home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
SGI Developer Toolbox 6.1
/
SGI Developer Toolbox 6.1 - Disc 4.iso
/
searchtools
/
oasisIII.README
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-08-01
|
24KB
|
598 lines
~4Dgifts/toolbox/sifttree README
sifttree is a script that first fires up a server program, oksvr, and
then invokes a client graphical interface program, oasisIII, used for
information retrieval. oasisIII/oksvr are a client/server relationship.
Together they provide a powerful search mechanism for examining keywords,
titles, filenames throughout the entire Toolbox tree.
Note that as of version 4.1 of the toolbox, sifttree contains index
database file on the ENTIRE contents of this CD. when the OasisIII
window comes up, you will notice that only the "Source" and "Toolbox"
nodes are active--this is so that by default, the whole tree is searched.
When quitting out of oasisIII, you'll need to wait about one minute before
successfully starting up sifttree again. As explained by an in-house
netgaud, when asked, What is this 1 minute delay? It's a TCP thing--in
order to be "a reliable delivery mechanism", tcp says it has to wait
around a bit after it wants to die so clients can flush themselves. The
behavior one will see if one *doesn't* wait long enugg will be the message,
INITREQMSG: Send Communication Error
coming out in the shell window sifttree was invoked from, and a notifier
window which will come up saying
Initialization failed.
Problem communicating with server process (oksvr)
on host localhost
Again, wait one minute and then invoke sifttree again.
Remember, the program oksvr that first gets started inside the sifttree
script is a server--once it's fired up, it will continue to run until you
exit the OasisIII window. As long as oksvr is running there will be a
file, /usr/tmp/ft*.tmp, that is used as a memory nexus. As long as oksvr
is "properly" terminated (i.e. exiting OasisIII), this file will
automatically be removed.
If you find you are unable to fire up [xpsview-]viewing of a PostScript
file listed in the Documents Area (bottom part of the window), and you
see the message:
The X11 Server DPS/X extension failed to initialize,
please check the dps_eoe release notes for recommendations.
come up in the xwsh you fired up sifttree from, you will need to:
From your 5.1 or 5.1.1 installation CDROM:
# inst -f /CDROM/dist/x_eoe
Inst> k *
Inst> install x_eoe.sw.xdps
Inst> go
Inst> quit
follows is an ascii text form of information about operating oasisIII:
____________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII starts a graphical interface used for information retrieval.
It allows searching various user-selected databases for keywords. The
program uses a TCP/IP socket to connect to a server process which
performs the actual searches, and returns results. The file ~/.oasisrc
is read when oasisIII starts for initialization information, such as
the server's hostname, default window parameters, maximum hits per
search, and more. A template file of oasisrc is found in
/usr/lib/OasisIII. These entries are not intended to be modified
manually, and should instead be manipulated via the Preferences option
of the main window.
The topics that follow breakdown thusly:
OasisIII Application - Main Window
OasisIII - Menubar
OasisIII - Inquiry Area
OasisIII - Inquiry Area - Graphical Tree Browsing
OasisIII - Graphical Tree Controls
OasisIII - List Browsing
OasisIII - Search Controls
OasisIII - Searching / Additional Fields
OasisIII - Search Syntax
OasisIII - Documents Area
OasisIII - Information (Document) Viewer
OasisIII - Information (Document) Viewer Functions
OasisIII - Settings Window
OasisIII - Folder Manager
OasisIII - Folder Manager Functions
OasisIII Application - Main Window
--------------------------------------------------------------------
This window is used to retrieve information from a database of indexed
document databases. It is the main window that the user interacts with.
This is the primary window that is invoked when this application is started
from the command line; or initiated from the SGI WorkSpace.
Due to the abundance of functionality present on this window, the
description of commands and interaction is broken into three sections:
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Menubar
--------------------------------------------------------------------
This section describes the commands available from the OasisIII Window
menubar. To access any menu, the user places the cursor over the desired
item and clicks the left mouse button. A menu drops down. The user then
places the cursor over the desired command they wish to perform from the
menu and clicks on that entry.
"Session" allows you to terminate an OasisIII application session.
"Inquiry" allows the user to control the view that is displayed in
the Inquiry area (tree+additional query criteria) of OasisIII.
"Documents" allows you to interact with entries displayed in the
multiple-selection document list box, found at the bottom of the
Menu Submenu Description
---- ------- -----------
Session
Quit Terminates the OasisIII Application. Upon quitting, all
appropriate state information will be saved in ~/.oasisrc.
