet info.cern.ch or telnet 128.141.201.74 (SWITZERLAND)
telnet eies2.njit.edu or telnet 128.235.1.43 (USA [NJ])
telnet vms.huji.ac.il or telnet 128.139.4.3 (ISRAEL)
telnet info.funet.fi or telnet 128.214.6.100 (FINLAND)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Client: NJIT Full screen browser
Date completed or updated: 29th October, 1992
By: Name: Tim Berners-Lee
Email address: timbl@info.cern.ch
Platform: various
Primary Contact:
By: Name: James Whitescarver,
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Email address: jim@eies2.njit.edu
Client software available from:
Not yet.
Location of more information:
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/LineMode/Browser.html
and linked documents
Latest version number: "Experimental"
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
A full-screen version of the line mode browser, with highlighting and
cursor control.
General comments:
Watch the demonstration site for news.
Demonstration sites :
telnet eies2.njit.edu or telnet 128.235.1.43 (USA [NJ])
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
** listserv@info.cern.ch
o current overview
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/TheProject.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
Postcript of tarnsparencies from talks: see
ftp://info.cern.ch/pub/www/doc
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
o For latest list, see:
http://info.cern.ch./hypertext/WWW/Bibliography.html
The following list papers and articles anout 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.
Introduction to W3
T.J. Berners-Lee, R. Cailliau, J-F Groff, B. Pollermann, CERN, "World-Wide
Web: The Information Universe", published in "Electronic Networking:
Research, Applications and Policy", Vol. 2 No 1, Spring 1992, Meckler
Publishing, Westport, CT, USA.
The global hypertext dream comes true in practice.
Pick up the preprint in postscript form by anonymous FTP to info.cern.ch, in
/pub/www/doc/, filename ENRAP_9202.ps.
The Whole Internet
Krol, Ed, "The Whole INTERNET User's Guide and Catalog". Sebastopol CA,
O'Reilly & Associates, 1992. ISBN=1-56592-025-2.
A book all about using the internet, for professionals but not necessarily
computer professionals. Has a chapter on WWW specifically, and an appendix
with a list of some resources available on the net.
Technical Overview of W3
T.J. Berners-Lee, R. Cailliau, J-F Groff, B. Pollermann, CERN, "World-Wide
Web: An Information Infrastructure for High-Energy Phsyics", Presented at
"Articicial Inteligence and Software Engineering for High Energy Physics"
in La Londe, France, January 1992. Proceedings to be published by World
Scientific, Singapore, ed. D Perret-Gallix.
Aimed at system managers and software engineers. 9 pages. The W3
architecture diagram, a usage graph, and some examples of hypertext formats,
etc.
Pick up the preprint in postscript form by anonymous FTP to info.cern.ch, in
/pub/www/doc/, filename www-for-hep.ps.
( Writenow , postscript )
Line Mode Browser user guide
A dump of the line mode browser hypertext user guide into plain text. Also
available in our anonymous FTP archive, to get you started, as
/pub/www/doc/line-mode-guide.txt
(plain text)
The "W3 Book"
If you want technical details, we recommend browsing the web, for the latest
versions of all our thoughts we have had time to type in. If you want to
take it on the plane, then we occasionally dump a part of the hypertext onto
paper. This is the "World-Wide Web Book".
See the introductory page for contents overview.
Around 50 pages, cut down to handy A4 size (like your PC documentation!).
Pick it up in postscript or LateX form by anonymous FTP to info.cern.ch in
/pub/www/doc as files the_www_book.ps and the_www_book.tex.
Universal Document Identifiers
Naming and addressing discussed, UDI proposal. Produced for the March92
IETF. Also an OSI-DS draft. 14 pages. Pick it up in postscript form or plain
ASCII by anonymous FTP from info.cern.ch in /pub/www/doc as file udi1.ps or
udi1.txt.
(postscript, plain text , writenow )
W3, WAIS and x500
Discussion of convergence, what W3 needs from the WAIS and x500 protocols.
Also an OSI-DS draft. You can pick it up in postscript form by anonymous FTP
from info.cern.ch in /pub/www/doc as file wais-x500-w3.ps.
Non-technical articles
ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING AND VISIONS OF HYPERTEXT
Published in "Physics World", Vol.5 No 6, June 1992. Tim Berners-Lee
discusses the impact of global hypertext on academic publishing.
THE POTENTIAL OF COMPUTER NETWORKS (TITLE?)
