@DATABASE "CHAP8"
@index BigDummy.index/MAIN
@Node MAIN "Chapter 8: GOPHERS, WAISs AND THE WORLDWIDE WEB"
@TOC BIGDUMMY.GUIDE/MAIN
@NEXT CHAP9/MAIN
@PREV CHAP7/MAIN
     Even with tools like Hytelnet and archie, @{" Telnet " link Chap6/TELNET 0} and @{" ftp " link Chap7/FTP 0} can
still be frustrating.  There are all those telnet and ftp addresses to
remember.  Telnet services often have their own unique commands.  And,
oh, those weird directory and file names!
     But now that the Net has become a rich repository of information,
people are looking at ways to make it far easier to find all that data.
Gophers and Wide-Area Information Servers (WAISs) are two programs that
could ultimately make the Internet as easy to navigate as commercial
networks like CompuServe or Prodigy.

   @{" Gopher                          " link GOPHER                }
   @{" Wide-Area Information Servers   " link WAIS                  }
   @{" World-Wide Web                  " link WWW                   }
   @{" Clients (SSLP, PPP)             " link CLIENTS               }

     Both programs essentially take a request for information and then
scan the Net for it, so you don't have to.  Both also work through menus
-- instead of typing in some long sequence of characters, you just move a
cursor to your choice and hit enter.  Newer gophers even let you select
files and programs from ftp sites this way.

------------------------
FYI:

     The @{" Usenet " link CHAP3/WHATUSENET} newsgroups comp.infosystems.gopher and
comp.infosystems.wais are places to go for technical discussions about
@{" gophers " link Chap8/GOPHER 0} and WAISs respectively.

@EndNode
@Node GOPHER "Chapter 8: Information servers (1 of 4) -- GOPHER"
@PREV MAIN
GOPHER
     Let's look at gophers first.
     Many public-access sites now have gophers online.  To use one, type

          gopher

at the @{" command line " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 50} and hit enter.  If you know your site does not have
a gopher, or if nothing happens when you type that, @{" Telnet " link Chap6/TELNET 0} to

          consultant.micro.umn.edu

At the log-in @{" prompt " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 254}, type

          gopher

and hit enter.  You'll be asked what type of terminal emulation you're
using, after which you'll see something like this:



                    Internet Gopher Information Client v1.03

                    Root gopher server: gopher.micro.umn.edu

 -->  1.  Information About Gopher/
      2.  Computer Information/
      3.  Discussion Groups/
      4.  Fun & Games/
      5.  Internet file server (ftp) sites/
      6.  Libraries/
      7.  News/
      8.  Other Gopher and Information Servers/
      9.  Phone Books/
      10. Search lots of places at the U of M  <?>
      11. University of Minnesota Campus Information/

Press ? for Help, q to Quit, u to go up a menu                        Page: 1/1

     Gophers are great for exploring.  Just keep making choices to see
what pops up.  Play with it; see where it takes you.  Some choices will
be documents.  When you read one of these and either come to the end or
hit a lower-case q to quit reading it, you'll be given the choice of
saving a copy to your home directory or e-mailing it to yourself.  Other
choices are simple databases that let you enter a word to look for in a
particular database.
     Notice that one of your choices is "Internet file server (ftp)
sites." Choose this, and you'll be connected to a modified archie program
-- an archie with a difference.  When you search for a file through a
gopher archie, you'll get a menu of sites that have the file you're
looking for, just as with the old archie.  Only now, instead of having to
write down or remember an @{" ftp " link Chap7/FTP 0} address and directory, all you have to do
is position the cursor next to one of the numbers in the menu and hit
enter.  You'll be connected to the ftp site, from which you can then
choose the file you want, again just by making a choice in a menu.
     You'll be asked for a name in your home directory to use for the
file, after which the file will be copied to your home system.
Unfortunately, this file-transfer process does not yet work with all
public-access sites for computer programs and compressed files.  If it
doesn't work with yours, you'll have to get the file the old-fashioned
way, via ftp.
     The letter u is an important one to remember while navigating a
gopher -- it moves you back up a gopher directory tree, much like cd ..
on an ftp site.
     In addition to ftp sites, there are now scores of databases and
libraries around the world accessible through gophers.  There is not yet
a common gopher interface for library catalogs, so be prepared to follow
the online directions more closely when you use gopher to connect to one.
     Some gopher menu choices will end with a <?>.  This means that if
you select it, you'll be starting up a simple database that can search
through the given service by keyword.
     So many services are now available through gophers, that finding
what you want has become difficult.  Fortunately, you can use veronica, a
laboriously constructed acronym that does for "gopherspace" what archie
(there is no betty, yet) did for files.  You'll usually find veronicas
(there are now several) under "Other gopher and information services."
When you call up a veronica, tell her (it?) the keyword or words you're
interested in, and she/it will search all available databases for it.
For example, say you want to impress company tonight and make cherries
flambe.  If you were to type in "flambe" after calling up veronica, you
would soon get a menu listing several flambe recipes, including one
called "dessert flambe."  Put your cursor on that line of the menu and
hit enter, and you'll find it's a menu for cherries flambe.  Then hit
your q key to quit, and gopher will ask you if you want to save the file
in your home directory on your public-access site or whether you want to
@{" e-mail " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 96} it somewhere.