Inquiry
Source: [] Graphical View [] List View
Topic: [] Graphical View [] List View
Toggle allowing the user to switch the tree view they are
currently accessing and to toggle between viewing the tree
in graphical form or in list form.
"Source" is meant to give the user a view of actual sources
that they have available. "Topic" is an abstract view of the
the information available. It will dynamically construct a
query based upon the path through the Topic tree that the
user has chosen.
Documents
Print
Fax...
Email...
For any documents that are in a selected (hilited) state in
the Document Area list, the user invoke these actions, without
having to display the document. The user will be prompted for
more information on entry that is followed by "...".
Sort By: [] Occurrence [] Source [] Date
Used as sort criteria for the list of documents returned
from a search. If a list of documents already exist and
this is toggled, the list will resort using the new criteria.
Close All
Closes all Information Viewers currently open.
Preferences
Settings...
Produces a dialog that displays all current settings for
the application and allows the user to modify them. See
See "OasisIII-Settings Window" for further information.
Folder...
Produces a dialog that displays to the user all current
inquiries they have saved and all bookmarks they have set.
See "OasisIII-Folder Window" for further information.
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Inquiry Area
--------------------------------------------------------------------
From a global perspective, this area allows you to navigate sources or
topics, provide additional keywords, and search across a set of information.
Within the navigational region, the user has the capability to browse
information in a tree form by Source or by Topic, to view this information
in Graphical or List form, and access a set of tools that perform specific
tasks upon the tree.
Note that this area contains a help message that indicates to the user how
to operate on the tree. This message changes to reflect to the user if they
are viewing a Topic tree, or a Source tree. The message informs the user to
"Click to select <SOURCES or TOPICS>; double-click to expand/contract". This
message is relevant whether the user is browsing in graphical or list mode.
The user can select nodes in the tree, apply any additional query criteria,
and perform a search from within the controls of the Inquiry Area.
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Inquiry Area - Graphical Tree Browsing
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The user is presented with a graphical "tree" that contains labelled nodes
connected by arcs. This tree represents a logical representation of the
present within the user's view of the knowledge database, or of concepts
(topics) that may be relevant to this user. All nodes are connected by a
central, or root, node.
To expand the nodes of the tree, the user double-clicks on a node, which
produces a list of its immediate children. Double-clicking on a node that
is expanded will collapse it. Nodes that can be expanded contain both a
label, as well as an inverted-triangle symbol (|>).
Placing the cursor over any node and clicking the right mouse button
produces a popup menu containing the following commands:
Collapse Subgraph -Fully collapses the subtree from that node
Show Immediate Children -Expands tree out one level from that node
Show All Children -Fully expands the subtree from that node
Search -Generates a list of documents that
correspond to that particular node
Quick Help -Invokes a quick help card
The first three commands will be greyed if a node has no children.
Clicking once on any node places it in a selected state. The node will
turn a specific color to denote that it is currently in that state.
Clicking on a selected node turns off the selection.
The user can also "rubber-band" groups of nodes in a put them in a
selected (or unselected) state. Click in the "open area" (NOT on a
node or arc) and hold down the left mouse button to enact this mechanism.
Clicking out in the general tree area (not over a node) with the right
mouse button produces a popup menu that operates on all nodes that are
in a SELECTED state. The following commands are available:
Search -Generates a list of documents for those
nodes that are selected
Quick Help -Invokes a quick help card
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Graphical Tree Controls
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The first three controls in the palette deal with zooming the tree.
First is an options-button, labelled with a set of percentages. When the
graph first comes up, this entry is 100%. The user can access this menu
to produce a list of percentages that act as "zoom factors". These range
between 15% and 300%. The font used for the label on the node will scale
up/down, the arcs change to reflect the larger/smaller nodes, and the
tree positions itself according to the centermost node. Up- and Down-arrows
that follow the options-button will move the tree through the zoom factors
in the order they occur in the menu. For example, if the user were to
click on the Up-arrow 3 times, the resultant zoom pattern would be
150%-200%-300%.
The next control available in the palette is an "Overview" button. This
produces a separate window that shows the user the entire tree in a block
diagram. The window contains a hollow-rectangle that overlays the diagram,
showing the current viewable region of the tree. The user can click on
the rectangle and postion it over a portion of the tree they wish to see.
