
                            Ruby/ZOOM API Reference                             
                            ***********************                             

================================================================================
Class ZOOM::Connection
================================================================================

The Connection object is a session with a target.

Inherits from: Object <- ZOOM::Connection.

Included in: ZOOM.

Class methods:

  -----------------------------------
  open(host, port=nil) { |conn| ... }
  -----------------------------------

    A convenience method that creates a new connection and attempts to 
    establish a network connection to the given target, basically calling
    ZOOM::Connection.new and ZOOM::Connection#connect.
    
    If a block is given, then it will be called once the connection is 
    established, passing a reference to the connection object as a parameter, 
    and destroying the connection automatically at the end of the block.
    With no block, this method just returns the connection object.

      port    : network port of the target to connect to.  
      host    : hostname of the target to connect to. 

      Returns : a newly created ZOOM::Connection object.

  ----------------
  new(options=nil)
  ----------------

    Creates a new connection object, but does not establish a network connection
    immediately, allowing you to specify options before (if given). You can 
    thus establish the connection using ZOOM::Connection#connect.

      options : options for the connection, as a Hash object.  

      Returns : a newly created ZOOM::Connection object.


Instance methods:

  -----------------------
  connect(host, port=nil)
  -----------------------

    Establishes a network connection to the target specified by the given
    arguments.  If no port is given, 210 will be used.  A colon in the host
    string denotes the beginning of a port number.  If the host string includes
    a slash, the following part specifies a database for the connection.
    
    You can also prefix the host string with a scheme followed by a colon.
    The default scheme is tcp (Z39.50 protocol).  The scheme http selects SRW
    over HTTP.
    
    This method raises an exception on error.

      port    : network port of the target to connect to.  
      host    : hostname of the target to connect to. 

      Returns : self.

  ----------------------
  set_option(key, value)
  ----------------------

    Sets an option on the connection.

      value   : the value of this option (as a string, integer or boolean).  
      key     : the name of the option, as a string. 

      Returns : self.

  ---------------
  get_option(key)
  ---------------

    Gets the value of a connection's option.

      key     : the name of the option, as a string.  

      Returns : the value of the given option, as a string, integer or boolean.

  -----------------
  search(criterion)
  -----------------

    Searches the connection from the given criterion.  You can either create and
    pass a reference to a ZOOM::Query object, or you can simply pass a string
    that represents a PQF query.
    
    This method raises an exception on error.

      criterion : the search criterion, either as a ZOOM::Query object or as a string, representing a PQF query.  

      Returns   : a result set from the search, as a ZOOM::ResultSet object, empty if no results were found.



================================================================================
Class ZOOM::Query
================================================================================

Search queries.

Inherits from: Object <- ZOOM::Query.

Included in: ZOOM.

Class methods:

  ------------------
  new_prefix(prefix)
  ------------------

    Creates a RPN query using the given PQF notation.

      prefix  : PQF notation.  

      Returns : a newly created ZOOM::Query object.

  ---------------
  new_cql(prefix)
  ---------------

    Creates a CQL query using the given CQL notation.

      prefix  : CQL notation.  

      Returns : a newly created ZOOM::Query object.

  ---------------------
  new_sort_by(criteria)
  ---------------------

    Creates a sort query from the YAZ sorting notation.

      criteria : a sort criteria.  

      Returns  : a newly created ZOOM::Query object.



================================================================================
Class ZOOM::Record
================================================================================

A record object is a retrieval record on the client side - created from 
result sets.

Inherits from: Object <- ZOOM::Record.

Included in: ZOOM.

Instance methods:

  ------------------------------------------
  database(charset_from=nil, charset_to=nil)
  ------------------------------------------

      charset_from : the name of the charset to convert from (optional). 
      charset_to   : the name of the charset to convert to (optional).  

      Returns      : the database name of the record.

  ----------------------------------------
  syntax(charset_from=nil, charset_to=nil)
  ----------------------------------------

      charset_from : the name of the charset to convert from (optional). 
      charset_to   : the name of the charset to convert to (optional).  

      Returns      : the symbolic transfer syntax name of the record.

  ----------------------------------------
  render(charset_from=nil, charset_to=nil)
  ----------------------------------------

      charset_from : the name of the charset to convert from (optional). 
      charset_to   : the name of the charset to convert to (optional).  

      Returns      : a display friendly description of the record.

  -------------------------------------
  xml(charset_from=nil, charset_to=nil)
  -------------------------------------

    Returns an XML description of the record.  SRW/SRU and Z39.50 records with 
    transfer syntax XML are returned verbatim.  MARC records are returned in 
    MARCXML (converted from ISO2709 to MARCXML by YAZ). GRS-1 and OPAC records are 
    not supported for this form.

      charset_from : the name of the charset to convert from (optional). 
      charset_to   : the name of the charset to convert to (optional).  

      Returns      : an XML description of the record.

  --------------------------------------
  to_s(charset_from=nil, charset_to=nil)
  --------------------------------------

    Synonym for ZOOM::Record#render.

      charset_from : the name of the charset to convert from (optional). 
      charset_to   : the name of the charset to convert to (optional).  

      Returns      : a display friendly description of the record.



================================================================================
Class ZOOM::ResultSet
================================================================================

The result set object is a container for records returned from a target.

Inherits from: Object <- ZOOM::ResultSet.

Included in: ZOOM.

Instance methods:

  ----------------------
  set_option(key, value)
  ----------------------

    Sets an option on the result set.

      value   : the value of this option (as a string, integer or boolean).  
      key     : the name of the option, as a string. 

      Returns : self.

  ---------------
  get_option(key)
  ---------------

    Gets the value of a result set's option.

      key     : the name of the option, as a string.  

      Returns : the value of the given option, as a string, integer or boolean.

  ----
  size
  ----

      Returns : the number of hits.

  -------
  [](key)
  -------

    Retrieves one or many records from the result set, according to the given
    key.
    
    	# Gets the first record.
    	rset[0]
    	# Gets the first, second and third records.
    	rset[1..3]
    	# Gets three records starting from the second one.
    	rset[2, 3]

      key     : either an integer, a range or an interval of 2 integers.  

      Returns : one or many references to ZOOM::Record objects.

  -------
  records
  -------

    Lists the records inside the result set.

      Returns : an array of ZOOM::Record objects.

  ----------------------------
  each_record { |record| ... }
  ----------------------------

    Parses the records inside the result set and call the given block for each
    record, passing a reference to a ZOOM::Record object as parameter.

      Returns : self.

  ------
  length
  ------

    Synonym for ZOOM::ResultSet#size.

      Returns : the number of hits.


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Extdoc.rb is free software, written by Laurent Sansonetti <lrz@gnome.org>, and released under the GNU General Public License.
