Zebra - User's Guide and Reference
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# Future Directions

These are some of the plans that we have for the software in the near and far future, ordered approximately as we expect to work on them.

- Improved support for XML in search and retrieval. Eventually, the goal is for Zebra to pull double duty as a flexible information retrieval engine and high-performance XML repository. The recent addition of XPath searching is one example of the kind of enhancement we're working on.

- Access to the search engine through SOAP/RPC API to allow the construction of applications without requiring Z39.50 tools. This will shortly be available by means of Index Data's SRW-to-Z39.50 gateway, currently in beta test.

- Finalisation and documentation of Zebra's C programming API, allowing updates, database management and other functions not readily expressed in Z39.50. We will also consider exposing the API through SOAP.

- Support for the use of Perl both for access to the Zebra API and for building extension ``plug-ins'' such as input filters. The code for this has been contributed to the source tree by Peter Popovics `<pop@technomat.hu>`, and is in the process of being integrated and tested.

- Improved free-text searching. We're first and foremost octet jockeys and we're actively looking for organisations or people who'd like to contribute experience in relevance ranking and text searching.

Programmers thrive on user feedback. If you are interested in a facility that you don't see mentioned here, or if there's something you think we could do better, please drop us a mail. Better still, implement it and send us the patches.

If you think it's all really neat, you're welcome to drop us a line saying that, too. You can email us on `<info@indexdata.dk>` or check the contact info at the end of this manual.

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