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Phrack Inc. Volume 04 Issue 39 File 05
==Phrack Inc.==
Volume Four, Issue Thirty-Nine, File 5 of 13
***************************************************************************
* *
* The Complete Guide To *
* The DIALOG Information Network *
* *
* by *
* Brian Oblivion *
* *
* Courtesy of: Restricted-Data-Transmissions (RDT) *
* "Truth Is Cheap, But Information Costs." *
* *
* 5/9/92 *
***************************************************************************
INTRODUCTION:
With the plethora of on-line databases in the public and private sectors,
I feel it is becoming increasingly important to penetrate and maintain access
to these databases. The databases in question contain data pertaining to our
personal lives and to our environment, not to mention the tetrabytes of useful
information that can be directed toward research and personal education.
Who or What is DIALOG?
The DIALOG Information Network is a service that links various public and
commercial databases together for convenience. In the past, when one wanted to
access LEGAL RESOURCE INDEX, for instance, one would have to dial direct. With
DIALOG, hundreds of databases are connected via X.25 networks (Tymnet,
Sprintnet, Uninet, Dialnet) eliminating frustrating searching and outrageous
long distance telephone bills (before the AT&T divestiture).
Further, within this file is a PARTIAL list of databases found on-line.
Some of the databases are nothing more than periodicals and abstract sources,
while others provide FullText articles and books. There are over 2500
periodicals, newspapers, newsletters and newswires on-line in FullText.
Here are a few of my favorites:
McGraw-Hill Publications On-Line (File624)
- Services offer FullText of their Newsletters serving the world-wide
aerospace and defense industry. Complete text from 30 newsletters such as
AeroSpace Daily, BYTE, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Data Communications,
ENR, among others. For more info on the database, when in DIALOG type Help
News624.
PR NEWSWIRE (File613)
- PR Newswire records contain the complete text of news releases prepared
by: companies; public relations agencies; trade associations; city, state,
federal and non-US Government agencies; and other sources covering the entire
spectrum of news. The complete text of a news release typically contains
details or background information that is not published in newspapers. More
than 8500 companies contribute news for PR Newswire. PR NEWSWIRE is a known
agent of Corporate Intelligence.
DMS/FI MARKET INTELLIGENCE REPORTS (File589)
- FullText of World AeroSpace Weekly, covers all aspects of both civil and
military aerospace activities worldwide.
- World Weapons Review, very high degree of technical detail and
perspective. As such, it has special appeal to military professionals
and users of weapons.
Note: The database treats the newsletters as separate Binders. For example,
to access the World Weapons Review, after connecting to the database,
type:
SELECT BN=WORLD WEAPONS REVIEW
or whichever newsletter you wish to search.
FINE CHEMICALS DATABASE (File360)
- The focus of this database is on sources for laboratory, specialty, and
unusual chemicals used in scientific research and new product development.
Fine chemicals are relatively pure chemicals typically produced in small
quantities. The database will provide you with manufacturers and/or
distributors.
DUN'S ELECTRONIC YELLOW PAGES (File515)
- Largest database of U.S. businesses available on DIALOG, providing
information on a total of 8.5 million establishments. Corporate intelligence:
you can quickly verify the existence of a business. Then you can obtain
address, telephone number, employee size, Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) and other basic information.
CURRENT CONTENTS SEARCH (File440)
- FullText articles from over 8000+ worldwide journals dealing with
science and technology.
BOOKS IN PRINT (File470)
- Access to in-print and out-of-print books since 1979, BIP lets you
retrieve bibliographic data on virtually every book published or distributed in
the United States. Plus FullText reviews on the book(s) you have selected.
See next.
PUBLISHERS DISTRIBUTORS AND WHOLESALERS ON-LINE (File450)
- PDW on-line will locate virtually any book, audio cassette, software
publisher, distributor, or wholesaler in the U.S.
You now should have an idea of the power and scope of the Dialog
Information Network.
NOTE: Most of DIALOG's Services are now available to certain Research
facilities, public and private, on CD-ROM. Check your local public and
university libraries for this service. Of course, MANY of the more
interesting databases are not available on CD-ROM and must still be
accessed through the DIALOG network.
Access to DIALOG Services
The following on-line services are available from DIALOG Information
Services:
DIALOG
DIALOG Business (DBC)
DIALOG Medical Connection (DMC)
DIALMAIL
KNOWLEDGE INDEX
The logon procedures for the first four are identical and use the same
service address; procedures for KNOWLEDGE INDEX differ only in the use of the
KI service address, as illustrated throughout this file.