"The Economist", June 20th-26th 1992, by ???. A four-page feature on the
potential of computer networks, mentioning WAIS and WWW.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
Seek and ye shall find. And if ye don't, mail someone to fix it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
X.500
Date template updated or checked: 1st June, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address: clw@merit.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
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 heirarchical 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 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 the internet
draft 'Lightweight Directory Access Protocol' by Yeong, Howes, and
Hardcastle-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: helpdesk@paradise.ulcc.ac.uk
Name: The White Pages Pilot Project
Email address: wpp-manager@psi.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (for major center as well as each client):
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)
OSI Implementor's Workshop's DS-SIG (Directory Services-SIG)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
Not Applicable
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: osi-ds@cs.ucl.ac.uk
Administration: osi-ds-request@cs.ucl.ac.uk
Description: Mail list for OSI-DS working group.
Archive: Anonymous FTP, cs.ucl.ac.uk
-------------------
Address: ietf-ids@merit.edu
Administration: ietf-ids@merit.edu
Description: Mail list for IDS working group.
Archive: Anonymous FTP, merit.edu
-------------------
Address: dssig@ics.uci.edu
Administration: dssig-request@ics.uci.edu
Description: Mail list for OIW DS-SIG group
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: 5th May, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
E-Mail: clw@merit.edu
Platform: BSD 4.2, 4.3; AT&T System V; SunOS; AIX
Primary Contact:
Name: Steve Hardcastle-Kille
E-Mail: S.Kille@isode.com
Telephone: +44-71-223-4062
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: FYI 11, RFC 1292, "Catalog of Available X.500 Implementations",
R. Lang, R. Wright.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from nic.ddn.mil
Site:
Full file name: RFC-1292.txt
Document Title: RFC 1308, "Executive Introduction to directory
services using the X.500 protocol", C. Weider, J. K. Reynolds
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from nic.ddn.mil
Site:
Full file name: RFC-1308.txt
Document Title: 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 nic.ddn.mil
Site:
Full file name: RFC-1309.txt
Document Title: "A Survey of Advanced Usages of X.500", C. Weider, R. Wright.
Internet Draft, expires September 23, 1993.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from nic.ddn.mil
Site:
Full file name: draft-ietf-ids-x500-survey-01.txt
Document Title: "Lightweight Directory Access Protocol", W. Yeong, T. Howes,
and S. Hardcastle-Kille, Internet Draft, expires June 15, 1993.
Location details: Available for anonymous FTP from nic.ddn.mil
Site:
Full file name: draft-ietf-osids-lightdirect-03.txt
These documents contain pointers to the rest of the literature.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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: 22nd March, 1993
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email address: Jane.Smith@cnidr.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Resource Information Services
Architectures and Standards
Legislation, Code, Policies and Practices
Access to Government Information
Teaching and Learning
Management and Professional and User Education
Mailinglist-Address:
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
assistance of a task force that provides a common vehicle by which
nearly 178 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 netowrks
and organizations, and public and state libraries, a truly diverse
collaboration of institutions and organizations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Paul Evan Peters
Email address: paul@cni.org
Postal Address: Coalition for Networked Information
21 Dupont Circle, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
USA
Telephone: 202-296-5098
Fax: 202-unknown
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: ftp.cni.org
Directory: /*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: None
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Date template updated or checked: 22nd March, 1993
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email address: Jane.Smith@cnidr.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Architectures and Standards
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
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: calur@uccmvsa.bitnet
Postal Address: Off. of the President
Unv. of California
300 Lakeside Dr., 8th Flr.
Oakland, CA 94612-3350
USA
Telephone: 415-987-0522
Fax: 415-839-3573
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: None
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Date template updated or checked: 22nd March, 1993
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email address: Jane.Smith@cnidr.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Directories and Resource Information Services
Sponsoring Organisation: Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Working subgroups:
Name of subgroup: TopNode for Networked Information Resources,
Services, and Tools
Mailinglist-Address: cnidir@cni.org
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 plans to create a (printed
and networked) directory of directories and resource information
services that provides 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: George.Brett@cnidr.org
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: 919-248-1886
Fax: 919-248-1405
---------------------
Name: Peggy Seiden
Email address: pseiden@skidmore.edu
Postal Address:
Scribner Library
Skidmore College
North Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Telephone: 518-584-5000 ext. 2126
Fax:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: cni-directories@cni.org
Administration: listserv@cni.org
SUB cni-directories Lastname Firstname
Archive: ftp.cni.org:/CNI/forums/cni-directories/*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details
Site: ftp.cni.org
Directory: /CNI/forums/cni-directories/*
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: None
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Date template updated or checked: 22nd March, 1993
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email address: Jane.Smith@cnidr.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: TopNode for Networked Information Resources,
Services, and Tools
Sponsoring Organisation: Coalition for Networked Information (CNI)
Directories and Resource Information
Services Program
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
thesaurus of added descriptor terms is being maintained. As of
mid-August, 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: percival@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu
Postal Address: Indiana State University
Telephone:
Fax:
------------------
Name: Craig Summerhill
Email address: craig@cni.org
Postal Address:
Coalition for Networked Information
1527 New Hampshire Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
USA
Telephone: 202-296-5098
Fax: 202-unknown
------------------
Name: Gary Charbonneau
Email address:
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: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: None
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Date template updated or checked: 22nd March, 1993
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email address: Jane.Smith@cnidr.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: calur@uccmvsa.bitnet
Postal Address:
Off. of the President Unv. of California 300 Lakeside Dr.,
8th Flr. Oakland, CA 94612-3350 USA
Telephone: 415-987-0522
Fax: 415-839-3573
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: LISTSERV@NERVM.NERDC.UFL.EDU
Administration: LISTSERV@NERVM.NERDC.UFL.EDU
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
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
CNIDR
Date template updated or checked: 22nd March, 1993
By: Name: Jane Smith
Email address: Jane.Smith@cnidr.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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, the Wide
Area Information Server (WAIS), the Internet Gopher, and archie
have become popular, and the WorldWide Web (WWW) is poised for
popularity once suitable client software is developed and
distributed. WAIS, 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 systems,
the Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and
Retrieval (CNIDR) will work closely with developers of other
tools toward providing compatibility, consistency, and, to the
extent possible, convergence of the tools.
