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Refdbms 3.alpha -- a distributed bibliographic database system

The alpha release of refdbms version 3 is now available.  It can be
obtained by anonymous FTP from ftp.cse.ucsc.edu, in the pub/refdbms/
directory.  The system has been tested on Sun 3 and 4 systems running
SunOS 4.1.x, and on Decstations running Ultrix 4.1. 

The reference database project is a joint project between John Wilkes
of the Concurrent Systems Project at Hewlett-Packard Laboratories and
Richard Golding of the Concurrent Systems Laboratory at UC Santa Cruz.
The refdbms version 1 system has been in use at HPL for several years,
and consists of a database of references for approximately 3500
academic papers in computer graphics and computer systems, with a
smattering of other topics.  The system includes tools to query the
database, to produce bibliographies for LaTeX documents, and to enter
new references into the database.

Version 3 extends this system to significantly improve performance and
to support distributed databases.  A reference database can be
replicated at several sites, using TCP to communicate updates between
servers.  It is part of ongoing research into wide-area distributed
information systems on the Internet.

Features of this system include:

- Distributed databases:  a reference database can be shared among
multiple sites.  Updates can be entered at any site, and will be
propagated to the other sites holding a replica of the database.
Updates are propagated using a weak consistency replication protocol. 

- Multiple databases: every database has a name, and users specify
the order in which databases will be searched.  References are named
using a compound `tag' consisting of the database name and a unique
identifier for the reference, such as `usenix:Comer84'.

- Private databases: databases can be private, available site-wide, or
they can be made available to other sites.  Within one site databases
are protected using normal Unix permissions.  

- Database query by keyword, author, and title word:  an inverted
index of search keys is maintained for each database.  The index uses
a wordstemming algorithm (derived from the Unix ispell package).  The
index is incrementally updated as the database is updated.

- Translator for refer-format databases:  a simple-minded translator
is included that does a reasonable job of converting existing
databases in refer format.

- Usable with LaTeX documents:  the internal refdbms format can be
translated into a special BibTeX format.  Tools are provided to scan
LaTeX document and build a BibTeX file.

- Shell, Emacs, and X-based user interfaces.

For more information, please send mail to Richard Golding
(golding@cis.ucsc.edu).   Information on the basic architecture and on
the research this system contributes to can be found in a number of
technical reports available from the CIS Board at UC Santa Cruz.  They
can be FTP'd from ftp.cse.ucsc.edu, in pub/tr, or you can send me
mail.