The IBMStorage and Information Retrieval System, better known by the acronym STAIRS, was a program providing storage and online free-text search of text data. STAIRS ran under the OS/360 operating system under the CICS or IMS transaction monitors, and supported IBM 3270 display terminals.[1]
STAIRS was introduced as a product in 1973, but had previously been developed in-house by IBM in support of its antitrust lawsuit in 1969. Originally the product was called simply STAIRS but, with the advent of IBM's "/Virtual Storage" operating systems (such as OS/VS1), the non-CMS versions were later renamed to STAIRS/VS.
STAIRS was initially released as an application running under IMS and CICS, but a VM/CMS implementation was developed by IBM Canada in the late 1970s and marketed mostly in Europe, called STAIRS/CMS.[2]
STAIRS was succeeded by IBM SearchManager/370 and SearchManager/2 in 1991, and was discontinued in 1992, with support ceasing in 1994.[3]
DescriptionEdit
STAIRS queries were formulated as boolean expressions of desired terms. In addition to the normal boolean functions of AND, OR, and NOT, STAIRS recognized such modifiers as adjacent to or in the same paragraph as. Plain text documents could also contain so-called formatted fields, which could be used for additional selection. These might contain fixed information such as a date or state name.
A powerful feature was that queries could be saved and re-executed. Queries could also be extended; for example, by specifying the result of previous query five AND an additional search term.
When search results were displayed for the user, 3270 highlighting was used to emphasize occurrences of search terms.
UsesEdit
STAIRS was used in-house by organizations such as large corporations and government agencies[4] with large collections of unstructured documents. It was also bundled by database providers as a subscription service.[5]
Technical detailsEdit
STAIRS provided good search performance by indexing every word in a document except user-selectable stop words, usually common words such as "and" or "the."
Two levels of index were used, a dictionary containing one occurrence of each word, and an inverted text file storing document identification and position information for each occurrence of each word. The actual document text was stored in a third text file.
STAIRS document databases could only be updated off-line. The data (in the non-CMS implementations) was stored in basic direct access method (BDAM) files, which caused upgrade and portability problems later in its life-cycle.
^IBM Corporation. STAIRS/VS General Information Manual(GH12-5114).
^IBM Corporation (2 January 1997). "5740-XR1 IBM Storage and Information Retrieval System/Virtual Storage (STAIRS/VS OS/VS and PC)". Retrieved September 26, 2012.
^IBM Corporation (2 February 2010). "5695-070; IBM SearchManager/370 CICS/MVS or VM V1.3; IBM United States Sales Manual; Revised: February 02, 2010". Retrieved July 17, 2018.
^"OLIS: A Powerful New Tool for Legislatures". Computerworld. October 31, 1977. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
^"STAIRS steps up information retrieval". Computerworld. June 18, 1975. Retrieved September 24, 2012.
External linksEdit
5740-XR1 IBM Storage and Information Retrieval System/Virtual Storage (STAIRS/VS OS/VS and PC)
5695-070 IBM SearchManager/370 CICS/MVS or VM V1.3
August 29, 2023
stairs, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september, 2012, le. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources IBM STAIRS news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message The IBM Storage and Information Retrieval System better known by the acronym STAIRS was a program providing storage and online free text search of text data STAIRS ran under the OS 360 operating system under the CICS or IMS transaction monitors and supported IBM 3270 display terminals 1 Contents 1 History 2 Description 3 Uses 4 Technical details 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory EditSTAIRS was introduced as a product in 1973 but had previously been developed in house by IBM in support of its antitrust lawsuit in 1969 Originally the product was called simply STAIRS but with the advent of IBM s Virtual Storage operating systems such as OS VS1 the non CMS versions were later renamed to STAIRS VS STAIRS was initially released as an application running under IMS and CICS but a VM CMS implementation was developed by IBM Canada in the late 1970s and marketed mostly in Europe called STAIRS CMS 2 STAIRS was succeeded by IBM SearchManager 370 and SearchManager 2 in 1991 and was discontinued in 1992 with support ceasing in 1994 3 Description EditSTAIRS queries were formulated as boolean expressions of desired terms In addition to the normal boolean functions of AND OR and NOT STAIRS recognized such modifiers as adjacent to or in the same paragraph as Plain text documents could also contain so called formatted fields which could be used for additional selection These might contain fixed information such as a date or state name A powerful feature was that queries could be saved and re executed Queries could also be extended for example by specifying the result of previous query five AND an additional search term When search results were displayed for the user 3270 highlighting was used to emphasize occurrences of search terms Uses EditSTAIRS was used in house by organizations such as large corporations and government agencies 4 with large collections of unstructured documents It was also bundled by database providers as a subscription service 5 Technical details EditSTAIRS provided good search performance by indexing every word in a document except user selectable stop words usually common words such as and or the Two levels of index were used a dictionary containing one occurrence of each word and an inverted text file storing document identification and position information for each occurrence of each word The actual document text was stored in a third text file STAIRS document databases could only be updated off line The data in the non CMS implementations was stored in basic direct access method BDAM files which caused upgrade and portability problems later in its life cycle See also EditBRS Search Mistral software References Edit IBM Corporation STAIRS VS General Information Manual GH12 5114 IBM Corporation 2 January 1997 5740 XR1 IBM Storage and Information Retrieval System Virtual Storage STAIRS VS OS VS and PC Retrieved September 26 2012 IBM Corporation 2 February 2010 5695 070 IBM SearchManager 370 CICS MVS or VM V1 3 IBM United States Sales Manual Revised February 02 2010 Retrieved July 17 2018 OLIS A Powerful New Tool for Legislatures Computerworld October 31 1977 Retrieved September 24 2012 STAIRS steps up information retrieval Computerworld June 18 1975 Retrieved September 24 2012 External links Edit5740 XR1 IBM Storage and Information Retrieval System Virtual Storage STAIRS VS OS VS and PC 5695 070 IBM SearchManager 370 CICS MVS or VM V1 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title IBM STAIRS amp oldid 1155753702, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
