Search intermediaries need to know what is generally available on the market for their own benefit and for the benefit of their clientele. Advising a potential enduser searcher or deciding what enduser search service to offer inhouse requires familiarity with these products' general features and how they compare. The variety and types of user friendly database searching products can confuse endusers and search intermediaries. Names used to describe these products include user friendly system, frontend software or system, gateway software or system, search aid software, etc. The characteristics of many of these products overlap and makes categorizing and naming them awkward.
Products come, go, evolve, or change names.
Like the Balkan States these products follow separate paths of development and show marked differences in their approaches to making database searching more user friendly. The authors assign names for product classification purposes and are not nomenclature authorities. The gateway system's frontend software standardizes the searching process in order to facilitate searching several database services and their databases. Pay attention to its provisions for and frequency of updating. Microcomputer-based frontend software requires your initiative and expense to update and your faith that the company will exist when future updates are needed.