The most common method of access to DIALOG services uses local phone
numbers for three telecommunication networks: DIALOG's DIALNET, BT Tymnet,
TYMNET, and SprintNet. For those who live in an area that lacks a local dialup
for those three networks, you may use the 800 link into the DIALNET for access
to all DIALOG services except KNOWLEDGE INDEX. This access is not free, but it
may cost less than dialing long-distance to reach a network node if you live in
a region without local access. Access is also available through gateways from
other on-line systems.
Access to many DIALOG services is available from countries throughout the
world and may be accessed from their own Public Data Networks.
Dialnet 800-Number Access
The two DIALNET 800 numbers are available for connecting to Dialog services
from anywhere in the 48 contiguous states. Access through these numbers is not
free.
(800)DIALNET 300, 1200, and 2400 b. (w/MNP error checking)
(800)342-5638
(800)847-1620 VADIC 3400 series modems (1200 baud)
BELL 103 modems (300 baud)
BELL 212 modems (1200 baud)
Note: I have excluded all the dialup numbers for Tymnet and Sprintnet. If you
don't know how to find those, obtain a file on X.25 nets and I'm sure
they will be listed somewhere in them.
DIALNET U.S. DIALUP NUMBERS
(All DIALNET dialup numbers support 300, 1200, and 2400 baud)
ARIZONA
Phoenix....................................(602)257-8895
CALIFORNIA
Alhambra...................................(818)300-9000
Longbeach..................................(213)491-0803
Los Angeles................................(818)300-9000
Marina Del Rey.............................(213)305-9833
Newport Beach..............................(714)756-1969
Oakland....................................(415)633-7900
Palo Alto..................................(415)858-2461
Palo Alto..................................(415)858-2461
Palo Alto....................................(415)858-2575
Sacramento.................................(916)444-5030
San Diego..................................(619)297-8610
San Francisco..............................(415)957-5910
San Jose...................................(408)432-0590
COLORADO
Denver.....................................(303)860-9800
CONNECTICUT
Bloomfield/Hartford........................(203)242-5954
Stamford...................................(203)324-1201
DELAWARE
Wilmington.................................(302)652-1706
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington.................................(703)359-2500
GEORGIA
Atlanta....................................(404)455-4221
ILLINOIS
Chicago....................................(312)341-1444
INDIANA
Indianapolis...............................(317)635-7259
MARYLAND
Baltimore..................................(301)234-0940
MASSACHUSETTS
Boston.....................................(617)439-7920
Lexington..................................(617)862-6240
MICHIGAN
Ann Arbor..................................(313)973-2622
Detroit....................................(313)964-1309
MINNESOTA
Minneapolis................................(612)338-0676
MISSOURI
St. Louis..................................(314)731-0122
NEW JERSEY
Lyndhurst..................................(201)460-8868
Morristown.................................(201)292-9646
Newark.....................................(201)824-1412
Piscataway.................................(201)562-9680
Princeton..................................(609)243-9550
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque................................(505)764-9281
NEW YORK
Albany.....................................(518)458-8710
Buffalo....................................(716)896-9440
Hempstead..................................(516)489-6868
New York City..............................(212)422-0410
Rochester..................................(716)458-7300
White Plains...............................(914)328-7810
NORTH CAROLINA
Research Triangle..........................(919)549-9290
OHIO
Cincinnati.................................(513)489-3980
Cleveland..................................(216)621-3807
Columbus...................................(614)461-8348
Dayton.....................................(513)898-8878
OREGON
Portland...................................(503)228-2771
PENNSYLVANIA
Allentown..................................(215)776-2030
Philadelphia...............................(215)923-5214
Pittsburg..................................(412)471-1421
Valley Forge/Norristown....................(215)666-1500
TEXAS
Austin.....................................(512)462-9494
Dallas.....................................(214)631-9861
Houston....................................(713)531-0505
UTAH
Salt Lake City.............................(801)532-3071
VIRGINIA
Fairfax....................................(703)359-2500
WASHINGTON
Seattle....................................(206)282-5009
WISCONSIN
Milwaukee..................................(414)796-1785
Access to Dialog Outside of the US
Foreign readers may access Dialog via the INFONET PDN. The following
numbers are for those particular users.
BELGIUM
Brussels (300).............................(02)648-0710
Brussels (1200)............................(02)640-4993
DENMARK
Copenhagen (300)...........................(01)22-10-66
Copenhagen (1200)..........................(01)22-41-22
Logging in to DIALOG or KNOWLEDGE INDEX (KI)
After dialing the appropriate number and establishing the connection, you
must allow a 10-second delay and then enter the letter A (or a carriage return
or another terminal identifier from the table below) before any further
response will occur. Then, follow the remainder of the procedures show below.
DIALOG Information Services' DIALNET
-2151:01-012-
Enter Service: dialog Enter DIALOG or KI;
DIALNET: call connected
DIALOG INFORMATION SERVICES
PLEASE LOGON:
?XXXXXXXX Enter User Number
ENTER PASSWORD:
?XXXXXXXX Enter Password;
NOTE: I have researched the method of user number and password distribution
and all user numbers and passwords are generated by Dialog, BUT upon
receiving a password from DIALOG you may opt to change it. The
passwords issued from DIALOG are 8 digits long, consisting of random
alpha-numeric characters.
Once you are connected to your default service or file in DIALOG, you can then
BEGIN one of the other services; for example, to access DIALMAIL, BEGIN MAIL.
DIALNET Terminal Identifiers
Speed Identifier Terminal Type Effect
=---------------------------------------------------------------=
300 bps ENTER key PCs & CRTs Same as A
E Thermal Printers Slower
C Impact Printers Slowest
G Belt Printer Slower
1200 bps ENTER key PCs & CRTs Same as A
or G Matrix Printers Slower
2400 bps I Belt Printers Slowest
- For access in half duplex, enter a < CTRL H > after the "Enter Service:"
prompt and before entering the word "dialog" or "ki."
- Don't hit backspace if you make an error in typing "dialog" or "ki." The
result will be toggling your duplex, reason being your backspace is usually
configured to send a < CTRL H > to delete to the left of the cursor one
space.
DIALNET Messages
Message Probable Cause User Action
ERROR, RE-ENTER SERVICE Incorrect host name Check typing
ALL PORTS BUSY All DIALOG ports Try in a few min.
are temporarily in
use.
HOST DOWN DIALOG computer is Try in a few min.
not available.
HOST NOT RESPONDING DIALOG Computer Try in a few min.
difficulty
CIRCUITS BUSY DIALNET Network is Try in a few min.
temporarily busy.
DIALNET: CALL CLEARED Appears after LOGOFF
BY REQUEST to indicate connection
ENTER SERVICE: to DIALOG is broken.
DROPPED BY HOST SYSTEM Indicates a system failure
at DIALOG.
Navigating in DIALOG
To begin a search, one would enter:
BEGIN xxxx
xxxx would be the database file number. All databases found on DIALOG are
assigned file numbers. The searching protocol used to manipulate DIALOG seems
at times to be a language in itself, but it can be easily learned and mastered.
DIALOG HOMEBASE
I would advise the first-timer to jump into the DIALOG Homebase Menu,
which provides information, help, file of the month, database info and rates,
the DIALINDEX, DIALOG Training, and announcements. DIALOG also provides
subscribers with special services which include dialouts for certain area
codes. You can begin the DIALOG HOMBASE by typing:
BEGIN HOME
=-**************************************************************-=
DIALOG DATABASES
File Number Database
15 ABI/INFORM
180 Academic American Encyclopedia
43 ADTRACT
108 Aerospace Database
10,110 AGRICOLA
9 AIM/ARM
38 America:History & Life
236 American Men & Women of Science
258,259 AP NEWS
45 APTIC
112 Aquaculture
116 Aqualine
44 Aquatic Science & Fisheries ABS
56 Art Bibliographies, Modern
192 Arthur D. Little On-Line
102 ASI
285 BIOBUSINESS
287,288 Biography Master Index
5, 55
255 BIOSIS Previews
175 BLS Consumer Price Index
178 BLS Employment, Hours, and Earnings
176 BLS Producer Price Index
137 Book Review Index
470 Books In Print
256 Business Software Database
308-311
320 CA Search
50 CAB Abstracts
262 Canadian Business and Current Affairs
162 Career Placement Registry/ Experienced Personnel
163 Career Placement Reg/Student
580 CENDATA
138 Chemical Exposure
19 Chemical Industry Notes
174 Chem Regulations & Guidelines
300,301 CHEMNAME, CHEMSIS
328-331 CHEMZERO
30 CHEMSEARCH
64 Chile Abuse & Neglect
410 Chronolog Newsletter-International Edition
101 Compuserve Information Service
220-222 CLAIMS Citation
124 CLAIMS Class
242 CLAIMS Compound Registry
23-25,125
223-225 CLAIMS US Patents
123 CLAIMS Reassignment & Re-examination
219 Clinical Abstracts
164 Coffeeline
194-195 Commerce Business Daily
593 Compare Products
8 Compendex
275 The Computer Database
77 Conference Papers Index
135 Congressional Record Abstracts
271 Consumer Drug Info Fulltext
171 Criminal Justice Period Index
60 CRIS/USDA
230 DATABASE OF DATABASES
516 D&B - Dun's Market Identifiers
517 D&B - Million Dollar Directory
518 D&B - International Dun's Market Identifiers
411 DIALINDEX
200 DIALOG PUBLICATIONS
100 Disclosure II
540 Disclosure Spectrum Ownership
35 Dissertation Abstracts On-Line
103,104 DOE Energy
575 Donnelley Demographics
229 Drug Information Fulltext
139 Economic Literature Index
165 Ei Engineering Meetings
241 Electric Power Database
511 Electronic Dictionary of Education
507 Construction Directory
501 Financial Services Directory
510 Manufactures Directory
502 Professionals Directory
504-506 Retailers Directory
508,509 Services Directory
503 Wholesalers Directory
500 Electronic Yellow Pages Index
72, 73 EMBASE (Excerpta Medica)
172,173 EMBASE
114 Encyclopedia of Associations
69 Energyline
169 Energynet
40 ENVIROLINE
68 Environmental Bibliography
1 eric
54 Exceptional Child Education Resources
291 Family Resources
20 Federal Index
136 Federal Register Abstracts
265 Federal Research in Progress
196 Find/SVP Reports and studies Index
268 FINIS: Financial Industry Information Service
96 Fluidex
51 Food Science & Technology Abstracts
79 Foods Adlibra
90 Foreign Trade & Econ Abstracts
105 Foreign Traders Index
26 Foundation Directory
27 Foundation Grants Index
58 Geoarchive
89 Georef
66 GPO Monthly Catalog
166 GPO Publications Reference File
85 Grants
122 Harvard Business Review
151 Health Planning And Administration
39 Historical Abstracts
561 ICC British Company Directory
562 ICC British Financial Datasheets
189 Industry Data Sources
202 Information Science Abstracts
12, 13 INSPEC
168 Insurance Abstracts
209 International Listing Service
74 International Pharmaceutical Abstracts
545 Investext
284 IRS TAXiNFO
14 ISMEC
244 LABORLAW
36 Language & Language Behavior Abstracts
426-427 LC MARC
150 Legal Resource Index
76 Life Sciences Collection
61 LISA
647 Magazine ASAP
47 Magazine Index
75 Management Contents
234 Marquis Who's Who
235 Marquis Pro-files
239 Mathfile
546 Media General Database
152-154 MEDLINE
86 Mental Health Abstracts
232 Menu The International Software Database
32 METADEX
29 Meteor/Geoastrophysical Abstracts
233 Microcomputer Index
32 MERADEX
29 Meteor/Geoastrophysical Abstracts
233 Microcomputer Index
248 The Middle East: Abstracts and Index
249 Mideast File
71 MLA Bibliography
555 Moody's Corporate Profiles
557 Moody's Corporate News-International
556 Moody's Corporate News - U.S.
78 National Foundations
111 National Newspaper News - U.S.
21 NCJRS
211 Newsearch
46 NICEM
70 NICSEM/NIMIS
118 Nonferrous Metals Abstracts
6 NTIS
218 Nursing & Allied Health
161 Occupational Safety and Health
28 Oceanic Abstracts
170 ON-LINE Chronicle
215 ONTAP ABI/INFORM
205 ONTAP BIOSIS Previews
204 ONTAP CA SEARCH
250 ONTAP CAB Abstracts
231 ONTAP Chemname
208 ONTAP Compendex
290 ONTAP DIALINDEX
201 ONTAP ERIC
272 ONTAP Embase
213 ONTAP Inspec
247 ONTAP Magazine Index
254 ONTAP Medline
216 ONTAP PTS Promt
294 ONTAP Scisearch
207 ONTAP Social Scisearch
296 ONTAP Trademarkscan
280 ONTAP World Patents Index
49 PAIS International
240 Paperchem
243 PATLAW
257 P/E News
241 Peterson's College Database
42 Pharmaceutical News Index
57 Philosopher's Index
41 Pollution Abstracts
91 Population Bibliography
140 PsycALERT
11 PsycINFO
17 PTS Annual Reports Abstracts
80 PTS Defense Markets and Technology
18 PTS F&S Indexes 80-
98 PTS F&S Indexes 72-79
81, 83 PTS Forecasts
570 PTS MARS
16 PTS PROMPT
82, 84 PTS TIME SERIES
190 Religion Index
421-425 TEMARC
97 Rilm Abstracts
34, 87 SciSearch
94, 186 SciSearch
7 Social Scisearch
270 Soviet Science and Technology
37 Sociological Abstracts
62 SPIN
65 SSIE Current Research
132 Standard & Poor's News
133 Standard & Poor's Corporate Descriptions
526 Standard & Poor's Register-Biographical
527 Standard & Poor's Register-Corporate
113 Standards & Specifications
238 Telgen
119 Textile Technology Digest
535 Thomas Tegister On-Line
648 Trade & Industry ASAP
148 Trade & Industry Index
106,107 Trade Opportunities
226 Trademarkscan
531 Trinet Establishment Database
532 Trinet Company Database
63 TRIS
52 TSCA Initial Inventory
480 Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory
260,261 UPI NEWS
126 U.S. Exports
93 U.S. Political Science Documents
120 U.S. Public School Directory
184 Washington Post Index
117 Water Resources Abstracts
350,351 World Patents Index
67 World Textiles
185 Zoological Record
Before I continue describing the various methods of searching, DIALOG has
an on-line master index to the DIALOG databases, DIALINDEX (file 411). It is a
collection of the file indexes of most DIALOG databases (menu-driven databases
cannot be searched in DIALINDEX). DIALINDEX can be used to determine the
number of relevant records for a single query in a collection of files. The
query can be a single term, a multiple-word phrase, a prefix-coded field, or a
full logical expression of up to 240 characters. Nested terminology, proximity
operators, and truncated terms may also be used.
You can set the files you want searched by using the SET FILE command.
Like this:
BEGIN 411 (return)
SET FILE ALLNEWS (if you want the latest news on
or hack/phreak busts)
SF ALLNEWS
To scan all Subjects: SET FILES ALL
To scan specific categories:
All Science: (ALLSCIENCE)
- Agriculture & Nutrition
- Chemistry
- Computer Technology
- Energy & Environment
- Medicine & Biosciences
- Patents & Trademarks
- Science & technology
All Business: (ALLBUSINESS)
- Business Information
- Company Information
- Industry Analysis
- News
- Patents & Trademarks
All News and Current Events: (ALLNEWS)
- News
All Law & Government: (ALLLAW;ALLGOVERNMENT)
- Law & Government
- Patents & Trademarks
All Social Science & Humanities: (ALLSOCIAL;ALLHUMANITIES)
- Social Sciences & Humanities
All General Interest: (ALLGENERAL)
- Popular Information
All Reference: (ALLREFERENCE)
- Books
- Reference
All Text: (ALLTEXT)
All databases containing
complete text of:
- Journal Articles
- Encyclopedias
- Newspapers
- Newswires
All Sources: (ALLSOURCE)
- Complete Text
- Directory
- Numeric Data
All ONTAP Training Files: (ALLONTAPS)
- All On-Line Training And
Practice databases
Once you have selected a database you can now SELECT the search keyword.
You set the flag by:
SELECT term - Retrieves a set of records containing the term.
May be used with words, prefix or suffix codes, EXPAND, or
set numbers.
When defining what you are searching for you can use logical operators
such as:
OR - puts the retrieval of all search terms into one set, eliminating
duplicate records.
AND - retrieves the intersection, or overlap, of the search terms: all
terms must be in each record retrieved.
NOT - eliminates search term (or group of search terms) following it from
other search term(s).
Note: Always enter a space on either side of a logical operator.