@EndNode
@Node WAIS "Chapter 8: Information servers (2 of 4) -- WIDE-AREA INFORMATION SERVERS"
WIDE-AREA INFORMATION SERVERS

     Now you know there are hundreds of databases and library catalogs
you can search through.  But as you look, you begin to realize that each
seems to have its own unique method for searching.  If you connect to
several, this can become a pain.  Gophers reduce this problem somewhat.
     Wide-area information servers promise another way to zero in on
information hidden on the Net. In a WAIS, the user sees only one
interface -- the program worries about how to access information on
dozens, even hundreds, of different databases.  You tell give a WAIS a
word and it scours the net looking for places where it's mentioned.  You
get a menu of documents, each ranked according to how relevant to your
search the WAIS thinks it is.
     Like gophers, WAIS "client" programs can already be found on many
public-access Internet sites. If it does, type

        swais

at the @{" command line " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 50} and hit enter (the "s" stands for "simple").  If it
doesn't, @{" Telnet " link Chap6/TELNET 0} to bbs.oit.unc.edu, which is run by the University of
North Carolina  At the "login:" @{" prompt " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 254}, type

               bbs

and hit enter.  You'll be asked to register and will then get a list of
"bulletins,'' which are various files explaining how the system works.
When done with those, hit your Q key and you'll get another menu.  Hit 4
for the "simple WAIS client," and you'll see something like this:

SWAIS                           Source Selection                   Sources: 23#
               Server                          Source                      Cost
001:   [           archie.au]  aarnet-resource-guide                       Free
002:   [    archive.orst.edu]  aeronautics                                 Free
003:   [nostromo.oes.orst.ed]  agricultural-market-news                    Free
004:   [sun-wais.oit.unc.edu]  alt-sys-sun                                 Free
005:   [    archive.orst.edu]  alt.drugs                                   Free
006:   [    wais.oit.unc.edu]  alt.gopher                                  Free
007:   [sun-wais.oit.unc.edu]  alt.sys.sun                                 Free
008:   [    wais.oit.unc.edu]  alt.wais                                    Free
009:   [    archive.orst.edu]  archie-orst.edu                             Free
010:   [           archie.au]  archie.au-amiga-readmes                     Free
011:   [           archie.au]  archie.au-ls-lRt                            Free
012:   [           archie.au]  archie.au-mac-readmes                       Free
013:   [           archie.au]  archie.au-pc-readmes                        Free
014:   [ pc2.pc.maricopa.edu]  ascd-education                              Free
015:   [           archie.au]  au-directory-of-servers                     Free
016:   [   cirm2.univ-mrs.fr]  bib-cirm                                    Free
017:   [  cmns-sun.think.com]  bible                                       Free
018:   [      zenon.inria.fr]  bibs-zenon-inria-fr                         Free

Keywords:

<space> selects, w for keywords, arrows move, <return> searches, q quits, or ?

Each line represents a different database (the .au at the end of some of
them means they are in Australia; the .fr on the last line represents a
database in France).  And this is just the first page!  If you type a
capital K, you'll go to the next page (there are several pages). Hitting
a capital J will move you back a page.
     The first thing you want to do is tell the WAIS program which
databases you want searched.  To select a database, move the cursor bar
over the line you want (using your down and up arrow keys) and hit your
space bar.  An asterisk will appear next to the line number.  Repeat this
until you've selected all of the databases you want searched.  Then hit
your W key, after which you'll be prompted for the key words you're
looking for.  You can type in an entire line of these words -- separate
each with a space, not a comma.
    Hit return, and the search begins.
    Let's say you're utterly fascinated with wheat.  So you might select
agricultural-market-news to find its current world price.  But you also
want to see if it has any religious implications, so you choose the Bible
and the Book of Mormon.  What do you do with the stuff?  Select recipes
and usenet-cookbook. Are there any recent Supreme Court decisions
involving the plant? Chose supreme-court.  How about synonyms? Try
roget-thesaurus and just plain thesaurus.
    Now hit w and type in wheat.  Hit enter, and the WAIS program begins
its search.  As it looks, it tells you whether any of the databases are
@{" offline " link BigDummy.Guide/LINGO 228}, and if so, when they might be ready for a search.  In about a
minute, the program tells you how many hits it's found.  Then you get a
new menu, that looks something like this:


Keywords:

