Package: wnpp Severity: wishlist Package: kascade License: GPL URL: http://www.kascade.org/
Kascade can be downloaded from http://www.kascade.org and is distributed under the GPL. Kascade is in need of supporters. Please check it out and see if you can help. Wouter _long_ Description: Kascade is a novel type of search-engine, based on the Open directory principle. This means that anyone can structure a small part of the information on the internet, corresponding to their personal interests or expertise. The resulting parts are placed in a large categorical structure that others can browse to search for information. Examples of Open Directory initiatives are Dmoz and Infomarker. In contrast with other Open Directory initiatives, though, the parts that people maintain now reside on their own server. What results is a distributed Open Directory! As with Gnutella, though, there are no fixed central servers. This implies that anyone can start a new structure. Actually any piece can be easily replaced, hopefully leading to competitive improvement. The distributed nature and lack of central control facilities make for a system immune to company or government control, much like Gnutella and the Internet itself. Kascade directories are based on a specially developed file format, called DII. To browse Kascade directories consisting of DII files, a special browser has been created, called the Kascade client. Its visual size is as small as the average ICQ client. When a user has found what seems to be an interesting web page, the client fires up a web browser to view the page. It also has a built-in IRC client that enables users to chat with each other anywhere in a directory! This package contains the Kascade client. The DII file format features aspects comparable to 'components' and 'functions' in programming languages, introducing 'abstraction' and thus structure 'reuse' into the Open Directory world. These components and functions themselves may even be distributed! Not less useful, so-called 'queries' may be defined into parts, that query the same and/or other parts, and create new local hierarchical structures in real-time (as users browse a directory.) DII queries, functions and components can be used to easily create multiple search paths to the same information item. thanks for reading :)
