Re: "Z39.50 Server List" DTD

> Review of the discussion in San Antonio:  We need a mechanism for a client to
> dynamically discover Z39.50 servers. We briefly considered "broadcasting" and
> "robots", but these ideas were passed over in favor of a  simpler mechanism, a
> "distributed Z-directory".  The approach is to define a structure that a Z39.50
> server may include within the Init response -- an otherInfo item that points the
> client to one or more servers. The client may then initiate associations with
> these servers, possibly for the sole purpose of discovering more servers, 

I tried to avoid commenting - given that I wasn't at the meeting, nor am
willing to read the minutes (sorry). But this bothers me.  What I understand
is my init may get back a complete list of all the servers/databases in
the world, unsolicited, assuming the server wants to.  Yuck.

  Why is more and more being dropped in init - because EXPLAIN is still not
being implemented?  I have already had one server blow out my client cause
they upped the buffer size to send me a large init - full of stuff I don't
want and will ignore.

  Re the discovery being discussed above - assuming you don't want to use
EXPLAIN, I would say don't use z39.50;  how about every HTTP server in the
world have a http://server/z39.50databases.txt -- okay, not serious; but not
happy with the init solution (don't care about the XML issues).

  You may take this as an uninformed rant, but really doesn't seem like
a good idea to me of adding this discovery info to potentially every Z39.50
init...
    bob
-- 
Robert K. Waldstein                Email: wald@lucent.com
Bell Laboratories, Room 3D-591     Phone: (908) 582-6171
600 Mountain Avenue
Murray Hill, New Jersey  07974

Received on Wednesday, 21 June 2000 13:14:25 UTC