1 <!-- $Id: book.xml,v 1.28 2006-04-30 07:07:12 adam Exp $ -->
3 <title>Metaproxy - User's Guide and Reference</title>
5 <firstname>Mike</firstname><surname>Taylor</surname>
8 <firstname>Adam</firstname><surname>Dickmeiss</surname>
12 <holder>Index Data ApS</holder>
16 Metaproxy is a universal router, proxy and encapsulated
17 metasearcher for information retrieval protocols. It accepts,
18 processes, interprets and redirects requests from IR clients using
19 standard protocols such as
20 <ulink url="&url.z39.50;">ANSI/NISO Z39.50</ulink>
21 (and in the future <ulink url="&url.sru;">SRU</ulink>
22 and <ulink url="&url.srw;">SRW</ulink>), as
23 well as functioning as a limited
24 <ulink url="&url.http;">HTTP</ulink> server.
25 Metaproxy is configured by an XML file which
26 specifies how the software should function in terms of routes that
27 the request packets can take through the proxy, each step on a
28 route being an instantiation of a filter. Filters come in many
29 types, one for each operation: accepting Z39.50 packets, logging,
30 query transformation, multiplexing, etc. Further filter-types can
31 be added as loadable modules to extend Metaproxy functionality,
35 The terms under which Metaproxy will be distributed have yet to be
36 established, but it will not necessarily be open source; so users
37 should not at this stage redistribute the code without explicit
38 written permission from the copyright holders, Index Data ApS.
43 <imagedata fileref="common/id.png" format="PNG"/>
46 <imagedata fileref="common/id.eps" format="EPS"/>
53 <chapter id="introduction">
54 <title>Introduction</title>
58 <ulink url="&url.metaproxy;">Metaproxy</ulink>
59 is a standalone program that acts as a universal router, proxy and
60 encapsulated metasearcher for information retrieval protocols such
61 as <ulink url="&url.z39.50;">Z39.50</ulink>, and in the future
62 <ulink url="&url.sru;">SRU</ulink> and <ulink url="&url.srw;">SRW</ulink>.
63 To clients, it acts as a server of these protocols: it can be searched,
64 records can be retrieved from it, etc.
65 To servers, it acts as a client: it searches in them,
66 retrieves records from them, etc. it satisfies its clients'
67 requests by transforming them, multiplexing them, forwarding them
68 on to zero or more servers, merging the results, transforming
69 them, and delivering them back to the client. In addition, it
70 acts as a simple <ulink url="&url.http;">HTTP</ulink> server; support
71 for further protocols can be added in a modular fashion, through the
72 creation of new filters.
77 Fish, bananas, cold pyjamas,
78 Mutton, beef and trout!
79 - attributed to Cole Porter.
82 Metaproxy is a more capable alternative to
83 <ulink url="&url.yazproxy;">YAZ Proxy</ulink>,
84 being more powerful, flexible, configurable and extensible. Among
85 its many advantages over the older, more pedestrian work are
86 support for multiplexing (encapsulated metasearching), routing by
87 database name, authentication and authorisation and serving local
88 files via HTTP. Equally significant, its modular architecture
89 facilitites the creation of pluggable modules implementing further
93 This manual will briefly describe Metaproxy's licensing situation
94 before giving an overview of its architecture, then discussing the
95 key concept of a filter in some depth and giving an overview of
96 the various filter types, then discussing the configuration file
97 format. After this come several optional chapters which may be
98 freely skipped: a detailed discussion of virtual databases and
99 multi-database searching, some notes on writing extensions
100 (additional filter types) and a high-level description of the
101 source code. Finally comes the reference guide, which contains
102 instructions for invoking the <command>metaproxy</command>
103 program, and detailed information on each type of filter,
110 <chapter id="licence">
111 <title>The Metaproxy Licence</title>
113 <emphasis role="strong">
114 No decision has yet been made on the terms under which
115 Metaproxy will be distributed.
117 It is possible that, unlike
118 other Index Data products, metaproxy may not be released under a
119 free-software licence such as the GNU GPL. Until a decision is
120 made and a public statement made, then, and unless it has been
121 delivered to you other specific terms, please treat Metaproxy as
122 though it were proprietary software.
123 The code should not be redistributed without explicit
124 written permission from the copyright holders, Index Data ApS.
128 <chapter id="installation">
129 <title>Installation</title>
131 Metaproxy depends on the following tools/libraries:
133 <varlistentry><term><ulink url="&url.yazplusplus;">YAZ++</ulink></term>
136 This is a C++ library based on <ulink url="&url.yaz;">YAZ</ulink>.
140 <varlistentry><term><ulink url="&url.libxslt;">Libxslt</ulink></term>
142 <para>This is an XSLT processor - based on
143 <ulink url="&url.libxml2;">Libxml2</ulink>. Both Libxml2 and
144 Libxslt must be installed with the development components
145 (header files, etc.) as well as the run-time libraries.
149 <varlistentry><term><ulink url="&url.boost;">Boost</ulink></term>
152 The popular C++ library. Initial versions of Metaproxy
153 was built with 1.33.0. Version 1.33.1 works too.
160 In order to compile Metaproxy a modern C++ compiler is
161 required. Boost, in particular, requires the C++ compiler
162 to facilitate the newest features. Refer to Boost
163 <ulink url="&url.boost.compilers.status;">Compiler Status</ulink>
164 for more information.
167 We have succesfully built Metaproxy using the compilers
168 <ulink url="&url.gcc;">GCC</ulink> version 4.0 and
169 <ulink url="&url.vstudio;">Microsoft Visual Studio</ulink> 2003/2005.
