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Gopherspace _______________________________________________ |UCNS Computer Review | |University Computing and Networking Services | |University of Georgia | |Computer Services Annex | |Athens, Georgia 30602 | |E-Mail: BITNET helpdesk@uga | | Internet helpdesk@uga.cc.uga.edu | |_______________________________________________|

Newsletter: Fall Quarter 1993 Author: Albert DeSimone, Jr. ------------------------------------------------------------- Assembling and utilizing the creative and technical energy to conceive of and develop the Internet Gopher must have been an exciting and challenging task for the University of Minnesota's Internet Gopher Development Team. But with the popularity of Gopher throughout the world, the team members can certainly be proud of their efforts.

Gopher is information discovery/retrieval software currently in use at the University of Georgia. You can use a Gopher client (software that runs on CMS and CONTAC, DOS, Macintosh, Unix, etc.) to connect to the UGA Gopher server and find out what's for lunch at Bolton or Snelling, check out campus events, connect to the UGA Libraries Online Catalog, search and browse the UGA Policies and Procedures Manual, and check out the Athens weather. And this is only the beginning. Employing the computers and networks on the worldwide Internet, you can navigate through UGA's slice of Gopherspace to Gopher servers through the world.

The client/server protocol Based on the client/server model, the Gopher client presents you with a menued hierarchy of information items. The menu and associated items are delivered to the client from a Gopher server, a repository for the information you receive. You can then select items from a menu to retrieve a specific piece of information or a directory of related items.

How you select, retrieve, and search the items presented to you by the server will depend on the client you are using. This is truly the essence of a client/server protocol--a set of rules which allows different computers and operating systems to communicate with one another. A DOS client, Macintosh client, Unix client, or CMS client all receive the same information. The client, however, displays the information items in a fashion suitable to the environment in which the client resides. As an example, let's look at how a graphical user interface on a Macintosh compares to a textual user interface on CMS and CONTAC (Figure 1).

Figure 1 The UGA Gopher Server Main Menu As Presented by a Macintosh client ------------------------------------------------------------- | File Edit Gopher Setup Recent | ||||||||||||||||||||| Home Gopher Server 1 ||||||||||||||| | Internet Gopher 1991-1993 University of Minnesota | | | | About the University of Georgia Gopher | | Library | | UGA Campus-Wide Information | | UGA Departments | | University System of Georgia | | Weather | | Worldwide Information | | | | | | <== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ==>| -------------------------------------------------------------

Figure 1 The UGA Gopher Server Main Menu As Presented by a CMS client ------------------------------------------------------------- Rice CMS Gopher 2.4.1 GOPHER.UGA.EDU 1/7 (root menu) <menu> About the University of Georgia Gopher <menu> Library <menu> UGA Campus-Wide Information <menu> UGA Departments <menu> University System of Georgia <menu> Weather <menu> Worldwide Information

1=Help 2= 3=Return 4=Print 5=Receive 6=Find 7=Backward 8=Forward 9=Bookmark 10=Booklist 11= 12=Quit -------------------------------------------------------------

Navigating There are several obvious differences in the two menu views presented. Notice how the menu items, which are all submenus (or directories), are represented as folder icons on the Macintosh. The word "menu" represents the same item type on the CMS client. With the Macintosh client, the mouse is your primary tool for navigating through Gopherspace. The keyboard performs the equivalent function when using the CMS client. The Macintosh user would select the "Weather" item by using the mouse to position the cursor on "Weather" and clicking the mouse button twice. The CMS user would use the tab key to position the cursor on "Weather" and press ENTER. Each selection activity is endemic to the client's environment and would yield the same list of related items.

Clients and servers If ubiquity is a virtue, then Gopher is a candidate for sainthood. Listed below are the more popular clients and server. The majority of Gopher software is available at the University of Minnesota's anonymous FTP site:

boombox.micro.umn.edu

in the directory:

/pub/gopher

In order to cut down on unnecessary network traffic, UCNS has placed (and endeavors to keep in place) the most recent versions of the more popular clients and servers on the University of Georgia's anonymous FTP site:

ftp.uga.edu

The specific directory location for each file is included in the description. Also note references to "Gopher+" in the descriptions. Gopher+ is the next generation of Gopher clients and servers (more on Gopher+ in the section "Multimedia and Beyond with Gopher+space").