SELECT Examples:
SELECT (BICMOS OR CMOS) AND SRAM
or
S (BICMOS OR CMOS) AND SRAM
- This would generate something like this:
138 BICMOS <- records containing BICMOS only
1378 CMOS <- records containing CMOS only
681 SRAM <- records containing SRAM only
S1 203 (BICMOS OR CMOS) AND SRAM <- this is what you
^^ wanted.
|| DIALOG names your select topic S1, S2... respectively as search its
databases to make it easier to type. The contents of S1 are 203
found records containing the keywords BICMOS, CMOS, and SRAM.
Sometimes S1 is referred to as S(tep) 1
PROXIMITY OPERATORS (Select command)
(W) Requests terms be adjacent to each other and in order
specified. -> S SOLAR(W)ENERGY
(nW) Requests terms be within (n) words of each other and in order
specified. -> S SOLAR(3W)ENERGY
(N) Requests terms be adjacent but in any order. Useful for
retrieving identical terms. -> S SOLAR(N)ENERGY
(nN) Requests terms be within (n) words of each other and in any
order. -> S SOLAR(3N)ENERGY
(F) Requests terms be in same field of same record, in any order.
-> S SOLAR(F)ENERGY
(L) Requests terms be in same descriptor unit as defined by
database. -> S SOLAR(L)ENERGY
(S) Requests terms be in same Subfield unit as defined by
database. -> S SOLAR(S)ENERGY
(C) Equivalent to logic operator AND.
-> S SOLAR(C)ENERGY
PRIORITY OF EXECUTION
Proximity operator, NOT, AND, OR
Use parentheses to specify different order of execution, e.g. SELECT (SOLAR OR
SUN) AND (ENERGY OR HEAT). Terms within parentheses are executed first.
STOP WORDS (predefined)
The following words may not be SELECTed as individual terms. The computer will
retrieve a set with zero results. They may only be replaced with proximity
operators, e.g. S GONE(2W)WIND
AN FOR THE
AND FROM TO
BY OF WITH
RESERVED WORDS AND SYMBOLS
The following words and symbols must be enclosed in quotation marks whenever
they are SELECTed as or within search terms, e.g., SELECT "OR"(W)GATE?
AND =
FROM *
NOT +
OR :
STEPS /
TRUNCATION
OPEN: any number of characters following stem.
SS EMPLOY?
RESTRICTED: only one additional character following stem.
SS HORSE? ?
RESTRICTED: maximum number of additional characters equal to
number of question marks entered. SS UNIVERS??
INTERNAL: allows character replaced by question mark to vary. One
character per question mark. SS WOM?N
BASIC INDEX FIELD SPECIFICATION (SUFFIX CODES)
Suffix codes are used to restrict retrieval to specified basic index fields of
a record. Specific fields and codes vary according to the database.
Abstract /AB
Descriptor /DE
Full Descriptor(single word) /DF
Identifier /ID
Full Identifier(single word) /IF
Title /TI
Note /NT
Section Heading /SH
Examples:
SELECT BUDGET?/TI
SELECT POP(W)TOP(W)CAN?/TI,AB
SELECT (DOLPHIN? OR PORPOISE?)/DE/ID
ADDITIONAL INDEXES (PREFIX CODES)
Prefix codes are used to search additional indexes. Specific fields and codes
vary according to the database.
Author AU=
Company Name CO=
Corporate Source CS=
Document Type DT=
Journal Name JN=
Language LA=
Publication Year PY=
Update UD=
Examples:
SELECT AU=JOHNSON, ROBERT?
SELECT LA=GERMAN
SELECT CS=(MILAN(F)ITALY)
RANGE SEARCHING
A colon is used to indicate a range of sequential entries to be retrieved in a
logical OR relationship.
Examples:
SELECT CC=64072:64078
SELECT ZP=662521:62526
LIMIT QUALIFIERS
Limit qualifiers are used in SELECT statements to limit search terms or sets to
given criteria. Specific qualifiers vary according to database.
English language documents /ENG
Major descriptor /MAJ
Patents /PAT
Human subject /HUM
Accession number range /nnnnnn-nnnnnn
Examples:
SELECT TRANSISTORS/ENG,PAT
SELECT S2/MAJ
SELECT (STRESS OR TENSION)/234567-999999
Well that's it for basic searching. Now, how to view the record you have
selected.
Note: Indexes (prefix codes) often differ from database to
database, often resulting in futile searches. One way to avoid this
is to make a trip to the local Public or University Library and look
up the blue sheets for the database you wish to query. Blue sheets
are issued by dialog as a service to their users. Blue Sheets often
contain helpful searching techniques ere to the database you are
interested in. They will also contain a list of Indexes (prefix
codes) unique to that database only.