172 <section id="installation.unix">
173 <title>Installation on Unix (from Source)</title>
175 Here is a quick step-by-step guide on how to compile all the
176 tools that Metaproxy uses. Only few systems have none of the required
177 tools binary packages. If, for example, Libxml2/libxslt are already
178 installed as development packages use those (and omit compilation).
185 gunzip -c libxml2-version.tar.gz|tar xf -
193 gunzip -c libxslt-version.tar.gz|tar xf -
204 gunzip -c yaz-version.tar.gz|tar xf -
212 gunzip -c yazpp-version.tar.gz|tar xf -
223 gunzip -c boost-version.tar.gz|tar xf -
234 gunzip -c metaproxy-version.tar.gz|tar xf -
243 <section id="installation.debian">
244 <title>Installation on Debian GNU/Linux</title>
246 All dependencies for Metaproxy are available as
247 <ulink url="&url.debian;">Debian</ulink>
248 packages for the sarge (stable in 2005) and etch (testing in 2005)
252 The procedures for Debian based systems, such as
253 <ulink url="&url.ubuntu;">Ubuntu</ulink> is probably similar
256 There is currently no official Debian package for YAZ++.
257 And the Debian package for YAZ is probably too old.
258 Update the <filename>/etc/apt/sources.list</filename>
259 to include the Index Data repository.
260 See YAZ' <ulink url="&url.yaz.download.debian;">Download Debian</ulink>
261 for more information.
264 apt-get install libxslt1-dev
265 apt-get install libyazpp-dev
266 apt-get install libboost-dev
267 apt-get install libboost-thread-dev
268 apt-get install libboost-date-time-dev
269 apt-get install libboost-program-options-dev
270 apt-get install libboost-test-dev
273 With these packages installed, the usual configure + make
274 procedure can be used for Metaproxy as outlined in
275 <xref linkend="installation.unix"/>.
279 <section id="installation.windows">
280 <title>Installation on Windows</title>
282 Metaproxy can be compiled with Microsoft
283 <ulink url="&url.vstudio;">Visual Studio</ulink>.
284 Version 2003 (C 7.1) and 2005 (C 8.0) is known to work.
286 <section id="installation.windows.boost">
289 Get Boost from its <ulink url="&url.boost;">home page</ulink>.
290 You also need Boost Jam (an alternative to make).
291 That's also available from the Boost home page.
292 The files to be downloaded are called something like:
293 <filename>boost_1_33-1.exe</filename>
295 <filename>boost-jam-3.1.12-1-ntx86.zip</filename>.
296 Unpack Boost Jam first. Put <filename>bjam.exe</filename>
297 in your system path. Make a command prompt and ensure
298 it can be found automatically. If not check the PATH.
299 The Boost .exe is a self-extracting exe with
300 complete source for Boost. Compile that source with
301 Boost Jam (An alternative to Make).
302 The compilation takes a while.
303 For Visual Studio 2003, use
305 bjam "-sTOOLS=vc-7_1"
307 Here <literal>vc-7_1</literal> refers to a "Toolset" (compiler system).
308 For Visual Studio 2005, use
310 bjam "-sTOOLS=vc-8_0"
312 To install the libraries in a common place, use
314 bjam "-sTOOLS=vc-7_1" install
316 (or vc-8_0 for VS 2005).
319 By default, the Boost build process installs the resulting
320 libraries + header files in
321 <literal>\boost\lib</literal>, <literal>\boost\include</literal>.
324 For more informatation about installing Boost refer to the
325 <ulink url="&url.boost.getting.started;">getting started</ulink>
330 <section id="installation.windows.libxslt">
331 <title>Libxslt</title>
333 <ulink url="&url.libxslt;">Libxslt</ulink> can be downloaded
335 <ulink url="&url.libxml2.download.win32;">here</ulink>.
338 Libxslt has other dependencies, but thes can all be downloaded
339 from the same site. Get the following:
340 iconv, zlib, libxml2, libxslt.
344 <section id="installation.windows.yaz">
347 <ulink url="&url.yaz;">YAZ</ulink> can be downloaded
349 <ulink url="&url.yaz.download.win32;">here</ulink>.
353 <section id="installation.windows.yazplusplus">
356 Get <ulink url="&url.yazplusplus;">YAZ++</ulink> as well.
357 Version 1.0 or later is required. For now get it from
359 <ulink url="&url.snapshot.download;">Snapshot area</ulink>.
362 YAZ++ includes NMAKE makefiles, similar to those found in the
367 <section id="installation.windows.metaproxy">
368 <title>Metaproxy</title>
370 Metaproxy is shipped with NMAKE makfiles as well - similar
371 to those found in the YAZ++/YAZ packages. Adjust this Makefile
372 to point to the proper locations of Boost, Libxslt, Libxml2,
373 zlib, iconv, yaz and yazpp.
377 <varlistentry><term><literal>DEBUG</literal></term>
379 If set to 1, the software is
380 compiled with debugging libraries (code generation is
381 multi-threaded debug DLL).
382 If set to 0, the software is compiled with release libraries
383 (code generation is multi-threaded DLL).
388 <term><literal>BOOST</literal></term>
391 Boost install location
397 <term><literal>BOOST_VERSION</literal></term>
400 Boost version (replace . with _).
406 <term><literal>BOOST_TOOLSET</literal></term>
415 <term><literal>LIBXSLT_DIR</literal>,
416 <literal>LIBXML2_DIR</literal> ..</term>
419 Specify the locations of Libxslt, libiconv, libxml2 and
428 After succesful compilation you'll find
429 <literal>metaproxy.exe</literal> in the
430 <literal>bin</literal> directory.
