Information storage and retrieval software, Software Engineering

Assignment Help:

INFORMATION STORAGE  AND RETRIEVAL SOFTWARE:

IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) was one of the earliest to invest money to develop software packages intended for Information Storage and Retrieval. The well known package STAIRS (an acronym for Storage and Information Retrieval System) was developed to be used on IBM machines, that too mainframe series. STAIRS was a machine dependent program which was commercially made available for any one who could afford its cost. This package has been used by some organisations to manage bibliographic databases. It was a powerful text-retrieval system which enabled string searching from any part of the record. Following the introduction of STAIRS, similar programs soon became available on mainframes as well as minicomputers. Packages like ISIS, MINISIS came into existence. But most of these packages were hardware dependent, and therefore could not be used on a wider scale due to lack of portability. Hence, need was felt to develop software packages which could be used for library and information storage and retrieval operations on a wider range of computers, especially microcomputer systems. Several attempts were made in this direction by commercial firms and international organisations like UNESCO, resulting in the proliferation of a number of microcomputer oriented software packages. Many of such packages are being commercially marketed, while a few packages like CDS/ISIS are supplied almost free of cost to educational and non-profit making institutions, particularly in India. 

Today, there are a number of microcomputer oriented software packages intended for automating library, routines and information retrieval operations. In recent years, the movement towards integrated modular software, which means that the librarian can spread the cost and effort of implementation without the risk of software incompatibility, has become common. There are packages such as 'Bookshelf' which contain programs for individual operations like acquisitions, cataloguing, serials control, etc. Each of these modules can be purchased separately, if necessary, and one can use the same set of records without the need to re-enter data each time.  


Related Discussions:- Information storage and retrieval software

Explain software metric, Software metric Any type of measurement which ...

Software metric Any type of measurement which relates to a software system, process or related documentation Lines of code in a program, the Fog index, number of person-days

What are the three activities of risk assessment, What are the three activi...

What are the three activities of risk assessment? Ans: The three activities are analyzing, identifying and giving priorities. Risks are able to be identified by a check list

What are the prototyping approaches in software process, What are the proto...

What are the prototyping approaches in software process? i. Evolutionary prototyping - In this approach of system development, the initial prototype is prepared and it is then

Key process areas of capability maturity model (cmm), Key process areas of ...

Key process areas of Capability Maturity model (CMM) Effectiveness, Predictability and control of an organization's software processes are believed to get better as the organiz

What is process improvement, What is Process improvement? Understanding...

What is Process improvement? Understanding existing processes and introducing process changes to improve product quality, decrease costs or accelerate schedules. Most proces

Explain test procedure, Explain Test Procedure? Ans) The formal or infor...

Explain Test Procedure? Ans) The formal or informal process that will be followed to execute a test. This is usually a written document that permits others to implement the test

Explain the process specification, Define Process Specification . Proces...

Define Process Specification . Process Specification is used to clarify all flow model processes that appear at the final level of refinement. Check & Convert pressure

Online bakery-equipments ordering system, Question: Draw a class diagra...

Question: Draw a class diagram which represents the information handled by the Online Bakery-equipments Ordering System. Your class should briefly and simply reflect the relat

What is the use of cmm, What is the use of CMM? Capability Maturity Mod...

What is the use of CMM? Capability Maturity Model is used in assessing how well an organisation's processes permit to complete and manage latest software projects.

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd