National Information Standards Organization Z39.50 Information Retrieval Protocol (Z39.50/ISO 23950), a computer protocol that can be implemented on any platform, defines a standard way for two computers to communicate for the purpose of information retrieval. A Z39.50 implementation enables one interface to access multiple systems providing the end-user with nearly transparent access to other systems.
ZOOM - Home Page The ZOOM initiative presents an abstract object-oriented API to a subset of the services specified by the Z39.50 standard, also known as the international standard ISO 23950.