438 <chapter id="architecture">
439 <title>The Metaproxy Architecture</title>
441 The Metaproxy architecture is based on three concepts:
442 the <emphasis>package</emphasis>,
443 the <emphasis>route</emphasis>
444 and the <emphasis>filter</emphasis>.
448 <term>Packages</term>
451 A package is request or response, encoded in some protocol,
452 issued by a client, making its way through Metaproxy, send to or
453 received from a server, or sent back to the client.
456 The core of a package is the protocol unit - for example, a
457 Z39.50 Init Request or Search Response, or an SRU searchRetrieve
458 URL or Explain Response. In addition to this core, a package
459 also carries some extra information added and used by Metaproxy
463 In general, packages are doctored as they pass through
464 Metaproxy. For example, when the proxy performs authentication
465 and authorisation on a Z39.50 Init request, it removes the
466 authentication credentials from the package so that they are not
467 passed onto the back-end server; and when search-response
468 packages are obtained from multiple servers, they are merged
469 into a single unified package that makes its way back to the
478 Packages make their way through routes, which can be thought of
479 as programs that operate on the package data-type. Each
480 incoming package initially makes its way through a default
481 route, but may be switched to a different route based on various
482 considerations. Routes are made up of sequences of filters (see
491 Filters provide the individual instructions within a route, and
492 effect the necessary transformations on packages. A particular
493 configuration of Metaproxy is essentially a set of filters,
494 described by configuration details and arranged in order in one
495 or more routes. There are many kinds of filter - about a dozen
496 at the time of writing with more appearing all the time - each
497 performing a specific function and configured by different
501 The word ``filter'' is sometimes used rather loosely, in two
502 different ways: it may be used to mean a particular
503 <emphasis>type</emphasis> of filter, as when we speak of ``the
504 auth_simplefilter'' or ``the multi filter''; or it may be used
505 to be a specific <emphasis>instance</emphasis> of a filter
506 within a Metaproxy configuration. For example, a single
507 configuration will often contain multiple instances of the
508 <literal>z3950_client</literal> filter. In
509 operational terms, of these is a separate filter. In practice,
510 context always make it clear which sense of the word ``filter''
514 Extensibility of Metaproxy is primarily through the creation of
515 plugins that provide new filters. The filter API is small and
516 conceptually simple, but there are many details to master. See
518 <link linkend="extensions">extensions</link>.
524 Since packages are created and handled by the system itself, and
525 routes are conceptually simple, most of the remainder of this
526 document concentrates on filters. After a brief overview of the
527 filter types follows, along with some thoughts on possible future
534 <chapter id="filters">
535 <title>Filters</title>
539 <title>Introductory notes</title>
541 It's useful to think of Metaproxy as an interpreter providing a small
542 number of primitives and operations, but operating on a very
543 complex data type, namely the ``package''.
546 A package represents a Z39.50 or SRU/W request (whether for Init,
547 Search, Scan, etc.) together with information about where it came
548 from. Packages are created by front-end filters such as
549 <literal>frontend_net</literal> (see below), which reads them from
550 the network; other front-end filters are possible. They then pass
551 along a route consisting of a sequence of filters, each of which
552 transforms the package and may also have side-effects such as
553 generating logging. Eventually, the route will yield a response,
554 which is sent back to the origin.
557 There are many kinds of filter: some that are defined statically
558 as part of Metaproxy, and others may be provided by third parties
559 and dynamically loaded. They all conform to the same simple API
560 of essentially two methods: <function>configure()</function> is
561 called at startup time, and is passed a DOM tree representing that
562 part of the configuration file that pertains to this filter
563 instance: it is expected to walk that tree extracting relevant
564 information; and <function>process()</function> is called every
565 time the filter has to processes a package.
568 While all filters provide the same API, there are different modes
569 of functionality. Some filters are sources: they create
571 (<literal>frontend_net</literal>);
572 others are sinks: they consume packages and return a result
573 (<literal>z3950_client</literal>,
574 <literal>backend_test</literal>,
575 <literal>http_file</literal>);
576 the others are true filters, that read, process and pass on the
577 packages they are fed
578 (<literal>auth_simple</literal>,
579 <literal>log</literal>,
580 <literal>multi</literal>,
581 <literal>query_rewrite</literal>,
582 <literal>session_shared</literal>,
583 <literal>template</literal>,
584 <literal>virt_db</literal>).
589 <section id="overview.filter.types">
590 <title>Overview of filter types</title>
592 We now briefly consider each of the types of filter supported by
593 the core Metaproxy binary. This overview is intended to give a
594 flavour of the available functionality; more detailed information
595 about each type of filter is included below in
596 <link linkend="filterref"
597 >the reference guide to Metaproxy filters</link>.
600 The filters are here named by the string that is used as the
601 <literal>type</literal> attribute of a
602 <literal><filter></literal> element in the configuration
603 file to request them, with the name of the class that implements
604 them in parentheses. (The classname is not needed for normal
605 configuration and use of Metaproxy; it is useful only to
609 The filters are here listed in alphabetical order:
613 <title><literal>auth_simple</literal>
614 (mp::filter::AuthSimple)</title>
616 Simple authentication and authorisation. The configuration
617 specifies the name of a file that is the user register, which
618 lists <varname>username</varname>:<varname>password</varname>
619 pairs, one per line, colon separated. When a session begins, it
620 is rejected unless username and passsword are supplied, and match
621 a pair in the register. The configuration file may also specific
622 the name of another file that is the target register: this lists
623 lists <varname>username</varname>:<varname>dbname</varname>,<varname>dbname</varname>...
