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11 <!-- $Id: pazpar2_protocol.xml,v 1.10 2007-06-28 09:36:11 adam Exp $ -->
12 <refentry id="pazpar2_protocol">
14 <productname>Pazpar2</productname>
15 <productnumber>&version;</productnumber>
18 <refentrytitle>Pazpar2 protocol</refentrytitle>
19 <manvolnum>7</manvolnum>
23 <refname>pazpar2_protocol</refname>
24 <refpurpose>The webservice protocol of Pazpar2</refpurpose>
27 <refsect1><title>DESCRIPTION</title>
29 Webservice requests are any that refer to filename "search.pz2". Arguments
30 are GET-style parameters. Argument 'command' is always required and specifies
31 the operation to perform. Any request not recognized as a webservice
32 request is forwarded to the HTTP server specified in the configuration
33 using the proxy setting.
34 This way, a regular webserver can host the user interface (itself dynamic
35 or static HTML), and AJAX-style calls can be used from JS (or any other client-based
36 scripting environment) to interact with the search logic in Pazpar2.
39 Each command is described in sub sections to follow.
41 <refsect2 id="command-init"><title>init</title>
43 Initializes a session.
44 Returns session ID to be used in subsequent requests.
49 search.pz2?command=init
58 <session>2044502273</session>
62 The init command may take a number of setting parameters, similar to
63 the 'settings' command described below. These settings are immediately
64 applied to the new session. Other parameters for init are:
70 If this is defined and the value is non-zero, the session will
71 not use the predefined databases in the configuration; only those
72 specified in the settings parameters (per session databases).
80 <refsect2 id="command-ping"><title>ping</title>
82 Keeps a session alive. An idle session will time out after one minute.
83 The ping command can be used to keep the session alive absent other
85 It is suggested that any browser client have a simple alarm handler which
86 sends a ping every 50 seconds or so once a session has been initialized.
91 search.pz?command=ping&session=2044502273
102 <refsect2 id="command-settings">
103 <title>settings</title>
105 The settings command applies session-specific settings to one or more
106 databases. A typical function of this is to enable access to
107 restricted resources for registered users, or to set a user- or
108 library-specific username/password to use against a target. Each
109 setting parameter has the form name[target]=value, where name is the
110 name of the setting (e.g. pz:authentication), target is a target ID,
111 or possibly a wildcard, and value is the desired value for the
116 Because the settings command manipulates potentially sensitive
117 information, it is possible to configure Pazpar2 to only allow access
118 to this command from a trusted site -- usually from server-side
119 scripting, which in turn is responsible for authenticating the user,
120 and possibly determining which resources he has access to, etc.
125 As a shortcut, it is also possible to override settings directly in
133 search.pz?command=settings&session=2044502273&pz:allow[search.com:210/db1]=1
144 <refsect2 id="command-search"><title>search</title>
146 Launches a search, parameters:
171 search.pz2?session=2044502273&command=search&query=computer+science
183 <refsect2 id="command-stat">
186 Provides status information about an ongoing search. Parameters:
203 search.pz2?session=2044502273&command=stat
208 <activeclients>3</activeclients>
209 <hits>7</hits> -- Total hitcount
210 <records>7</records> -- Total number of records fetched in last query
211 <clients>1</clients> -- Total number of associated clients
212 <unconnected>0</unconnected> -- Number of disconnected clients
213 <connecting>0</connecting> -- Number of clients in connecting state
214 <initializing>0</initializing> -- Number of clients initializing
215 <searching>0</searching> -- ... searching
216 <presenting>0</presenting> -- ... presenting
217 <idle>1</idle> -- ... idle (not doing anything)
218 <failed>0</failed> -- ... Connection failed
219 <error>0</error> -- ... Error was produced somewhere
225 <refsect2 id="command-show">
228 Shows records retrieved. Parameters:
242 <para>First record to show - 0-indexed.</para>
250 Number of records to show If omitted, 20 is used.
259 If block is set to 1, the command will hang until there are records ready
260 to display. Use this to show first records rapidly without
261 requiring rapid polling.
270 Specifies sort criteria. The argument is a comma-separated list
271 (no whitespace allowed) of sort fields, with the highest-priority
272 field first. A sort field may be followed by a colon followed by
273 the number '0' or '1', indicating whether results should be sorted in
274 increasing or decreasing order according to that field. 0==Decreasing is
285 search.pz2?session=2044502273&command=show&start=0&num=2&sort=title:1
291 <activeclients>3</activeclients> -- How many clients are still working
292 <merged>6</merged> -- Number of merged records
293 <total>7</total> -- Total of all hitcounts
294 <start>0</start> -- The start number you requested
295 <num>2</num> -- Number of records retrieved
297 <md-title>How to program a computer, by Jack Collins</md-title>
298 <count>2</count> -- Number of merged records
299 <recid>6</recid> -- Record ID for this record
303 Computer processing of dynamic images from an Anger scintillation camera :
304 the proceedings of a workshop /
313 <refsect2 id="command-record">
314 <title>record</title>
316 Retrieves a detailed record. Parameters:
332 record ID as provided by the
333 <link linkend="command-show">show</link> command.
342 search.pz2?session=605047297&command=record&id=3
350 The Puget Sound Region : a portfolio of thematic computer maps /
352 <md-date>1974</md-date>
353 <md-author>Mairs, John W.</md-author>
354 <md-subject>Cartography</md-subject>
361 <refsect2 id="command-termlist">
362 <title>termlist</title>
364 Retrieves term list(s). Parameters:
367 name -- comma-separated list of termlist names (default "subject")
373 search.pz2?session=2044502273&command=termlist&name=author,subject
378 <activeclients>3</activeclients>
381 <name>Donald Knuth</name>
382 <frequency>10</frequency>
385 <name>Robert Pirsig</name>
386 <frequency>2</frequency>
389 <list name="subject">
391 <name>Computer programming</name>
392 <frequency>10</frequency>
400 For the special termlist name "xtargets", results
401 are returned about the targets which have returned the most hits.
402 The 'term' subtree has additional elements,
403 specifically a state and diagnostic field (in the example below, a
404 target ID is returned in place of 'name'.
405 This may or may not change later.
411 <name>library2.mcmaster.ca</name>
412 <frequency>11734</frequency> -- Number of hits
413 <state>Client_Idle</state> -- See the description of 'bytarget' below
414 <diagnostic>0</diagnostic> -- Z39.50 diagnostic codes
421 <refsect2 id="command-bytarget">
422 <title>bytarget</title>
424 Returns information about the status of each active client. Parameters:
440 search.pz2?session=605047297&command=record&id=3
449 <id>z3950.loc.gov/voyager/</id>
451 <diagnostic>0</diagnostic>
452 <records>65</records>
453 <state>Client_Presenting</state>
455 <!-- ... more target nodes below as necessary -->
459 The following client states are defined: Client_Connecting,
460 Client_Connected, Client_Idle, Client_Initializing, Client_Searching,
461 Client_Searching, Client_Presenting, Client_Error, Client_Failed,
462 Client_Disconnected, Client_Stopped.
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