General requirements Only computers connected to the campus network (and therefore the worldwide Internet) can use Gopher. For those who are not so fortunate as to have desktop connectivity to the campus network, UCNS provides a Gopher client on CMS and CONTAC. If you have an account on CMS or CONTAC, you can use Gopher from there (regardless of how you connect). UGA departments with Unix systems may also have a Gopher client installed. Contact your departmental Unix administrator for more information.

Network-related configuration When configuring Gopher, there are a few bits of information you will need to know. These include:

Gopher Server: gopher.uga.edu (This is the UGA Gopher server.)

Gopher Port: 70 (This is the port number for the UGA Gopher server. All Gopher servers use port numbers for connections; 70 is the standard port number.)

Your Computer's IP Address: (You will have to know this. If you don't know, contact your department's network domain liaison.)

Network Mask: 255.255.0.0 (The network mask relates to how the local area network your computer is connected to is configured with respect to the campus network.)

Name Servers: 128.192.1.9 129.192.8.4 (The first number is the primary campus name server. In the event that the primary name server is inaccessible, the secondary name server is used. Name servers allow you to use descriptive names (e.g., gopher.uga.edu) instead of numeric addresses to connect to other computers on the Internet.)

Gateway: 128.192.1.1 (The gateway is a device which gives you access to the rest of the world.)

IBM PC (and compatible) DOS Client: pcg3.zip Support: cutcpi.zip

Available on ftp.uga.edu in the directory /pub/doc/msdos. Retrieve files as binary. Use PKUNZIP to unzip files. Server available on boombox.micro.umn.edu.

PC Gopher III (a Gopher+ client) requires 640K RAM and DOS 3.3 or higher. Clarkson (Crynwr) packet driver required. The support file cutcpi.zip is Clarkson University's Telnet/tn3270 package as distributed by UCNS. This package (or an equivalent) is required for using Telnet/tn3270 via gopher.

Documentation available in separate file (pcg3doc.zip) on ftp.uga.edu in /pub/doc/msdos. Use PKUNZIP to unzip the file.

Windows Client: gobook11.zip

Available on ftp.uga.edu in /pub/doc/windows. Retrieve file as binary. Use PKUNZIP to unzip the file. Other Windows Gopher clients available at boombox.micro.umn.edu. No known server.

GopherBook has not been tested by UCNS. Microsoft Windows Sockets (Winsock) 1.1 and external TCP/IP stack required.

Documentation included in distribution file.

OS/2 Client: os2gophe1_04.zip

Available on ftp.uga.edu in /pub/doc/os2. Retrieve file as binary. Use PKUNZIP to unzip the file. Server available on boombox.micro.umn.edu.

Gopher OS/2 has not been tested extensively by UCNS. IBM OS/2 TCP/IP Version 1.2.1 (or later) required.

Documentation included in distribution file.

Macintosh Client: turbogopher1.07.hqx Server: goserver1.3.sit.hqx Support: Telnet2.5.sit.hqx tn327023d26.hqx JPEGView20.sit.hqx

Available on ftp.uga.edu in /pub/doc/mac. Retrieve files as text. Use BINHEX 4.0 to decode. Server and support files must be unstuffed using Stuffit. The support files Telnet2.5.sit.hqx and tn327023d26.hqx are required for using Telnet/tn3270 via TurboGopher. JPEGView20.sit.hqx is a recommended image viewer for Macintoshes running System 7.

TurboGopher (a Gopher+ client) and the Macintosh Gopher server are System 7 compatible but can be used on pre- System 7 Macintoshes. System 7 recommended to take advantage of advanced features. Suggested memory size for client is 700K. Suggested memory size for server is 634K. Mac/TCP required for client and server.

Additional documentation provided with server distribution.

Unix Client: gopher1.12S.tar.Z Server: included in above file Support: freeWAIS-0.1.tar.Z

Xclient: xgopher.1.3.tar.Z

Available on ftp.uga.edu in /pub/doc/packages. Retrieve files as binary. Use Unix utilities to uncompress and untar files. Distributed as C source code which must be compiled and installed. Gopher+ version of Unix client and server (gopher2.x.tar.Z) available from boombox.micro.umn.edu. Support file freeWAIS-0.1.tar.Z used to build indexing capability into Gopher server.

UGA's primary Gopher server is a Unix Gopher server. A Gopher+ server is used along with this server for delivery of a few special items.

Documentation included with distribution.

CMS and CONTAC Client installed by UCNS.

MVS (TSO) Client currently being tested by UCNS.