624 sets, one per line, with multiple database names separated by
625 commas. When a search is processed, it is rejected unless the
626 database to be searched is one of those listed as available to
632 <title><literal>backend_test</literal>
633 (mp::filter::Backend_test)</title>
635 A sink that provides dummy responses in the manner of the
636 <literal>yaz-ztest</literal> Z39.50 server. This is useful only
637 for testing. Seriously, you don't need this. Pretend you didn't
638 even read this section.
643 <title><literal>frontend_net</literal>
644 (mp::filter::FrontendNet)</title>
646 A source that accepts Z39.50 connections from a port
647 specified in the configuration, reads protocol units, and
648 feeds them into the next filter in the route. When the result is
649 revceived, it is returned to the original origin.
654 <title><literal>http_file</literal>
655 (mp::filter::HttpFile)</title>
657 A sink that returns the contents of files from the local
658 filesystem in response to HTTP requests. (Yes, Virginia, this
659 does mean that Metaproxy is also a Web-server in its spare time. So
660 far it does not contain either an email-reader or a Lisp
661 interpreter, but that day is surely coming.)
666 <title><literal>log</literal>
667 (mp::filter::Log)</title>
669 Writes logging information to standard output, and passes on
670 the package unchanged.
675 <title><literal>multi</literal>
676 (mp::filter::Multi)</title>
678 Performs multi-database searching.
680 <link linkend="multidb">the extended discussion</link>
681 of virtual databases and multi-database searching below.
686 <title><literal>query_rewrite</literal>
687 (mp::filter::QueryRewrite)</title>
689 Rewrites Z39.50 Type-1 and Type-101 (``RPN'') queries by a
690 three-step process: the query is transliterated from Z39.50
691 packet structures into an XML representation; that XML
692 representation is transformed by an XSLT stylesheet; and the
693 resulting XML is transliterated back into the Z39.50 packet
699 <title><literal>session_shared</literal>
700 (mp::filter::SessionShared)</title>
702 When this is finished, it will implement global sharing of
703 result sets (i.e. between threads and therefore between
704 clients), yielding performance improvements especially when
705 incoming requests are from a stateless environment such as a
706 web-server, in which the client process representing a session
707 might be any one of many. However:
711 This filter is not yet completed.
717 <title><literal>template</literal>
718 (mp::filter::Template)</title>
720 Does nothing at all, merely passing the packet on. (Maybe it
721 should be called <literal>nop</literal> or
722 <literal>passthrough</literal>?) This exists not to be used, but
723 to be copied - to become the skeleton of new filters as they are
724 written. As with <literal>backend_test</literal>, this is not
725 intended for civilians.
730 <title><literal>virt_db</literal>
731 (mp::filter::Virt_db)</title>
733 Performs virtual database selection: based on the name of the
734 database in the search request, a server is selected, and its
735 address added to the request in a <literal>VAL_PROXY</literal>
736 otherInfo packet. It will subsequently be used by a
737 <literal>z3950_client</literal> filter.
739 <link linkend="multidb">the extended discussion</link>
740 of virtual databases and multi-database searching below.
745 <title><literal>z3950_client</literal>
746 (mp::filter::Z3950Client)</title>
748 Performs Z39.50 searching and retrieval by proxying the
749 packages that are passed to it. Init requests are sent to the
750 address specified in the <literal>VAL_PROXY</literal> otherInfo
751 attached to the request: this may have been specified by client,
752 or generated by a <literal>virt_db</literal> filter earlier in
753 the route. Subsequent requests are sent to the same address,
754 which is remembered at Init time in a Session object.
760 <section id="future.directions">
761 <title>Future directions</title>
763 Some other filters that do not yet exist, but which would be
764 useful, are briefly described. These may be added in future
765 releases (or may be created by third parties, as loadable
771 <term><literal>frontend_cli</literal> (source)</term>
774 Command-line interface for generating requests.
779 <term><literal>frontend_sru</literal> (source)</term>
782 Receive SRU (and perhaps SRW) requests.
787 <term><literal>sru2z3950</literal> (filter)</term>
790 Translate SRU requests into Z39.50 requests.
795 <term><literal>sru_client</literal> (sink)</term>
798 SRU searching and retrieval.
803 <term><literal>srw_client</literal> (sink)</term>
806 SRW searching and retrieval.
811 <term><literal>opensearch_client</literal> (sink)</term>
814 A9 OpenSearch searching and retrieval.
824 <chapter id="configuration">
825 <title>Configuration: the Metaproxy configuration file format</title>
829 <title>Introductory notes</title>
831 If Metaproxy is an interpreter providing operations on packages, then
832 its configuration file can be thought of as a program for that
833 interpreter. Configuration is by means of a single file, the name
834 of which is supplied as the sole command-line argument to the
835 <command>metaproxy</command> program. (See
836 <link linkend="progref">the reference guide</link>
837 below for more information on invoking Metaproxy.)
840 The configuration files are written in XML. (But that's just an
841 implementation detail - they could just as well have been written
842 in YAML or Lisp-like S-expressions, or in a custom syntax.)
