GO.MSB@isumvs.iastate.edu (01/29/91)
Has anyone heard of BRS as a software company (they may only be a mainframe DBMS supplier). Any database related info on this company would be appreciated. Thank you. Marvin Beck Iowa State University
tbray@watsol.waterloo.edu (Tim Bray) (01/30/91)
GO.MSB@isumvs.iastate.edu (Marvin Beck) writes: >Has anyone heard of BRS as a software company... BRS is best-known as an on-line database vendor. They offer dial-up access to a large number of large databases, with full-text search. They are also in the business of marketing their text search and retrieval software. I know for sure it runs on VM/CMS, pretty sure it runs on VAX/VMS too, don't know about Unix. I'd better not express any opinions about it since I'm a direct competitor. Cheers, Tim Bray, Open Text Systems
anubis@diku.dk (Steen Linden) (01/30/91)
tbray@watsol.waterloo.edu (Tim Bray) writes about BRS: >They are also in the business of marketing their text search and retrieval >software. I know for sure it runs on VM/CMS, pretty sure it runs on VAX/VMS >too, don't know about Unix. It runs at least on SunOS Unix. However the ISO-8777 CCL interface available on the mainframes is not available on Unix. (Something important to the members of the EEC). Besides the core system BRS/SEARCH on Unix contains the following features: THESAURUS - A thesaurus system. MNS - A language for making menu based user interfaces. PTF - A print time formatting language. BRSIFACE - A C language interface. BRSCTRL - An interface based on Unix pipes. Steen Linden (anubis@diku.dk) | It's all absolutely devastatingly true - The Computer Department | except the bits that are lies. DIKU, U. of Copenhagen | Douglas Adams: Denmark | The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
erdb04@castle.ed.ac.uk (D Neilson) (01/30/91)
In article <1991Jan29.190951.26008@watdragon.waterloo.edu> tbray@watsol.waterloo.edu (Tim Bray) writes: >GO.MSB@isumvs.iastate.edu (Marvin Beck) writes: >>Has anyone heard of BRS as a software company... BRS = Bibliographical Retrieval Software - based in the USA with a European office in London. Belongs to the Robert Maxwell publishing empire. >They are also in the business of marketing their text search and retrieval >software. I know for sure it runs on VM/CMS, pretty sure it runs on VAX/VMS >too, don't know about Unix. I'd better not express any opinions about it >since I'm a direct competitor. BRS signed a contract with the body (CHEST) that looks after academic site license arrangements. This is an initial 4 or 5 year deal, which puts their software into lots of platforms for a fairly minimal charge. We have it running on Sun, Sequent (under Dynix), VAX/VMS and IBM/PC. david _____________________________________________________________________ |David Neilson Post: Edinburgh University | |D.Neilson@edinburgh.ac.uk Computing Service | |JANET: D.Neilson@uk.ac.ed University Library | |BITNET: D.Neilson%uk.ac.ed@UKACRL George Square | |UUCP: D.Neilson%ed.ac.uk@ukc.uucp Edinburgh EH8 9LJ | | Voice: 031 650 3315 | | ~oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear~ FAX: 031 662 4809 | _____________________________________________________________________
tim@brspyr1.BRS.Com (Tim Northrup) (02/02/91)
GO.MSB@isumvs.iastate.edu writes: >Has anyone heard of BRS as a software company (they may only >be a mainframe DBMS supplier). Any database related info on this >company would be appreciated. Thank you. >Marvin Beck Iowa State University erdb04@castle.ed.ac.uk (D Neilson) writes: >BRS = Bibliographical Retrieval Software - based in the USA with a >European office in London. Belongs to the Robert Maxwell publishing empire. Actually, it used to be "Bibliographic Retrieval SERVICES", but we no longer use that -- its "BRS Software Products, a Division of Maxwell Online Inc." Maxwell Online Inc. is indeed owned by Robert Maxwell (through some other group of companies/corporations/whatever). The BRS Full-Text Package comes in two flavors; a 'C' version (written in the 'C' language), and a 'BAL' version (written in 360/370 assembler language for MVS/CICS environments). I am responsible for the 'C' version, so I will limit my comments to that. The 'C' Version is written in 99.99% 'C' language (the exception being ~100 lines of assembler to get 3270's to work somewhat reasonably under VM/CMS). This version is ported to over 40 different systems under about a dozen different operating system, from an IBM PC running MS-DOS to a Cray; if your system isn't a homebrew, we probably support it. All 'C' version databases are portable across systems: if you create a database under MS-DOS, you can transfer the files up to a Cray and immediately search it. (Transfer to/from VM/CMS which uses EBCDIC requires a conversion with a utility we can provide). BRS databases are not to be confused with a DBMS -- they deal with data in a very different manner than a Full-Text system. Ours is closer to the IBM STAIRS offering (as well as BASIS, Topic and Ful/Text -- our major competition at the moment). For more (and probably better :-) information, you can contact a BRS distributor in a country near you. For Iowa, you could contact our Midwest Regional Account Manager, Bob Greenwald, at (708) 297-8840. He should be able to provide you with whatever information you need. For information on other dealers, etc. you can call the central office in McLean Virginia -- (703) 442-3870. Hope this has been helpful ... -- Tim -- Tim Northrup +------------------------------------------+ +---------------------------------+ BRS Software Products, Inc. | UUCP: uunet!crdgw1!brspyr1!tim | 1200 Route 7, Latham NY 12110 | ARPA: tim@brspyr1.BRS.Com +------------------------------------------+