Menus and files When describing collections of items in Gopherspace the term "menu" is synonymous with "directory." Within menus or directories are related items. The most basic unit within a directory is typically a file.

Figure 2 provides a view from the PC Gopher III (DOS) client of the items available after selecting "Library" from the UGA Gopher server top-level menu and then "UGA Library - GALIN." The PC Gopher III client allows you to use either the mouse or keyboard to select the item you want. The second screen in Figure 2 shows how the document "About GALIN" would be presented.

Figure 2 "Library/UGA Library - GALIN" Menu As Presented by PC Gopher III screen 1 ------------------------------------------------------------- | root level | | File Window Configure 266616 23:15:38 | | UGA Library - GALIN | | -------------------------------------------------- | | |<F> About GALIN | | | | | | | |<T> Connect to GALIN | | | | | | | |<F> Using GALIN Document | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------- | | | |F1Help F10Menus Alt-XExit Alt-GNew Gopher Alt-ZCancel Query| ------------------------------------------------------------- Browser View

Figure 2 "Library/UGA Library - GALIN" Menu As Presented by PC Gopher III screen 2 ------------------------------------------------------------- | File Window Configure 266616 23:15:38 | | UGA Library - GALIN | | -------------------------------------- | | | | | | | <F> About GALIN | | | -------------------------------------- | | About GALIN | |GALIN is the Georgia Academic Library Information Network. | |In addition to other online services, GALIN allows you to | |access the University of Georgia Libraries' Online Catalog.| | | |To use GALIN with your Gopher, your Gopher must be able to | |connect to GALIN using tn3270. After creating the | |connection, position the cursor on the COMMAND line and | |enter: | | | | DIAL VTAM | ------------------------------------------------------------- | F1 Help F10 Menus Alt-X Exit Alt-G New Gopher | | Alt-Z CancelQuery | ------------------------------------------------------------- File Display View

Common to all Gopher clients are the two screens shown in Figure 2. A Browser View allows you to select an item in a menu and the File Display View presents the item selected. In a graphical environment, these will appear as windows which may cascade on the screen. When multiple windows are displayed on the screen, you can use the mouse (TurboGopher) to make any window the active window. PC Gopher III allows you to use either the mouse or the keyboard to activate a window. In a non-graphical environment, there is usually a "Go Back" or "Return" key to navigate back through selected menus.

Search Items for documents and document groups One of the more powerful items available in Gopherspace is a search item, usually indicated by the word "search" or a question mark. Most search items in Gopherspace are provided in conjunction with WAIS (Wide Area Information Servers), public domain software generously offered to the Internet community by Thinking Machines Corporation. WAIS is used to create full-text indexes of documents and document groups; Gopher provides easy access to these indexes.

When you select a search item, you will be prompted for words that will be used to search a group of related documents. Typically, you will type in the word or words that relate to something you want to know more about, press ENTER, and wait patiently for a list of related documents to be returned.

Here's how searching works. If you supply a single word as a search request, a list of documents that contain that single word will be returned. You are not, however, limited to searching on a single word. Multiple search words can be used. For all WAIS-based searches, multiple words (each separated by a space) will return a list of documents that contain either word. You will often see this relationship between the multiple words referred to as an "implied OR" relationship. For example, if you navigated through the UGA Gopher server to the search item for issues of the UCNS Computer Review:

UGA Departments -> Computing & Networking -> Newsletters -> UCNS Computer Review -> Search the UCNS Computer Review

and then entered the search request:

macintosh ibm

the list of documents returned (about 60) would contain either the word "macintosh" OR the word "ibm" OR both words. Supplying search words this way expands your search. You can, however, limit your search by connecting the two words with the connecting term AND. If you entered the search request:

macintosh and ibm

the list of documents returned (about 15) would contain both the word "macintosh" AND the word "ibm." Supplying search words this way limits your search. You can further limit your search with the connecting term NOT, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 Search Item for UCNS Computer Review As Presented by Unix Client ------------------------------------------------------------- UCNS Computer Review

1. A Look Inside the Front Cover. 2. Browse the UCNS Computer Review/ --> 3. Search the UCNS Computer Review?

+--------------Search the UCNS Computer Review----------+ | | | Words to search for macintosh and ibm not software | | | | [Cancel ^G] [Accept - Enter] | | | +-------------------------------------------------------+

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

The search request shown in Figure 3 would return a list of documents (about 2) that contain both the word "macintosh" AND the word "ibm" but NOT the word "software."

