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Paper: Astrobrowse: a Web Agent for Querying Astronomical Databases
Volume: 172, Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems VIII
Page: 221
Authors: Heikkila, Christina W.; McGlynn, Thomas A.; White, Nicholas E.
Abstract: Astrobrowse is a user agent which significantly streamlines the process of g athering astronomical data on the web. With it, a user can query thousands of resources without having to search through old bookmark lists, deal with out-of-date URLs , or spend time figuring out how to use each resource's unique input form. Given a user's selection of web-based astronomical databases and an object name or coordinates, Astrobrowse will explode queries to all selected databases and collect the results. Since the introduction of the prototype at ADASS VII htmladdnormallink{(McGlynn & White 1998)}{http://www.stsci.edu/stsci/meetings /adassVII/mcglynnt.html}, many changes have been made to the service, from adding JavaScript form validation, to the adoption of GLU htmladdnormallink{(F ernique, Ochsenbein & Wenger 1998)} {http://www.stsci.edu/stsci/meetings/adassVII/ferniquep.html} as the mechanism for keeping the resource URLs current. This software is freely available to anyone wishing to become an Astrobrowse node.
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