[ From the blurb at http://www.openisis.org/ ]

Overview of ISIS software

The mother of all Isis software is a DOS version of "MicroISIS" as an integrated system with textual user interface (Jean Paolo del Biggio was in charge for several years, now passed away). There is a BSD version of "CDS/ISIS" which also runs under linux up to some 2.2.x kernels (current 2.4 kernels do not support the iBCS module for COFF binaries). Then there are several versions of "WinISIS" (M$-Windows only, but runs under linux/wine). These Windows versions unfortunately have several bugs and are 16 bit appz.

A shared library version "isis.dll" (for Windows of course) of functions to access an isis db from your code exists (Visual basic, Delphi, Java and C++), despite it's name, also in a linux version ("isilux"); however, you need some pretty special libs to make it run. A set of command line tools ("cisis") performs tasks like importing ISO2709 bibliographic databases, inverting (index building) etc. The thing next to an isis database server is "wwwisis", which runs as CGI or from the command line and performs most isis tasks (win and lin versions). However, it actually runs per request, not as a server itself, and thus cannot provide concurrency control.

The "official" isis software, which is maintained by Unesco and/or Bireme is in http://www.bireme.br/produtos/, there is not much support but there is a mailing list.


Isis is accompanied by a couple of independent developments, some of which are in the public domain. Javaisis is an AWT-based GUI (3.5 uses SWING) and a corresponding server, which in turn uses wwwisis. Robert Janusz wrote a C-lib (iAPI) from scratch, which was the starting point for the openisis software. 

aherrero@colmex.mx developed a simple class in visual C++ to encapsulate the Isis functions in a more comfortable mechanism which delivers results as objects and string lists so they are better handled by modern programs instead of the classic arrays and data structures from Isis. The class is not complete, but simplifies and includes most of the functionality needed to use the Isis as a DB engine. It does not include the formats and other interface oriented functions, only search and retrieval of records, besides inserting and updating.

There is also a way to run Isis in the PHP platform, where Isis may seem to have found a wide application niche. if you want to program easy server WWW oriented appz this may be the best solution. It is named PHP Isis and can be found along the other Isis family products in BIREME and other similar sites.

You can find similar compatible products like MINI-ISIS (non free, search the web) and OPENISIS.

What is OpenISIS?

So why are we writing the openisis software? Because Isis is not open source software, it's not even free software, and that leads to a whole bunch of problems.

OPENISIS does not yet work easily in Windows, you need extra tools to make it run like CYGWIN and/or NMAKE.vbxcvxv