The following table explains the format used for compiling the
review of subject gateway software. (Introduction
to review) Within this table the review terms are described
by stating the questions that we will try to answer for each
section.
| Provider |
Who supplies the products? What are the terms of supply? For
commercial products we will attempt to give the cost; otherwise
we will specify the licensing arrangements. |
| Purpose |
What services does this product offer? Is it a complete
solution, or does it require other components to work ? |
| Approach |
How are the services offered by the product delivered ? Is
the product custom-written or does it provide tools for using
other software? |
| Platform and requirements |
What this product requires for it to work - hardware,
operating systems, other software components. |
| Components and their
technology |
Each of three components - server, database and client (which
are considered to be the minimum for providing a search service)
- has their own description. |
| Server |
The protocol used; the kinds of queries accepted; the result
formats generated; is it combined with a web server, is
cross-searching supported, are multiple protocols enabled?. |
| Database |
Is a database built into the system or does it have to be
provided separately? How are connections to the database made ?
How is data imported into the database? Does the gateway have its
own view on the database ? |
| Search tools/clients |
Is software for accessing the gateway provided? Is searching
via a web browser available ? What protocol is used for the
search client ? |
| API |
Is an API provided ? Does it have published interfaces ? How
is the API specified? Is the source code available ? |
|
| Metadata Formats |
What metadata formats are stored internally in the database?
Which metadata formats are supported for import and/or export of
metadata? |
| Extras/Other features |
Anything else that doesn't fit into the above categories |