One important caveat. Not all WAIS-based searches in Gopherspace allow you to use the connecting terms AND and NOT to limit your search. While the UGA Gopher server does allow the use of these connecting terms, you may encounter some searches that only allow the implied OR search. If you try to use the connecting terms AND or NOT on a search item that does not allow their use, AND or NOT are ignored and an implied OR is used.

After performing a search, notice the order of the returned documents. The documents near the top of the list will very likely be the better match to your search request. The ordering is a product of "relevance feedback," which scores the returned documents based on word frequency , word position, and size of document.

Internet Duct Tape Members of the Gopher Development Team have referred to Gopher as "Internet Duct Tape"; others have described Gopher as "a high-level networking tool." Two ways of saying essentially the same thing, albeit the latter being a more sophisticated phrase. From within Gopher's comfortable environment you can use Telnet to connect to online library catalogs all over the word; acquire documents and software from archive sites; and search electronic phone books and directories for individuals at universities, colleges, and other organizations worldwide.

Telnet sessions Telnet is a service which allows you to connect to computers on the Internet using terminal emulation. Typically, you are required to log into these systems as a validated user. However, many colleges and universities allow you to access library holdings via Telnet. The UGA Libraries' online catalog (GALIN) is available from the UGA Gopher server in the menu item "Library." Also notice that Telnet connections to libraries through the world are also included in the "Library" menu item.

Notes about Telnet sessions: * Gopher Telnet items are indicated either by a word or an appropriate icon. The word or icon may indicate a tn3270 connection. A tn3270 connection is often required for connecting to IBM mainframes.

* Gopher uses the Telnet client on the computer you are using to make the connection. When configuring some Gopher clients you may have to specify the Telnet/tn3270 applications to be used. (PC Gopher III is an example.)

* CMS and CONTAC users should be aware that the Telnet client available to them does not support terminal emulation other than tn3270. If you attempt a Telnet connection to a site requiring VT100 emulation (the most common), you may not be able to function as well as you would like.

* TurboGopher (Macintosh client) requires System 7 or higher for a smooth transition to Telnet/tn3270. You can still use Telnet sessions on a pre-System 7 Macintosh, but you will not be taken directly to the Telnet session.

FTP gateway The file transfer protocol (FTP) is an Internet service which allows someone using an FTP client to connect to an FTP server and transfer between the two systems. Normal FTP requires that you have an account on the server system you are connecting to. Anonymous FTP is a special setup on the FTP server which allows you to connect to the server without having an established account. Gopher provides a gateway to anonymous FTP sites.

Access to selected anonymous FTP sites is available on the UGA Gopher server via the path:

Worldwide Information -> Internet - RFCs, Archie, FTP and Veronica -> Connect to FTP Sites

At the end of this path is a list of anonymous sites. When you select one of the sites, Gopher makes a connection to the FTP server and displays a list of files that you can transfer to yourself. Figure 4 presents an example listing of the DOS archive site wuarchive.wustl.edu in the directory astronomy.

Figure 4 FTP Gateway to DOS Archive Site As Presented by CMS/CONTAC Client ------------------------------------------------------------- Rice CMS Gopher 2.4.1 GOPHER.UGA.EDU 1/29 More (astronomy) <document> 00-index.txt <DOS> aa-51.zip <DOS> astro20.zip <DOS> astro202.zip <DOS> b_star.zip <DOS> cosmos16.zip <DOS> dance13.zip <DOS> de1181.zip

1=Help 2= 3=Return 4=Print 5=Receive 6=Find 7=Backward 8=Forward 9=Bookmark 10=Booklist 11= 12=Quit -------------------------------------------------------------

Notes about the FTP gateway: * Access to anonymous FTP sites via the UGA Gopher server is currently restricted to Gopher clients on the UGA campus.

* Files at anonymous FTP sites will often be software and other files that are ordinarily retrieved as binary. Gopher recognizes these types and retrieves the file properly. In general, files with the extensions .exe and .zip will be typed as "DOS" or "PC" and retrieved as binary. Files with the extension .hqx are special Macintosh files that are retrieved as text. Other files many be typed as generic "binary." While Gopher takes care of retrieving the files properly, you will have to keep the type of transfer (either text or binary) in mind if you move the file to another computer.