845 Since XML has been chosen, an XML schema,
846 <filename>config.xsd</filename>, is provided for validating
847 configuration files. This file is supplied in the
848 <filename>etc</filename> directory of the Metaproxy distribution. It
849 can be used by (among other tools) the <command>xmllint</command>
850 program supplied as part of the <literal>libxml2</literal>
854 xmllint --noout --schema etc/config.xsd my-config-file.xml
857 (A recent version of <literal>libxml2</literal> is required, as
858 support for XML Schemas is a relatively recent addition.)
862 <section id="overview.xml.structure">
863 <title>Overview of XML structure</title>
865 All elements and attributes are in the namespace
866 <ulink url="http://indexdata.dk/yp2/config/1"/>.
867 This is most easily achieved by setting the default namespace on
868 the top-level element, as here:
871 <yp2 xmlns="http://indexdata.dk/yp2/config/1">
874 The top-level element is <yp2>. This contains a
875 <start> element, a <filters> element and a
876 <routes> element, in that order. <filters> is
877 optional; the other two are mandatory. All three are
881 The <start> element is empty, but carries a
882 <literal>route</literal> attribute, whose value is the name of
883 route at which to start running - analogous to the name of the
884 start production in a formal grammar.
887 If present, <filters> contains zero or more <filter>
888 elements. Each filter carries a <literal>type</literal> attribute
889 which specifies what kind of filter is being defined
890 (<literal>frontend_net</literal>, <literal>log</literal>, etc.)
891 and contain various elements that provide suitable configuration
892 for a filter of its type. The filter-specific elements are
894 <link linkend="filterref">the reference guide below</link>.
895 Filters defined in this part of the file must carry an
896 <literal>id</literal> attribute so that they can be referenced
900 <routes> contains one or more <route> elements, each
901 of which must carry an <literal>id</literal> element. One of the
902 routes must have the ID value that was specified as the start
903 route in the <start> element's <literal>route</literal>
904 attribute. Each route contains zero or more <filter>
905 elements. These are of two types. They may be empty, but carry a
906 <literal>refid</literal> attribute whose value is the same as the
907 <literal>id</literal> of a filter previously defined in the
908 <filters> section. Alternatively, a route within a filter
909 may omit the <literal>refid</literal> attribute, but contain
910 configuration elements similar to those used for filters defined
911 in the <filters> section. (In other words, each filter in a
912 route may be included either by reference or by physical
918 <section id="example.configuration">
919 <title>An example configuration</title>
921 The following is a small, but complete, Metaproxy configuration
922 file (included in the distribution as
923 <literal>metaproxy/etc/config0.xml</literal>).
924 This file defines a very simple configuration that simply proxies
925 to whatever back-end server the client requests, but logs each
926 request and response. This can be useful for debugging complex
927 client-server dialogues.
929 <screen><![CDATA[<?xml version="1.0"?>
930 <yp2 xmlns="http://indexdata.dk/yp2/config/1">
931 <start route="start"/>
933 <filter id="frontend" type="frontend_net">
936 <filter id="backend" type="z3950_client">
941 <filter refid="frontend"/>
943 <filter refid="backend"/>
949 It works by defining a single route, called
950 <literal>start</literal>, which consists of a sequence of three
951 filters. The first and last of these are included by reference:
952 their <literal><filter></literal> elements have
953 <literal>refid</literal> attributes that refer to filters defined
954 within the prior <literal><filters></literal> section. The
955 middle filter is included inline in the route.
958 The three filters in the route are as follows: first, a
959 <literal>frontend_net</literal> filter accepts Z39.50 requests
960 from any host on port 9000; then these requests are passed through
961 a <literal>log</literal> filter that emits a message for each
962 request; they are then fed into a <literal>z3950_client</literal>
963 filter, which forwards the requests to the client-specified
964 back-end Z39.509 server. When the response arrives, it is handed
965 back to the <literal>log</literal> filter, which emits another
966 message; and then to the front-end filter, which returns the
967 response to the client.
974 <chapter id="multidb">
975 <title>Virtual databases and multi-database searching</title>
979 <title>Introductory notes</title>
981 Two of Metaproxy's filters are concerned with multiple-database
982 operations. Of these, <literal>virt_db</literal> can work alone
983 to control the routing of searches to one of a number of servers,
984 while <literal>multi</literal> can work together with
985 <literal>virt_db</literal> to perform multi-database searching, merging
986 the results into a unified result-set - ``metasearch in a box''.
989 The interaction between
990 these two filters is necessarily complex: it reflects the real,
991 irreducible complexity of multi-database searching in a protocol such
992 as Z39.50 that separates initialisation from searching, and in
993 which the database to be searched is not known at initialisation
997 It's possible to use these filters without understanding the
998 details of their functioning and the interaction between them; the
999 next two sections of this chapter are ``HOWTO'' guides for doing
1000 just that. However, debugging complex configurations will require
1001 a deeper understanding, which the last two sections of this
1002 chapters attempt to provide.
1007 <section id="multidb.virt_db">
1008 <title>Virtual databases with the <literal>virt_db</literal> filter</title>
1010 Working alone, the purpose of the
1011 <literal>virt_db</literal>
1012 filter is to route search requests to one of a selection of
1013 back-end databases. In this way, a single Z39.50 endpoint
1014 (running Metaproxy) can provide access to several different
1015 underlying services, including those that would otherwise be
1016 inaccessible due to firewalls. In many useful configurations, the
1017 back-end databases are local to the Metaproxy installation, but
1018 the software does not enforce this, and any valid Z39.50 servers
1019 may be used as back-ends.