Specific activities will provide a central focus and forum for
networked information discovery and retrieval (NIDR) tools and
will 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
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: George.Brett@cnidr.org
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: 919-248-1886
Fax: 919-248-1405
------------------
Name: Jane Smith
Email address: Jane.Smith@cnidr.org
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: 919-248-9213
Fax: 919-248-1405
------------------
Name: Jim Fullton
Email address: Jim.Fullton@cnidr.org
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: 919-248-9247
Fax: 919-248-1405
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
Administration:
Description:
Two mailing lists, one for general discussion of CNIDR activities and
the other for distribution of announcements and activity summaries,
will be ready for use by May 1993. Contact
Jane.Smith@cnidr.org for more information about the mailing lists and
archives.
Archive:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists: zip@cnidr.org
Address: zip@cnidr.org
Administration: zip-request@cnidr.org
sub zip Lastname Firstname
Description:
Technical discussion of Z39.50-92 freeWAIS development. Subscribers receive
brief overview of project and information on how to access archives.
Archive: cnidr.org:/home/pub/zip
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive: ftp.cnidr.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography: None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information: info@cnidr.org
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
IETF Groups
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is the protocol
engineering, development and standardisation arm of the Internet
Architecture Board (IAB) : 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 smotth operation of the Internet.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
IDS
Date template updated or checked: 18 March, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address: clw@merit.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Integrated Directory Services (IDS)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Engineering Task Forces (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 nic.ddn.mil as
ids-charter.txt.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Chris Weider, Chair
Email address: clw@merit.edu
Postal Address:
Pod G, Industrial Technology Institute
2901 Hubbard
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Telephone: (313) 747-2730
Fax: (313) 747-3185
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: ietf-ids@merit.edu
Administration: ietf-ids-request@merit.edu
Archive: Anonymous FTP to merit.edu, ids/archive
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: nic.ddn.mil
Directory: internet-drafts. All IDS documents start with either
draft-ietf-disi or draft-ietf-ids.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications:
None.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
No NIR documents produced yet.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
IIIR
Date template updated or checked: 18th March, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address: clw@merit.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
nic.ddn.mil as iiir-charter.txt
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Chris Weider, Chair
Email address: clw@merit.edu
Postal Address:
Pod G, Industrial Technology Institute
2901 Hubbard
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Telephone: (313) 747-2730
Fax: (313) 747-3185
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: iiir@merit.edu
Administration: iiir-request@merit.edu
Archive: Anonymous FTP, iiir/archive
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
No documents produced as of 18th March 1993, however, two have
been assigned and will have drafts circulated by April 1, 1993.
These will be archived at the site below.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location details:
Site: merit.edu
Directory: iiir-drafts
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications:
None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
None yet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
NIR
Date template updated or checked: 23rd March, 1993
By: Name: Jill Foster
Email address: Jill.Foster@newcastle.ac.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Networked Information Retrieval Working Group (NIR-WG)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
RARE (Association of European Research Networks)
Working subgroups:
None
Description of main group:
This description below was extracted from the NIR-WG charter.
There are many organizations and associations that have recently
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 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, to produce documentation that will enable user services
organizations to provide better support for NIRtools, to develop
materials that will assist the support and training of end users
and to evolve in the future as necessary to meet and anticipate
changes in the field (i.e., NIR tools, protocols, network
topology, etc.)
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
can be obtained via anonymous ftp from the Document Archive sites
listed below.
Goals and Milestones:
Done Jul 92 Review and comment on proposed charter. Discuss Applications
Template and Organizational Template.
Done Sep 92 Post a draft report containing the Applications and
Organizational Templates.