The view in the OasisIII-Window will reflect that portion of the tree, in
real-time. Both sizing the OasisIII-Window and scrolling via the scrollbars
on the tree will also cause an update to the overview window.
Finally, the user may wish to rotate the tree so that it appears in a
top-down(vertical) versus left-right (horizontal-the default) style
of presentation. The control that provides that functionality is the
"Rotate" button (LAST button in the pallete).
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - List Browsing
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The user can traverse through the various Sources of information or
Topics in a list manner. To toggle this option use the "Inquiry" menu.
Navigating through a list-oriented tree is similar to navigating the
graphical representation of the tree.
List entries that can be expanded are followed by a textual symbol of ">>".
Double-click expands (contracts) the list entries in-line, displaying
(removing) their children.
A single-click selects that entry. Turning off the selection is done
by clicking again on that selected entry.
Placing the cursor over any node and clicking the right mouse button
produces a popup menu containing the following commands:
Collapse Children -Fully collapses the subtree from that
node
Show Immediate Children -Expands tree out one level from that node
Show All Children -Fully expands the subtree from that node
Search -Generates a list of documents that
correspond to that particular node
Quick Help -Invokes a quick help card
The first three commands will be greyed if a node has no children.
Clicking out in the general tree area (not over a node) with the right
mouse button produces a popup menu that operates on all nodes that are
in a SELECTED state. The following commands are available:
Search -Generates a list of documents for those
nodes that are selected
Quick Help -Invokes a quick help card
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Search Controls
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Following the additional fields, there is are controls that work in
conjunction with the search operation.
Control Description
------- -----------
Search Performs a search using Topic and/or Source information
AND any additional field information.
Narrow Search a previously retrieved set of documents. This
inquiry only searches against that set.
Save Save all search criteria (including tree information).
You will be prompted to provide a "user label" to assign
to this saved inquiry. For re-invocation, see "Folder Manager".
Clear Clears out the edit fields only. Does not reset the tree
information, nor erase a document set retrieved via a search.
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Searching / Additional Fields
--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Enter" from any field will cause a search to be performed. For information
on Search Syntax, see "OasisIII - Search Syntax".
Field Description
----- -----------
Keywords Searches the "generic" content of all documents.
Title Only searches in the document title string. Very fast
search. Good for delimiting/narrowing.
Filename Searches in the document filename field. Could search
with just extensions, or any part of the file (or file
path) specified.
Date Accepts a date string in virtually any format. Will do
its best to convert it and look for documents that have
date values that fall into the specified range. To ensure
proper conversion, "YYMMDD" is a form that works.
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Search Syntax
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Besides producing documents via the browsing methods, users may also
use the additional fields to qualify their searches further. These
additional fields support full boolean constructs. Users may define
queries using any combination of ANDs, ORs, NOTs, and paranthetical
expressions. For example, to find documents that deal with tape drives
and also find any documents dealing with non-scsi disk errors, the
user could formulate the following query:
(TAPE and DRIVE) or (NOT SCSI and (DISK and ERROR)).
Note that the system also supports the following operators:
[term1 term2] -Proximity-find documents containing the terms
a set distance from each other.
"term1 term2" -Phrase-find documents containing both terms
in the given order, next to each other.
term* -Expansion-look for any document with word(s)
containing the base term.
term? -Wildcard-find any document with word(s)
containing the base term and any
ONE character following that term.
Notes: " " (blank space) is a logical AND condition.
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Documents Area
--------------------------------------------------------------------
This area of the Knowledge Retrieval Window is used to display the list
of documents that results from a search, and a count of how many were found.
Items from the list of found documents can be selected, sorted, displayed,
or sent to other output channels.
The Documents Section is located at the bottom of the OasisIII window.
Note that this area is a Motif "pane", capable of being independently
collapsed/sized within the entire window. Click on the rectangle above
and to the right of the list. Hold the mouse button down and drag the
pane up or down. Note the change in size/layout.
Below the text labels that indicate the number of documents found via a
search and a simple help message, is a scrollable(horizontal and vertical),
multiple-selection list containing titles of the documents retrieved via
a search.
The results are sorted as specified by the user and can be changed from
within the "Documents" menu. See "OasisIII - Menubar" for more information.
