Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!lll-winken!uwm.edu!rpi!crdgw1!brspyr1!tim
From: tim@brspyr1.BRS.Com (Tim Northrup)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: BRS ???
Message-ID: <7150@brspyr1.BRS.Com>
Date: 1 Feb 91 21:09:37 GMT
References: <1991Jan28.212148.28175@news.iastate.edu>
Organization: BRS Information Technologies, Latham NY
Lines: 50

GO.MSB@isumvs.iastate.edu writes:
>Has anyone heard of BRS as a software company (they may only
>be a mainframe DBMS supplier).  Any database related info on this
>company would be appreciated.  Thank you.

>Marvin Beck  Iowa State University

erdb04@castle.ed.ac.uk (D Neilson) writes:
>BRS = Bibliographical Retrieval Software - based in the USA with a
>European office in London. Belongs to the Robert Maxwell publishing empire.

Actually, it used to be "Bibliographic Retrieval SERVICES", but we no longer
use that -- its "BRS Software Products, a Division of Maxwell Online Inc."
Maxwell Online Inc. is indeed owned by Robert Maxwell (through some other
group of companies/corporations/whatever).

The BRS Full-Text Package comes in two flavors; a 'C' version (written
in the 'C' language), and a 'BAL' version (written in 360/370 assembler
language for MVS/CICS environments).  I am responsible for the 'C'
version, so I will limit my comments to that.

The 'C' Version is written in 99.99% 'C' language (the exception being
~100 lines of assembler to get 3270's to work somewhat reasonably under
VM/CMS).  This version is ported to over 40 different systems under
about a dozen different operating system, from an IBM PC running MS-DOS
to a Cray; if your system isn't a homebrew, we probably support it.  All
'C' version databases are portable across systems: if you create a
database under MS-DOS, you can transfer the files up to a Cray and
immediately search it.   (Transfer to/from VM/CMS which uses EBCDIC
requires a conversion with a utility we can provide).

BRS databases are not to be confused with a DBMS -- they deal with
data in a very different manner than a Full-Text system.  Ours is
closer to the IBM STAIRS offering (as well as BASIS, Topic and
Ful/Text -- our major competition at the moment).

For more (and probably better :-) information, you can contact a BRS
distributor in a country near you.  For Iowa, you could contact our
Midwest Regional Account Manager, Bob Greenwald, at (708) 297-8840.
He should be able to provide you with whatever information you need.
For information on other dealers, etc. you can call the central office
in McLean Virginia -- (703) 442-3870.

Hope this has been helpful ...
							-- Tim
-- 
Tim Northrup      		  +------------------------------------------+
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