Done Oct 92 Post a draft of the NIR Status Report with introductory
material and completed templates.
Done Nov 92 Review draft document and update templates at RARE ISUS WG
meeting and IETF NIR WG meeting.
Mar 93 Update entries in NIR Status report on individual tools and
groups. Add new entries.
Add appendices as agreed.
Review updated document at March IETF meeting.
Discuss and specify "evaluation" criteria.
Apr 93 Discussion of report on mailing list.
May 93 Review draft document at RARE ISUS WG meeting in Trondheim.
Post an Internet Draft of the NIR Status Report with
introductory material, completed templates and appendices.
Jun 93 Discuss evaluation criteria on the mailing list.
Get volunteers for evaluation tasks.
Jul 93 Discuss and agree set of evaluation criteria.
Allocate evaluation tasks.
Submit NIR Status Report to the IESG for publication as an
Informational RFC.
Sep 93 Post draft evaluation report.
Nov 93 Submit NIR Status Report including the evaluation report [?]
as an Internet Draft.
List types of documentation and training materials required
for use and provision of NIR tools.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Jill Foster
Email address: Jill.Foster@newcastle.ac.uk
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
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: George Brett
Email address: ghb@concert.net
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: 919-248-1886
Fax: 919-248-1405
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: nir@mailbase.ac.uk
Administration: Auto subscriptions to: mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk
"subscribe nir firstname lastname"
Human admin to: nir-request@mailbase.ac.uk
Description:
Archive: pub/nir:mailbase.ac.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details
Site: mailbase.ac.uk
Directory: /pub/nir
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details
Site: nnsc.nsf.net
Directory: /ietf/nir
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications:
Official publications will appear first as Internet Drafts in the
anonymous ftp directory "/Internet-Drafts" with the filename
"draft-ietf-nir-<docname>-<rev>.txt", or .ps at the following
sites:
nic.ddn.mil
nnsc.nsf.net
nic.nordu.net
ftp.nisc.sri.com
munnari.oz.au
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
This Working Group formed jointly in the User Services and
Applications Areas of the Internet Engineering Task Force.
Applications Area Director Russ Hobby can be contacted via e-mail
at "rdhobby@ucdavis.edu" and User Services Area Director Joyce
Reynolds at "jkrey@isi.edu".
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
"wg-isus@rare.nl".
CNI (Coalition for Networked Information) is represented by
NIR-WG co-chair George Brett. More information about CNI may be
obtained via anonymous ftp files from ftp.cni.org.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
NISI
Date template updated or checked: 21st October, 1992
By: Name: April Marine
Email address: april@nisc.sri.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: april@nisc.sri.com
Postal Address: SRI International
Network Information Systems Center
Room EJ294
333 Ravenswood Ave.
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Telephone: 415 859 5318
Fax: 415 859 6028
Name: Patricia G. Smith
Email address: psmith@merit.edu
Postal Address: Merit Network, Inc
1075 Beal Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2112
Telephone: 313 936 3000
Fax: 313 747 3745
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: nisi@merit.edu
Administration: nisi-request@merit.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
OSI-DS
Date template updated or checked: 18th March, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address: clw@merit.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Submitter's note: This was taken from the most recent draft version of
the charter. Some minor changes may be implemented before the charter
solidifies.
Membership is open, and is not limited to IETF attendees. A full
charter for this group is available for anonymous FTP from
nic.ddn.mil as osids-charter.txt.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Steve Hardcastle-Kille, Chair
Email address: kille@isode.com
Postal Address:
ISODE Consortium
P.O. Box 505
SW11 1DX London
England
Telephone: +44-71-223-4062
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: ietf-osi-ds@cs.ucl.ac.uk
Administration: ietf-osi-ds-request@cs.ucl.ac.uk
Archive: Anonymous FTP, bells.cs.ucl.ac.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: bells.cs.ucl.ac.uk
Directory:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
URI
Date template updated or checked: 18 March, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address: clw@merit.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 nic.ddn.mil as
uri-charter.txt.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Jim Fullton, co-chair
Email address: fullton@concert.net
Postal Address:
Center for Communications
P.O. Box 12889
3021 Cornwallis Road
Research Triangle Park
North Carolina 27709-2889
Telephone: (919) 248-1499
Fax: (919) 248-1405
Name: Alan Emtage, co-chair
Email address: bajan@bunyip.com
Postal Address:
Bunyip Information Systems, Inc.
266 Blvd. Neptune
Dorval QUEBEC H9S 2L4 CANADA
Telephone: (514) 875-8611
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:;
Address: uri@bunyip.com
Administration: uri-request@bunyip.com
Archive: archives.cc.mcgill.ca:~/pub/uri-archive
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details:
Site: nic.ddn.mil
Directory: internet-drafts. All documents will start with the
string draft-ietf-uri.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications:
NONE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
WNILS
Date template updated or checked: 22nd March, 1993
By: Name: Jane D. Smith
Email address: Jane.Smith@cnidr.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Group Name: Whois and Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS)
Sponsoring Organisation: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Working subgroups:
Name of subgroup:
Mailinglist-Address:
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.
