NAME

Net::Z3950 - Perl extension for talking to Z39.50 servers.

WARNING

You should not be using this module unless you need this precise API for compatibility reasons. New applications should use the ZOOM-Perl module (Net::Z3950::ZOOM) instead.

http://search.cpan.org/~mirk/Net-Z3950-ZOOM/

SYNOPSIS

(This code blocks in reads: see below for sample non-blocking code which allows multiple servers to be searched in parallel.)

        use Net::Z3950;

        $conn = new Net::Z3950::Connection('server.host.name', 210)
            or die $!;
        $rs = $conn->search('au=kernighan or su=unix')
            or die $conn->errmsg();

        my $n = $rs->size();
        print "found $n records:\n";
        foreach $i (1..$n) {
            $rec = $rs->record($i) or die $rs->errmsg();
            print $rec->render();
        }

        $conn->close();

DESCRIPTION

This module provides a Perl interface to the Z39.50 information retrieval protocol (aka. ISO 23950), a mature and powerful protocol used in application domains as diverse as bibliographic information, geo-spatial mapping, museums and other cultural heritage information, and structured vocabulary navigation.

Net::Z3950.pm is an implementation of the Perl binding for ZOOM, the Z39.50 Objct Orientation Model. Bindings for the same abstract API are, or will be, available in other languages including C, C++, Java and Tcl.

Two basic approaches are possible to building clients with this module:

(The simpler synchronous interface functions are implemented as a thin layer on top of the asynchronous functions.)

ASYNCHRONOUS SYNOPSIS

(This code does not block in reads, and so is suitable for broadcast clients which search multiple servers simultaneously: see above for simpler sample code that blocks in reads.)

### To be written

FUNCTIONS

The Net::Z3950 module itself provides very few functions: most of the functionality is provided by the daughter modules included by Net::Z3950 - Net::Z3950::Manager, Net::Z3950::Connection, etc.

`errstr()`

        $errcode = $conn->errcode();
        $errmsg = Net::Z3950::errstr($errcode);
        print "error $errcode ($errmsg)\n";

Returns an English-language string describing the error indicated by the Z39.50 BIB-1 diagnostic error code $errcode.

`opstr()`

        $str = Net::Z3950::opstr($conn->errop());
        print "error occurred in $str\n";

Returns an English-language string describing the operation indicated by the argument, which must be one of the Net::Z3950::Op::* constants described in the documentation for the Net::Z3950::Connection class's op() method.

AUTHOR

Mike Taylor <mike@indexdata.com>

First version Tuesday 23rd May 2000.