Stanford Physics Information Retrieval System
Encyclopedia
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. Written in PL/I
, SPIRES ran on an IBM mainframe
.
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 IBM/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 90s. 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 an IBM-mainframe Emulator developed by Dick Guertin. The DBMS now runs on Unix
, Linux
or Darwin (operating system)
and is available under Mozilla Public License
.
(SLAC) in the 1970s, became the first database accessible through the World Wide Web
in 1991. 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 2011, being replaced by INSPIRE, 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.
, Linux
and Darwin
platforms. Its primary use today is for the world physics
communities, and "legacy" data at Stanford University.
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center
The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under the programmatic direction of the U.S...
(SLAC) in 1969, from a design based on a 1967 information study of physicists at SLAC. The system was designed as a physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
database management system
Database management system
A database management system is a software package with computer programs that control the creation, maintenance, and use of a database. It allows organizations to conveniently develop databases for various applications by database administrators and other specialists. A database is an integrated...
(DBMS) to deal with high-energy-physics preprints. Written in PL/I
PL/I
PL/I is a procedural, imperative computer programming language designed for scientific, engineering, business and systems programming applications...
, SPIRES ran on an IBM mainframe
IBM mainframe
IBM mainframes are large computer systems produced by IBM from 1952 to the present. During the 1960s and 1970s, the term mainframe computer was almost synonymous with IBM products due to their marketshare...
.
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
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. 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
PL360
PL360 is a programming language designed by Niklaus Wirth for the IBM System/360 computer. It provides facilities for specifying exact machine language instructions and registers similar to assembly language, but also provides features commonly found in high-level languages, such as complex...
, a block structured programming language designed explicitly for IBM/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
Research Libraries Group
The Research Libraries Group was a U.S.-based library consortium which developed the Eureka interlibrary search engine, the RedLightGreen database of bibliographic descriptions and ArchiveGrid, a database containing descriptions of archival collections...
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 90s. It was also adopted by about two dozen other universities, including installations using the Michigan Terminal System
Michigan Terminal System
The Michigan Terminal System is one of the first time-sharing computer operating systems. Initially developed in 1967 at the University of Michigan for use on IBM S/360-67, S/370 and compatible mainframe computers, it was developed and used by a consortium of eight universities in the United...
(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 an IBM-mainframe Emulator developed by Dick Guertin. The DBMS now runs on Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
or Darwin (operating system)
Darwin (operating system)
Darwin is an open source POSIX-compliant computer operating system released by Apple Inc. in 2000. It is composed of code developed by Apple, as well as code derived from NeXTSTEP, BSD, and other free software projects....
and is available under Mozilla Public License
Mozilla Public License
The Mozilla Public License is a free and open source software license. Version 1.0 was developed by Mitchell Baker when she worked as a lawyer at Netscape Communications Corporation and version 1.1 at the Mozilla Foundation...
.
SPIRES High Energy Physics database (SPIRES-HEP)
The SPIRES High Energy Physics database (SPIRES-HEP), installed at Stanford Linear Accelerator CenterStanford Linear Accelerator Center
The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under the programmatic direction of the U.S...
(SLAC) in the 1970s, became the first database accessible through the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
in 1991. It has since expanded into a joint project of SLAC, Fermilab
Fermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
, and DESY
DESY
The DESY is the biggest German research center for particle physics, with sites in Hamburg and Zeuthen....
, with mirrors hosted at those institutions as well as at the Institute for High Energy Physics
Institute for High Energy Physics
The Institute for High Energy Physics was opened in 1965 in Protvino near Moscow, Russia. The institute is known for the particle accelerator U-70 synchrotron launched in 1967, which was the largest in the world for five years. The first director of the institute 1963—1974) was Anatoli Logunov.-...
(Russia), the University of Durham (UK), the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics
Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics
The is a research institute in the field of theoretical physics, attached to Kyoto University in Japan. It was inaugurated in 1952.While the center is often referred to as "YITP", this can be confusing as YITP also stands for the C. N...
at Kyoto University
Kyoto University
, or is a national university located in Kyoto, Japan. It is the second oldest Japanese university, and formerly one of Japan's Imperial Universities.- History :...
(Japan), and
the Indonesian Institute of Sciences
Indonesian Institute of Sciences
The Indonesian Institute of Sciences is the governmental authority for science and research in Indonesia...
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 2011, being replaced by INSPIRE, a modern system based on Invenio software. INSPIRE is run by a collaboration of the physics labs at CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
, DESY
DESY
The DESY is the biggest German research center for particle physics, with sites in Hamburg and Zeuthen....
, Fermilab
Fermilab
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory , located just outside Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago, is a US Department of Energy national laboratory specializing in high-energy particle physics...
and SLAC, and interacts closely with HEP publishers, arXiv.org, NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Astrophysics Data System
Astrophysics Data System
The Astrophysics Data System , developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration , is an online database of over eight million astronomy and physics papers from both peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed sources...
, Particle Data Group
Particle Data Group
The Particle Data Group is an international collaboration of particle physicists that compiles and reanalyzes published results related to the properties of particles and fundamental interactions. It also publishes reviews of theoretical results that are phenomenologically relevant, including...
, and other information resources.
Operating platforms
SPIRES currently runs on UnixUnix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and Darwin
Darwin (operating system)
Darwin is an open source POSIX-compliant computer operating system released by Apple Inc. in 2000. It is composed of code developed by Apple, as well as code derived from NeXTSTEP, BSD, and other free software projects....
platforms. Its primary use today is for the world physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
communities, and "legacy" data at Stanford University.