Nov 92 Post the Whois and Network Information Lookup Service Recommendations
document as an Internet Draft.
Dec 92 Submit the Whois and Network Information Lookup Service
Recommendations document to the IESG (Internet Engineering Steering
Group) as an Informational document.
Dec 92 Post a revised WHOIS protocols specification as an Internet Draft.
Dec 92 Submit the revised WHOIS protocol documents to the IESG as Draft
Standards.
5/15/93 Submit the Whois and Network Information Lookup Service
Recommendations document to the IESG as an Informational
document.
6/11/93 Submit the WHOIS++ protocol and index service documents
to the IESG as an Internet Draft.
6/11/93 Submit the revised WHOIS++ protocol and index service
documents to the IESG as Draft Standards.
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: jcgargano@ucdavis.edu
Postal Address:
Advanced Networked and Scientific Applications (ANSA)
Information Technology
University of California, Davis
Davis, California 95616
U.S.A
Telephone: (916)752-2591
Fax:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: ietf-wnils@ucdavis.edu
Administration: ietf-wnils-request@ucdavis.edu
subscribe ietf-wnils Firstname Lastname
Description:
Archive: ucdavis.edu:/pub/archive
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
None.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
Location details
Gopher: gopher.ucdavis.edu 70
FTP: gopher.ucdavis.edu:/pub/IETF/WNILS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
This Working Group formed jointly in the User Services and
Applications Areas of the Internet Engineering Task Force. Applications
Area Director Russ Hobby can be contacted via e-mail at
"rdhobby@ucdavis.edu" and User Services Area Director Joyce Reynolds at
"jkrey@isi.edu".
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
OCLC
Date template updated or checked: 18th March 1993
By: Name: Rebecca Guenther
Email address: rgue@seq1.loc.gov
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Working Group or Organisation: OCLC/USMARC
Name of group: OCLC/USMARC Internet Resources Cataloging Experiment
Sponsoring Organisation: OCLC, Library of Congress
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 are being 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. The group intends to continue
its work by looking at how online systems and services can be
accommodated in USMARC and initiate appropriate proposals. Membership
is closed at this point.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s): Rebecca Guenther rgue@seq1.loc.gov
Name: Rebecca Guenther
Email address: rgue@seq1.loc.gov; rebecca@rgue.loc.gov
Postal address: Network Development and MARC Standards
Office, Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540
Telephone: 202-707-5092
Fax: 202-707-6269
Name: Erik Jul
Email address: ekj@oclc.org
Postal address: OCLC, Inc. 6565 Franz Rd. Dublin OH
43017-0702
Telephone: 614-764-4364
Fax: 614-764-2344
Name: Priscilla Caplan
Email address: cotton@harvarda.harvard.edu
Postal Address: Office for Systems Planning and
Research, Harvard University Library, Widener Library 88,
Cambridge, MA 02138
Telephone: 617-495-3724
Fax: 617-495-0491
Name: William W. Jones, Jr.
Email Address: jones@acfcluster.nyu.edu
Postal Address: New York University/Elmer Holmes Bobst
Library, Technical and Automated Services Division, 70
Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012
Telephone: 212-998-4070
Fax: 212-995-4070
Nancy Olson
Email Address: none
Postal Address: Memorial Library, Mankato State
University, Mankato, MN 56001
Telephone: 507-389-5062
Fax: 507-389-5488
Glenn Patton
Email address: gep@oclc.org
Postal address: OCLC, Inc. 6565 Franz Rd. Dublin OH
43017-0702
Telephone: 800-848-5878
FAX: 614-764-0155
Martin Dillon
Email address: mjd@oclc.org
Postal address: OCLC, Inc. 6565 Franz Rd. Dublin OH
43017-0702
Telephone: 614-764-6079
FAX: 614-764-2344
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists
None.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
None.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive
93-4 doc
93-4 cov
Location details
Site: listserv@maine.maine.edu
Send email message with
get 93-4 doc
get 93-4 cov
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications:
None.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
At this time we have not produced anything as a group. However,
we do expect to in the near future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
None.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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 41
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
raresec@rare.nl
E-mail address X.400
C=nl; ADMD=400net; PRMD=surf; O=rare; S=raresec;
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
RARE ISUS
Date template updated or checked: 23rd March, 1993
By: Name: Jill Foster
Email address: Jill.Foster@newcastle.ac.uk
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: NIR Task Force
Mailinglist-Address: nir@mailbase.ac.uk
Name of subgroup: UNITE Task Force
Mailinglist-Address: unite@mailbase.ac.uk
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.
