Wide Area Information Server (
WAIS) is a client–server text searching system that uses the
ANSI Standard Z39.50 Information Retrieval Service Definition and
Protocol Specifications for Library Applications" (
Z39.50:1988) to search index
databases on remote computers.
Wide Area Information Server was developed in the late 1980s as a project of Thinking Machines, Apple Computer, Dow Jones, and KPMG Peat Marwick.
Wide Area Information Server did not adhere to either the standard or its OSI-Model (adopting instead TCP/IP) but created a unique protocol inspired by Z39.50:1988.
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