VIEWING SEARCH RESULTS
COMMAND SUMMARY
TYPE Provides continuous on-line display of results.
T Specify set/format/range of items. If Item range is specified,
use T to view next record. May also be used with specific
accession number.
Examples: T 12/3/1-22 <- set/format/range
T 8/7 <- set/format
T 6 <- view next.(6 in this case)
T 438721 <- view record 438721
DISPLAY Provides display of results one screen at a time. Use
D PAGE for subsequent screens.
Specify set/format/range of items. If range not specified, use
D to view next record. May also be used with specific
accession number.
Examples: D 11/6/1-44 <- set/format/range
D 9/5 <- set/format
D 7 <- view next.(7 in this case)
D 637372/7 <- view record 637372/format 7
PRINT Requests that results be printed offline and mailed. Specify
set/format/range of items. If item range not specified up to
50 records will be printed. Use PR to print another 50.
Examples: PR 9/5/1-44 <- print set/format/range
PR 6/7 <- print set/format (all)
PR 14 <- print 14 only
PR 734443/5 <- print 734443 format 5 only.
PRINT TITLE xxx To specify a title(xxx) to appear on PRINTs. Title may
contain up to 70 characters. No semicolon may be used. Must
be entered in database before any other PRINT command is used.
Cancelled by next BEGIN.
Examples: PR TITLE GLOBULIN
PR TITLE QUETZAL
REPORT Extracts data from specified fields and produces tabular
format for on-line output only. Specify set/range of
items/fields. May be used with SORTED set to specify order of
entries in table. Application is database-specific.
TYPICAL FORMATS IN BIBLIOGRAPHIC FILES:
Format Number Description
1 DIALOG Accession Number
2 Full Record except Abstract
3 Bibliographic Citation
5 Full Record
6 Title
7 Bibliographic Citation and Abstract
8 Title and Indexing
NOTE: Again, the Formats differ from database to database.
See database bluesheet for specific format descriptions.
OTHER OUTPUT-RELATED COMMANDS:
PRINT CANCEL Used alone, cancels preceding PRINT command.
PR CANCEL Specify PRINT Transaction Number to cancel
PRINT- any PRINT request entered in past two hours,
PR- e.g. PRINT- P143
PRINT QUERY To view log of PRINT commands and cancellations. Add
PR QUERY DETAIL to see date, time and costs.
PRINT QUERY ACTIVE To view log of PRINT commands that may still be cancelled.
PR QUERY ACTIVE Add DETAIL to see date, time, file and costs.
SORT Sorts set of records on-line according to parameters
indicated. Varies per database. Specify set
number/range/field,sequence, e.g. SORT 4/1-55/AU,TI
Sequence assumed ascending if not specified; use D to
specify descending order. SORT parameters may be added to
end of PRINT command for offline sorting, e.g. PRINT
9/5/ALL/SD,D
SET SCREEN nn nn Sets size of screen for video display.
SET H nn H (horizontal) given first in combined command.
SET V nn V Default is 75 characters H, 40 lines V
LOGOFF Disconnects user from DIALOG system.
LOGOFF HOLD Disconnects user from DIALOG system, holds work for 10
minutes allowing RECONNECT.
OTHER COMMANDS:
DISPLAY SETS Lists all sets formed since last BEGIN command.
DS May specify range of sets, e.g. DS 10-22.
EXPLAIN Requests help messages for commands and file features.
Enter ?EXPLAIN to see complete list.
KEEP Places records indicated in special set 0. Specify
K set number/records, or accession number. Cancelled by a
BEGIN command. Also used in DIALORDER.
LIMITALL Limits all subsequent sets to criteria specified. Varies
per database.
LIMITALL/ALL Cancels previous LIMITALL command.
?LIMIT n Requests list of limit qualifiers for database n.
SEARCH*SAVE
SAVE Stores strategy permanently until deleted. Serial number
begins with S.
SAVE TEMP Stores strategy for seven days; automatically deleted.
Serial number begins with T.
SAVE SDI Stores strategy and PRINT command(s) until deleted. PRINT
command required. Automatically executes strategy against
each new update to database in which entered. Serial
number begins with D.
MAPxx Creates a Search*Save of data extracted for field xx of
MAPxx TEMP records already retrieved.
