# GREEK TIMES WAIS SEARCH

Native Windows client for the Z39.50-1988 protocol.

A Win32 search client that connects to a WAIS (Wide Area Information
Servers) database using the original 1990 wire protocol. It is designed
to work with the Greek Times WAIS server and other compatible systems.

For background on the project, see HISTORY.txt.

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## Status

Beta 2 (v0.9.1-beta2) - April 13, 2026

This release replaces Beta 1 and corrects its documentation, licensing,
and security issues. It is rebuilt against freeWAIS-sf 2.2.14 and is the
current supported version.

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## License

This project includes two permissive licenses:

* Windows client code: BSD 3-Clause License
* freeWAIS-sf protocol code: CNIDR 1993 License

See LICENSE and LICENSE-CNIDR for full details.

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## Security

This client uses legacy protocol code (freeWAIS-sf 2.2.14, 2000) with
limited bounds checking by modern standards.

Use with trusted WAIS servers only. Connecting to untrusted servers may
cause instability.

Basic crash handling is included in this release.

Default server: wais.greektimes.ca:210

Report security issues directly to the publisher.

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## Download

Releases:
https://github.com/greektimes/wais/releases

Archive (MGTWAIS.ZIP) includes:

* WAIS_Search_x64.exe
* source/
* README.txt, CHANGES.txt, CREDITS.txt, HISTORY.txt
* LICENSE.txt, LICENSE-CNIDR.txt
* FILE_ID.DIZ

Mirrors:

* FTP: ftp://ftp.greektimes.ca/pub/wais/MGTWAIS.ZIP
* BBS: telnet://bbs.greektimes.ca
* Web: https://greektimes.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/MGTWAIS.zip
* Gopher: gopher://gopher.greektimes.ca/1/software

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## Requirements

* Windows 7 SP1 64-bit or newer
* Network access to TCP port 210
* ~1 MB disk space

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## Installation

No installer. Extract WAIS_Search_x64.exe and run.

The program is portable and does not modify the system.

A SmartScreen warning may appear on first launch.

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## Usage

Enter a search term and press Enter or click Search.

Select a result by number and click View to read.

Default connection:

Server:   wais.greektimes.ca
Port:     210
Database: greektimes

These values can be changed to connect to other servers.

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## Building from Source

Source is located in source/.

Prerequisites: MSYS2 UCRT64 with GCC 15 or newer.

cd source
build_x64.bat

Produces a standalone executable with no external dependencies.

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## About the Protocol

WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers) was introduced in 1990 as a
distributed text search system. It later formed the basis of the
Z39.50-1988 standard.

This client implements the original 1988 protocol and communicates with
a freeWAIS-sf 2.2.14 server.

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## Credits

See CREDITS.txt.

Dedicated to the memory of Basile Papadopoulos and
Despina Kavalou-Papadopoulos.

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## Contact

Dimitri Papadopoulos
The Montreal Greek Times
https://www.greektimes.ca