* CMS and CONTAC Gopher users should pay special attention to the "Receive" key. Use this key to retrieve a binary file displayed in a list. There is no point in attempting to view such a file. Many of the other popular clients --PC Gopher, TurboGopher, and Unix--automatically retrieve binary files when they are selected.

Electronic Phone Books and Directories Finding people on the Internet is perhaps one of the more interesting and sometimes frustrating tasks with which you can be presented. The University of Notre Dame Gopher provides a collection of online phone books and directories, which you can access from the UGA Gopher via the path:

Worldwide Information -> Worldwide Phone Books and Directories

You will notice one institution conspicuous by its absence in this collection -- The University of Georgia. However, on a more positive note, plans are currently in place to provide a similar service for UGA.

Notes about electronic phone books and directories:

* Be sure to read the related "About" documents in the list of items available in "Worldwide Phone Books and Directories."

* Electronic phone books and directories are of several different types. Some are based on CSO Nameserver (developed at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign). This type of electronic phone book will be indicated by an icon of a phone book, the word "CSO" or the word "phonebk." Other electronic phone books are based on WHOIS servers or WAIS- based searches; these are indicated by the word "search" or a question mark .

Multimedia and beyond with Gopher+space As Gopher has developed over the past few years, so have the information types supported. On some Gopher servers you will find sound files, images, and even movies. With the advent of Gopher+, these new types are being effectively integrated into Gopherspace.

Appropriately enough, a picture is worth a thousand words when describing Gopher+space (Figure 5).

Figure 5 Gopher+ Information on an Item As Presented by Macintosh TurboGopher Client ------------------------------------------------------------- |===================== GopherRock.ps =====================| | +INFO: 0GopherRock.ps 0/Multiple Views/Short Document | | About Gopher/GopherRock | | hobbes.cc.uga.edu 9000 + | | +ADMIN: | | Admin: Albert DeSimone, Jr. <bdesimon@uga.cc.uga.edu> | | Mod-Date: Thu Sep 9 09:31:46 1993 <199309093146> | | +Views | | application/postscript En_US: <40k> | | application rtf En_US: <5k> | | Text/plain En_US: <3k> | | +Abstract | | This is a short paper I wrote in conjunction with a | | presentation at the University System of Georgia Annual | | Computer Conference -- known to all as the "Rock Eagle | | Conference." | | | | It was a fine conference and a good time was had by all. | | | | Later ... | | | | bd | | <== xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ==>| -------------------------------------------------------------

As an extension to Gopher, Gopher+ supports: * More compete information about a Gopher item. Notice in Figure 5 that modification dates and sizes of particular items are now included. Also included is the Gopher administrator's name and e-mail address. (Item information can be retrieved from a Gopher or Gopher+ server the same way. See the documentation or online help that came with your Gopher client for the procedure.)

Abstracts can also be included as a part of the item information.

* Alternate multiple views. Everyone agrees that plain text isn't the most preferred way to deliver documents. However, it does represent the "lowest common denominator" in that any Gopher client can adequately display text. Gopher+ provides alternate views of such documents--including PostScript and Rich-Text Format (RTF) in addition to plain text. The user of a Gopher+ client can request that these alternate views be listed and then request one of the alternate views from the list.

Images can also be presented in this way. Multiple views of a weather map could be available as a GIF, JPEG, or PPM image.

* Electronic forms. Although relatively simple at this time, it is possible to set up a Gopher+ item as an electronic form. When this item is selected, a blank electronic form is presented. Information provided on the electronic form can then be mailed to the appropriate individual or office.

A Gopher+ server is currently in use at UGA for delivery of a few special items via the UGA Gopher primary server. This server can be accessed directly if you would like to experiment with some of the Gopher+ features. If you have a Gopher+ client, set your Gopher to connect to:

gopher.uga.edu 9000

Gopher+ features can be found in the menu items "Multiple Views" and "Newsletter Registration Request Form." Please be advised that this is a test Gopher environment. Items are subject to move around or disappear without notice. Access to the test server is currently restricted to the UGA campus.

More information on Gopher If you would like to learn more about Gopher, there is a comprehensive guide titled Internet Gopher User's Guide. Several copies are available at the UCNS Help Desk in the Computer Services Annex.

Another excellent source of information is the USENET newsgroup: comp.infosystems.gopher.

Gopher-accessible information, including an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), is provided by the University of Minnesota. This information is available via the UGA Gopher in the "About Gopher at the University of Georgia" menu item.