Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Database management system developed by Stanford University}}

[[ImageFile:Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System Logo.png|right|‎]]

The '''Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System''' (SPIRES) was originally developed at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) in 1969, from a design based on a 1967 information study of physicists at SLAC. The system was designed as a [[physics]] [[database management system]] (DBMS) to deal with high-energy-physics preprints<ref>[http://www.slac.stanford.edu/library/uspires/ The UNIX-SPIRES Collaboration at SLAC.]</ref>. Written in PL/1, SPIRES ran on an IBM mainframe.

The '''Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System''' ('''SPIRES''') is a database management system developed by [[Stanford University]]. It is used by universities, colleges and research institutions. The first website in North America was created to allow remote users access to its database.

==History==

The '''Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System''' (SPIRES) was originally developed at the [[Stanford Linear Accelerator Center]] (SLAC) in 1969, from a design based on a 1967 information study of physicists at SLAC. The system was designed as a [[physics]] [[database management system]] (DBMS) to deal with high-energy-physics preprints.<ref>[{{cite web |url=http://www.slac.stanford.edu/library/uspires/ The |title=UNIX-SPIRES Collaboration at SLAC.]}}</ref>. Written in [[PL/1I]], SPIRES ran on an [[IBM mainframeSystem/360]].

In the early 1970s, an evaluation of this system resulted in the decision to implement a new system for use by faculty, staff and students at [[Stanford University]]. SPIRES was renamed the '''Stanford Public Information Retrieval System'''. The new development took place under a National Science Foundation grant headed by Edwin B. Parker, principal investigator. SPIRES joined forces with the BALLOTS project to create a bibliographic citation retrieval system and quickly evolved into a generalized information retrieval and data base management system that could meet the needs of a large and diverse computing community.

SPIRES was rewritten in [[PL360]], a block structured programming language designed explicitly for IBMSystem/360-compatible hardware. The primary authors were: Thomas H. Martin, Dick Guertin and Bill Kiefer. John Schroeder was the manager of the SPIRES project during this early phase of development.

Eventually, BALLOTS split off from SPIRES and the [[Research Libraries Group]] adopted SPIRES as its data base engine while providing a graphical interface to its clients. ''Socrates'' was a library circulation management system rooted in SPIRES.

SPIRES became the primary database management system for Stanford University business and student services in the 1980s and 90s1990s. It was also adopted by about two dozen other universities, including installations using the [[Michigan Terminal System]] (MTS), and [[VM/CMS]]. These universities collaborated through annual meetings of the SPIRES Consortium.

In 2004, SPIRES was migrated off the mainframe onto Unix platforms by means of ana IBM-mainframeSystem/360 Emulatoremulator developed by Dick Guertin. The DBMS now runs on [[Unix]] , [[Linux]] or [[Darwin (operating system)macOS]] and is available under [[Mozilla Public License]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.stanford.edu/group/spires/uspires/ |title=Stanford Unix-SPIRES |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701182838/https://web.stanford.edu/group/spires/uspires/ |archive-date=2015-07-01 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== SPIRES High Energy Physics database (SPIRES-HEP) ==

The SPIRES High Energy Physics database (SPIRES-HEP),<ref>[{{cite web |url=http://www.slac.stanford.edu/spires |title=SPIRES High Energy Physics database] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990902061517/http://www.slac.stanford.edu/spires/ |archive-date=2 September 1999 |url-status=dead}}</ref> installed at [[Stanford Linear Accelerator Center]] (SLAC) in the 1970s,<ref>[http{{cite web |url=https://www.slac.stanford.edu/spirespubs/findslacpubs/hep7000/www?r=SLACslac-PUBpub-7110.pdf |title=The Virtual library in action: Collaborative international control of high-energy physics preprints |last1=Kreitz, |first1=P.A. et|first2=L. al|last2=Addis |first3=H.] |last3=Galic |first4=T. |last4=Johnson |id=SLAC-PUB-7110 |date=February 1996}}</ref>, became the first databasewebsite accessiblein throughNorth theAmerica<ref [[Worldname=firstWebsite>{{cite Widemagazine Web]]|url=https://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/march-2012/happy-webiversary?language_content_entity=und in|title=Happy 1991Webiversary! |last=Khirallah |first=Diane Rezendes |date=March 2012 |magazine=Symmetry: dimensions of particle physics |publisher=Fermilab/SLAC |access-date=12 June 2025}}</ref>[<ref name="early-www-at-slac">{{cite web |url=http://www.slac.stanford.edu/history/earlyweb/history.shtml |work=The Early World Wide Web at SLAC: Documentation of the Early Web at SLAC (1991-1994) |title=Early Chronology and Documents<! |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726005043/http://www.slac.stanford.edu/history/earlyweb/history.shtml |archive-date=26 BotJuly generated title2011 |url-->]status=dead}}</ref> and the first database accessible through the [[World Wide Web]] in 1991.<ref name="early-www-at-slac" /> It has since expanded into a joint project of SLAC, [[Fermilab]], and [[DESY]], with mirrors hosted at those institutions as well as at the [[Institute for High Energy Physics]] (Russia), the [[University of Durham]] (UK), the [[Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics]] at [[Kyoto University]] (Japan), and

the [[Indonesian Institute of Sciences]] LIPI (Indonesia). This project stores bibliographic information about the literature of the field of [[High Energy Physics]] and is an example of [[academic databases and search engines]].

SPIRES is, as of 2012, being replaced by [[INSPIRE-HEP]], a modern system based on [[Invenio]] software. INSPIRE is run by a collaboration of the physics labs at [[CERN]], [[DESY]], [[Fermilab]] and [[SLAC]], and interacts closely with HEP publishers, [[arXiv.org]], [[NASA]]'s [[Astrophysics Data System]], [[Particle Data Group]], and other information resources.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://projecthepinspire.net |title=INSPIRE Project Information |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226013444/http://projecthepinspire.net/ |archive-date=26 December 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Operating platforms ==

SPIRES currently runs on lunic[[Unix]], [[Linux]] and [[Darwin (operating system)|DarwinmacOS]] platforms. Its primary use today is for the world [[physics]] communities, and "legacy" data at Stanford University. SPIRES runs under emulation of the original ORVYL operating system. The emulators are written primarily in "C" compiled by 32-bit "gcc" or "g++" depending upon architectures (ppc or i386). The SPIRES engine is less than one-megabyte in size, but performs all the searching, maintenance, and formatting of databases. A 270k emulator runs a 973k SPIRES. In 2017, the Emulators were adapted by Dick Guertin to become 64-bit programs dealing with 32-bit SPIRES.

== References ==

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== External links ==

* [httphttps://wwwweb.stanford.edu/deptgroup/its/supportspires/uspires/index.htmlsuspires/ SPIRES software at Stanford ITS]

* [http://www.slac.stanford.edu/spires SPIRES High Energy Physics database]

[[Category:Stanford University]]

[[Category:Bibliographic databases and indexes]]

[[Category:Full-text scholarly databases]]

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