The OAI technical framework is intentionally simple with the intent of providing a low barrier for participants. Protocols such as Z39.50 have more complete functionality; for example, they deal with session management and results sets and allow the spec

The OAI technical framework is intentionally simple with the intent of providing a low barrier for participants. Protocols such as Z39.50 have more complete functionality; for example, they deal with session management and results sets and allow the specification of predicates that filter the records returned. However, this functionality comes at an increase in difficulty of implementation and cost. The OAI technical framework is not intended to replace other approaches but to provide an easy-to-implement and easy-to-deploy alternative for different constituencies or different purposes than those addressed by existing interoperability solutions.