The ISUS Working Group has a very broad remit 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 are of NIR include:
o Collection of "TopNode" Info for European Information
Services
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). (unite@mailbase.ac.uk)
o ISUS WG/Interactive Multimedia WG joint task force on Multimedia
Information Services is being set up.
charter: anonymous ftp from mailbase.ac.uk
file: /pub/wg-isus/isus.charter
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Jill Foster
Email address: Jill. Foster@newcastle.ac.uk
Postal Address: Computing Service
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
UK
Telephone: +44 92 222 8250
Fax: +44 92 222 8765
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: wg-isus@rare.nl
Administration: Auto subscriptions to: mailserver@rare.nl
"subscribe wg-isus <firstname> <lastname>"
Human admin to: wg-isus-request@rare.nl
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
Location details
Site: mailbase.ac.uk
Directory: /pub/wg-isus
/pub/nir
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Official Publications: RARE Technical Reports
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
RARE Technical Report 1: User Support and Information Services
in the RARE Community - a Status Report.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
of its business by email, but meets twice a year before the European
Networking Conferences.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
APPENDIX A
NIR TOOL Template (ver. 5.0)
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. This information will be
collected on a regular basis (at least every 3 to 6 months) and will
form the basis of a "snapshot" report on the activities in the area of
networked information retrieval (NIR).
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
NCSA Mosaic for X
Prospero
Veronica
WAIS
WHOIS
World Wide Web
X.500
Please complete this template and return it to
Jill.Foster@newcastle.ac.uk (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.
-------------------------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
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]
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:
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
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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. The NIR-WG may be able to help with the
production of some of these if they are not available
initially. Note that the location pointers below could be
replaced in the future by the "Universal Resource Identifier"]
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.]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
[Feel free to add other information that you feel is relevant.
This will be considered for inclusion in the report.]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
APPENDIX B
NIR Group Template (ver. 5.0)
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. This information will be
collected on a regular basis (at least every 3 to 6 months) and will
form the basis of a "snapshot" report on the activities in the area of
networked information retrieval (NIR).
The groups included are defined by enumeration. The IETF/RARE/CNI
NIR-WG welcome suggestions for other groups to be included. [An
appendix of brief descriptions of smaller groups in this field may be
added at a later date].
Groups:
CNI CNI-arch
Top node
Directory
CNIDR Clearing House for Networked Information Discovery
and Retrieval
IETF IDS
IIIR
NIR
NISI
OSI-DS
URI
WNILS
OCLC USMARC WG
RARE ISUS WG joint NIR task force with IETF
Please complete this template for your group or organisation and
return it to Jill.Foster@newcastle.ac.uk (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:
Description of main group:
This is the most active NIR group. This is the decription imbedded
one more column.
-------------------------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]
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 mailing list]
Archive: [Location of message archive for this news group]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document Archive:
[Duplicate if necessary]
Location details:
Site:
Directory:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.]
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
APPENDIX C
/* A summary of email lists and newsgroups dealing with */
/* problems in resource discovery... */
/* */
/* email lists in IAFA format: */
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Created-By: Peter Deutsch
Email Address: peterd@bunyip.com
Last Updated: March 22, 1993
Comments: Please send comments, corrections and
additions to the author at the above address.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Internet
Anonymous FTP Archive working group (IAFA-WG)
mailing list
Address: iafa@cc.mcgill.ca
Administration: iafa-request@cc.mcgill.ca
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: 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".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) BOF on
Network Information Retrieval (NIR)
Address: nir@mailbase.ac.uk
Administration: Auto subscriptions to: mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk
"subscribe nir firstname lastname"
Human admin to: nir-request@mailbase.ac.uk
Description: This mailing list was formed after a BOF session at
the San Diego IETF meeting in March, 1992. It 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). It has hosted discussions on Universal
Document Identifiers, Universal Resource Locators,
Unique Resource Serial Numbers, etc. there is
considerable overlap between this group and the
"ietf-udi" group (see below) and we expect them to
eventually merge.
Keywords: IETF, URIs, UDIs, URLs, UDLs, resource discovery,
Internet, Gopher, WAIS, WWW, X.500, archie
Archive: The archive for this mailing list is available
via anonymous FTP from the host "mailbase.ac.uk"
in the directory "pub/nir".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
/* The following lists are devoted to specific NIR-related projects. */
/* Groups are encouraged to make such descriptions available for */
/* their lists. */
Mailinglist-Name: The archie People Mailing List
Address: archie-people@archie.mcgill.ca
Administration: archie-people-request@archie.mcgill.ca
Description: The archie project uses a proactive data gathering
model to construct up-to-date databases of
information gathered from around the net. The
current archie service tracks the contents of
anonymous FTP archives, with additional databases
planned for the coming months.
