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askSam Database Software Development Kit

The Easy Way to Create Powerful Free-Form Databases

Ÿ     What is the askSam Database Engine?

Ÿ     What You'll Need to Try Out the Engine

Ÿ     Benefits of the askSam Database Engine

Ÿ     Example Applications

Ÿ     Download Now !

What is the askSam Database Engine SDK?

The askSam Database Engine is a tool for programmers. It lets you incorporate the free-form database capabilities of askSam in applications that you create. You can access any of askSam's search functions, output data stored in fields, sort, add, edit, delete, and more.

The 32-bit askSam database and text retrieval Engine can be integrated into Visual Basic, C++, and Java applications, as well as Active Server Page applications on Internet or intranet servers. We are currently working on implementations for the .NET platform.  

What You'll Need to Try Out the Engine...

 A computer running Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 or XP.

 For Active Server Page programming, you'll need a Web server which supports ASP.

 The askSam Engine can access databases created in askSam 4.1.

Benefits of the askSam Database Engine:

The askSam Engine was designed to be fast and flexible. It provides a different approach from traditional databases for managing and searching information. The askSam Engine provides a simple, straight-forward way to quickly create searchable database applications.

Flexibility

askSam was designed to deal with unstructured information.

Ÿ     A single database can contain data with multiple structures. The askSam Engine is a great meta-repository for different types of information.

Ÿ     Save text, data, and information without pre-defining a database structure.

Ÿ     The askSam Engine can automatically use the structure inherent in your data as fields. For example, the word Subject:, Date:, To:, and From: in email can be used as fields in your askSam database.

Ÿ     No predefined field lengths and no limits to field size.

Ÿ     Support for repeating fields (for example multiple fields for a contact history).

Ÿ     Import API supports importing different data types -- text, RTF, HTML, Word, Delimited, and more.

Ÿ     Sort and Output fields or output document fragments from your data (for example hit context).

Ease of Development

Ÿ     Import and publish - the askSam Engine is ideal for database driven Web sites. It can natively return data in HTML format.

Ÿ     Flexibility leads to simplicity. Because askSam does not require structure, field lengths, or tables, you'll find that many applications are quick and easy to get up and running. They are also easy to maintain and modify.

Ÿ     Simple, but powerful reporting features are built into askSam.

Searches – Powerful & Fast

Ÿ      Extremely Fast Full-Text Searches

Ÿ      Full-Text Indexing of Entire DB

Ÿ      Support for Text, Date, Numeric, Proximity, Wildcard & Boolean Searches

High Performance / Low Resources

Ÿ      Database engine size – approximately 1.3 MB

Ÿ      Low memory requirements for connections

Ÿ       Supports a large number of users and many databases on a single server.

Example Applications:

You'll find source code for several applications included when you download the askSam Engine. Below are links to some Web sites that use Active Server Pages to access data in askSam databases and display it on the Web.

BrowserWars.Com -- CompuServe Information Systems

Web Site: http://www.asksam.com/browserwars/searchwh.asp  

This is a site that we put together for WUGNET and CompuServe. BrowserBase is a full-text searchable askSam database containing thousands of messages from CompuServe forums and Internet newsgroups. Using the askSam Engine with Active Server page programming, users can search and review threaded discussions.

We imported the forum and newsgroup messages into askSam databases using askSam. askSam automatically uses words like To:, From: Subject:, and Date: as fields. Using the askSam Engine and Active Server pages, we output these "fields" from the messages in tables and link back to the entire message. This type of information is an example of askSam's flexibility in dealing with different types of structured and unstructured information.

Westinghouse Owners Group

Web Site: http://www.askSam.com/meyer  

We've used askSam to place over 2,500 Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents into a searchable database for the Westinghouse Owners Group (nuclear power plants using Westinghouse equipment).  

The documents we included in the database came from a variety of sources: text files, HTML files, word processing files. askSam has import filters for a variety of formats. We placed these documents in a central database, and using Active Server pages, created search screens which access and display the information. Hits in the documents are highlighted and you can jump from one hit to the next.

University of Miami Library

Web Site: http://www.asksam.com/umlib/  

The University of Miami library had a simple problem ... but one that drives "structured" databases nuts. They have large amounts of bibliographical information in long text files. This information contains no fields... it's simply a long list of titles, authors, and other information about a book or publication. Each piece of information was separated from the next by a blank line.  Somehow the library wanted to easily turn this information into a searchable database on their Internet site.

Using askSam, we imported the text file. An import setting allowed us to define a "blank line" as a delimiter between records... and askSam divided the text file into multiple records in the askSam database.

We then used the askSam Engine and Active Server pages to program a simple search screen which returns all records which match the search request.  A very simple application using the askSam Engine.

Real Estate MatchUp

Web Site: http://www.rematchup.com/  

This site provides on-line real estate listings. We've created forms which allow people to perform detailed searches for specific pieces of real estate. At the present time, there are not a lot of listings in the database... so the searches don't always yield hits.

Because of the simplicity of askSam's query language, creating forms with complex search screens does not require large amounts of programming.