An Overview of Z39.50, Supplemented by a Case Study
of Implementing the Zebra Server Under the Linux Operating System
Prepared by: June Abbas, Monika
Antonelli, Mark Gilman, Pamiela Hight, Valli Hoski, Jodi Kearns, Teresa Lepchenske, Martha
Peet, Mike Pullin, and Amy Stults for SLIS 5082, a seminar taught by Dr. William E. Moen. (Sept.-Dec. 1999.) School
of Library & Information Science, The University of
North Texas, Denton, Texas.
1. Introduction
Information professionals
interested in acquiring a clearer, conceptual and practical understanding of Z39.50, an
ANSI/NISO standard for database interoperability, are the primary audience for whom this
paper is intended. In addition to providing a general introduction to the standard, our
aim is to meet the particular needs of those who are planning for, or otherwise
considering, a Z39.50 implementation. This document reflects the hands-on experiences of a
small group of graduate students and is the outgrowth of a seminar led by Dr. William Moen
at the School of Library and Information Science at the University of North Texas during
the autumn of 1999.
1. Objectives
This document aims to achieve four, major purposes:
- It serves as a conceptual guide to Z39.50 and its implementation to meet organizational
objectives.
- It documents a case study of an attempt to implement and configure a Z39.50 server,
including exploration of interoperability testing and benchmarking.
- It records our practical experiences in setting up the Zebra server, with examples to
highlight issues related to a specific Z39.50 implementation.
- It provides resources to begin thinking about and planning what is required, in a
practical sense, for implementing Z39.50 for your organization.
1.2 Structure.
There are two levels to this document. One is simply an overview of Z39.50 and
associated planning issues. Linked to and supplementing this discussion, at logical
points, are notes explaining and illustrating the set-up and testing of the Zebra Z39.50
server on a Pentium III server running the RedHat Linux 6.0 operating system. The document
is supplemented by a glossary of terms and a bibliography.
1.3 Organization.
The body of this document is divided into three main sections, supplemented by
appendices, as follows:
- What is Z39.50? This section provides a general discussion of
the Z39.50 standard, its strengths and weaknesses, the services it is designed to provide,
and how it relates to the World Wide Web. It also introduces Z39.50 profiles and discusses
several virtual union catalogs.
- Testing and Refining the Implementation. This section
addresses the issue of interoperability and how to establish measures to determine an
implementation's level of interoperability. The topics the section will address are: 1) to
define interoperability by proposing a working definition; 2) to discuss the importance of
interoperability to Z39.50 implementations/systems; 3) the responses of the Z community to
the challenge of interoperability, such as standards, minimum requirements for
conformance, testbeds, and profiles; and 4) to introduce the continuing issues of IOP
within the Z community.
You will find additional information in these appendices:
Appendix A: Profiles - An explanation of what is meant by a
Z39.50 reference profile, essentially, a benchmark against which vendor implementations
may be assessed.
- Appendix B: Clients & Servers (not available)
- Appendix C: Additional Information Resources. - Additional
annotated information resources divided into functional topics.
- Appendix D: Glossary - Definitions of terms that arise in
discussing Z39.50.
Appendix E: Conceptual Map of Components - A diagram
providing a visual explanation of Z39.50 services. (not available)
- Appendix F: Selecting the Best Fit - A discussion of
organizational considerations that should be reviewed prior to any decision to adopt
Z39.50.
- Appendix G: Checklists for Implementing New
Technology and Services in Your Local Setting - These checklists are intended as a general
guide to help you prepare and plan for the addition of technology and services using that
technology in your organization.
- Appendix H: Commonly used acronyms, spelled out for ease of
reference.
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