1022 For example, a <literal>virt_db</literal>
1023 filter could be set up so that searches in the virtual database
1024 ``lc'' are forwarded to the Library of Congress bibliographic
1025 catalogue server, and searches in the virtual database ``marc''
1026 are forwarded to the toy database of MARC records that Index Data
1027 hosts for testing purposes. A <literal>virt_db</literal>
1028 configuration to make this switch would look like this:
1030 <screen><![CDATA[<filter type="virt_db">
1032 <database>lc</database>
1033 <target>z3950.loc.gov:7090/voyager</target>
1036 <database>marc</database>
1037 <target>indexdata.dk/marc</target>
1039 </filter>]]></screen>
1041 As well as being useful in it own right, this filter also provides
1042 the foundation for multi-database searching.
1047 <section id="multidb.multi">
1048 <title>Multi-database search with the <literal>multi</literal> filter</title>
1050 To arrange for Metaproxy to broadcast searches to multiple back-end
1051 servers, the configuration needs to include two components: a
1052 <literal>virt_db</literal>
1053 filter that specifies multiple
1054 <literal><target></literal>
1055 elements, and a subsequent
1056 <literal>multi</literal>
1057 filter. Here, for example, is a complete configuration that
1058 broadcasts searches to both the Library of Congress catalogue and
1059 Index Data's tiny testing database of MARC records:
1061 <screen><![CDATA[<?xml version="1.0"?>
1062 <yp2 xmlns="http://indexdata.dk/yp2/config/1">
1063 <start route="start"/>
1066 <filter type="frontend_net">
1067 <threads>10</threads>
1070 <filter type="virt_db">
1072 <database>lc</database>
1073 <target>z3950.loc.gov:7090/voyager</target>
1076 <database>marc</database>
1077 <target>indexdata.dk/marc</target>
1080 <database>all</database>
1081 <target>z3950.loc.gov:7090/voyager</target>
1082 <target>indexdata.dk/marc</target>
1085 <filter type="multi"/>
1086 <filter type="z3950_client">
1087 <timeout>30</timeout>
1094 <literal>virt_db</literal>
1095 filter that specifies multiple
1096 <literal><target></literal>
1097 elements but without a subsequent
1098 <literal>multi</literal>
1099 filter yields surprising and undesirable results, as will be
1100 described below. Don't do that.)
1103 Metaproxy can be invoked with this configuration as follows:
1105 <screen>../src/metaproxy --config config-simple-multi.xml</screen>
1107 And thereafter, Z39.50 clients can connect to the running server
1108 (on port 9000, as specified in the configuration) and search in
1109 any of the databases
1110 <literal>lc</literal> (the Library of Congress catalogue),
1111 <literal>marc</literal> (Index Data's test database of MARC records)
1113 <literal>all</literal> (both of these). As an example, a session
1114 using the YAZ command-line client <literal>yaz-client</literal> is
1115 here included (edited for brevity and clarity):
1117 <screen><![CDATA[$ yaz-client @:9000
1121 Search was a success.
1122 Number of hits: 10000, setno 1
1126 Search was a success.
1127 Number of hits: 10, setno 3
1131 Search was a success.
1132 Number of hits: 10010, setno 4
1135 [marc]Record type: USmarc
1138 005 00000000000000.0
1139 008 910710c19910701nju 00010 eng
1143 100 10 $a Jack Collins
1144 245 10 $a How to program a computer
1150 [VOYAGER]Record type: USmarc
1152 005 20041229102447.0
1153 008 030910s2004 caua 000 0 eng
1154 035 $a (DLC) 2003112666
1155 906 $a 7 $b cbc $c orignew $d 4 $e epcn $f 20 $g y-gencatlg
1156 925 0 $a acquire $b 1 shelf copy $x policy default
1157 955 $a pc10 2003-09-10 $a pv12 2004-06-23 to SSCD; $h sj05 2004-11-30 $e sj05 2004-11-30 to Shelf.
1160 040 $a DLC $c DLC $d DLC
1161 050 00 $a MLCM 2004/03312 (G)
1162 245 10 $a 007, everything or nothing : $b Prima's official strategy guide / $c created by Kaizen Media Group.
1163 246 3 $a Double-O-seven, everything or nothing
1164 246 30 $a Prima's official strategy guide
1165 260 $a Roseville, CA : $b Prima Games, $c c2004.
1166 300 $a 161 p. : $b col. ill. ; $c 28 cm.
1167 500 $a "Platforms: Nintendo GameCube, Macintosh, PC, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox"--P. [4] of cover.
1168 650 0 $a Video games.
1169 710 2 $a Kaizen Media Group.
1170 856 42 $3 Publisher description $u http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/random052/2003112666.html
1175 As can be seen, the first record in the result set is from the
1176 Index Data test database, and the second from the Library of
1177 Congress database. The result-set continues alternating records
1178 round-robin style until the point where one of the databases'
1179 records are exhausted.
1182 This example uses only two back-end databases; more may be used.
1183 There is no limitation imposed on the number of databases that may
1184 be metasearched in this way: issues of resource usage and
1185 administrative complexity dictate the practical limits.
1190 <section id="multidb.what">
1191 <title>What's going on?</title>
1193 <title>Lark's vomit</title>
1195 This section goes into a level of technical detail that is
1196 probably not necessary in order to configure and use Metaproxy.
1197 It is provided only for those who like to know how things work.
1198 You should feel free to skip on to the next section if this one
1199 doesn't seem like fun.
