WAIS databases as first class WWW objects

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Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1993 12:58:27 +1200
From: Nathan Torkington <Nathan.Torkington@vuw.ac.nz>
Message-id: <199304150058.AA24137@kauri.vuw.ac.nz>
To: www-talk@nxoc01.cern.ch
In-reply-to: Edward Vielmetti's message <m0njED4-001IF4C@garnet.msen.com>
Subject: WAIS databases as first class WWW objects

Edward Vielmetti writes:

> I'd like to see WAIS databases treated as first class objects in WWW.

Testify!

> This probably involves moving code from the www-to-wais gateway into
> the client library, or having "smart" clients go off and use 
> "full featured" wais clients when they are presented with serviers.

I prefer the move into the client library, myself.  It would be
exceptionally simple to do -- just steal some of the code from the
existing gateway and munge munge munge.

> The next step of this is to take the wais directory of servers and
> add value to it by writing a .src->.html converter that makes things
> look really nice.

Yes!  Yes!  Such a converter should:
 o recognise news.group.format
 o recognise anonymous:/ftp/references
 o recognise maintainer@e-mail.addresses

Hmm, there must be more -- if that were all, I could do it with sed
commands:

s/([A-Za-z0-9-\.])+/<A HREF="news:\1">\1<\/A>/
s/([A-Za-z0-9-\.]+)(:?/?)([A-Za-z0-9-\.\/]+)/<A HREF="file:\/\/\1\/\3">\1\2\3<\/A>/
s/([A-Za-z0-9-\.]+@[A-Za-z0-9-\.])/<ADDRESS>\1<\/ADDRESS>/

Nat.