Keywords: archie, anonymous FTP, resource discovery, Internet
Archive: Currently none.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailinglist-Name: Internet Research Task Force (IRTF) on Resource
Discovery (IRTF-RD)
Address: irtf-rd@cs.colorado.edu
Administration:
Description: A small group of researchers working on problems in
resource discovery.
Keywords: IETF, IRTF, resource discovery, Internet
Archive: Not known
----------------------------------------------------------------------
/* 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 Service (Server? would
_somebody_ _please_ tell which it is?!!? - peterd :-)
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 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.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.
Keywords: Gopher, 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>
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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
NRT
Soft Pages
Whois++
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
HYPER-G
Date template updated or checked: 17th March, 1993
By: Name: Frank Kappe
Email address:fkappe@iicm.tu-graz.ac.at
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 (includeing full text), and guided tours.
Hyper-G is currently operated as a University Information System at
the Graz Technical University. THE SOFTWARE IS STILL VERY MUCH
EXPERIMENTAL! Client binaries are available for UNIX workstations
from DEC, HP, SGI, and SUN.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Frank Kappe
Email address:fkappe@iicm/tu-graz.ac.at
Postal Address:Schieszstattg. 4a, A-8010 Graz, AUSTRIA
Telephone: ++43/316/832551-22
Fax:++43/316/824394
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (for major center as well as each client):
Name: sorry no help line
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
Austrian Ministry of Science
European Space Agency
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
News groups:
None
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols:
What is supported: RPC
What it runs over: TCP/IP
Other NIR tools this interworks with: gopher, WAIS, World Wide Web
Future plans:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 13th March, 1993
By: Name: Gerald Pani
Email address: gpani@iicm.tu-graz.ac.at
Platform: UNIX
Primary Contact:
Name: Gerald Pani
Email address: gpani@iicm.tu-graz.ac.at
Telephone: ++43/316/832551-34
Server software available from: not available yet
Location of more information:
Latest version number:
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
Approximate number of such servers in use: 5
General comments: Due to the experimental state the sofware is in,
the server is not yet made available to the public.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Date completed or updated: 23rd October, 1992
By: Name: Frank Kappe
Email address:
Platform: vt100
Primary Contact
Name: Frank Kappe
Email address: fkappe@iicm.tu-graz.ac.at
Telephone: ++43/316/832551-22
Client software available from:
anonymous ftp: iicm.tu-graz.ac.at:/pub/Hyper-G/clients
Location of more information:
Latest version number: 1.3
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 plans
are ports to X-Windows and MS-Windows, and then to offer better (graphical)
user interfaces.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites :
List of sites which are willing to act as demonstration
sites for this application.
Site name: finfo.tu-graz.ac.at
Access details: 'rlogin finfo.tu-graz.ac.at' or
'telnet finfo.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 finfo.tu-graz.ac.at, port 70
WWW: URL=http://iicm.tu-graz.ac.at:80/ROOT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Document Title: In general, there is not much documentation yet. Most
of it is available within the system. 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. IIG Report 333, IIG, Graz University of Technology, Austria,
June 1991. Available by anonymous ftp from
iicm.tu-graz.ac.at:/pub/Hyper-G/doc/report333.txt.Z
Kappe F., Pani G.: The Architecture of a Massively Distributed
Hypermedia System. IIG Report 341, IIG, Graz University of
Technology, Austria, Sept. 1991. Available by anonymous ftp from
iicm.tu-graz.ac.at:/pub/Hyper-G/doc/report341.ps.Z
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
NRT
Date template updated or checked: 19th March 1993
By: Name: Mark Sanderson
Email address: sanderso@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NIR Tool Name: NRT
Brief Description of Tool:
NRT stands for News Retrieval Tool. It is a probabilistic free text
information retrieval system. The system is built using a 'client
server approach', the client is a user interface which sends retrieval
commands to the server.
The user retrieves documents by presenting NRT with a query. The
query can consist of fragments of text or whole documents. When
presented with a query NRT assigns a 'relevance score' to each
document in the collection. The score is an indication of the
relevance between a document and the query. Documents are sorted by
their score with the highest scoring documents being presented to the
user. If the query consists of whole documents, NRT analyses the
document texts, picking out words from the texts and adding them to
the user's query.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Primary Contact(s):
Name: Mark Sanderson
Email address: sanderso@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk
Postal Address: Department of Computing Science
The University
Glasgow G12 8QQ
Telephone: +44 (0)41 339 8855 x6292
Fax: +44 (0)41 330 4913
Name: Iain Campbell
Email address: iain@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk
Postal Address: Department of Computing Science
The University
Glasgow G12 8QQ
Telephone: +44 (0)41 339 8855 x6292
Fax: +44 (0)41 330 4913
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source
Department of Computing Science
The University
Glasgow
Funding source for early system development
FT Profile
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Protocols
What is supported: protocol specific to NRT
What it runs over: TCP/IP
Other NIR tools this interworks with: none
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Servers:
Date completed or updated: 30 Oct. 92
By: Name: Iain Campbell
Name: RDS
Platform: Unix, Macintosh being developed.
