Re: [Bibdesk-develop] Z39.50 Query

[Sven-S. P. <ssp...@ea...>]

Hi Jack,

> I can formulate a simple query (single-string), but I'm having difficulties
> grasping the RPN syntax for more complex searches. Being a long-time
> bibdesk user, I know the z39.50 searching works beautifully and was
> wondering if any of you had any insight into effective searching with
> z39.50.


as Adam said, Z39.50 can be a bit complex. Not only on a technical level but also because the abilities of servers seem to vary wildly and it's not uncommon for more complex queries to just fail because they cannot be handled. Add to that that servers often aren’t documented and you're in for a lot of trial and error.

So as a first step, I'd recommend trying whether you can perform the query you want in the yaz-client command line tool and taking it from there. The examples in the yaz-manual [1] can be a good starting point for that but may lack the depth you are looking for.

Regards

		Sven

[1] http://www.indexdata.com/yaz/doc/tools.html#PQF

-- 
Sven-S. Porst . http://earthlingsoft.net/ssp . AIM: cv47al
Pass as best inventor!