# Z39.50 and URLs

weibel@oclc.org
Tue, 23 Aug 1994 16:53:32 -0400

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    From: weibel@oclc.org

    Date: Tue, 23 Aug 1994 16:53:32 -0400

    Message-Id: <199408232053.QAA00937@ws02-00.rsch.oclc.org>

    To: uri@bunyip.com

    Subject: Z39.50 and URLs

OCLC and CNIDR, to name at least two, are implementing Z39.50 gateways
that will be accessible via WWW. Both approachs involve maintaining
session information on the server side (timed out after an arbitrary
interval) and to embed a token in the URL that contains a session ID
used by the server to sort out the URL's appropriately.

This means, of course, that the resulting URL is not persistant... It
may pertain to a result set, for example, that will change in a
dynamic database (a feature, not a bug).

If their is a desire to see the development of a standard URL for Z39
access, we would be pleased to help formulate one based on our
experiences, and I'm sure CNIDR folks would be happy to bring their
experiences to bear as well.

BTW, it ain't just for bib records anymore... there is an increasing
body of full text available via Z39 servers, and I think this is an
important trend that needs to be accomodated in the URI world. The
connectionless model is fine for many applications, but stateful
sessions are an important part of the information retrieval
environment, and will become more so as full-text availability
increases.

Stuart Weibel
Senior Research Scientist
OCLC Office of Research
weibel@oclc.org
(614) 764-6081

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