A scrollbar allows scrolling through the list. The user can single click
the left mouse button on an entry in the list, to select that entry. This
causes that entry to be hilited. The user may perform actions on the set
of documents that have been selected, by using the actions in the "Documents"
menu. Subsequent single, left-mouse clicks on selected items cause the
item to become "unselected".
Double-clicking the left mouse button on an entry in the list causes that
item to be displayed, either in the current active viewer window (if one
is in use), or in a newly-created viewer window (see "OasisIII-Information
Viewer").
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Information (Document) Viewer
--------------------------------------------------------------------
This window is used to view (read, browse, ...) documents. It is displayed
via a double-click on a document in the OasisIII window Document List that
was retrieved from a search; or it can be invoked from a bookmark entry in
the Folder Manager Window. Note that the document is not editable.
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Information (Document) Viewer Functions
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Menu Submenu Description
---- ------- -----------
Session
Quit Closes the current Information Viewer (only).
Documents
Copy..., Email..., Fax..., Print
For the document currently in the Viewer, the desired action
will be performed. The user will be prompted for more
information on entry that is followed by "...".
Search
Will perform an in-document search using the string that
the user provides. Terms found within the document will be
shown in a different color both in the scrollbar area as
well as within the document.
Bookmark
Will prompt the user for a label to assign to this document.
Bookmark entries can be accessed/invoked via the Folder
Manager.
________________________________________________________________________
OasisiIII Information Viewer Functions
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Control Area
Scrolling is provided via Motif horizontal and vertical scroll bars. The
colors in the scrollbar area indicate the presence of search terms. One
color is used to denote the search criteria used in the OasisIII window,
and another for the in-document search terms. The window will automatically
scroll to the first area that contains search terms.
Keywords: Next, Previous
The Next/Prev buttons allow navigating through the current document using
the keywords. The Next button will find the next keyword in the document
from the current position, scroll if necessary, and highlight the word
with a different color.
Document: Next, Previous
These commands allow scrolling through the list of documents resulting from
a search in the OasisIII window. The Next/Prev buttons apply to all documents
in the list, regardless of whether a document has been selected or not.
When these buttons are used to traverse the Document list, the list entry
that corresponds to the currently viewed document will be represented in
a different color. Other documents that are displayed, but not in the active
viewer will also be represented in the Document list in yet another color.
Active Viewer
This toggle indicates which Viewer within the application is considered to
be "active". If this is turned off by clicking on the label, then the next
document will be brought up in it's own window, and that window will now
become the "active viewer".
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Settings Window
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The Settings window is used to set up the location of the databases to be
used, to set a maximum hit count, to define what a "near" distance is,
to toggle the use of a thesaurus, to set up a printer, etc.
Public Path: Where the OasisIII databases are mounted
Fax Server: Which machine is the fax server for your client
Near Distance: When searching using "[" and "]", the proximity
operators,
how many characters should be used in computing this
distance. The default is 72 (~1 line).
Maximum Hit Count: Ceiling on the number of documents to return from a
search. Default is 250. Maximum is 1000.
When the Settings window comes up, it shows the default values for each
of the fields that can be set. Move the mouse pointer to the field you
wish to change, and backspaces over (or cut) the default value, replacing
it with your own value.
To toggle thesaurus usage, click the left mouse button on the label titled
"Use Thesaurus?". This will change the color of the toggle box to the left
of the label.
To select a printer, click the left mouse button on your choice from the
list provided.
When all the selections are made, click the left mouse button on either
the "Save" button to make the changes take effect, or the "Cancel" button
to abort the operation and return to the OasisIII window.
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Folder Manager
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The purpose of the Folder Manager is to provide alternate entry points
to the data in the OasisIII database. These points are currently Saved
Inquiries and Bookmarks.
The Folder allows the user to filter which of the types of entries they
will view, and to invoke or delete these entries from within this window.
________________________________________________________________________
OasisIII - Folder Manager Functions
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Events
You may selectively choose which entry points to view by using the Events
toggle. The default is to display both Saved Inquiries and Bookmarks.
Clicking on the label of these will turn the access to those points on/off,
and the list will dynamically change to reflect the filter criteria.
Invoke
To invoke an entry point, select (click) an event that appears in the list
displayed by the Folder Manager and then click on the "Invoke" pushbutton.
This can also be performed by double-clicking on the event in the list.
Delete
An event can be deleted by selecting it from the list and then clicking
the "Delete" pushbutton. Accidental deletions cannot be restored at this
time.
________________________________________________________________________