MAPxx STEPS If STEPS is used, data is formatted into separate search
statements in Search*Save.
REVIEWING SEARCH*SAVES
RECALL nnnnn Recalls Search*Save nnnnn, displaying all set-producing
commands and comment lines, without executing the search.
RECALL SAVE Displays serial numbers of all permanent SAVEs, date
entered, and number of lines.
RECALL TEMP Displays serial numbers of all temporary SAVEs, date
entered, and number of lines.
RECALL SDI Displays serial numbers of all SDIs, dates entered,
databases in which stored, and number of lines.
EXECUTING SEARCH*SAVES
EXECUTE nnnnn Executes entire strategy. Only last line is assigned a
EX nnnnn set number.
EXECUTE STEPS nnnnn Executes entire strategy. Assigns set number to each
EXS nnnnn search element. Preferred form.
EXECUTE nnnnn/x-y Executes strategy nnnnn form command line x to command line
y only. STEPS may also be used: EXS nnnnn/x-y
EXECUTE nnnnn/USER a
Executes strategy nnnnn originally entered by
user a (a=user number).
STEPS may also be used: EXS nnnnn/USER a
EXECUTE nnnnn/x-y/USER a
Executes strategy nnnnn from command line x to command line
y, originally entered by user a. STEPS may also be used:
EXS nnnnn/x-y/USER a
DELETING SEARCH*SAVES
RELEASE nnnnn Deletes search nnnnn from system.
OTHER SEARCH*SAVE OPTIONS
NAMING: A three to five alphanumerical name may be specified following the
SAVE, SAVE TEMP, and SAVE SDI commands.
Example: SAVE TEMP SOLAR
COMMENTS: An informative comment may be stored in a SEARCH*SAVE by entering an
asterisk in place of a command, followed by up to 240 characters of
"comment." The line will be saved with any SEARCH*SAVE command, and
will display in RECALL of the search.
Example: * Search for R.J.Flappjack
ON-LINE TEXT EDITOR
Any Search*Save, with the exception of an SDI, may be edited from within any
database. An SDI must be edited within the database in which the SDI is to be
stored.
EDIT To enter Editor and create new text.
EDIT xxxxx Pulls Search*Save xxxxx into Editor for editing.
LIST Displays text to be edited.
L OPTIONS:
LIST LIST 30-110
LIST ALL LIST 10,50,80
LIST /data/ Locates all lines containing data.
INSERT Adds onto end of text.
INSERT nn Inserts line nn into text.
I To return to EDIT from INSERT, enter a period on a
I nn blank line.
DELETE To delete line(s) of text.
D OPTIONS:
DELETE 10-50
DELETE 10,30-50
DELETE ALL
CHANGE To change text within a line.
C Changes only first occurrence of old text in any given line.
OPTIONS:
CHANGE 60/old/new (where 60 is line number)
CHANGE 60/old// (deletes old)
C 60//new (inserts new at beginning of line)
C 80.old.new (when text contains slash)
C /old/new (new replaces old on all lines)
C 20,40/old/new (nonsequential lines)
C 30-50/old/new (range of lines)
COPY Duplicates line# TO line#
CO OPTIONS:
COPY 100 to 255
COPY 100-150 TO 255
COPY 100,130 TO 255
MOVE Move line# TO line#
M Options same as COPY.
QUERY Produces message giving name of file, number of lines, last line
Q number.
RENUM Renumbers lines by tens unless otherwise specified.
R OPTIONS:
RENUM n (Renumbers by increments of n)
QUIT Used to leave editor ignoring session.
SAVE Used to create Search*Save strategy from edited file.
SAVE TEMP An SDI must include a PRINT command.
SAVE SDI
Enjoy the DIALOG Information Network. I've found it most interesting.
This service is a MUST if you are in college or if you just love to learn as
uch as time permits. It is a proven research tool used by R&D and university
facilities around the world, as well as a refined corporate intelligence
information gathering tool kept hidden from the general public by sheer expense
and "pseudo-complexity." With on-line databases like DIALOG available, there
is no excuse (besides lack of time) for self-education.
*****************************************************************
Brian Oblivion can be reached at Oblivion@ATDT.ORG.
Additionally, he can be reached at Black Crawling Systems/VOiD Information
Archives (for more information, e-mail Brian). RDT welcomes any questions or
comments you may have. See you at SummerCon '92.
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