Primary Contact
Name: Iain Campbell
Email address: iain@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)41 339 8855 x6292
Secondary Contact
Name: Mark Sanderson
Email address: sanderso@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)41 339 8855 x6292
Server software available from:
Not yet generally released.
Latest version number: 15.0
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
RDS indexes document collections and performs all retrieval
tasks.
Approximate number of such servers in use: 1
General comments:
It is planned to make RDS available in the future.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Client:
Date completed or updated: 30 Oct. 92
By: Mark Sanderson
Name: NRT
Platform: Macintosh
Primary Contact
Name: Mark Sanderson
Email address: sanderso@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk
Telephone: +44 (0)41 339 8855 x6292
Client software available from:
Email to sanderso@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk
Latest version number: 1.4
Brief Scope and Characteristics:
The client performs all user interface tasks.
General comments:
NRT is available to anyone who wants it. They will be able
to connect to the RDS server running at Glasgow to try it out.
Future plans:
Increase the flexibility of RDS. The NRT client may be
changed to handle more complex querying methods. This will
include a dialog between user and system.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration Sites:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Documentation:
Two papers have been published. The first is specifically about
NRT, the second is a review of 5 IR systems, NRT is one of
the systems reviewed.
M. Sanderson & C.J. van Rijsbergen (1991)
"NRT: news retrieval tool"
Electronic Publishing, EP-odd, Vol 4, Num 4, Pages 205-217
D. Harman (1992)
"User-friendly systems instead of user-friendly front ends"
Journal of the American Society for Information Science,
Vol 43, Num 2, Pages 164-174
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bibliography:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Information:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
SOFT PAGES
Date template updated or checked: 19th March 1993
By: Name: Glenn Mansfield
Email address: glenn@aic.co.jp
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
- 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
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:
spp-manager@aic.co.jp
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 (for major center as well as each client)
Name:
SoftPages Project Support Group
Email address:
spp-support@aic.co.jp
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
The WIDE Project, Japan
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address:
spp@aic.co.jp
Administration:
spp-request@aic.co.jp
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: 5th November, 1992
By: Name: Glenn Mansfield
Email address: glenn@aic.co.jp
Platform:
Unix
Primary Contact:
Name:
Manager, SoftPages Project
Email address:
spp-manager@aic.co.jp
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
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: 5th November, 1992
By: Name: Glenn Mansfield
Email address: glenn@aic.co.jp
Platform:
Unix.
Primary Contact:
Name:
Manager, SoftPages Project
Email address:
spp-manager@aic.co.jp
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 :
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evaluation:
We are presently in the process of evaluating the effectiveness
of the Project. The Ftp-traffic in the Japanese Internet is being
sampled to arrive at non-optimality/cost-saving estimates. The results
will announced on the spp mailing list.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
WHOIS++
Date template updated or checked: 20th March, 1993
By: Name: Chris Weider
Email address: clw@merit.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 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: clw@merit.edu
Postal Address:
Merit Network, Inc.
Industrial Technology Institute, Pod G
2901 Hubbard, Ann Arbor Mi 48105
Telephone: (313) 747-2730
Fax: (313) 747-3185
Name: Peter Deutsch
Email address: peterd@bunyip.com
Postal Address:
Bunyip Information Systems, Inc.
266 Blvd. Neptune
Dorval QUEBEC H9S 2L4
CANADA
Telephone: (514) 875-8611
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help Line (for major center as well as each client):
Not yet deployed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related Working Groups:
Whois Network Information Lookup Service (WNILS) Working Group of the
Internet Engineering Task Forces (IETF)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsoring Organisation / Funding source:
None
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists:
Address: ietf-wnils@ucdavis.edu
Administration: ietf-wnils-request@ucdavis.edu
Archive: pub/archive/wnils@ucdavis.edu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 (20 March 1993). Please
contact clw@merit.edu (Chris Weider) for more information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clients:
Only beta versions available at this time (20 March 1993). Please
contact clw@merit.edu (Chris Weider) for more information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Demonstration sites :
NONE at this time (20 March 1993)
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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
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Bibliography:
See the documentation section of this template.
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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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Evaluation:
Reviews & user comments:
It is intended that this section will be completed by users and
user reps in the NIR-WG to provide some "consumers" evaluation
of the NIR tools
o General pros and cons
o NIR tool implementation
o Strengths and weaknesses
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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.
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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 [Still to be submitted]
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