1203 Hold on tight - this may get a little hairy.
1206 In the general course of things, a Z39.50 Init request may carry
1207 with it an otherInfo packet of type <literal>VAL_PROXY</literal>,
1208 whose value indicates the address of a Z39.50 server to which the
1209 ultimate connection is to be made. (This otherInfo packet is
1210 supported by YAZ-based Z39.50 clients and servers, but has not yet
1211 been ratified by the Maintenance Agency and so is not widely used
1212 in non-Index Data software. We're working on it.)
1213 The <literal>VAL_PROXY</literal> packet functions
1214 analogously to the absoluteURI-style Request-URI used with the GET
1215 method when a web browser asks a proxy to forward its request: see
1217 <ulink url="http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616-sec5.html#sec5.1.2"
1218 >Request-URI</ulink>
1220 <ulink url="http://www.w3.org/Protocols/rfc2616/rfc2616.html"
1221 >the HTTP 1.1 specification</ulink>.
1224 The role of the <literal>virt_db</literal> filter is to rewrite
1225 this otherInfo packet dependent on the virtual database that the
1226 client wants to search.
1229 When Metaproxy receives a Z39.50 Init request from a client, it
1230 doesn't immediately forward that request to the back-end server.
1231 Why not? Because it doesn't know <emphasis>which</emphasis>
1232 back-end server to forward it to until the client sends a search
1233 request that specifies the database that it wants to search in.
1234 Instead, it just treasures the Init request up in its heart; and,
1235 later, the first time the client does a search on one of the
1236 specified virtual databases, a connection is forged to the
1237 appropriate server and the Init request is forwarded to it. If,
1238 later in the session, the same client searches in a different
1239 virtual database, then a connection is forged to the server that
1240 hosts it, and the same cached Init request is forwarded there,
1244 All of this clever Init-delaying is done by the
1245 <literal>frontend_net</literal> filter. The
1246 <literal>virt_db</literal> filter knows nothing about it; in
1247 fact, because the Init request that is received from the client
1248 doesn't get forwarded until a Search request is received, the
1249 <literal>virt_db</literal> filter (and the
1250 <literal>z3950_client</literal> filter behind it) doesn't even get
1251 invoked at Init time. The <emphasis>only</emphasis> thing that a
1252 <literal>virt_db</literal> filter ever does is rewrite the
1253 <literal>VAL_PROXY</literal> otherInfo in the requests that pass
1257 ### Describe the use of multiple <literal>VAL_PROXY</literal>
1258 otherInfos, added by <literal>virt_db</literal> and used by
1259 <literal>multi</literal>.
1264 <section id="multidb.picture">
1265 <title>A picture is worth a thousand words (but only five hundred on 64-bit architectures)</title>
1269 <imagedata fileref="multi.pdf" format="PDF" scale="50"/>
1272 <imagedata fileref="multi.png" format="PNG"/>
1275 <!-- Fall back if none of the images can be used -->
1277 [Here there should be a diagram showing the progress of
1278 packages through the filters during a simple virtual-database
1279 search and a multi-database search, but is seems that your
1280 toolchain has not been able to include the diagram in this
1281 document. This is because of LaTeX suckage. Time to move to
1282 OpenOffice. Yes, really.]
1285 <!-- ### This used to work with an older version of DocBook
1287 <para>Caption: progress of packages through filters.</para>
1290 </inlinemediaobject>
1297 <chapter id="extensions">
1298 <title>Writing extensions for Metaproxy</title>
1299 <para>### To be written</para>
1305 <chapter id="classes">
1306 <title>Classes in the Metaproxy source code</title>
1310 <title>Introductory notes</title>
1312 <emphasis>Stop! Do not read this!</emphasis>
1313 You won't enjoy it at all. You should just skip ahead to
1314 <link linkend="refguide">the reference guide</link>,
1316 <!-- The remainder of this paragraph is lifted verbatim from
1317 Douglas Adams' _Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy_, chapter 8 -->
1318 you things you really need to know, like the fact that the
1319 fabulously beautiful planet Bethselamin is now so worried about
1320 the cumulative erosion by ten billion visiting tourists a year
1321 that any net imbalance between the amount you eat and the amount
1322 you excrete whilst on the planet is surgically removed from your
1323 bodyweight when you leave: so every time you go to the lavatory it
1324 is vitally important to get a receipt.
1327 This chapter contains documentation of the Metaproxy source code, and is
1328 of interest only to maintainers and developers. If you need to
1329 change Metaproxy's behaviour or write a new filter, then you will most
1330 likely find this chapter helpful. Otherwise it's a waste of your
1331 good time. Seriously: go and watch a film or something.
1332 <citetitle>This is Spinal Tap</citetitle> is particularly good.
1335 Still here? OK, let's continue.
1338 In general, classes seem to be named big-endianly, so that
1339 <literal>FactoryFilter</literal> is not a filter that filters
1340 factories, but a factory that produces filters; and
1341 <literal>FactoryStatic</literal> is a factory for the statically
1342 registered filters (as opposed to those that are dynamically
1347 <section id="individual.classes">
1348 <title>Individual classes</title>
1350 The classes making up the Metaproxy application are here listed by
1351 class-name, with the names of the source files that define them in
1356 <title><literal>mp::FactoryFilter</literal>
1357 (<filename>factory_filter.cpp</filename>)</title>
1359 A factory class that exists primarily to provide the
1360 <literal>create()</literal> method, which takes the name of a
1361 filter class as its argument and returns a new filter of that
1362 type. To enable this, the factory must first be populated by
1363 calling <literal>add_creator()</literal> for static filters (this
1364 is done by the <literal>FactoryStatic</literal> class, see below)
1365 and <literal>add_creator_dyn()</literal> for filters loaded
1371 <title><literal>mp::FactoryStatic</literal>
1372 (<filename>factory_static.cpp</filename>)</title>
1374 A subclass of <literal>FactoryFilter</literal> which is
1375 responsible for registering all the statically defined filter
1376 types. It does this by knowing about all those filters'
1377 structures, which are listed in its constructor. Merely
1378 instantiating this class registers all the static classes. It is
1379 for the benefit of this class that <literal>struct
1380 metaproxy_1_filter_struct</literal> exists, and that all the filter
1381 classes provide a static object of that type.