  #    Score     SourceTitleLines
001:   [1000] (roget-thesaurus)       #465. [results of comparison. 1] Di    19
002:   [1000] (roget-thesaurus)       #609. Choice. -- N. choice, option;    36
003:   [1000] (roget-thesaurus)       #465. [results of comparison. 1] Di    19
004:   [1000] (roget-thesaurus)       #609. Choice. -- N. choice, option;    36
005:   [1000] (recipes)  aem@mthvax Re: MONTHLY: Rec.Food.Recipes   425
006:   [1000] ( Book_of_Mormon)  Mosiah 9:96
007:   [1000] ( Book_of_Mormon)  3 Nephi 18:185
008:   [1000] (agricultural-ma)  Re:    JO GR115, WEEKLY GRAIN82
009:   [ 822] (agricultural-ma)  Re:    WA CB351 PROSPECTIVE PLANTINGS      552
010:   [ 800] (        recipes)  kms@apss.a Re: REQUEST: Wheat-free, Suga    35
011:   [ 750] (agricultural-ma)  Re:    WA CB101 CROP PRODUCTION258
012:   [ 643] (agricultural-ma)  Re:    SJ GR850 DAILY NAT GRN SUM72
013:   [ 400] (        recipes)  pat@jaamer Re: VEGAN: Honey Granola63
014:   [ 400] (        recipes)  jrtrint@pa Re: OVO-LACTO: Sourdough/Trit   142

Each of these represents an article or citing that contains the word
wheat, or some related word.  Move the cursor bar (with the down and up
arrow keys) to the one you want to see, hit enter, and it will begin to
appear on your screen.  The "score" is a WAIS attempt to gauge how
closely the citing matches your request.  Doesn't look like the Supreme
Court has had anything to say about the plant of late!
     Now think of how much time you would have spent logging onto various
databases just to find these relatively trivial examples. But as more
databases are added to WAIS programs, a problem arises that is similar to
the one WAISs were supposed to solve: how do you find the specific
databases you want?  Scrolling through page after page of database
listings becomes rather tedious rather quickly and you could wind up
missing the one database you really need.  That's the next step in WAIS
research.


@EndNode
@Node WWW "Chapter 8: Information servers (3 of 4) -- WORLDWIDE WEB"
WORLDWIDE WEB

     Developed by researchers at the European Particle Physics Laboratory
in Geneva, the Worldwide Web is somewhat similar to a WAIS. But it's
designed on a system known as hypertext.  Words in one document are
"linked" to other documents.  It's sort of like sitting with an
encyclopedia -- you're reading one article, see a reference that
intrigues you and so you flip the pages to look up that reference.
     To try the Worldwide Web, @{" Telnet " link Chap6/TELNET 0} to

          info.cern.ch

No log in is needed.  When you connect, you'll see:


                                                                Welcome to CERN
The World-Wide Web: CERN entry point

   CERN is the European Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland.
   Select by number information here, or elsewhere.

  Help[1]                 About this program

  World-Wide Web[2]       About the W3 global information initiative.

  CERN information[3]     Information from and about this site

  Particle Physics[4]     Other HEP sites with information servers

  Other Subjects[5]       Catalogue of all online information by subject. Also:
                         by server type[6] .

   ** CHECK OUT X11 BROWSER "ViolaWWW": ANON FTP TO info.cern.ch in
   /pub/www/src *** Still beta, so keep bug reports calm :-)

   If you use this service frequently, please install this or any W3 browser on
   your own machine (see instructions[7] ). You can configure it to start
1-7, <RETURN> for more, Quit, or Help:


     You navigate the web by typing the number next to a given
reference.  So if you want to know more about the web, hit 2.  This is
another system that bears playing with.


@EndNode
@Node CLIENTS "Chapter 8: Information servers (4 of 4) -- CLIENTS"
@NEXT MAIN
CLIENTS

     If you are used to plain-vanilla Unix or MS-DOS, then the way these
gophers and WAISs work seems quite straighforward.  But if you're used to
a computer with a graphical interface, such as a Macintosh, an IBM
compatible with Windows or a Next, you'll probably regard their
interfaces as somewhat primitive.
     There are, however, ways to integrate these services into your
graphical user interface.  In fact, there are now ways to tie into the
Internet directly, rather than relying on whatever interface your
public-access system uses.
     There is now a growing number of these "client" programs for
everything from @{" ftp " link Chap7/FTP 0} to @{" gopher " link Chap8/GOPHER 0}.  PSI of Reston, Va., which offers
nationwide Internet access, in fact, requires its customers to use these
programs.
     Using protocols known as SLIP and PPP, these programs communicate
with the Net using the same basic data packets as much larger computers
online.
     Beyond integration with your own computer's "desktop,'' client
programs let you do more than one thing at once on the net -- while your
downloading a large file in one window, you can be chatting with a friend
through an Internet chat program in another.
     These client programs have a couple of disadvantages.  One is that
you'll need a @{" 9600-baud " link BigDummy.guide/LINGO 31} @{" modem " link Chap1/MODEM 0} -- while it is possible to connect to
the Net with them at lower speeds, you will likely find them painfully
slow. Not all public-access sites are set up to allow such connections.
And those that are usually charge far more for them.
     Your system administrator can give you more information on setting
up one of these connections.

@EndNode