1386 <title><literal>mp::filter::Base</literal>
1387 (<filename>filter.cpp</filename>)</title>
1389 The virtual base class of all filters. The filter API is, on the
1390 surface at least, extremely simple: two methods.
1391 <literal>configure()</literal> is passed a DOM tree representing
1392 that part of the configuration file that pertains to this filter
1393 instance, and is expected to walk that tree extracting relevant
1394 information. And <literal>process()</literal> processes a
1395 package (see below). That surface simplicitly is a bit
1396 misleading, as <literal>process()</literal> needs to know a lot
1397 about the <literal>Package</literal> class in order to do
1403 <title><literal>mp::filter::AuthSimple</literal>,
1404 <literal>Backend_test</literal>, etc.
1405 (<filename>filter_auth_simple.cpp</filename>,
1406 <filename>filter_backend_test.cpp</filename>, etc.)</title>
1408 Individual filters. Each of these is implemented by a header and
1409 a source file, named <filename>filter_*.hpp</filename> and
1410 <filename>filter_*.cpp</filename> respectively. All the header
1411 files should be pretty much identical, in that they declare the
1412 class, including a private <literal>Rep</literal> class and a
1413 member pointer to it, and the two public methods. The only extra
1414 information in any filter header is additional private types and
1415 members (which should really all be in the <literal>Rep</literal>
1416 anyway) and private methods (which should also remain known only
1417 to the source file, but C++'s brain-damaged design requires this
1418 dirty laundry to be exhibited in public. Thanks, Bjarne!)
1421 The source file for each filter needs to supply:
1426 A definition of the private <literal>Rep</literal> class.
1431 Some boilerplate constructors and destructors.
1436 A <literal>configure()</literal> method that uses the
1437 appropriate XML fragment.
1442 Most important, the <literal>process()</literal> method that
1443 does all the actual work.
1450 <title><literal>mp::Package</literal>
1451 (<filename>package.cpp</filename>)</title>
1453 Represents a package on its way through the series of filters
1454 that make up a route. This is essentially a Z39.50 or SRU APDU
1455 together with information about where it came from, which is
1456 modified as it passes through the various filters.
1461 <title><literal>mp::Pipe</literal>
1462 (<filename>pipe.cpp</filename>)</title>
1464 This class provides a compatibility layer so that we have an IPC
1465 mechanism that works the same under Unix and Windows. It's not
1466 particularly exciting.
1471 <title><literal>mp::RouterChain</literal>
1472 (<filename>router_chain.cpp</filename>)</title>
1479 <title><literal>mp::RouterFleXML</literal>
1480 (<filename>router_flexml.cpp</filename>)</title>
1487 <title><literal>mp::Session</literal>
1488 (<filename>session.cpp</filename>)</title>
1495 <title><literal>mp::ThreadPoolSocketObserver</literal>
1496 (<filename>thread_pool_observer.cpp</filename>)</title>
1503 <title><literal>mp::util</literal>
1504 (<filename>util.cpp</filename>)</title>
1506 A namespace of various small utility functions and classes,
1507 collected together for convenience. Most importantly, includes
1508 the <literal>mp::util::odr</literal> class, a wrapper for YAZ's
1514 <title><literal>mp::xml</literal>
1515 (<filename>xmlutil.cpp</filename>)</title>
1517 A namespace of various XML utility functions and classes,
1518 collected together for convenience.
1524 <section id="other.source.files">
1525 <title>Other Source Files</title>
1527 In addition to the Metaproxy source files that define the classes
1528 described above, there are a few additional files which are
1529 briefly described here:
1533 <term><literal>metaproxy_prog.cpp</literal></term>
1536 The main function of the <command>metaproxy</command> program.
1541 <term><literal>ex_router_flexml.cpp</literal></term>
1544 Identical to <literal>metaproxy_prog.cpp</literal>: it's not clear why.
1549 <term><literal>test_*.cpp</literal></term>
1552 Unit-tests for various modules.
1558 ### Still to be described:
1559 <literal>ex_filter_frontend_net.cpp</literal>,
1560 <literal>filter_dl.cpp</literal>,
1561 <literal>plainfile.cpp</literal>,
1562 <literal>tstdl.cpp</literal>.
1569 <chapter id="refguide">
1570 <title>Reference guide</title>
1572 The material in this chapter is drawn directly from the individual
1573 manual entries. In particular, the Metaproxy invocation section is
1574 available using <command>man metaproxy</command>, and the section
1575 on each individual filter is available using the name of the filter
1576 as the argument to the <command>man</command> command.
1580 <section id="progref">
1581 <title>Metaproxy invocation</title>
1586 <section id="filterref">
1587 <title>Reference guide to Metaproxy filters</title>
1594 <!-- Keep this comment at the end of the file
1599 sgml-minimize-attributes:nil
1600 sgml-always-quote-attributes:t
1603 sgml-parent-document: "main.xml"
1604 sgml-local-catalogs: nil
1605 sgml-namecase-general:t